Play Funny World and Balloon Boy Online

Remember Funny World and Balloon Boy? That weird little Genesis game where you play as a kid who basically turns into a human pogo stick? The first time I booted it up, I wasn't sure what to make of the janky balloon physics—until I faceplanted into a spike trap and immediately got hooked.

It's one of those games where the controls feel just wrong enough to be fun. You're not just jumping—you're rebounding off balloons with this weird floaty momentum, trying not to overshoot platforms or get yeeted into bottomless pits. The levels look like a kindergarten art project gone rogue, all bright colors and bizarre hazards (why is there a giant rolling apple in the factory zone?).

Don't let the cute graphics fool you—some later stages get brutal. There's this one ice level where the balloons slide like they're coated in butter, and I may have thrown a controller in 1994 over it. Still weirdly charming though, especially when Balloon Boy does his little victory dance after clearing a stage.

If you dig obscure platformers with more personality than polish, this one's a time capsule worth digging up.