Blimp
- “I LOVE YOU ZEEPPELIN! No! Don't you dare call this beauty a blimp! It's the Zeeppelin!”
- —Brock, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Blimps are a type of transportation that appears in the Mario franchise which either take Mario and other characters to a faraway place or just float in the air. They are very similar to their real world counterparts, but their design may differ depending on the game.
Mario Kart series
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
A blimp first ever appear in Mario Kart: Super Circuit where a Luigi blimp can be seen in Luigi Circuit and Sky Garden. In Luigi Circuit, the blimp waits until the third lap to take off and fly around, whereas it is directly in the air in Sky Garden.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
A Luigi blimp also appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s Luigi Circuit floating in the air above the racetrack, this time being a 3D model. Strangely, this blimp does not show up if the players are racing in split-screen mode. It also appears on Luigi Circuit's logo.
Mario Kart DS
The Luigi blimp from Mario Kart: Super Circuit evidently reappears in GBA Luigi Circuit but surprisingly, not any blimp can be seen in GCN Luigi Circuit outside of the demo version of the game. In the GBA remake, the blimp starts to take off on the second lap this time.
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2
Blimps appear again in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 in various different styles and colors, sometimes referencing to a certain character. A red blimp and a green one can be seen in Mario Highway and a Waluigi blimp can be spotted floatting above the race track in Stadium Arena while following its layout. However, this blimp is not present in Waluigi Stadium even if the track takes place at the same location as Stadium Arena.
Mario Kart Wii
A blimp reappears once again in Luigi Circuit, this time being strangely a Cheep Cheep-shaped blimp and not a Luigi balloon. It can be seen taking off from a landing plateform in the middle of a lake located inside the race track and flying overhead afterwards.
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a blimp resembling the one from Mario Kart Wii appears, the Cheep Blimp, a large and Cheep Cheep-shaped blimp. Its only purpose is to take Mario to the floating town of Glitzville. Mario must obtain a Blimp Ticket from Don Pianta in order to ride the Cheep Blimp. A Cheep Cheep conductor named Stewart operates the Cheep Blimp. It is the first notable blimp in the Mario franchise.
Mario Party series
Mario Party 8
A special blimp appears in Mario Party 8 which can be seen on the boxart and during the opening sequence of the Star Carnival, after having selected the file, while two Goombas with a red Mario Party 8 banner are passing through the screen.
Mario & Luigi series
In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team appears the Zeeppelin, the blimp used to carry Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and some Toads from Peach's Castle to Pi'illo Island. The name "Zeeppelin" comes from the word zeppelin, a rigid blimp invented in Germany, with an extra "e" to make it match many other spellings in the game (Zeekeeper, Zee Parts, etc.). During the flight, Luigi falls asleep and dreams of Antasma coming on board, which is when Toadsworth teaches Mario how to fight. After the fight, Luigi dreams that the Zeeppelin crashes, though in reality, it lands safely in Pi'illo Blimport (as stated by another Brock). It is the second notable blimp in the Mario franchise.
Gallery
The Luigi blimp as it appears in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Cheep Cheep-shaped blimp from Mario Kart Wii
Logo of Luigi Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with a Luigi blimp
The Waluigi blimp floating above the track in Stadium Arena
Mario Party 8's group artwork for the boxart
Trivia
- The music accompanying the Cheep Blimp's flight is the Athletic level theme from Super Mario Bros. 3, although the song is only completely recognizable when Mario first uses the blimp. The rest of the theme has been redone so it sounds more original.
