Dhalsim
notability.(July 2023) ) |
Dhalsim | |
---|---|
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) | |
Created by | Akira "Akiman" Yasuda[1] |
Designed by | Yoshiaki Ohji (preliminary)[2] Takashi Hayashi[2] |
Portrayed by | Roshan Seth |
Voiced by | English
Japanese
|
In-universe information | |
Fighting style | Mysteries of the Yoga |
Origin | India |
Nationality | Indian |
Dhalsim (ダルシム, Darushimu) is a fictional character in
Conception and design
1988 Capcom considered the idea of a sequel to their Street Fighter video game, and sketched out a basic concept and roster for the game, amongst them an Indian character. Called "Great Tiger", the character appeared as a long-faced man with a turban who was able to
At one point in development, it was considered to give the character a cloak he would remove before battle, but this was cut due to memory limitations.[6] Dhalsim's limbs and neck can stretch during battle to attack from range. Nishitani noted that while many comparisons were made to the Indian character in the martial arts film Master of the Flying Guillotine, he had not heard of the movie prior to working on the game and instead the concept was based off a technique from manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.[7] Akiman elaborated in a later interview, calling the technique "Zoom Punch" in reference to one used by JoJo character Zeppeli. He add that originally the attack was only supposed to travel a short distance, however as development progressed Hayashi increased the length of the limbs more and more.[1] Nishitani noted this was due to each developer wanting to make their character different than the others, and while he originally intended to shorten the length he was happy to have made it work in a balanced manner.[7]
During the course of development, his name was "Indo" as a placeholder, then later Naradatta for a time.[8] The character was finally named "Dhalsim", which according to Street Fighter II game director Akira Nishitani in an interview with Gamest magazine, comes from "Dhalsima", a martial artist from the India-Pakistani area.[9] However, a rumor that the name was based in part on the name of a curry restaurant near Capcom's old offices in Osaka was corroborated by Akiman in 2014.[10]
Design
Akiman noted that sprite designers often added their own alterations to the concepts,[11] and voiced approval for the dry, dehydrated appearance Hayashi brought to the character.[12] Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono stated that regarding Dhalsim's appearance, "We only knew about [the rest of the world] through mostly TV and magazines", stating that when they thought of India they envisioned people "walking around as thin as skin and bones, doing yoga". When redesigning his appearance for Street Fighter V however, they felt there was a disconnect between Dhalsim's current design and how Hindu yoga practitioners were viewed, so they altered his design, adding a turban and beard as well as removing his emaciated appearance.[13]
Appearances
In video games
In his Arcade Mode ending in Street Fighter II, Dhalsim wins the tournament and returns home on his elephant Kodal. Three years later, Dhalsim's son, Datta, discovers a photograph of his father from the tournament. From the original Street Fighter II and up until Super Street Fighter II, this ending graphic was drawn in a comical style. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic style, with Dhalsim's wife Sally (named Sari in the UDON comic book series) added alongside Datta.
Dhalsim would later appear in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series in
Gameplay
His fighting style is a Yoga-based style, in which Dhalsim can stretch his arms, legs, abdomen and even his neck to great lengths making him a decent long-range hand-to-hand fighter. He also uses many fire-based attacks such as Yoga Fire, Yoga Flame and Yoga Blast, the latter being an anti-air technique. His super move in the Street Fighter EX, Cross Over and later Alpha Series was the Yoga Inferno, which was a multi-hitting flamethrower-style attack that could be directed manually. Dhalsim also uses a teleportation technique known as the Yoga Teleport. In Street Fighter EX3, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Blanka. In Street Fighter IV he uses the ultra combo move Yoga Catastrophe, as a large fireball which slowly moves toward and deals multi-damage on impact on any opponent, before using a super Yoga Inferno.
According to Akiman, Dhalsim's gameplay was meant to tie into the idea of India being "mysterious", and make them feel like totally normal activities within the "mysteries of Yoga."[1]
In other media
In
In the anime series Street Fighter II V, Dhalsim is a monk who lives in a remote village in India. Sagat had earlier instructed Ryu to seek Dhalsim for advice about the Ways of Hadou. Sagat had been turned down years before when he sought Dhalsim's wisdom but figured that Ryu might be found more worthy. Dhalsim is a practitioner of yoga and has some psychic abilities, and although he knows much about Hadou, he was unable to train Ryu to use the Hadouken, which was inadvertently triggered in Ryu's body during a lesson. Dhalsim is voiced by
Dhalsim has a brief appearance in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, where he fights E. Honda in India. Though he gains the upper hand with his telekinetic abilities, he is distracted when he senses another nearby power, long enough for Honda to overpower him. He subsequently withdraws from the fight, giving Honda the victory, and apparently later points Ryu out to Honda, enabling him to give Ryu half the winnings out of gratitude.
Dhalsim also appears briefly in
Dhalsim is portrayed by British actor
Dhalsim is later featured in the
In the 1993 anime Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Episode 37 there is a background character that resembles Dhalsim and does the trademark Yoga Fire move.
Reception
In 1992, Dhalsim ranked at number five in the list of Best Characters of 1991 by the Gamest magazine in Japan.[15]
Todd Ciolek of
The book Game Design Perspectives notes Dhalsim as an example of a "nemesis character" in video games, one difficult to master proper usage of but widely considered one of the strongest characters in the game.[19]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1772941364.
- ^ a b c Yasuda, Akira [@akiman7] (18 February 2013). "ダルシムのドットを担当したのは林君です。デザイン自体は王子君のイメージ画が元だったような気もしますが憶えてません。林君は僕の後輩の中で初めてのコアオタクだったので色々話が早い人だなと思いました。彼も嫌みのないキャラが作れる人で後にフェリシアを制作しています" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 October 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Street Fighter IV: Return of the World Warriors", Game Informer 178 (February 2008): 90.
- ^ a b Kohler, Chris. "The Making of Street Fighter II". insert credit. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ISBN 9781524104696.
- ^ Nakayama, Takayuki [@TAKAnakayama] (12 May 2017). "ストII登場シーンの秘密。ベガがマントを脱ぎ捨てるのと同じように、リュウは裸で画面外から回転しながらのジャンプで登場。上空で胴着を着ながら着陸する という計画があったが容量削減のために無くなった。ダルシムもマントを脱ぎ捨てる演出があった" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 19 April 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Leone, Matt (3 February 2014). "Street Fighter 2: An Oral History". Polygon. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Street Fighter II – 1991 Developer Interview". Shmuplations.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Akira Nishitani: Hear It All!". Gamest. No. 64. October 1991. p. 88.
- ^ Yasuda, Akira [@akiman7] (1 April 2014). "あ、ダールね!ダール行きたい!ダールを食いに大阪行くわ RT @ShumaGolath: @akiman7 昔のカプコンビルの近くのカレー屋さんは覚えてらっしゃいますか?ダルシムの名前の由来になったらしいDhallというお店です 今でも変わらない美味しさで営業してます!" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 October 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ Yasuda, Akira [@akiman7] (12 May 2012). "スト1組、リュウケンサガットのリニューアル、春ガイル本田ブランカザンギは俺で、ベガが中山、バイソンが松なんとか、ダルシムは王子、バルログが影山、ドッターはまたそれぞれ分担が違ってて、ドッターによってまたデザインが微妙に変質しています RT @tekkotz: スト2のキャラデ" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 October 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ Yasuda, Akira [@akiman7] (15 June 2022). "初代ダルシムのドットは水が足りなさそうなあの乾いた感じが好き 表現の精度が上がると乾いたかんじはむずかしい" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 15 June 2022 – via Twitter.
- ISBN 9781524104696.
- ^ Street Fighter IV Unveiled news from 1UP.com[permanent dead link]
- ^ 第5回ゲーメスト大賞. GAMEST (in Japanese) (68): 4. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008.
- ^ Ciolek, Todd; Rob Bricken (30 April 2008). "The 10 Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters". Topless Robot. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ Fussell, Sidney (19 October 2015). "Black characters in video games must be more than stereotypes of the inhuman". Boing Boing. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ Jasper, Gavin (22 February 2019). "Street Fighter Characters Ranked". Den of Geek. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ISBN 1-58450-090-5.