Balrog, known as in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, is a character from the
Street Fighter fighting gameFighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in one-on-one close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena...
series.
Balrog is depicted as an
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top. He wears red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. His hairstyle consists of short hair cut in an odd pointing style in the front, similar to
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in...
's haircuts from the time
Street Fighter IIis a series in Capcom's Street Fighter saga of head-to-head fighting games, originally released as coin-operated arcade games. The Street Fighter II series started with the Street Fighter II game itself, released in as a sequel to Capcoms fighting game Street Fighter.Street Fighter II improved...
was made.
Balrog, known as in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, is a character from the
Street Fighter fighting gameFighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in one-on-one close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena...
series.
Balrog is depicted as an
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
boxerBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top. He wears red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. His hairstyle consists of short hair cut in an odd pointing style in the front, similar to
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in...
's haircuts from the time
Street Fighter IIis a series in Capcom's Street Fighter saga of head-to-head fighting games, originally released as coin-operated arcade games. The Street Fighter II series started with the Street Fighter II game itself, released in as a sequel to Capcoms fighting game Street Fighter.Street Fighter II improved...
was made. Although usually removed when these illustrations are published outside Japan, some character illustrations feature his Japanese name, "Bison" on the waistband of his trunks. In
Street Fighter IV, the waistband now reads "Champion".
Conception and development
The character of Balrog was originally named
M. Bison, with the letter being an initial for "Mike", and was originally a parody of real-life boxer
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in...
. Under the suggestion that the character's name and likeness resembled Tyson to the point of
infringementInfringement, when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language.In a legal context, an infringement refers to the violation of a law or a right. This includes intellectual property infringements such as:*copyright infringement...
, the developers rotated the names of three of the
boss charactersA boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle...
for the English localization. As they felt the name Vega was better suited for the androgynous
bullfighterVega, known as in Japan, is a fictional character from the Street Fighter fighting game series. Vega is a masked talon-wielding warrior from Spain who uses a personal fighting style combining Japanese Ninjutsu and Spanish Bullfighting, earning him the nickname the "Spanish Ninja".Vega first...
, they gave him the character's previous name, Balrog, and changed the name of the game's final boss to M. Bison. In
Street Fighter Alpha 3Street Fighter Alpha 3, known as in Japan and Asia, is a fighting game by Capcom originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2...
, Balrog tells some of his defeated opponents that he's going to "bite [their] ear off", a reference to Tyson's infamous "
Bite FightHolyfield-Tyson II is a name used to identify the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997, in which Tyson infamously bit off a portion of Holyfield's ear...
" with
Evander HolyfieldEvander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States and a multiple world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal". Holyfield won the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics after a...
.
A character named Mike, who was also an African-American boxer, appears in the original
Street Fighteris a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the inaugural game in the Street Fighter series...
. Although recognized as a separate character, Mike is considered to be a prototype of Balrog due to their similar names (when one considers Balrogs Japanese name of Mike Bison) and backstories.
As a boxer, Balrog is unique in that he doesn't fight with his feet. Instead of possessing three punch attacks and three kick attacks like the rest of the cast, he has six punches, with the kick buttons generally (but not always) used for low blows while the punch buttons are used for high blows. At 6' 5", Balrog was one of the tallest fighters in Street Fighter beside
Zangiefis a fictional character in the Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Zangief first appeared in Street Fighter II, later appearing in other games, media, and promotions related to the Street Fighter franchise....
and
SagatSágat is a Sámi newspaper written in Norwegian that is published in the county of Finnmark in Norway with a circulation of 2,717 ...
.
In video games
Balrog appears in
Street Fighter IIis a series in Capcom's Street Fighter saga of head-to-head fighting games, originally released as coin-operated arcade games. The Street Fighter II series started with the Street Fighter II game itself, released in as a sequel to Capcoms fighting game Street Fighter.Street Fighter II improved...
as the first of four CPU-controlled opponents at the end of the single-player tournament. Balrog would become a playable character in subsequent revisions of the game, beginning with
Street Fighter II ': Champion Edition. Balrog is characterized as a
ghettoOriginally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live, a ghetto is now described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure." - Etymology :...
-raised boxer seeking the "
American DreamThe American Dream is a national ethos of the United States of America in which democratic ideals are perceived as a promise of prosperity for its people...
" and one of the "Four Devas" (
ShitennouThe Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist deities believed to protect the four quarters of the world.Four Heavenly Kings may also refer to:In people:* Shitennō , loyal retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu...
"Four Heavenly Kings") of Shadaloo.
His next major appearance was in
Street Fighter Alpha 3Street Fighter Alpha 3, known as in Japan and Asia, is a fighting game by Capcom originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2...
. Balrog was a CPU-controlled sub-boss in the arcade version who faced only certain characters and was only playable after certain requirements were met, but also selectable as a playable character via secret code. He was made into a regular playable character in the arcade update and subsequent home versions and given his own in-game plot, home stage and endings. This incarnation of Balrog also appears in
Capcom vs. SNKCapcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
and
Capcom vs. SNK 2Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade. It was later released for the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with the GameCube and Xbox receiving...
. Balrog also appears in
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
Balrog appears in
Street Fighter IVStreet Fighter IV is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom for the arcades since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008 with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
, once more serving Shadaloo in the hopes of making easy money.
In film and animation
- In the 1994 Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known in Japan as is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting games written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 8, 1994, has been adapted into English in...
, Balrog is portrayed as one of Bison's three top men like in the Street Fighter II games, serving as a representative and informant for Bison during a drug deal in Las Vegas and ends up fighting against E. Honda during the final battle. He wears dark green cargo pants instead of his boxing trunks and never actually gets to wear his boxing glove in the film. Balrog was voiced by George Nakata in the Japanese original and Joe RomersaJoseph M. Romersa is an American song writer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, sound engineer and vocalist....
in the English dub.
- In the 1994 live action film version of Street Fighter
Street Fighter is a 1994 American martial arts action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom. The film features an international and multicultural cast that included Jean-Claude Van Damme , Raúl Juliá Street Fighter is a 1994...
, Balrog was portrayed by veteran actor Grand L. BushGrand Lee Bush is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.-Personal life:Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Essie and Robert Bush, who was an actor. Shakespearean-trained, Bush studied film and theatre at the Los Angeles Theatre Academy, University of...
and was one of the heroes, more specifically the videographerStrictly speaking, a videographer is a person who works in the video medium — recording moving images and sound on tape, disk, other electro-mechanical device, broadcasting live, or even on actual celluloid film in some cases. On a set, he or she is usually responsible for the camera, sound, and...
in Chun-Li, in , is a video game character produced by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, she has since appeared as a player character in each subsequent game...
's news crew. Like the other members (Chun-Li and Honda, more commonly known as E. Honda, is a video game character created by Capcom for the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Introduced in Street Fighter II as part of the starting lineup, he has appeared in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter IV, and the Capcom vs. SNK series, as well as...
), Balrog held a grudge against Shadaloo for ruining his boxing career, after refusing to throw a match for the Shadaloo Tong. Near the end of the film, he dons his regular outfit from the games. He also appears in the arcade and home versions of the Street Fighter: The MovieStreet Fighter: The Movie may refer to:* Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, a 1994 Japanese animated film...
game.
- The 1995 Japanese animated series Street Fighter II V
, pronounced "two vee", also known as Street Fighter II Victory, is an anime series based on the fighting game Street Fighter II. Directed by Gisaburo Sugii , the series first aired in Japan in 1995, from April 10 to November 27, on YTV...
features a significantly altered depiction of Balrog where he is a Shadowlaw spy who has infiltrated the FBI. Balrog hires Cammy to assassinate Chun-Lis father Dourai, under the false pretense that Dourai is the Shadowlaw spy. Unlike in the games, Balrog never actually fights in the TV series and only appears in wearing boxing gear in concept art and during the show's second opening animation. He was voiced by Tomomichi Nishimurais a veteran seiyū who was born in Chiba and works for Arts Vision.He is most known for the roles of the narrator of YuYu Hakusho, Anzai-sensei , Shibaraku Tsurugibe , and Jamitov Hymem...
in Japanese and once again by Joe Romersa in the English dub.
- In the 1995 American-produced Street Fighter
Street Fighter is an American animated series produced by InVision Entertainment based on the Street Fighter video game franchise. The series aired as part of the USA Network's Cartoon Express and Action Extreme Team lineups...
animated series, Balrog appears as a computer programmer working for Bison. He appears in one episode only ("Medium is the Message"), where he was voiced by Paul DobsonPaul Dobson, of the brothers Dobson , is an accomplished Canadian voice actor, one of the many who work with Ocean Group, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Paul is frequently cast in one of two roles: a brilliantly cunning, evil villain, or a thuggish strong guy...
- In the 2009 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the second live-action film based on the Street Fighter series of video games. It follows the quest of Street Fighter character Chun-Li, who is portrayed by Kristin Kreuk. The story follows Chun-Li's personal history and her journey for justice. The film...
Balrog is played by Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
, Balrog served as Bison's bodygurad and not a boxer.
- Balrog appears in the Shadaloo helicopter near the end of "Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind", where Seth escapes to.
Promotion and reception
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
ranked Balrog at number fifteen in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his similarities to Tyson as well as his role as one of boxing's representatives in fighting games.
GameDailyis a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 with the name Gigex, the site was acquired by AOL on August 16, 2006. The site offers articles on different video game topics, with a lot of lists where games are ranked....
named him one of "Gaming's Greatest Black Characters", noting that while not the deepest character on the list, he had significant longevity as a
Street Fighter series character and received praise for representing boxing in the game "alongside flashier martial arts".
EdgeEdge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards, and longevity.-History:...
stated however Balrog "seems a little useless" in light of Dudley, a boxer introduced in
Street Fighter IIIis a series in Capcom's Street Fighter series of head-to-head fighting games, originally released as coin-operated arcade games. The series was started in with Street Fighter III - New Generation, followed by an updated version released less than a year later titled —which introduced new features...
.
External links