Balrog (Street Fighter) 499868 224704003 2008-07-10T01:16:26Z Jonny2x4 246999 {{Redirect|Mike Bison|the Street Fighter character named "M. Bison" outside Japan|M. Bison}} {{For|the Street Fighter character known as "Balrog" in Japan|Vega (Street Fighter)}} {{ general VG character | name = Balrog | image = [[Image:Balrog sf4.jpg|250px]] | caption = Balrog as he appears in [[Street Fighter IV]] | series = [[Street Fighter (series)|''Street Fighter'' series]] | firstgame = ''[[Street Fighter II]]'' | creator = | artist = | voiceactor = [[Joe Romersa]] (''Street Fighter II V'', ''Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'')<br>[[Paul Dobson]] (TV series) | japanactor = [[Kōichi Yamadera]] (''Capcom vs. SNK'' series)<br>[[Sōnosuke Nagashiro]] (''SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'')<br>[[Tomomichi Nishimura]] (''Street Fighter II V'')<br>[[George Nakata]] (''Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'') | motionactor = | liveactor = [[Grand L. Bush]] (''Street Fighter'' film)<br>[[Michael Clarke Duncan]] (''The Legend of Chun-Li'') |inuniverse={{Street Fighter character |birthplace = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|25px]] [[United States]] |affiliation = [[Shadaloo]] (former) |fightingstyle = [[Boxing]] |specialskill = Gambling |likes = Women, Beer |dislikes = Fish, Hard work, math }}}} '''Balrog''', known as {{nihongo|'''Mike Bison'''|マイク・バイソン|Maiku Baison|}} in [[Japan]], is a character from the ''[[Street Fighter (series)|Street Fighter]]'' [[fighting game]] series. Balrog is depicted as an [[African American]] [[boxing|boxer]] 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 Tyson]]'s haircuts from the time ''[[Street Fighter II]]'' was made. In certain illustrations, his Japanese name, "Bison", can be seen on the waistband of his trunks, although it's usually removed when these illustrations are published outside Japan. ==Concept and creation== [[Image:Balrog.jpg|thumb|left|Balrog in an early ''Street Fighter II'' artwork. Note that his Japanese name (Bison) is written on his belt.]] The character of Balrog was originally named '''M. Bison''', with the letter being an initial for "Mike". According to the staff, the character was originally modeled after real-life boxer [[Mike Tyson]]. Under the suggestion that the character's name and likeness resembled Tyson to the point of [[infringement]], the developers rotated the names of the [[boss (video games)|boss characters]] for the English localization.<ref name=tysonbison>{{cite web|url=http://www.capcom.co.jp/sound/topics/tpcs1_2.html|title=サウンド制作は先輩と2人で|language=Japanese}}</ref> Thus, the African-American boxer M. Bison became Balrog; the Spanish clawman Balrog became [[Vega (Street Fighter)|Vega]]; and the evil mastermind Vega became [[M. Bison]]. In ''[[Street Fighter Alpha 3]]'', Balrog tells to some of his defeated opponents that he's going to "bite (their) ear off", a reference to Tyson's infamous "[[Holyfield-Tyson II|Bite Fight]]" with [[Evander Holyfield]]. A character named Mike, who was also an African-American boxer, appears in the original ''[[Street Fighter (video game)|Street Fighter]]'', although it is never specified whether they're the same character or not. ==Appearances== ===In video games=== Balrog first appears in ''[[Street Fighter II]]'' 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 [[ghetto]]-raised boxer seeking the "[[American Dream]]" and one of the Grand Masters ([[Four Heavenly Kings (disambiguation)|Shitennou]] ''"Four Heavenly Kings"'') of Shadaloo. His next major appearance was in ''[[Street Fighter Alpha 3]]''. Balrog was originally a CPU-controlled sub-boss in the arcade version who faced only certain characters, who was only playable after certain requirements were met. He was made into a regular playable character in the subsequent home versions and given his own in-game plot and endings. This incarnation of Balrog also appears in ''[[Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000|Capcom vs. SNK]]'' and ''[[Capcom vs. SNK 2]]''. Balrog also appears in ''[[SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos]]'' and is set to reappear in ''[[Street Fighter IV]]'' ===In other media=== In ''[[Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie]]'', he is portrayed close to his original role in the games, which is largely as dumb-muscle for Bison. He is voiced by [[Joe Romersa]] in the English dub and [[George Nakata]] in the Japanese version. In the 1994 [[Street Fighter (film)|live action film]], Balrog was portrayed by veteran actor [[Grand L. Bush]] and was one of the heroes, more specifically the [[videographer]] in [[Chun-Li]]'s news crew. Like the other members (Chun-Li and [[Edmond Honda|Honda]]), Balrog held a grudge against Shadaloo for ruining his boxing career. Near the end of the film, he dons his regular outfit from the games. In the 1995 [[List of animated television series|animated series]] ''[[Street Fighter (TV series)|Street Fighter]]'', he is a scientist for Bison, but appears only in a single episode. He is voiced by [[Paul Dobson]]. In the upcoming ''[[Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li]]'', set to be released in 2009, he will be played by [[Michael Clarke Duncan]]. ==Gameplay== Balrog's special moves consist mainly of rushing punch attacks that are performed by charging (holding the joystick back or down for a few seconds before tapping it forward or up and hitting a button). Initially, his main moves were the ''Dashing Straight'' and ''Dashing Upper'', which had Balrog rush forward a certain distance before attacking with a straight punch or uppercut, respectively. His signature move was the ''Turn Punch'' which was done by holding down all three punch or kick buttons for a certain amount of time. In ''Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting'', the longer the buttons are held down, the more powerful the attack is, doing up to 50% in one hit. It was also initially able to pass through many attacks, although this ability has been toned down and eventually outright removed. A particular conceit of the CPU AI from the Street Fighter games (In particular the Street Fighter II series of games) is that when controlled by the computer, Balrog sometimes uses special moves in ways that would not be normally possible, like performing many Dashing Uppers and Dashing Straights one after another, without charging first. In ''Super Street Fighter II'' he gained the ''Buffalo Headbutt'', an anti-air attack that can pass through fireballs, enhancing his maneuverability. In the follow-up ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', he can also perform altered versions of the ''Dashing Straight'' and ''Dashing Upper'' which hit the opponent low and knock him down or crouch low under attacks before doing the uppercut, respectively. His Super Combo is the ''Crazy Buffalo'', repeated dashing attacks which can be altered into uppercuts by tapping the Kick button. In ''Alpha 3'', Balrog gained a Level 3 Super Combo called the ''Gigaton Blow'', which sends an opponent flying away if it connected. In ''SVC Chaos'', Balrog gained a new move called Smash, which would launches the enemy into the air for another follow-up attack. He also gained a new super move (particularly called an Exceed in this game), named MegaSmash which is a powerful version of the Smash. It depletes 60% of the enemies life gauge. ==Reception== {{Expand-section|date=June 2008}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * Balrog's [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II/Characters/Balrog Street Fighter II] and [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_Alpha/Characters/Balrog Street Fighter Alpha] entries at [http://strategywiki.org/ StrategyWiki.org] {{Major Street Fighter Characters}} [[Category:Fictional African-Americans]] [[Category:American video game characters]] [[Category:Fictional boxers]] [[Category:Street Fighter characters]] [[Category:Fictional henchmen]] [[es:Balrog (Street Fighter)]] [[fr:Balrog (Street Fighter)]] [[it:Balrog (Street Fighter)]] [[nl:Balrog (Street Fighter)]] [[ja:マイク・バイソン]] [[pt:Balrog (Street Fighter)]] [[ur:بالروگ (اسٹریٹ فائٹر)]]