Dhalsim

Dhalsim
Street Fighter series character
Dhalsim as seen in Street Fighter IV Dhalsim as seen in Street Fighter IV
First game	Street Fighter II

Dhalsim (ダルシム, Darushimu, based on Malayalam ധല്സിമ്) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. In the story, he hails from Kerala, India.

History

Dhalsim made his debut in the original Street Fighter II as one of the game's original eight main characters. In his backstory, Dhalsim is characterized as a pacifist who goes against his beliefs by entering the World Warrior to raise money for his village. In his ending, Dhalsim wins the tournament and returns to his home. Three years later, Dhalsim's son discovers a photograph of his father from the tournament. From the original Street Fighter II and up until Super Street Fighter II, this ending graphics was drawn in a comical matter. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic matter, with Dhalsim's wife (Sally) added to it.

Dhalsim would later appear in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3. In his storyline in the Alpha games (which are set prior to the events of Street Fighter II), Dhalsim attempts to hunt down an "evil spirit" (M. Bison) threatening the world.

Dhalsim also appears in the Street Fighter EX sub-series, beginning with the console-exclusive version, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, followed by Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3. His characterization and motivation are the same as they are in the previous Street Fighter game.

Dhalsim appears in the arcade version Street Fighter IV along with the rest of the original World Warriors.

Dhalsim has also appeared as playable characters in several crossover fighting games, which includes X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK, Capcom vs. SNK 2 and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Character design

Dhalsim is often depicted as having pupil-less eyes. His build is that of a normal man who exercises and weight trains regularly except for his abdomen and waist which appear much out of proportion and emaciated. He wears torn saffron shorts as his only clothing attire as well as saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three colored stripes adorning his head, and in the Street Fighter Alpha series, he wears a turban that he removes before battle. The skulls he wears around his neck are those of village children who died during a plague. In palette swap renditions of Dhalsim, his skin is often dark blue or other unnatural colors. He is the oldest of the original World Warriors.

Abilities

File:Super Dhalsim.jpg

Dhalsim in Super Street Fighter II, drawn by Bengus

Dhalsim has the power to suspend himself in midair, stretch his extremities in ways beyond the average human, breathe fire, read minds, and sense evil, the latter abilities he uses to locate the sinister Bison, and doing his part to aid those who can defeat the villain.

Gameplay

Dhalsim is the original long-range fighter of fighting games. Dhalsim's intense training has given him the ability to contort and extend his limbs into forms physically impossible in real life; he can project his arms and legs outward in order to deliver attacks that would be out of the range of normal limbs. Dhalsim's fighting style involves keeping the opponent at bay with distance attacks and projectiles, and optimally, only getting close to strike with a surprise aerial attack or sliding kick. Due to his reach advantage, Dhalsim has both very low offense and defense, as well as rather low speed, making it vital for him to avoid sustaining too many blows from a strong fighter. Dhalsim's sprite, while standing, is actually quite a small target, due to the total number of pixels Dhalsim's sprite occupies while not attacking. Dhalsim becomes a much larger target while attacking. As of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the player can make Dhalsim do only short range attacks by holding back on the joystick.

Using the normal moves called the Yoga Spear, Dhalsim can spin through the air at various angles, ideally landing close to his opponent so that he can deliver additional hits or throws.

He can project from his mouth a rapid, immobilizing projectile known as Yoga Fire. Until the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was the only projectile that could cover the entire opponent's body in a blaze on contact. He can also execute a stationary spread known as the Yoga Flame; later games incorporate the anti-air version known as the Yoga Blast. According to the English language Street Fighter II manual, eating spicy Indian curry gave Dhalsim the ability of fire breathing, but this was rewritten to being a gift from Agni, the Indian god of fire.

To escape opponents or otherwise change his physical location, Dhalsim can travel bodily through the astral plane in a form of teleportation, known as the Yoga Teleport. A glitch in the original Street Fighter II caused Dhalsim to disappear from time to time, rendering his long-reaching attacks invisible until the end of the round. While this was an unintentional error, Dhalsim was officially given the Yoga Teleport in Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting.

Dhalsim's super moves consist of the Yoga Tempest (an enhanced Yoga Flame), the multi-hitting Yoga Inferno, the aerial attacking Yoga Volcano and the low-striking Yoga Stream. Certain games also see Dhalsim with an anti-air grabbing super called Yoga Strike, and he is also able to use a multiple-hitting horizontally controllable super version of Yoga Spear called Yoga Drill and a midair combo assault called Yoga Legend in the non-canon Street Fighter EX series and in SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom.

In other media

In the Street Fighter II V, the UDON comic book series, and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Dhalsim is a wise and powerful mystic who aids Ryu in his quest to become stronger and defeat evildoers.

Dhalsim was portrayed by Roshan Seth in 1994's live action film Street Fighter. In the movie, Dhalsim was changed from a fighter to a meek doctor working on a "supersoldier" experiment for Bison. His science was originally supposed to promote peace but Bison corrupted it to serve perversion instead. In the end, (after he is burned and altered to look more like the character in the game) he decided to remain in Shadaloo alongside with Blanka (his creation), with last words of "If good men do nothing, that is evil enough."

Promotion and reception

IGN ranked Dhalsim at number eight in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique gameplay and role as a "popular oddball".

External links

• Dhalsim's entry at WikiKnowledge.net