Balrog (Street Fighter): Difference between revisions

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List of Street Fighter characters#Balrog

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+#REDIRECT [[List of Street Fighter characters#Balrog]]
-{{Redirect|Mike Bison|the Street Fighter character named "M. Bison" outside of Japan|M. Bison}}
-{{For|the Street Fighter character known as "Balrog" in Japan|Vega (Street Fighter)}}
-{{ infobox VG character
-| name            = Balrog
-| image           =
-| caption         =
-| series          = [[Street Fighter (series)|''Street Fighter'' series]]
-| firstgame       = ''[[Street Fighter II]]''
-| creator         =
-| artist          =
-| voiceactor      = [[Joe Romersa]] ( ''SFII: The Animated Movie'', ''SFII V'', Animaze dub)<br>Werner Richmond (''SFII V'', ADV dub)<br>[[Paul Dobson (actor)|Paul Dobson]] (TV series)<br>[[Bob Carter (voice actor)|Bob Carter]] (''Street Fighter IV'')
-| japanactor      = [[Jōji Nakata]] (''Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'')<br>[[Tomomichi Nishimura]] (''Street Fighter II V'')<br>[[Kōichi Yamadera]] (''Street Fighter Zero 3'', ''Capcom vs. SNK'' series)<br>Sōnosuke Nagashiro (''SNK vs. Capcom'')<br>Satoshi Tsuruoka (''Street Fighter IV'')<br>Seiji Chihara (Japanese dub of ''Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li'')
-| motionactor     =
-| liveactor       = [[Grand L. Bush]] ([[Street Fighter (film)|''Street Fighter'' film]])<br>[[Michael Clarke Duncan]] (''[[Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li]]'')
-| inuniverse      = {{Fighting game character
-| birthdate       = September 4, 1968
-| birthplace      = [[United States]]
-| nationality     = {{flagicon|USA}} [[People of the United States|American]]
-| height          = 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 in)
-| weight          = 102 kilograms (220 lb; 16.1 st)
-| fightingstyle   = [[Boxing]]
-}}
-}}
-'''Balrog''' 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. 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==
-In Japan, the character of Balrog is named '''M. Bison''', with the letter being an initial for "Mike", and is intended as a parody of real-life boxer [[Mike Tyson]]. However, when the game was to be ported for worldwide audiences, under the suggestion that the character's name and likeness resembled Tyson to the point of [[infringement]], the developers rotated the names of three of the [[boss (video games)|boss characters]] for the English localization. As they felt the name Vega was better suited for the [[androgynous]] [[Vega (Street Fighter)|bullfighter]], they gave him the character's previous name, Balrog, and changed the name of the game's final boss to M. Bison.<ref name="Mike Tyson">{{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 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071105080206/http://www.capcom.co.jp/sound/topics/tpcs1_2.html |archivedate=2007-11-05 |accessdate=2008-07-01 |language=Japanese }}</ref> In ''[[Street Fighter Alpha 3]]'', Balrog tells 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 recognized as a separate character, Mike is considered to be a prototype of Balrog due to their similar names (when one considers Balrog{{'}}s Japanese name of Mike Bison) and backstories.<ref name=aac340>''All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game'', page 340</ref>
-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 [[Zangief]] and [[Sagat]].
-==Appearances==
-===In video games===
-Balrog 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 "Four Devas" ([[Four Heavenly Kings (disambiguation)|Shitennou]] ''"Four Heavenly Kings"'') of Shadaloo.
-His next major appearance was in ''[[Street Fighter Alpha 3]]''. 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. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000|Capcom vs. SNK]]'' and ''[[Capcom vs. SNK 2]]''. Balrog also appears in ''[[SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos]]''.
-Balrog appears in ''[[Street Fighter IV]]'', once more serving Shadaloo in the hopes of making easy money.
-===In film and animation===
-* In the 1994 ''[[Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie]]'', 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 Romersa]] in the English dub.
-*In the 1994 live action film version of ''[[Street Fighter (film)|Street Fighter]]'', 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, 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 Movie]]'' game.
-* The 1995 Japanese animated series ''[[Street Fighter II V]]'' features a significantly altered depiction of Balrog where he is a Shadowlaw spy who has infiltrated the FBI. Balrog hires Cammy to assassinate Chun-Li{{'}}s 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 Nishimura]] in Japanese and once again by Joe Romersa in the English dub.
-* In the 1995 American-produced ''[[Street Fighter (TV series)|Street Fighter]]'' [[List of animated television series|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 Dobson (actor)|Paul Dobson]]
-* In the 2009 ''[[Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li]]'' Balrog is played by [[Michael Clarke Duncan]], Balrog served as Bison's bodyguard 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==
-Balrog was voted 18th in Capcom's own popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th anniversary of ''Street Fighter''.<ref name="web.archive.org">http://web.archive.org/web/20051219091936/www2.geestore.com/sf15th2/sf15rank/ninkichara.html</ref> [[IGN]] 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.<ref>[http://stars.ign.com/articles/895/895027p1.html Top 25 Street Fighter Characters - Day III]. [[IGN]]. Retrieved on 2008-08-15</ref> [[GameDaily]] 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".<ref>Swiderski, Adam (2009-02-25). [http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/black-history-month/?page=3 Gaming's Greatest Black Characters]. [[GameDaily]]. Retrieved on 2009-02-26</ref> ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' stated however Balrog "seems a little useless" in light of [[Dudley (Street Fighter)|Dudley]], a boxer introduced in ''[[Street Fighter III]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/feature-street-fighter-iv-unwrapped?page=0,1 |title=Street Fighter IV Unwrapped |publisher=''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' |author=Staff |date=2008-01-09 |accessdate=2009-08-15}}</ref> [[UGO]] ranked him #12 on a list of Top 50 Street Fighter Characters in 2010<ref>[http://www.ugo.com/games/top-50-street-fighter-characters?page=4 Top 50 Street Fighter Characters - UGO.com]</ref> Hung Nguyen used Balrog to win the American national championships in ''Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix'' in 2009, and the character is also a favourite of top players [[Daigo Umehara]] and Justin Wong.
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-*{{cite book|title=All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987-2000|language=Japanese|year=2000|month=Sept.|isbn=4885546761|series=A.A. Game History Series (Vol. 1)|author=Studio Bent Stuff|publisher=Dempa Publications, Inc.}}
-==External links==
-* Balrog's [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II/Characters/Balrog Street Fighter II], [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_Alpha/Characters/Balrog Street Fighter Alpha], and [http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_IV/Characters/Balrog Street Fighter IV] entries at [http://strategywiki.org/ StrategyWiki.org]
-{{Major Street Fighter Characters}}
-[[Category:Street Fighter characters]]
-[[Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1991]]
-[[Category:Male video game characters]]
-[[Category:Characters created by Akira Yasuda]]
-[[Category:Fictional characters based on real people]]
-[[Category:Fictional African-American people]]
-[[Category:Fictional boxers]]
-[[Category:Fictional gamblers]]
-[[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)]]