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Dhalsim (ダルシム Darushimu, based on Malayalam ധല്സിം)[citation needed] is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games.
[edit] HistoryDhalsim 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 tournament to raise money for his village. In his ending, 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 graphics was drawn in a comical style. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic style, with Dhalsim's wife, Sari, 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 is back in Street Fighter IV along with the rest of the original World Warriors.[1] 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. [edit] Character designDhalsim 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. His fighting style is Kabaddi, 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 basically a multi-hitting flamethrower-style attack that could be directed manually. Dhalsim was also the first character in the Street Fighter series that used a teleportation technique known as the Yoga Teleport (M. Bison would later gain this ability in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams), though this move was removed from the Street Fighter 2 console games but remained in several of the arcade games. In Street Fighter IV he gains the ultra combo move "Yoga Catastrophe", which is a move similar to "Yoga Inferno" but he blows out large fireball instead, which slowly moves towards the opponent and deals multi-damage on impact. [edit] Cultural impact[edit] In other mediaIn 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 has mastered the inner mysteries of Yoga. In the comic, he helps prepare Sagat for his bout with Ryu and helps Ryu himself discover the darkness within his soul. Later on he is given an invitation to M. Bison's "Street Fighter II" global fighting tournament, wherein he defeats Adon in the preliminaries with ease. 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." From the original roster of Street Fighter II characters featured in the film, Dhalsim and T. Hawk are the only ones who do not appear as playable characters in the video game based on the film, Street Fighter: The Movie. A viceversa situation occurs with Akuma, who is a secret character in the game but does not appear in the film. [edit] Critical receptionIn the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Dhalsim ranked at No. 5 in the list of Best Characters of 1991.[2] IGN ranked Dhalsim at number eight in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique gameplay and role as a "popular oddball".[3] He additionally placed number fourteen on GameDaily's "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article.[4] The book A Practical Guide to Racism notes him as an example Indian characters portrayed in a positive light in media, noting that Dhalsim amongst other characters"... teach us that Hindus are a nonviolent, magical, fastidious, stretchy, and pugnacious people".[5] 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 as well.[6] [edit] References
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