Balrog (Street

Fighter)

Balrog, also known as Boxer (for international tournaments), is a fictional character in

Capcom's Street Fighter series.[1] He made his first appearance in Street Fighter II: The World
Warrior in 1991. In the series, he is a disgraced boxer and antagonist who works for M.
Bison's organization, Shadaloo.
 Balrog

Street Fighter character

Balrog in Street Fighter IV

First appearance Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)

Last appearance Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

Portrayed by Grand L. Bush (Street Fighter film)

Michael Clarke Duncan (Street Fighter: The

Legend of Chun-Li)

Voiced by English

Joe Romersa (SFII: The Animated Movie, SFII V

(Animaze dub))

Werner Richmond (SFII V (ADV dub))

Paul Dobson (animated series)

Bob Carter (Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X

Tekken, Street Fighter V)

Japanese

Jōji Nakata (Street Fighter II: The Animated

Movie)

Tomomichi Nishimura (Street Fighter II V)

Kōichi Yamadera (Street Fighter Zero 3, Capcom

vs. SNK series)
 Sōnosuke Nagashiro (SNK vs. Capcom)

Satoshi Tsuruoka (Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter

X Tekken, Street Fighter V)

Shin-ichiro Miki (Real Battle on Film)

Seiji Chihara (Japanese dub of Street Fighter:

The Legend of Chun-Li)

Motion capture Grand L. Bush (The Movie games)

In-universe information

Fighting style Boxing (heavyweight)

Origin United States

Nationality American

Conception and development

Balrog is depicted as an African-American boxer wearing blue trunks with white trim and a
torn white shirt under a blue tank top, wearing red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. In Japan,
the character of Balrog is named M. Bison (with the letter being an initial for "Mike") after
real-life boxer Mike Tyson. However, when the developers of Street Fighter II were working on
the overseas versions, they rotated the names of three of the boss characters for the English
localization, fearing that naming the boxer character "Mike Bison" might be a legal liability.[2]
At 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in),[3] Balrog is a tall, massive, heavy built fighter in the Street Fighter series.
As a comparison, Tyson is only 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) tall. In his Alpha 3 intro, Balrog's weight is
listed as 135 kilograms (298 lb), the same as Tyson in his last victory. He is simply known as
Boxer for international tournaments.

A character named Mike, who was also an African-American boxer, appears in the original
Street Fighter. Although recognized as a separate character,[4] 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 gameplay.[5]

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 belligerent street-raised boxer seeking the "American Dream" and one of
the "Four Devas" (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 and Capcom vs. SNK 2. Balrog also appears in SNK vs.
Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Balrog appears in Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV, once more serving Shadaloo in
the hopes of making easy money. He appears in the crossover fighting game, Street Fighter X
Tekken, with his official tag partner, Vega. Balrog reappears in Street Fighter V as one of the
game's initial six DLC characters, released in July 2016.

Gameplay

As a boxer, Balrog generally does not fight with his feet. This makes him unique among the
game's characters. 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. He also has no projectile attacks,
unlike many Street Fighter characters. Many of his special attacks, super combos and ultra
combos consist of dash punches, some of which can pass through projectiles.[6]

In other media

In the 1994 anime film 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. Honda defeats him off-screen and later carries him to safety. He is
presumably handed over to the authorities after Bison is defeated by Ryu and Ken. In battle,
he wears dark green cargo pants instead of his boxing trunks, and lacks his boxing gloves.
He is voiced by Jouji Nakata in the original Japanese version and Joe Romersa in the English
dub.
In the 1994 live-action film version of Street Fighter, Balrog is portrayed by Grand L. Bush and
is a supporting protagonist, more specifically the videographer in Chun-Li's news crew. Like
the other members (Chun-Li and Honda), Balrog holds a grudge against the Shadaloo Tong,
headed by Sagat, for ruining his boxing career, after apparently refusing to throw a match for
them. Near the end of the film, he dons a purple variation of his regular outfit from the games
and aids Guile, Chun-Li, Ryu and Ken in rescuing the hostages, and personally breaks the lock
to the hostage chamber to free them. In the AN forces' files, he is listed as "Balrog, G"; what
the "G" stands for is not revealed, though it is possibly a homage to Grand L. Bush's first
name. Balrog also appears in the arcade and home versions of the Street Fighter: The Movie
game.

The 1995 anime series Street Fighter II V features a significantly altered depiction of Balrog
where he is a Shadaloo spy who has infiltrated Interpol. Balrog hires Cammy to assassinate
Chun-Li's father Dorai, under the false pretense that Dorai is the Shadaloo spy. Though
Cammy carries out the assassination, Balrog later learns from his superiors that Dorai
survived and Interpol are covering it up to lure the spy up. In a panic, Balrog demands that
Cammy finish Dorai off, which leads to a fight between her and Fei-Long inside Dorai's
hospital room, during which Cammy learns of Balrog's treachery. Balrog is later confronted by
Cammy and he attempts to kill her, but with help from Fei-Long and the Interpol chief, he is
subdued and arrested. 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, while Joe Romersa reprises
his role from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie for the English dub.

In the 1995 Street Fighter 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.

In the 2009 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Balrog is played by Michael Clarke Duncan.
He serves as Bison's bodyguard, and gangster. He is killed by Chun Li's mentor Gen.

Lincoln Blake played Balrog in the fan film Street Fighter: Enter the Dragon.[7]

Reception

Balrog was voted 18th in Capcom's own popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th
anniversary of Street Fighter.[8] IGN ranked Balrog at number 15 in their list of top Street
Fighter characters in 2008, noting his similarities to Tyson as well as his role as one of
boxing's representatives in fighting games.[9] In 2009, 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".[10] UGO ranked him as 12th on a list of
top Street Fighter characters in 2010.[11] GamesRadar wrote in a list of gaming's most
satisfying uppercuts, "while it’s hardly Street Fighter’s most iconic or famous uppercut, the
Dash Upper still packs a pretty nasty wallop."[12] Bleacher Report listed Balrog as the 10th
best fictional boxers, but criticized him by calling him "one of the worst video game bosses
ever", citing that he could only punch.[13]

On the other hand, Edge stated however Balrog "seems a little useless" in light of Dudley, a
boxer introduced in Street Fighter III.[14] In the official survey by Namco, Balrog was the fourth-
least requested Street Fighter side character to be added to the roster of Tekken X Street
Fighter.[15]

References

General references
Studio Bent Stuff (September 2000). All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987-
2000. A.A. Game History Series (Vol. 1) (in Japanese). Dempa Publications, Inc. ISBN 4-
88554-676-1.

Inline citations
1. "Street Fighter IV: Return of the World Warriors", Game Informer 178 (February 2008): 90.

2. "Street Fighter IV character profiles, Street Fighter IV Xbox 360 Features" (http://www.gamesradar.co
m/street-fighter-iv-character-profiles/) . GamesRadar. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2011-11-05.

3. "CAPCOM | キャラクター バイソン | STREET FIGHTER V CHAMPION EDITION 公式サイト" (https://w

ww.capcom.co.jp/sfv/) . www.capcom.co.jp. Retrieved 2022-07-19.

4. Street Fighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia Hardcover, page 143

5. All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game burat ratbu

, page 340

6. Ryan Clements. "Street Fighter IV: Balrog - PlayStation 3 Preview at IGN" (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/
949/949456p1.html) . Ps3.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05.

7. "Street Fighter: Enter the Dragon Live-Action Short Film" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcioO

ciRZk4) . YouTube. April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.

8. "キャラクターランキング" (https://web.archive.org/web/20051219091936/http://www2.geestore.co
m/sf15th2/sf15rank/ninkichara.html) . 2005-12-19. Archived from the original (https://www2.geest
ore.com/sf15th2/sf15rank/ninkichara.html) on December 19, 2005. Retrieved 2011-11-05.

9. Top 25 Street Fighter Characters - Day III (http://stars.ign.com/articles/895/895027p1.html) . IGN.

Retrieved on 2008-08-15
10. Swiderski, Adam (2009-02-25). Gaming's Greatest Black Characters (https://web.archive.org/web/20
090422212227/http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/black-history-month/?page=3) .
GameDaily. Retrieved on 2009-02-26

11. Furfari, Paul (2010-08-25). "Top 50 Street Fighter Characters" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131225

044501/http://www.ugo.com/games/top-50-street-fighter-characters?page=4) . UGO.com. Archived
from the original (http://www.ugo.com/games/top-50-street-fighter-characters?page=4) on
December 25, 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-21.

12. "Page 2 of Gaming's most satisfying uppercuts, Street Fighter x Tekken Xbox 360 Features" (http://w
ww.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-satisfying-uppercuts/?page=2) . GamesRadar. 2010-09-28.
Retrieved 2011-11-05.

13. "The 10 Greatest Fictional Boxers of All Time" (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/125335-the-10-grea

test-fictional-boxers-of-all-time/page/2) . Bleacher Report. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2011-11-05.

14. Staff (2008-01-09). "Street Fighter IV Unwrapped" (http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/feature-str

eet-fighter-iv-unwrapped?page=0,1) . Edge. Retrieved 2009-08-15.

15. Tekken vs Street Fighter (https://fb.namcobandaigames.com/fbtekken/statistics_user.php?sid=784

23) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120813063608/https://fb.namcobandaigames.com/f
btekken/statistics_user.php?sid=78423) August 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Balrog's Street Fighter II (https://web.archive.org/web/20090306041119/http://strategywik

i.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II/Characters/Balrog) , Street Fighter Alpha (https://web.archive.
org/web/20090306063630/http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_Alpha/Characters/B
alrog) , and Street Fighter IV (https://web.archive.org/web/20090414102711/http://strate
gywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_IV/Characters/Balrog) entries at StrategyWiki.org (http://s
trategywiki.org/)

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