In video games In his Arcade Mode ending in
Street Fighter II, 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 graphic was drawn in a comical style. In
Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic style, with Dhalsim's wife Sally (named Sari in the UDON comic book series) added alongside Datta. 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) that is threatening the world. Dhalsim also appears in the
Street Fighter EX sub-series, beginning with the console-exclusive version,
Street Fighter EX Plus α, 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 later appears in
Street Fighter IV, and has also appeared as a playable character in several crossover fighting games, which include:
X-Men vs. Street Fighter,
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter,
Marvel vs. Capcom 2,
Capcom vs. SNK,
Capcom vs. SNK 2,
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and
Street Fighter X Tekken. He makes a special appearance in
Street Fighter X Mega Man. Dhalsim also appears as an enemy character in the Sega arcade game,
Juezhan Tianhuang.
Gameplay His fighting style is 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 a multi-hitting
flamethrower-style attack that could be directed manually. Dhalsim also uses a teleportation technique known as the
Yoga Teleport. In
Street Fighter EX3, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with
Blanka. In
Street Fighter IV he uses the ultra combo move
Yoga Catastrophe, as a large fireball which slowly moves toward and deals multi-damage on impact on any opponent, before using a super
Yoga Inferno. According to Akiman, Dhalsim's gameplay was meant to tie into the idea of India being "mysterious", and make them feel like totally normal activities within the "mysteries of Yoga."
Animation In the 1993 anime
Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Episode 37 there is a background character that resembles Dhalsim and does the trademark
Yoga Fire move. Dhalsim has a brief appearance in
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, where he fights
E. Honda in India. Though he gains the upper hand with his telekinetic abilities, he is distracted when he senses
another nearby power, long enough for Honda to overpower him. He subsequently withdraws from the fight, giving Honda the victory, and apparently later points Ryu out to Honda, enabling him to give Ryu half the winnings out of gratitude. Dhalsim is later featured in the
Street Fighter animated series as part of Guile's team. 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 opposite situation occurs with
Akuma, who is a secret character in the game but does not appear in the film. In the anime series
Street Fighter II V, Dhalsim is a monk who lives in a remote village in India. Sagat had earlier instructed Ryu to seek Dhalsim for advice about the Ways of Hadou. Sagat had been turned down years before when he sought Dhalsim's wisdom but figured that Ryu might be found more worthy. Dhalsim is a practitioner of yoga and has some psychic abilities, and although he knows much about Hadou, he was unable to train Ryu to use the Hadouken, which was inadvertently triggered in Ryu's body during a lesson. Dhalsim is voiced by
Shōzō Iizuka in the Japanese version and
Steve Blum in the English dub by Animaze/Manga Entertainment. Dhalsim also appears briefly in
Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as one of several fighters accompanying Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li to Professor Sadler's base to rescue Ryu's alleged younger brother, Shun. As the fighters demonstrate their skills to Sadler, Dhalsim fights
Guy, avoiding Guy's attack by teleporting himself away to presumably strike Guy from behind. When Sadler's true intentions are revealed, Dhalsim and the other fighters are freed by Ken and Chun-Li.
Comics In
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. ==Reception==