Dhalman is a vibrant love letter to retro Japanese game art and character design

The Japanese game developer Minnapad has launched a kickstarter project for a new Metroidvania game that looks like a stunning tribute to retro Japanese game art. Featuring characters by the former Capcom artist Satoru Yamashita of Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight fame, it’s a side-scrolling action and shop management game about a young boy, who dreams of putting his family’s curry shop on the map.

Dhalman is a described as a ‘yoga warrior’. He can earn extra cash through fighting tournaments and has to fight numerous bosses to collect special spices. Opponents include the four-armed elephantine Ganesha, Chinese martial artist Mei-Ling, psychic shadow cadet Emilio and electric wild child Little Spark.

What’s intriguing about Dhalman is the retro look for the Metroidvania meets shop management title, which looks perfect for tapping into the current nostalgia for 90s classics. “We saw how excited people got for other Kickstarters for spiritual successors to 90s classics, like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Eiyuden, so we wanted to create our own throwback to Capcom’s illustrious back catalog, and Satoru Yamashita was interested in revisiting this kind of colorful, family friendly gaming that inspired us so much growing up,” says Minnapad CEO Tatsuya Nishioka.

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Minnapad Dhalman — (Image credit: Minnapad )

Satoru, who did pixel art and logo designs on Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight as well as illustrations and cover art for Ghosts ‘n Goblins, says the ideas for Dhalman came from his travel experiences and watching travel videos on YouTube. “I’m currently keen on India, with its friendly people, cows walking on the streets, loud noises, ancient ruins, and vibrant dances. I thought it would be great to capture the intense aspects of India in visuals.”