Street Fighter 2 pixel artist Satoru Yamashita is raising funds for a brand new side-scrolling Metroidvania that combines 2D fighting action with management sim elements, and its concept art look very promising.
Yamashita's new game is called Dhalman, and it's set to follow a young boy (called Dhalman, if you can believe it), on an adventure around the world, searching for "secret spices" so he can make his family's curry shop the best in the world. Doing so won't be easy, as he'll have to win fights to earn money for the shop, take on bosses, as well as lead and manage the shop itself.
While it's not a successor to one of the best fighting game series, it definitely seems like Yamashita's time working on the arcade version of Street Fighter 2 might have inspired some of the character designs in Dhalman. Looking at the art shared of the Metroidvania's characters, you can see some similarities to the likes of Chun-Li and Bison. As for the in-game visuals, the plan is for them to have a pixel art look, inspired by Yamashita's signature work.
The overall concept seems promising, but crowd-funding may not be enough here. Dhalman is being funded via Kickstarter, but at the time of writing, it still has a ways to go before it reaches its goal. Currently, the fundraiser has accumulated around $1,257 (£974) of its $512,233 (£397,097) base goal, which unfortunately pales in comparison to the recent JRPG funding success stories we've seen. It has until September 2 to reach it, though, so there's still time yet.
If that goal is hit, Yamashita and the team are aiming for a PC release, but say that they'll consider porting it to other platforms too if they're able to hit certain stretch goals. The exact amount of money required for this to happen doesn't seem to have been shared at this point, as most of the stretch goal rewards are still grayed out. A release date understandably hasn't been given at this point, although it's worth pointing out that the Kickstarter rewards – including those that will give backers a copy of the game – currently have an estimated delivery of August 2026.
Be sure to check out our roundup of the best Metroidvania games to play right now.
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