Vega, also known as Balrog (in Japan), is a fictional character from the Street Fighter fighting game series by Capcom. Vega is a mask-wearing, claw-wielding fighter from Spain who uses a personal fighting style combining Japanese ninjutsu and Spanish bullfighting, earning him the nickname of "Spanish Ninja". Vega first appears in the original Street Fighter II in 1991 as the second of four boss opponents the player faces at the end of the single-player mode, a group known as the Four Devas, Grand Masters, or the Four Heavenly Kings. From Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (the second version of the game) onwards, Vega and the other three boss characters became playable. He reappears as a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter EX2 and EX3, the Capcom vs. SNK series, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Ultra Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V. Conception and creation Vega was designed by Akira Yasuda with the premise of the original Street Fighter's Geki character in mind, and was initially conceived as a brief sketch of a masked man in a ripped shirt with long, frizzy hair. As development progressed the design evolved into a large, unarmed man, retaining the mask and dressed as a matador. The design was changed again, revolving around the concept of a foreign soldier with a cross on his vest and armed with a broadsword, while still retaining the mask. This design was eventually replaced in turn with another concept, a masked ninja in a bodysuit armed with a long metal claw on his right hand. Ultimately the character's finalized appearance was a culmination of all of these, incorporating various aspects of each into the finished design. When the original Street Fighter II was being localized for the English language market, Capcom's North American marketing staff felt that the name of the game's final boss, Vega, did not sound threatening enough to North American audiences, and was hence better suited for the bullfighter, as Vega is by itself a Spanish surname. Plus, afraid of a lawsuit from American boxer Mike Tyson (whose name and appearance was very similar to the game's first boss), they felt inclined to change the name of this character as well. For international tournaments he is named Claw. As a result, Balrog's name was changed from バルログ to Vega for English-language