Balrog (Cave Story)

“	Huzzah!	„
	~ Balrog’s catchphrase

“	You can’t hide, no no! I’ve got the nose of a bloodhound!	„
	~ Balrog after breaking into Mimiga Village

“	You can’t stand up to my master any more than I can, you know. Fine then! I’ll just put a stop to this! Hope you don’t mind being iron scraps!	„
	~ Balrog before his final fight in the Labyrinth

Balrog is a major antagonist in the indie platformer game Cave Story. A being forced to serve under whoever possesses the Demon Crown, he is currently being controlled by The Doctor, and is forced to be fought multiple times in the game.

Appearance[]

Balrog is a gray rectangular being with two large eyes and a face on his front. Two orange streaks surround his eyes, and the center of his face seems to be roughed up. Balrog’s legs and feet are rectangular as well. Balrog has small orange arms that double as wings.

As Balfrog, he becomes a giant green frog with a white underbelly and beige cheeks and front legs.

Personality[]

Cheerful and a bit dim, Balrog has an almost childish way of expressing himself. Loud and boisterous whenever he’s making an entrance, Balrog is extremely energetic, constantly jumping around during his fights. He’s also quite affable, being able to hold conversations with others before fighting. Despite being mistreated by Misery throughout the game, Balrog does not retaliate in the slightest.

Despite being an antagonist and committing multiple unsavory actions in the game, Balrog is not truly evil, as most of his actions are not of his own violation, as he is cursed to serve the Demon Crown’s owner. Whenever he’s not being forced to do something, Balrog stops being evil entirely, instead opting to either help others or be left on his own, the only exception being his fight in the Labyrinth. Balrog is not actively malicious and does not want to cause unneeded harm, as he will leave if he’s not being forced to do so.

Biography[]

Backstory[]

Who or what Balrog exactly is meant to be is unclear, though it’s implied that Balrog might have been created by Ballos for an unknown purpose. By the time the game begins, Balrog, alongside Misery, were cursed to serve whoever wore the Demon Crown, and put into stasis, waiting for the crown’s next owner, that being The Doctor.

First Encounter[]

“	So what’s your deal? You gonna fight me with that thing?	„
	~ Balrog before his first boss fight

The first time Quote meets Balrog is in Mimiga Village after fighting Toroko. Misery, having been ordered to kidnap Sue Sakamoto, confuses Toroko for her and kidnaps her before teleporting away. Balrog, having been left behind, asks Quote if he wants to fight. Answering “yes” will result in Balrog attacking.

Balrog has a relatively simple attack pattern, running towards Quote while occasionally jumping at him. Upon defeat, Balrog will leap back through the ceiling and declare that the two will cross paths once more.

Humorously, selecting “no” will cause Balrog to leave Quote alone, skipping his first fight.

Grass and Bushes[]

“	Anyway, I’m here to break you apart. Doctor’s orders, of course. Ya ready?	„
	~ Balrog before his second boss fight

Quote, having been tasked to save Kazuma Sakamoto from the Bushlands/Grasstown, boots up the power in the area’s supply room, only to reawaken a robot named Malco. The robot attacks, only to be crushed by Balrog, who has received orders from the Doctor to kill Quote.

Balrog’s attack pattern is largely similar to his first fight, but he now has the ability to hover in mid-air for a brief period of time before dropping down, sending bubbles that can damage Quote if not shot down. Defeating him will cause him to exclaim “What ARE you?” before leaping through the roof again.

Quote is later tasked with getting “Gum Base”, a substance needed to create an explosive. Shortly after obtaining it, Misery appears, shortly followed by Balrog. Balrog tries to warn Misery of Quote’s strength, but his warning is only met with him being turned into a frog in order to deal with Quote.

Unlike his normal fights, Balfrog is invulnerable to all shots unless they land inside his mouth, which he uses to launch volleys of projectiles from. Balfrog will slowly jump to Quote’s position, and he must be jumped over using the air vents to the side in order to force him to fire away. Along the way, miniature frogs fall from the ceiling, which are potentially harmful but can also provide extra pickups. After defeating him again, Balrog silently retreats.

Sandy Sabotage[]

“	Eat it. Eat it!	„
	~ Balrog forcing Toroko to eat the Red Flowers

After arriving in the Sand Zone in order to destroy the Red Flowers before the Doctor gets to them, Quote is tasked with rounding up the missing dogs of Jenka, an old woman who has the key to the warehouse where the flowers are stored.

One by one, the dogs are rescued and returned to their owner. Upon rescuing the last dog and returning to Jenka’s shack, however, all of the other dogs that Quote has collected vanish, and Balrog declares that he now has the keys to the warehouse. It’s unknown if he just scared the dogs away or started attacking them, but it’s implied that he must have done something to get someone as powerful as Jenka to give up the keys to the Red Flowers.

At the newly unlocked warehouse, the Doctor, alongside Misery and Balrog, identify the flowers as their target, with Misery suggesting to feed them to Toroko in order to test them out. Balrog is ordered by Misery to force Toroko to eat the flowers, but is attacked by King, leader of the Mimiga and friend to Toroko’s brother. Balrog, after being struck down by a single blow, is forced to retreat.

After defeating the frenzied Toroko and obtaining King’s sword, Quote heads out, only to be immediately ambushed by Balrog, knocking the soldier out. Misery, having appeared just after Balrog, sends Quote to the Labyrinth in order to trap him there. Misery then sends Balrog there as well, for no apparent reason.

Labyrinth of Redemption[]

“	Now, remember. Don’t tell a soul that I helped you.	„
	~ Balrog after helping Quote and Curly escape the Labyrinth

After exploring the Labyrinth for a while, Quote, alongside fellow soldier Curly Brace, stumble across a potential path out of the place, with the only problem being a giant boulder blocking the way. Just as all hope seemed lost, Balrog swoops in once more, crashing through the roof again. Curly tries to ask him to move the rock out of the way, only for Balrog to attack one last time.

Balrog’s attacks are very similar to his first fight, but everytime he jumps, a volley of missiles are launched as well.

After defeating Balrog, he admits defeat and helps push the rock out of the way. He tells the duo to not tell anyone that he helped them before jumping out of the cave, leaving behind a Missile upgrade.

The End[]

“	Balrog: So what are you going to do now? I can take you anywhere you like. Curly: Hmm, you’re right... Our mission is over, and now I just want to live out my days somewhere where I can relax and enjoy a beautiful view... Balrog: Uh, you know... Curly: Hm? Balrog: Would it be alright if I joined you there? Curly: Sure! Let’s live the three of us together	„
	~ Balrog and Curly's conversation at the end of the game.

After defeating Ballos, Quote and Curly are trapped inside his arena as the walls start to close in. Just as all hope seemed lost, however, Balrog swoops in, breaking the two out of the Seal Chamber. Soaring through the air, the trio make their escape, where Balrog reveals that it was Misery who sent him to save the duo after realizing the curse put upon them was broken.

Balrog then asks Curly what she’d like to do, with her responding that she’d like to live out the rest of her days in a peaceful life. Balrog, not exactly having a place to go, asks if he could join the two, which Curly accepts, even letting him pick where the three will live. The last shot of the game has the trio flying out into lands unknown, presumably living together for the rest of their lives.

Alternatively, should the requirements for the good ending not be met, Balrog moves into the Labyrinth’s clinic, working as a nurse. It's highly likely that this would be temporary, as due Ballos (and by extension the Demon Crown) not being destroyed, Balrog is still cursed to be a slave to the artifact’s bearer.

It is unknown what happens to Balrog during the game’s bad ending, but considering that the Demon Crown has not been destroyed, it’s more than likely that Balrog is still under the crown’s control, and is being used as a weapon by the Doctor.

Other Media[]

Cave Story's Secret Santa[]

Balrog returns as one of the two main protagonists of Cave Story's Secret Santa, alongside Santa the Mimiga. After finding out that Chaba and the Gaudi were attempting to steal presents from everyone’s homes, Balrog tries to intervene. Stopping at Santa’s house, the closest house nearby, the two team up to save Christmas together.

Balrog appears on the main map, and acts as the way that Santa can move about from place to place.

After delivering all the presents, Balrog and Santa arrive at Jenka's house, with Balrog crashing through the roof as usual.

Whether or not this game is canon to Cave Story's lore is unclear, but the game seems to take place after one of the two good endings of the original game.

Creepy Castle[]

Balrog, alongside Chica the Chicken, Plague Knight, Dr. Fetus, and Aban Hawkins, is one of the unlockable crossover characters in the game Creepy Castle.

Umihara Kawase Fresh![]

Balrog appears as a boss in Umihara Kawase Fresh!, specifically as the final enemy of Curly’s series of quests introduced in version 1.0.2. Balrog has a simple attack pattern, where he’ll either shoot a volley of bubbles or attempt to either jump or run into Curly.

Notably, a sticker reading ”FAKE” can be seen on Balrog's back, indicating that this might not be the real Balrog.

The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls[]

Balrog appears as a monster card exclusive to the Requiem expansion, and is a warp zone card.

Audio[]

Balrog’s Theme[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Balrog is fought the most out of any boss in Cave Story, being fought a total of four times.
Balrog’s catchphrase in the NiCALiS translation of the game “Oh Yeaaah!” seems to be a reference to The Kool-Aid Man. Notably, both tend to say it when breaking into rooms.
According to Pixel, Balrog’s design was based on a bar of soap.
- That being said, many fans have instead compared Balrog to the likes of a toaster.
In the NiCALiS translation of the game, Balrog calls Jenka “Auntie”, implying that he was made by Ballos.
Strangely, when encountering him in the Gum Room, Balrog is discolored as green, even before being turned into Balfrog. No other character is like this.

Allegedly, the name of Balrog’s species early in development was “Puu”, which would later be reused for the boss “Puu Black”.
- Additionally, Puus were the main enemies in early betas of the game.
- Balrog’s species, if he belongs to any, is unclarified in the game itself, and Balrog is the only one of his kind that is seen.

External Links[]

Balrog on the Cave Story Wiki

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