Handyman
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
| “ | My dolly!
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Debilitas (デビリタス Debiritasu) is a character in Haunting Ground and the first stalker that Fiona Belli encounters. Despite his position as an antagonist, he is by no means evil or malevolent and simply wants to play with the "dolly" running around Belli Castle.
Debilitas is a mentally disabled homunculus created by a younger Riccardo Belli. Riccardo attempted to create life as Lorenzo Belli had, using a dog's placenta as a base. However, Debilitas turned out to be a failed creation.[1] He works as Belli Castle's gardener and handyman and lives in a small shack on the castle grounds. One of his duties involves finding and trapping animals for Riccardo's search for Azoth.
Appearance[]
He is a strange-looking hulking hunchback of a giant size, with large round eyes and enormous hands.
Personality[]
He has the approximate mental capacity of a young child, and is prone to outbursts and tantrums. He may not understand the concept of how inflicting pain on others causes them to hurt and suffer, as well as the concept of death, which could be why he is prone to assaulting Fiona. Another possibility is that he does know about pain and death, but simply thinks Fiona is a doll, so she must not be affected by either.
He can comprehend simple language, and is only heard speaking short, garbled phrases: "My dolly!", "Out of my way!", "Where is you?!", "Fiona! Fiona!", "My little pink meat pie!", "Good smell!", "I finded you!", and "Gotcha!".
Because he is part dog, he has a habit of sniffing Fiona and sometimes will drop on all fours.
Debilitas finds Fiona hiding under a bench and gives chase.
Debilitas adores dolls, and believes that Fiona is also a doll for him to play with, thus he is compelled to pursue her. He worships the goddess statue in the chapel in his own way, creating an altar in his shack and enshrining dolls he gathers, having a pure mind unsuited to his appearance. If the evasion point in his shack is triggered, Fiona will throw a doll at him, causing him to collapse to the floor in horror as if he believes the doll is injured.[2] This implies that he thinks his dolls are sentient beings.
Haunting Ground[]
Prior to the game, Debilitas captured Hewie for Riccardo's life extension. A film reel found later in the game shows him transporting Fiona to the basement.[3]
He is first seen chopping up meat in the basement, apparently cooking something. He considers touching Fiona in her cage, but is frightened by the lightning outside, showing his childish nature.
Debilitas before chasing Fiona.
He is later encountered playing with his bisque doll in a hallway. He notices Fiona, compares her to his doll, and gives chase. He is eventually stopped by Riccardo, who commands Debilitas to leave. After Fiona rescues Hewie, she returns to her room to find Debilitas resting on her bed. He attempts to touch Fiona, but is attacked by Hewie, causing Debilitas to flee.
Despite Riccardo's warning, Debilitas continues to harass Fiona and Hewie for quite a while until all three of them enter the Chapel, where Fiona is forced to fight him. The battle has two outcomes: Fiona can either drop a large chandelier on top of him (this does not kill him) by luring him into two mechanisms on the left and right sides of the room, or she can wear his health down until he drops dead.
Sparing Debilitas
Fiona spares Debilitas' life.
If Fiona allows him to live, he will show his true personality as an innocent child, naive to what he has put her through. Debilitas begins viewing Fiona as a holy figure when he sees her silhouetted against the light and stained glass windows of the chapel and thus ceases his pursuit, rendering him no longer a threat to her. After crawling out from underneath the chandelier, Debilitas bows to Fiona in reverence and proceeds to leave her in peace. She sympathetically comments, "Those big eyes... He almost looks like a child of sorts. The size of a giant and the mind of a child... You should be pitied, not hated. I guess I shouldn't have reacted as I did..."
He can also be visited later in his shack, where he gives her the key to the locked stall in the bathroom. The room contains boots and the key to the gate, allowing the player to obtain Ending C if they wish, although they can also continue the game normally.
If the player obtains Ending A, Debilitas appears to Fiona before she leaves the castle. He bows to her in respect once more before heading to the garden. Debilitas then looks at the overgrown trees there and begins clipping them as he hums to himself, a possible Scissorman reference. As every other figure in the castle (Daniella, Riccardo, Lorenzo) are apparently dead, with the exception of the homunculi, Debilitas seems to have the castle all to himself.
Gameplay[]
Debilitas
Debilitas chasing Fiona.
Bearhug of death.
Debilitas often appears when the player has completed a puzzle or triggered a cutscene. During the first parts of the game, if Fiona deals enough damage to Debilitas, he will run away in pain. However, after picking the lunar refractor, Debilitas will become aggressive.
Debilitas is persistent and powerful but can be easily outwitted by Fiona. He can easily kill Fiona by crushing her in a massive bear-hug and can beat her to death if she's fallen in panic. The player must also be careful when climbing down ladders or else Debilitas will hit Fiona, causing her to fall down and be injured.[4]
Debilitas will rarely find Fiona if she's hiding in a wardrobe or under a bed. However, if she's hiding behind an opened door, his hands may fly through the doors due to a glitch, resulting in Fiona being noticed.[5] As such, if the player chooses to hide behind a door, it is recommended to not hide too close to it.
Etymology[]
Debilitas is Latin for "weakness". His name is likely a reference to his "weak" mental capacity.
Quotes[]
- "My dolly!"
- "Out of my way!"
- "Where is you?!"
- "Fiona! Fiona!"
- "My little pink meat pie!"
- "Good smell!"
- "I finded you!"
- "Gotcha!"
Trivia[]
Debilitas' cameo in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
- Debilitas makes a cameo in Joe the Condor's ending in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, along with Fiona and Hewie.
- His area theme is "Twisted Eyes", stalker theme is "Innocent Freak" and boss theme is "Last Debilitas".
- Debilitas may be afraid of Daniella. When Daniella is cooking in the kitchen, Debilitas will not appear, no matter how much noise Fiona makes or time that passes. The music may stop playing, but he never shows up. This might also be due to the developers unsure of what should happen if Daniella saw Fiona being chased by Debilitas. Debilitas and Daniella are never seen together in the entire game so their relationship is unknown.
- Daniella believes she is a "mechanical doll".[6] Daniella may have told Debilitas this, which could explain why Debilitas perceives other women (i.e. Fiona) as "dolls".
- Although it is unknown if it was intentional, Debilitas bears a mild resemblance to Final Fight character Bratken appearance-wise, and similarly to Bratken, Debilitas is encountered in a castle, has a fixation upon toys, and possesses a child-like state of mind in spite of his size and strength.
- As with Daniella, if Debilitas is killed in "Hard Mode" his clothing reverts to the clothes worn in "Standard Mode".
- It is unknown what Debilitas does to Fiona if he kills her but, judging from the crunching sound, it is likely that he just crushes Fiona's bones while trying to hug her or "play" with her. Some fans speculated that he could have raped or devoured Fiona but this would be out of character since Debilitas has the mind of a small child who likes literal toy to play with.
- His Motion Capture Actor is Jiro Sato.
Gallery[]
Concept[]
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Haunting Ground[]
Gameplay[]
