Cammy

Cammy
Street Fighter series character
Cammy in Super Street Fighter II, as illustrated by Bengus.
First game	Super Street Fighter II

Cammy White (キャミィ, Kyamī) is a video game character in the Street Fighter series. She first appeared in the fighting game Super Street Fighter II:The New Challengers, which was released in 1993, as one of the "New Challengers", the four new characters introduced in that title. She is the second female fighter in the Street Fighter series, following Chun-Li. Cammy has also appeared in the Street Fighter Alpha games, first as a hidden character and then as a playable character, in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold and Street Fighter Alpha 3 respectively. Although Cammy did not appear in Street Fighter III as a playable character, she was reintroduced into the series as a playable character in the home console versions of Street Fighter IV, winning a poll among fans put forth by Capcom as to which characters from previous games should appear in the new game's home versions.

History

Street Fighter series

File:Cammy Alpha3.jpg

Cammy in Street Fighter Alpha 3

Cammy was one of the four "New Challengers" introduced in the fourth Street Fighter II title, Super Street Fighter II. In this game, Cammy is a 19-year-old agent of the fictional Delta Red task force within MI6. In the Japanese version of her ending, she is revealed to have been an agent working for M. Bison in the past, but lost her memories during a past operation.

A younger version would be included in the crossover game X-Men vs. Street Fighter, which features Cammy as a Shadaloo assassin codenamed Killer Bee. The ending of the game alludes to Cammy's memory loss and her eventual joining of Delta Red.

This incarnation of Cammy would be integrated into the main series: first in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, where she appears as a hidden character available exclusively in the 2-Player and Training Modes (however, this would be rectified in Street Fighter Alpha Anthology where she would be fully playable in Arcade mode with a complete storyline and ending), and then in Street Fighter Alpha 3, where she is a full-fledge playable character. In Alpha 3, Cammy is revealed to be a clone created from M. Bison's DNA. The Game Boy Advance version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Revival and the XBox Live and PSN remake Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix take into account this revelation in their versions of Cammy's ending.

Cammy is featured in the console versions of Street Fighter IV. Set after the Street Fighter II series (but before Street Fighter III), depicts Cammy as having come to terms with her past as a brainwashed super soldier from Shadaloo and is now embarking a new mission with her Delta Red comrades, which include Commander Watson, Matthew Mcoy, Colonel Wolfman, 1st Lieutenant Luwanda and George Ginzu.

Other games

Cammy appears in her Alpha incarnation as a playable character in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2.

Cammy also appears as a playable character in the shoot-em-up Cannon Spike, where she appears in her Super Street Fighter II outfit in her default form and in her Street Fighter Alpha outfit as an alternate appearance. In Namco X Capcom, she appears as a brainwashed enemy character who later joins the player's side as a partner to Chun-Li. In Final Fight: Streetwise, a redesigned Cammy appears as one of the underground pit fighters who challenges the player.

Character design

Cammy is a muscle-toned, petite girl with long blond hair she usually wears in two braided pigtails. She has blue eyes and a scar on her left cheek.

She first appeared in Super Street Fighter II, where she is presented wearing a green thong leotard, red beret, red gloves and black (sometimes green) boots. She also wears green camouflage stains on her legs. This incarnation is known as Delta Red Cammy and appears in the Street Fighter II series of games, in other games such as Cannon Spike, in the live action movie, in the American animated series, in several manga and comic adaptations, and in the home versions of Street Fighter IV. Delta Red Cammy is about 19 years old.

A different look was introduced in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. This time Cammy was presented wearing a light blue outfit which was part thong leotard and part turtleneck sweater, a matching garrison cap, red gloves and armbraces, brown leather boots and a yellow necktie. The camouflage of her legs was replaced with blue stains in the shape of lightning bolts. This incarnation is known as Shadaloo Cammy and appears in the Street Fighter Alpha series of games, in the Marvel vs. Capcom series of games, in the Capcom vs. SNK series of games, in the Namco X Capcom series of games, and also in several manga and comic adaptations. Shadaloo Cammy is about 16 years old.

Cammy has a completely different look in the Japanese animated series Street Fighter II V. She is presented wearing black leather pants, a black body fit shirt, red gloves, red boots and a black necklace with a silver crucifix. This incarnation of Cammy doesn’t have a scar on her cheek and doesn’t wear her hair in pigtails, instead she wears it in a single ponytail.

In Street Fighter IV, in addition to her Delta Red attire, Cammy has an alternate appearance in which is slightly similiar to her Shadaloo version. This version consists of her wearing a blue zipped-up fleece thong leotard with matching knee-high boots with woolen trim, a Delta Red garrison cap, midnight blue gloves and armbraces, and blue camouflage on her legs.

Gameplay

Cammy is a quick, close range fighter. She lacks any projectile or long-reaching attacks, and therefore hurls herself at the enemy relying on speed and priority. For example, her standing hard punch can often cancel an opponent's attack outright, if it connects. Priority such as this makes her one of the easiest characters to use in Capcom vs. SNK 2. Her original incarnation in Super Street Fighter II had trouble evading projectile attacks, so later incarnations involved reworked and additional special moves to evade fireballs with ease.

Techniques

Cammy's anti-air move, the Cannon Spike (or Thrust Kick in the English versions of SSF2) causes her to quickly kick one leg upward into the air, twisting her body and flipping backward, putting her at a safe range from the opponent when the move completes. It has very high priority for such a safe move.

Cammy's forward offensive attack, the Spiral Arrow (or Cannon Drill in the English versions of SSF2) causes her to lunge forward, feet first, while spinning. Used as a distance-clearing attack, its original versions were still vulnerable to being struck by projectiles. However, her Spiral Arrow in Capcom vs. SNK travels under most projectiles, and also must be blocked in a crouching position, enhancing the move's usefulness.

The Hooligan Combination is Cammy's flying variable attack: while spinning though the air, she can opt to cancel the move for a surprise attack, land with a sliding tackle, or execute a powerful frankensteiner throw or its aerial variant. This advancing air throw special move was the first of its kind in the Street Fighter series, and is useful for confusing an opponent, throwing if blocked, or striking if counterattacked. The relative difficulty of the command motion for the Hooligan Combination prevents it from being over-powered, though. In many games she can also cancel the Hooligan Combination into the Cannon Strike, a downward angled version of the Cannon Spike. In some games, such as Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Street Fighter IV, this attack could also be used on its own.

In her Axle Spin Knuckle/Quick Spin Knuckle, Cammy approaches her opponent by hopping into the air and spinning her back around to the opponent before whipping her fist a full 360° around. If she connects with this move up close, she can hit twice; first with her elbow, and next with her fist. When performing this move, Cammy is invulnerable to attacks save for ones that connect with her head.

Cammy's Super Combos are the Spin Drive Smasher, which is a powerful, multi-hitting Spiral Arrow followed by a similarly powered Cannon Spike; the Reverse Shaft Breaker, a vertically executed Spiral Arrow; and the Killer Bee Assault, which has Cammy literally bouncing off the walls of the screen, attacking the opponent with four jump kicks, grabbing the opponent in mid air then slamming them into the ground with a stomp delivered with both feet, afterwards flipping away to a safe distance (this attack is very similar to Spider-Man's Maximum Spider from the Marvel vs. Capcom series). Her Ultra Combo in Street Fighter IV is the Gyro Drive Smasher, an extended Spin Drive Smasher that kicks her opponent into the air, Cammy following them up, and then pulling them back down to earth with a backflip neckbreaker.

In the Marvel vs. Capcom series, many of Cammy's special and super moves are endowed with blue flames characteristic of Psycho Power. She also receives the Cannon Revenge, which is a counter move that has her automatically retaliating against physical attacks with a floating punch or a Cannon Spike (this technique was later available to Cammy in Street Fighter Alpha 3 when using her V-Ism incarnation). In these games, she can also double jump.

Cultural impact

In other media

File:Kylie-Cammy.jpg

Kylie Minogue as Cammy White

Cammy appears as one of the main heroes in the 1994 film Street Fighter. She is portrayed by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. In the film, Cammy is a British intelligence agent that is serving as Colonel Guile's intel officer and right-hand woman in the Allied Nations Army.

Cammy also appears in two Japanese animated Street Fighter productions by Group TAC. In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Cammy appears in a scene early in the movie, where she assassinates a British minister Albert Sellers after being brainwashed by Shadaloo. She is later seen being interrogated by Chun-Li. Her status after that is unclear, with Bison's last orders to Sagat being the elimination of Vega and Cammy. In the Street Fighter II V series, Cammy (voiced once again by Yoko Sakaki in Japanese and Debra Jean Rogers in English), Cammy is a former special forces operative-turned-assassin who is hired by Balrog to assassinate Chun-Li's father, but is stopped and defeated by Fei-Long. In both productions, Cammy was voiced by Yoko Sasaki in the originals Japanese versions and Debra Jean Rogers in the English dubs.

In the American Street Fighter animated series, Cammy appears in several episodes during the first season and is the central focus of a sub-plot in the second season. She was voiced by Lisa Ann Beley. During the first season, she is an ally of Guile who has a flirtatious relationship with him, and is eventually made part of his team. However, she is brainwashed by Bison and becomes one of his underlings, fighting her former allies (both, Street Fighters and Delta Red) during the remainder of the series. However, she then turned on Bison when she learned that Bison killed her parents, and switched sides back to her original allies.

In addition to appearing in the manga adaptations of the Street Fighter games and anime, Cammy was also the central character in Masahiko Nakahira's 1994 manga Super Street Fighter II: Cammy which was adapted into English by Viz Communications. Cammy would appear in Nakahira's subsequent 1996 manga adaptation of Street Fighter Alpha (predating her appearance in X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 3), where she appears as a brainwashed test subject named "Killer Bee", a codename that was adapted in the video game storyline. The X-Men vs. Street Fighter depiction of Cammy also appeared in 1997 manga Sakura Ganbaru!, centering around the character Sakura. English adaptations of both, Street Fighter Alpha and Sakura Ganbaru!, were published in 2007 by UDON.

In UDON's own comic book series documenting the Street Fighter story, Cammy's own story is not much different than the official version. Cammy starts off as a mysterious girl only going by the codename "Killer Bee". She is the one responsible for the death of Chun-Li's father. She tracks Ryu in San Francisco under orders from Shadaloo until she is confronted and captured by Rose. Rose undoes Shadaloo's brainwashing and leaves her in front of the British embassy in Italy (it is here when she is given the name "Cammy" to identify herself by). She has no memory of anything leading up to that moment but a terrorist attack on the embassy suddenly triggers her latent fighting ability and she defeats the entire squadron by herself. She is confronted by Delta Red, who almost immediately sign her on as a member. She completes missions with Delta Red, which invariably draw her closer to Shadaloo once more. She pieces together remnants of her memory during this time and does her best to repent for any sins she believes she might have committed in Shadaloo's name.

A two-volume light novel featuring Cammy as the main character, titled Cammy History, authored Yuka Minakawa that was published in 1995 by Wani Books.

Reception

Cammy won Capcom’s official "Which Character do fans most want in SFIV?" poll, gathering almost more votes than all the other characters combined. Cammy was awarded Hottest Game Babe of 1993 in Super Street Fighter II Turbo by Electronic Gaming Monthly. IGN ranked Cammy at #9 in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting her sex appeal and unique gameplay, adding "of the four new fighters in Super Turbo, she's the only one who made a return appearance in future games." GameSpy listed her alongside Chun-Li as one of the Top Ten Babes in Games at #6, stating "With leg revealing outfits she showed the world that pixelated Brit girls are sexy." GameDaily listed her at #7 on their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, stating "Cammy makes the list for two reasons. First, her assassin skills are incredible...Second, just look at her military motif that showcases some of the best legs in video games." Spike featured Cammy on their "Top 10 Video Game Vixens" list at #10, heavily praising her attractiveness and attire. UGO.com ranked her fifth in their "Top 50 Videogame Hotties" article, stating a preference for her legs and high speed. News.com.au named Cammy one of the sexiest characters in video games, placing her fifth in their "Top 10" article and describing her as "a kickass character with good looks to boot".

Bibliography

• Nakahira, Masahiko. Super Street Fighter II - Cammy Gaiden (in Japanese). ISBN 4091238017.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Street Fighter ZERO (in Japanese). Vol. 1. ISBN 4881992201.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Street Fighter ZERO (in Japanese). Vol. 2. ISBN 4881992732.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Sakura Ganbaru! (in Japanese). Vol. 1. ISBN 4881993267.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Sakura Ganbaru! (in Japanese). Vol. 2. ISBN 4881993666.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Super Street Fighter II: Cammy. ISBN 1569312125.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Street Fighter Alpha. Vol. 1. ISBN 1897376502.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Street Fighter Alpha. Vol. 2. ISBN 1897376510.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Sakura Ganbaru!. Vol. 1. ISBN 1897376529.
• Nakahira, Masahiko. Sakura Ganbaru!. Vol. 2. ISBN 1897376537.
• Minakawa, Yuka. Cammy History (in Japanese). Vol. 1. ISBN 4847031423.
• Minakawa, Yuka. Cammy History (in Japanese). Vol. 2. ISBN 4847031458.

External links

• Cammy's Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Street Fighter IV entries at StrategyWiki.org