Masahiko Nakahira wrote and illustrated several Street Fighter related manga titles (SF Zero, Sakura Ganbaru! , SFIII: Ryu Final) at the height of the game’s first rise in popularity. Cammy Gaiden was picked up and published chapter-by-chapter in English in the Viz-owned Game On! magazine to the delight of many hardcore Street Fighter fans. Second only to Chun-Li in popularity, Cammy stands as one of the most popular additions to the Street Fighter series since Street Fighter II was originally released. The British intelligence agent’s unknown past also leaves writers with a fairly open chance to explain in detail how Cammy ended up working under Shadowloo, why she has only scattered memories of her past, and what drove her to become the powerhouse fighter she is today. Nakahira fills in some of the gaps in Cammy’s MI6/Shadowloo background and training through four stories in Super Street Fighter II: Cammy from Viz.Â
Stats
Manga: Super Street Fighter II: Cammy
Release Date: 12/6/1997
Release Studio: Viz Communications, Inc.
Volume: 1 of 1
MSRP: $15.95
Pages: 192
Orientation: Flipped
Author/Artist: Masahiko Nakahira
Editor: Annette Roman, Jason Thompson (Asst. Ed.)
English Adaptation: James D. Hudnall, Lillian Olsen
Notes: Review is based on a Retail purchased copy of the final product.
Chapter one covers the first story: how Cammy was able to join Col. Wolfman’s MI6 Special Operations Unit. Despite being a rookie, Col. Wolfman reccommended Cammy for the dangerous assignment of retrieving a special envelope containing secret plans for a new weapon. MI6 Chief General Midland is willing to accept Wolfman’s suggestion, but Intelligence Section’s Col. Byrd doesn’t like the idea of sending in a rookie, especially not a girl rookie. Regardless, Cammy is sent on the mission and waits for Jack to show up with the documents. Jack arrives late, badly injured. Two men try to grab the envelope Jack hands to Cammy, but Cammy takes down the armed men with ease. Now it’s a race for Cammy to get the documents back to MI6 safely before one of the people after her manage to get the documents back.
Chapters two and three cover the second story in the manga as Cammy joins the American soldier Guile in Battleland for an undercover mission. The Mediterranean island hosts an annual Battle Rave contest, which draws in competitors from around the world to sign up for the street fighting tournament. Cammy arrives via a stealth sub only to find Guile finishing off an opponent in the contest. In fact, Guile’s mission for Cammy is to win this tournament, and he’s already signed her up for the contest. So much for undercover work. Cammy is resistant to Guile’s mission until she learns that four of the tournament winners have been turned into a trained suicidal bomber with another one missing: Guile’s best friend, Diego.
Cammy holds her own in the tournament while Guile infiltrates the palace owned by the tournament sponsor, Sang Froid. One look at the place and Cammy has a sinking feeling that she’s been here before. Guile doesn’t get very far inside before he finds his buddy Diego, along with Sang and Dr. Nishimura. Nishimura has been working on mind control to make the perfect soldier, one who follows orders no matter what, and Diego is the newest subject. But there’s even worse news: Sang and Nishimura spot Cammy fighting in the Battle Rave and instantly recognize her as their missing prototype from three years ago.
The third story is covered in chapter four as Cammy works on getting a birthday present for Col. Wolfman. While trading a bootleg tape of a live Dee Jay concert for a tea cup set with her friend Luke, Shadowloo agents appear and capture the former member. Bison wants Cammy back and he’s used Luke to set her up. Cammy awakens onboard a submarine along with her friend Luke. Despite his attempt to turn her in for money, Cammy is willing to take him with her as she tries to escape. The first few guards are easy, but Captain Spiegelmeyer has designed this submarine specifically to prevent high-risk subjects from escaping. Since Luke isn’t trained for close quarters combat, it’s up to Cammy to hold off Spiegelmeyer and his men until Col. Wolfman and the MI6 can find them.
The final story is contained within chapters five and six as Cammy encounters Vega. A British special forces unit has been sent into the jungle to retrieve a container of plutonium that Shadowloo has stolen. The special forces team will take down the Shadowloo agents while Cammy is used as bait to lure the Shadowloo forces closer as they attempt to capture her. However, there is only one agent in the field, and it’s one of Bison’s best agents: Vega. Vega’s speed and power take the special forces team down one by one. This experience serves as a lesson to Cammy to train harder for the next time Shadowloo, Vega, or even Master Bison himself come for the former Shadowloo agent.
Super Street Fighter II: Cammy adds a wealth of background information for the MI6 agent. Masahiko Nakahira makes sure to keep in touch with the official origins of Cammy’s character and introduces a fitting background that crosses paths with several other key Street Fighter characters. The art style presents three versions of Cammy that are fitting with her personality: the tough agent, the cute girl, and Cammy’s general, sexy look. Together, this presents an enjoyably well-rounded character. The translation and adaptation are very close to the original, along with the standard Capcom character name changes to match the U.S. version of the game. The sound effects are translated into English, but don’t seem out of place. Also, nothing in the story has been changed since the original Game On! magazine publishing, and it’s nice to see the chapters collected back into one, handy manga.
Super Street Fighter II: Cammy mixes action and intrigue with great storytelling and art for fun adventures with every gamer’s favorite female MI6 agent. Cammy’s original manga background still stands up as a solid work, even with newer material from UDON to compare to. The MSRP of $15.95 is a little steep, but it’s worth the price with its larger-than-average manga format. With six chapters and 192 pages, Super Street Fighter II: Cammy will keep you busy for a while, and soon after finishing you’ll find yourself reading it again to enjoy one more time.