Crimson Viper
Encyclopedia
, also known as simply C. Viper, or her nickname Maya (マヤ) is a character
in the Street Fighter
series of video games. Viper is voiced by Mie Sonozaki
in Japanese, and Michelle Ruff
in English.
developed games, Ono retorted that the resemblance was unintended, and that she was created from the best parts of several proposed designs during early development. He went on to state that she was also an attempt to create a character with a "cool" design, which he feels are predominate in SNK titles.
Designed by Daigo Ikeno, Viper was designed around the concept of a 20 year old single mother. Visually, she resembles Sharon, a redheaded special agent from Street Fighter EX 2.
as an American double agent posing as a S.I.N. worker but actually a CIA agent undercover. She wears a S.I.N form-fitting suit which enables her to perform electrical, seismic, and pyrotechnic moves. Her fighting style greatly revolves around baiting, fakes, high jump cancels, and rushdown. Because of this, she has one of the steepest learning curves in the game. It is said she is motivated by her daughter Lauren, as well as money. Crimson Viper also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
. In Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
, Maya is played by Moon Bloodgood
.
character lost in a Capcom game". Anime News Network
felt the character fit comfortably in the "Street Fighter mold", though noted regardless she still looked more appropriate for the King of Fighters
series. Eurogamer
felt similar sentiments, though noted that the contrast did not quite fit with the game's aesthetic. A reviewer for the New Straits Times
described her as the best of the new characters, praising both her appearance and attack arsenal. GamesRadar
stated that while her attacks made her feel out of place in the title, "that's why she adds so much to the game". IGN AU praised the character, stating approval for the variations of her attacks. AJ Glasser from Kotaku
listed her as one of the worst mothers in video games, placing as the worst one from fighting games. UGO Networks ranked C. Viper at #21 on their list of "Fighting Games' Finest Female Fighters", commenting on how she shoves her tie between her breasts and her bright red bouffant.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
series of video games. Viper is voiced by Mie Sonozaki
Mie Sonozaki
is a Japanese voice actress and singer represented by Remax.-Television animation:* Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto * Beyblade 2002 * Bleach * Burst Angel * Comic Party...
in Japanese, and Michelle Ruff
Michelle Ruff
Michelle Suzanne Ruff is an American voice actress known for her work in anime and video games.-Anime roles:* Angel Tales - Akane the fox* Ai Yori Aoshi - Aoi Sakuraba* Arc the Lad - Meril...
in English.
Development
While previous Street Fighter titles relied almost solely on Capcom's Research and Development branch, the development team instead allowed other branches of the company to give input on the design of new characters, due to the influx of fan requests from outside of Japan. Viper was designed based upon marketing research on what sorts of characters an American audience would enjoy playing, and tailored her towards Western tastes as an experiment to see how audiences would receive the character. Street Fighter IV executive has described her as the most "unorthodox" of the four new characters introduced in the title, emphasizing this aspect as one he felt would appeal to American players, and was his favorite character when the game was early in development. In response to claims that the character resembled one found more commonly in SNKSNK
SNK is a former name of SNK Playmore, a Japanese video game company . This may also refer to:* SNK European Democrats* SNK Union of Independents* Southeast Airlines ICAO code...
developed games, Ono retorted that the resemblance was unintended, and that she was created from the best parts of several proposed designs during early development. He went on to state that she was also an attempt to create a character with a "cool" design, which he feels are predominate in SNK titles.
Designed by Daigo Ikeno, Viper was designed around the concept of a 20 year old single mother. Visually, she resembles Sharon, a redheaded special agent from Street Fighter EX 2.
Appearances
Crimson Viper made her debut appearance in the 2008 Street Fighter IVStreet Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
as an American double agent posing as a S.I.N. worker but actually a CIA agent undercover. She wears a S.I.N form-fitting suit which enables her to perform electrical, seismic, and pyrotechnic moves. Her fighting style greatly revolves around baiting, fakes, high jump cancels, and rushdown. Because of this, she has one of the steepest learning curves in the game. It is said she is motivated by her daughter Lauren, as well as money. Crimson Viper also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It features Capcom's own characters and characters from American comic book company Marvel Comics. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel vs...
and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It is an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. After the events of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disrupted the development schedule for downloadable content for the original game, the additional content was made into a...
. In Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the second live-action film based on the Street Fighter series of video games. It follows the quest of Street Fighter character Chun-Li, who is portrayed by Kristin Kreuk. The story follows Chun-Li's personal history and her journey for justice. The film...
, Maya is played by Moon Bloodgood
Moon Bloodgood
Korinna Moon Bloodgood is an American actress and model. She starred as "Lt. Blair Williams" in the film Terminator Salvation alongside Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. Bloodgood previously starred in the films Eight Below and Pathfinder.-Early life:Bloodgood was born in Anaheim, California...
.
Reception
VideoGamer.com described Crimson Viper as looking "ridiculous", adding that she resembled "an SNKSNK
SNK is a former name of SNK Playmore, a Japanese video game company . This may also refer to:* SNK European Democrats* SNK Union of Independents* Southeast Airlines ICAO code...
character lost in a Capcom game". Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
felt the character fit comfortably in the "Street Fighter mold", though noted regardless she still looked more appropriate for the King of Fighters
King of Fighters
, officially abbreviated KOF, is a series of fighting games by SNK Playmore . The series was originally developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware, which served as the main platform for the series until 2004, when SNK retired the MVS in favor of the Atomiswave arcade board...
series. Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
felt similar sentiments, though noted that the contrast did not quite fit with the game's aesthetic. A reviewer for the New Straits Times
New Straits Times
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
described her as the best of the new characters, praising both her appearance and attack arsenal. GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
stated that while her attacks made her feel out of place in the title, "that's why she adds so much to the game". IGN AU praised the character, stating approval for the variations of her attacks. AJ Glasser from Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
listed her as one of the worst mothers in video games, placing as the worst one from fighting games. UGO Networks ranked C. Viper at #21 on their list of "Fighting Games' Finest Female Fighters", commenting on how she shoves her tie between her breasts and her bright red bouffant.