Jamie

"The top player is here!"

—Jamie (Street Fighter 6)

Jamie Siu (ジェイミー・ショウ, Jeimī Shō^?, Simplified Chinese: 萧杰米) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, appearing as the first new playable character in Street Fighter 6, representing as Luke's rival.

Biography

Concept

Jamie was created in response to the lack of Drunken Fist users in the Street Fighter series. Because he is also young, Takayuki Nakayama wanted to add contemporary culture to him and thus made Jamie a breakdancer and set him up to be Luke's rival.^[4] The drink in Jamie's jug is called Yakutou (薬湯), an herbal tea instead of alcohol. Matsumoto followed up by calling it "a special drink" and everyone in the room started laughing.^[5][6] He was designed to contrast Luke's more muscular physique with a slender figure.

According to character designer Kaname Fujioka, Jamie is set up to serve as the Ken Masters for the new generation of Street Fighter fans.^[7]

Jamie was originally intended to be a Hong Kong cop inspired by Jackie Chan and his roles in films such as Drunken Master and Police Story, but was later made younger. His drunken boxing was animated by a veteran staff member while his breakdancing was animated by a relative newcomer.^[8]

Personality

Fancying himself the protector of his hometown, Jamie is an upbeat, cocky, and fun-loving young man who thinks highly of himself, but shows respect for his elders, namely his grandmother, as well as Chun-Li and Yun and Yang. He believes that he can resolve any conflict within his turf and presents himself accordingly as a problem solver. However, this is partially done as a conscious effort to prevent issues from spiraling out of his control, as Jamie is capable of recognizing his limitations as a lone fighter.

Jamie can also be irrational and angry upon encountering his rival, Luke. He acknowledges that he would be embarrassed should Yun and Yang learn of this reckless behavior. Nonetheless, his relationship with Luke remains contemptuous, both compelled to fight the other.

He views his approach to crime and justice as uniquely his own. Of Chun-Li, Jamie says, "Tough for a guy like me to just walk up and say hi to a cop” while later stating, “operating like typical vigilantes do isn’t my style.” Though fiercely protective of Metro City’s Chinatown, Jamie can’t quite call it home yet. He explains, “For real though, any town I happen to be in is basically mine, y’know?”

Appearance

Jamie's design reflects the play between contemporary breakdancing and the legendary martial art of drunken boxing.^[9]

Jamie has tan skin and a slender, muscular build. His hair is styled in a benpatsu with the underside shaved in an undercut, not too dissimilar to Luke's regular hairstyle. The braid comes undone at maximum drink level, with Jamie's hair flowing wildly. His eyes are thinly lined and winged with red eyeliner.

His default outfit is a modernized tang suit: a yellow cropped top hoodie with an "original" pattern, red drawstrings, and white trim; matching yellow pants with one pant leg rolled up below the knee; a brown rope belt; and greyish sneakers with white soles. He also carries a small black gourd with a red rope tie on his belt. This red rope resembles the same rope used by Capoeira practitioners. When at maximum Drink level, Jamie's top opens up, a feature consistent across all of his costumes.

His second costume is his modern outfit; a yellow thermal vest with a black tight-fitted T-shirt underneath, black jogging pants with one pant leg also rolled up, a

His third alternate costume is a red long-sleeved changshan similar to those worn by both Yun and Yang. He also wears black pants and dark blue sneakers with red lining.

Character Relationships

Family

Parents and Grandmother

During World Tour, Jamie says his home life “sucked”, having been estranged from his parents for most of his youth. His mother was said to have been a great beauty, but he can only speculate since she was largely absent during his childhood. He expresses little respect for his businessman father, despite calling him a "self-made man". As a child, Jamie frequently traveled between the United States and China, because of his father’s work. Eventually, though, his parents grew weary of his delinquency and shipped him off to live with his beloved grandmother in the mountains. A tiny and cheerful woman, she is a master fighter who brews the medicinal drink Jamie consumes during matches. She teaches him his main fighting style of Zui Quan and, in his own words, “how to live.”

According to director Takayuki Nakayama, Jamie's father was previously married, with Jamie's mother being his mistress, then later second wife following his first wife's passing. After their marriage, Jamie's parents enrolled him into an international school, but his disruptive behavior led to him dropping out. Jamie's relationship with his father is strained, while he only occasionally talks with his mother.

Friends/Allies

Yun & Yang

Jamie's idols since childhood. During World Tour mode, Jamie describes them as "peacekeepers extraordinaire" and "legends" of Chinatown as well as his "bros". They greatly influence his perspective on life from an early age. After Yun and Yang save a young Jamie from a gang, he aspires to grow up to be just like them. Jamie regards this incident as "a wake-up call". Prior to this turning point, he frequently brawled with other truant kids in his neighborhood. Jamie seemed to place little value even on his own life, choosing to die rather than become an underling of the gang that he is eventually rescued from by Yun and Yang. As an adult, he continues to hold Yun & Yang's opinions in high esteem, wary of their response to unnecessary conflicts like his fight with Luke in both their Arcade Mode endings. The Twin Dragons are the main reason why Jamie dedicates himself to honing his fighting skills. While Yun and Yang are presumably away from the city (or, for whatever reason, unavailable), he hopes to protect their home just as they once did.

Despite early online conjecture,^[10] Jamie is not related to Yun and Yang.^[11] In February 2022, a Reddit post leaked details from the then unannounced Street Fighter 6 roster.^[12] No names were listed, only brief character descriptions including one that would turn out to mostly match Jamie: "Yun and Yang's cousin (wears yellow, uses Drunken Fist style)". While the last two attributes are accurate, in World Tour Jamie tells the Avatar, "I've got some bros I seriously respect. Nah, we're not related or anything. They're just...bros. You know. Their names are Yun and Yang. The Blue Dragon and White Dragon."^[11] Though not blood related, Jamie considers them family.

Chun-Li

A fighter whose skill and reputation Jamie highly respects. He's surprised by the Avatar's acquaintance with Chun-Li during World Tour mode. He says Chun-Li "is a master. Like, for real". He mentions her experience in law enforcement, global travels, and connections to his idols, Yun and Yang. Nonetheless, Jamie appears almost bashful about the prospect of actually meeting Chun-Li, possibly intimidated by such a storied fighter. His Win Quote against Chun-Li is uncharacteristically polite ("Yo, it's been an honor! Thanks for helpin' me train."), the usual taunting or self-aggrandizement notably absent. On the other hand, Chun-Li's Win Quote against Jamie challenges him: "Fancy yourself a peacekeeper, do you? That's fine and all, but do mind your manners."

Enemies

Luke Sullivan

Jamie's rival since childhood. While both are normally laid-back and positive, the two are considerably antagonistic towards each other since they also share a hot-blooded disposition. Luke and Jamie argue and insult each other over petty reasons, such as accidentally bumping into each other. Luke mockingly calls Jamie "pretty boy" while Jamie calls Luke a "meathead". Their hostility is not malicious, though, as Luke and Jamie simply want the other to "respect" their respective fighting skill and admit that they are the better of the two. In addition, Jamie seems to hold some respect for Luke's fighting skill, citing him as one of the reasons to continue improving himself, as he does not want to lose against Luke.

Gameplay

Fighting style

Jamie practices Zui Quan - Chinese drunken fist or drunken boxing, which weaponizes the practitioner's sloppy movements into an unpredictable style. He also fuses this with breakdancing, using grounded spin kicks and handstands.

Moveset

Many of Jamie's moves take inspiration from Yun and Yang, such as his Arrow Kick, Freeflow Strikes, Luminous Dive Kick, and Swagger Step being variants on the Senkyutai, Tourouzan, Raigeki Shu, and Zesshou Hohou. Fittingly, he shares a similar playstyle to the both of them, switching between safe pressure with his Freeflow Strikes and close-ranged aggression.

Jamie has a unique drinking mechanic using The Devil Inside, granting him new special moves and options the more drinks he takes. He has a maximum of four drink levels; drinking after he has reached the maximum drink level will instead replenish half a Drive bar. Finishing certain combos also gives him the option of raising his drink level after the final hit, though Jamie has to complete the animation in order to do so. When fully leveled up, Jamie's shirt becomes undone, his hair gets unraveled, and his stance changes; he also gains his full moveset, and can assault his opponent with a plethora of mixup options, including a command grab and a multitude of Target Combos, one of which (Ransui Haze) can only be used at Level 4 and can be canceled on the first hit for a unique backstep.

In exchange for these strengths, Jamie at his base level is considerably weaker, uniquely starting at 90% damage scaling, with each drink adding an extra 5%. Additionally, Jamie starts with the barebones of his kit at the start of each round, with his tactical options locked behind drinks (for example, his dive kick, an effective attack for delaying his landings, is locked behind one drink). Choosing between pressing the advantage and safely drinking is vital for Jamie, and must be managed alongside Drive Gauge and Super Gauge; overall, this can make Jamie run hot or cold, as he can gain a significant edge if he gets four drinks early, but has to work an uphill battle if he is unable to get drinks down.

Jamie's first Super Art is Breakin', a series of breakdancing kicks that grants brief intangibility and can end in a drink by holding down during the attack. His second Super Art is The Devil's Song, granting Jamie a 15-second Level 4 Drink buff or half a bar of his Drive Gauge if already at Level 4, which can be comboed into and out of. His third Super Art is Getsuga Saiho, a monochrome Chinese film-styled Level 3 Super that has different uses. The normal version functions like Yun's You Hou, being a low-damage Super (2500 damage, compared to most other Supers that deal 4000) that sends the opponent airborne for further combos to do the bulk of its damage. The Critical Art version replaces the kick with a stronger throat grab with no follow-ups afterward, but deals almost twice the damage of the non-critical version; if Jamie's Drink buff is at Level 4, the Critical Art deals a whopping 4950 damage (almost 50% of the standard health value) and becomes the third strongest Level 3 super in the game, behind Zangief and Level 5 Manon's Critical Arts.

Videos

Stage Themes

See also

• Jamie's moves in Street Fighter 6

References