Street Fighter 6 just keeps rolling along, and the release of Mai Shiranui is another reason why it’s not slowing down anytime soon. She’s the third of four characters being released this year and the second-ever guest character in Street Fighter’s long history, following Terry Bogard’s debut. Both characters hail from the iconic SNK franchise Fatal Fury, and Mai’s addition brings some much-needed diversity to the game. This is especially exciting with the upcoming Fatal Fury: City of Wolves dropping later this year, which will also feature Street Fighter characters. Mai’s ninja skills and fiery mix-ups fit perfectly with the game’s mechanics, adding another fun layer to SF6.
When I first heard that Street Fighter 6 was getting guest characters, I was hyped as hell. Mortal Kombat has been known for bringing in guest characters from movies and other games for years—think Robocop, Kratos from God of War, the Terminator, and a whole lot more. Now, Street Fighter has taken a similar approach, but instead of movie characters, they’ve pulled from another legendary fighting game franchise. SNK, with its Fatal Fury series dating back to the early ’90s, feels like the perfect fit. It just makes sense—Fatal Fury and Street Fighter have been around almost as long as each other.
Mai Shiranui: Simple Yet Effective
Mai is a character with a very straightforward plan: throw fans, mix things up, and push your opponent into the corner. Her move set isn’t groundbreaking by any means—think of her as a basic shoto character. She has a projectile called Kachousen, an invincible DP (Hisou Ryuuenjin), her Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is a carwheel is some heavy corner carry, she works great at mid-range. Where she differs from your standard shoto is her projectiles: they can be punched away by the opponent unless she charges them first. The cool part is that once you charge her fans, they become true projectiles, and they bounce off the opponent’s head, which opens the door for some sweet mix-ups and more control over the match.
She reminds me of a blend between Chun-Li and Kimberly. She’s got the solid foundation of Chun-Li but brings the mix-up pressure of Kimberly. Once you get the hang of her, you can definitely have a lot of fun with her. The key to really getting into the rhythm with Mai is activating her flame stocks, which you can do by hitting a Level 1 Super. Once activated, her projectiles become true projectiles (no more getting punched away), and her fans automatically bounce off the opponent, adding extra layers to her offensive game.
The Downsides of Mai’s Neutral
One of my biggest issues with Mai is her neutral game. A lot of her neutral moves are negative on block, which puts you at a disadvantage when trying to control space and play the basic neutral game. Most of her neutral connects into specials that offer good spacing and pushback, but they still leave you open to longer-range attacks from opponents. On top of that, her combos feel a bit simple. I breezed through her combo trials without much trouble, which makes me feel like there could be more depth to her combo system.
Mai Overall
Since SF6 dropped, I’ve been maining Chun-Li and Lily, but after spending some time with Mai, I think I’ve found a new main. She’s definitely not as strong as someone like Chun-Li or Cammy, but she’s also not as technical as Chun, and I find her more fun to play than Cammy. I really enjoy her pressure, her fan mix-ups, and the shoto-style gameplay she brings to the table. You can play her aggressively, or you can take a more defensive, turtle-like approach. There’s versatility to her style that I appreciate.
Overall, bringing Fatal Fury characters into Street Fighter 6 was a brilliant move. I’m now looking forward to playing Mai and Chun-Li in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, and if we ever get Capcom vs. SNK 3? The fighting game community would lose its mind.
