Mai Shiranui finally makes her way onto Street Fighter 6 in her official gameplay trailer. Not World Tour. Mai’s kit is on full display in this trailer. Chun-Li and she have some sorting out to do. The opposite end of the first fighting game queens has a score to settle that’s been 30+ years in the making. As to what brings her to Metro City is still a mystery that could be solved through World Tour or even the Arcade mode. Perhaps it has something to do with a certain evil that monk Sokaku has tipped Mai off about.
Back to what’s important. Mai’s moveset seems to borrow from her King of Fighters appearances and a bit off of her Fatal Fury series runs with her normals. Mai gets back her signature Deadly Ninja Bees super (level 2) and special, which can be done in the air. Deadly Ninja Bees can also be used as an anti-air with EX, making it like its’ Real Bout style arc forward.
Her Flying Squirrel dive is faster than ever. Mai seems to have an activation of fire at some point. Possibly this happens after her Kagero No Mai(Shadow Clones) attack hits. The move itself does feel more like her King of Fighters 2003 super that gives out a launcher to push the opponent back. A bow behind her, made out of fire, shows up after the move. This enhances her fan throws and Deadly Ninja Bees similar to Ryu’s denjin charge. Souichu No Mai – her 3 fan super – becomes an EX move through this. It even enhances Kagero No Mai. Then again, this could be similar to Terry’s Triple Geyser power-up with an extra Drive gauge used to enhance it.
Her deadly new Level 3 super feels like a reference to other supers that Mai has had in the past with exploding fires near the chest. Poor Ryu got it bad in this trailer because of it. Her target combo can lead to a bit of a launch effect for her into Flying Squirrel, which can give out more range. Mai does feel like she’s retained her rushdown status in a sense with a kit that holds a few new tricks. A problem for the World Warriors and with a better polished render, too.
In the Pao Pao Stage, a certain Shiranui cheerleader also comes to Metro City if Mai is fighting. Andy Bogard is also in Street Fighter 6. Well, cameo Andy. It’s like it was yesterday when we were able to get 2 characters on the backline cheering folks on. Capcom did something similar during the Capcom vs SNK 1 and 2 games with Kyo and Benimaru.
Each time they squared off, teammate Goro Daimon would be watching in the background. It’s quite a nice easter egg for Fatal Fury to get all three legendary wolves in one game that isn’t from SNK. Or better put, Team Southtown of King of Fighters ’99 since Terry, Joe, Andy, and Mai, are technically here. As for this scene, we’ve seen this before, in the King of Fighters Destiny cartoon, but better.
The City of the Wolves Connection
Mai’s second battle costume is her City of the Wolves outfit similar to Terry’s Mark of the Wolves fit. Fortunately, Mai’s move callouts and famous victory pose are still in Japanese. Oddly enough, Mai’s stage doesn’t seem to be present in the trailer at all. Rebecca Rose voices (English) Mai Shiranui to keep the City of the Wolves continuity.
Mai will be joining the World Warrior cast on February 5th. Elena will follow her in the spring this year to round out the Year 2 pass. As for Mai and Chun-Li, they will be getting their other rematch in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, in April this year with Chun-Li and Ken as DLC for the game.
