Following her fellow Fatal Fury star’s lead, Mai Shiranui (Rebecca Rose) makes her way to Metro City as the latest Street Fighter 6 DLC character. Mai offers players a frenzied approach to battle as she combines speed and style with a sizzling helping of fire to set her fights ablaze. Her kit is fun and creative, offering the Kunoichi a slew of options for bringing down her opponents. And the icing on the cake, she brings a wonderfully goofy personality that will brighten up the ring, long after the fires have all been put out.
The key feature of Mai’s kit has to be the Kagerou no Mai. This super art requires one bar of charge to perform. It sees her take a meditative stance as it wreathes her in flames, extending upwards. While it doesn’t have much horizontal reach, it does provide good protection from overhead attacks. But what makes this move so central to Mai’s kit is that it gives her five stacks of flames.
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The attack gains extra properties whenever this fan favorite does one of her special moves while she has flame stacks. Each special move consumes a stack of flames, so players must be careful in how they spend them. The increased output of her special moves would be reason enough for the Kagerou no Mai to be a star for her, but on top of that, Capcom’s devs went above and beyond to make sure that her inferno-laden attacks bring a visual spectacle to her fights.
This Fatal Fury favorite brings wreaths of flame to the new Street Fighter 6 DLC.
Mai gets so much out of this move that it can make it hard to justify holding on to her super charge long enough to enable her other moves to come online. Despite her two-bar attack, Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi, providing a powerful dash that dodges projectiles and can be used from the air, and her three-bar Shiranui Ryuu: Enbu Ada Zakura that brings huge damage, especially when Mai is under 25 percent health, it doesn’t feel worth it. Making every move a more potent threat throughout fights generally feels better than stocking up for one big gambit.
Looking deeper into Mai’s kit, we start with her trademark throwing fans. Her Kachousen special move brings a ton of versatility to her core projectile attack. Each one can be charged with different flight speeds for light, medium, and heavy versions. When charged, the fans will bounce straight up after contacting the opponent before coming back down. The bounce height varies depending on which strength was used, so fully mastering the options can take time. It’s also important to note that the weaker version of the Kachousen can be stopped by other projectiles or even strikes by the opponent.
When used in overdrive form, the Kachousen fires off a pair of fans, which players can quickly follow up with a second pair. This barrage puts the opponent on the back foot, giving Mai time to set up her next move. When a flame stack is present, her fans fare better against enemy projectiles, giving them added strength.
The second special move, the Ryuuenbu, sees her spin around as she projects a trail of fire behind her. This move works great for zoning as well as an easy combo element that can be used off of a normal attack cancel. The heavy version deals more damage but also lifts Mai off the ground. This is important to note, as this version will miss a crouched opponent. The overdrive version of the Ryuuenbu adds an uppercut at the end, lifting enemies into the air and opening them up for greater combo potential.
Mai’s next special move is the Hishou Ryuuenjin. A backflip move, this fiery kick provides this SNK favorite with another great anti-air option. The move’s apex feels surprisingly high, creating a veritable wall that can stop opponents looking to crossover on her from above. When in overdrive, The Hishou Ryuuenjin adds another hit at the end of the kick. But more importantly, it also makes Mai invincible for the move’s duration, adding an extra layer of defense to it.
Her final special is the Musasabi no Mai. This move can only be performed while moving forward in the air. She plunges at a diagonal toward her foe, catching unwary fighters off guard. This move delivers a solid amount of damage, as well as provides an extra reason for foes to approach her cautiously. The move can be tricky to master, as it can function slightly differently depending on where you hit your foes. A hit to the feet shortens recovery time, making that the preferred target.
The Musasabi no Mai can also be an effective way to close on an opponent if you can predict when they will launch a projectile. With proper timing, she can easily clear a projectile and launch herself downwards, reaching her foe while they are still recovering.
Mai’s easy combos string her specials together and fit perfectly with the modern control scheme.
There are also some easy combos that Mai can work the Musasabi no Mai into for added effect. A two-medium standing kick combo ends with a backflip that she can cancel into her aerial dive, potentially catching her foe off guard just as they think they have an opening.
Her drive impact, Botan Ichige, is a little on the weak side compared to some others. There is a bit of a wind-up before the attack launches, and its reach isn’t very strong. This can leave her open longer for less potential than some other characters’ drive impacts.
Mai is the first DLC character that fits perfectly into the modern control scheme. She has access to all of her special moves, and each is even assigned to a directional button that makes sense for the move, making memorization easy. The default standing medium and heavy take excellent advantage of her long kick range, as do her crouching attacks. Mai may be the first character in the roster to rival Cammy with how well she slots into the control scheme.
When it comes to her visual design, Mai has a lot to offer. Like Terry Bogard, her default costume is an exacting rendition of her iconic look, which is sure to please long-time fans of the character. Her second outfit gives the character a stylish makeover that fits with the urban redesign many of Street Fighter 6‘s roster received.
But the element that makes this SNK collaboration character stand out the most visually is the character’s humor. From her drive parry, which sees her fan herself in disinterest towards her opponent, to the amazing, goofy faces she can make on the loading screen, her energy is 100% goober, with just a touch of the spicy beauty fans will appreciate.
Mai Shiranui is a fun and exciting new character to learn in Street Fighter 6. Her fiery visuals and fast tempo create memorable moments as the Kunoichi bounces around the screen, burning her foes to a crisp.
Mai Shiranui is available now for download in Street Fighter 6.
