Thanks to Slink for help with edits.
Let’s talk about deconfirmed characters… Thanks to DLC, fans have gotten used to fighting games’ launch rosters not telling the full story. Their favorites could join the newest entry at any moment, so they hold out hope until either the fighter gets in or the game’s support runs dry. Regardless, players keep talking and interest is maintained, so devs rarely go out of their way to say a character isn’t on the way. But because of that, it just hits even harder when they actually do! Bruce Lee’s estate detests homages, so Street Fighter blacklisted Fei Long; Mortal Kombat caught smoke for its PS3-exclusive Kratos, so don’t expect him to rejoin the bloodbath. Meanwhile, Smash Bros. and its frontman Sakurai have denounced a good few candidates, only to eventually add them anyway. It’s how Villager, Pac-Man, and Ridley made the cut, so there’s merit in fans looking at previous rejects and guessing whose situations have changed.
That brings us to Fatal Fury, which saw an uptick in relevance after mascot Terry Bogard appeared in Smash Ultimate. He also brought tons of music and background cameos along for the ride, introducing countless Nintendo fans to the historic fighting game. Afterwards, sister series The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury itself secured all-new entries, so the future’s looking bright for Terry and friends. Except, these games and more feature a character whose notoriety seems to rival the Legendary Wolf’s. She’s one of the biggest female characters in the genre, but Ultimate famously excluded her. Today’s “Dream Smasher” sees us envisioning a scenario where Sakurai changes his mind and gives SNK a fitting second rep: the best kunoichi in Japan, Mai Shiranui!
Who Is Mai Shiranui?
(Courtesy of @EchoSaefir)
Debuting in 1992’s Fatal Fury 2, Mai serves as one of the series’s most recurring faces and SNK’s leading lady. Her goals in life are simple: prove herself a master of the Shiranui’s fiery ninja arts, share her clan’s greatness with the world, and bag Terry’s brother Andy. They’re why she’s involved in the scuffles of South Town, particularly the King of Fighters games’ titular tournaments. Since you can only join in threes, she’s often found on what’s now dubbed the “Super Heroines” team. Lately, the squad’s also hosted Art of Fighting staple Yuri Sakazaki, Psycho Soldier callback Athena Asamiya, and industry plant Alice Nakata. But no matter the format, Mai’s made more fans than she can throw with her tricky playstyle and admittedly shameless design. Although there’s no subtlety with her, she’s undeniably a credit to all the rosters she graces.
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And said rosters don’t stop at SNK’s wheelhouse, as Mai’s no stranger to crossovers. On top of countless mobile games and spin-offs, she’s a regular in Koei Tecmo’s Dead or Alive. Seeing a 2D game’s fighter in a 3D one is always interesting (like how Akuma and fellow Fatal Fury icon Geese invaded Tekken), and DoA’s raunchy reputation fits the kunoichi. If you’re looking to see her in a more innocent context, Fall Guys added her and Terry as costumes. But for my money, Capcom’s treated her better than any other third party. On top of her perfect attendance across the Capcom vs. SNK games, she and Terry recently joined Street Fighter 6 as the franchise’s first-ever guests. This showing saw her finally rekindling her rivalry with Chun-Li and tying the knot with Andy, rounding out those initial goals of hers, teasing her next role in the celebrity-infested City of the Wolves, and reminding us why she’s one of fighting games’ greatest mascots!
Importance to Nintendo & Series
“Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is for good boys and girls of many different ages, so we decided not to feature her. Please forgive us.” We all knew Mai was made to be sexy, but I wonder if Sakurai realized how big an impact this line would have on her perception. Apparently, she was simply too much for the crossover, more so than Bayonetta or the other gun-touting guests. It’s funny how Smash ended up doing more for the ninja’s legacy than any of the SNK cameos it actually let in. That aside, I’m guessing Sakurai just didn’t wanna take any risks for what’d amount to a small cameo. But given the new design and more reserved animations she’s adopted since Ultimate, I doubt it’d be too big a deal to include her anymore. That’s all assuming she’d even be worth revisiting next time; given Fatal Fury’s newfound relevance, I’d argue she definitely is.
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Sure, but doesn’t going from ostracized to playable sound like a stretch? After all, SNK’s got so many characters who’d fit Smash perfectly. Terry’s reveal showed that off by tossing his invitation between the casts of Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, and Samurai Shodown. I’d sooner expect a newcomer from the latter two than the former, given Smash’s preference for adding new series to the roster. Even so, Mai’s history is undeniable, and she’s more than feasible enough for a “Dream Smasher.” I could easily envision a scenario where Sakurai wants to raise the count of females in the next game, and thus asks the famously cooperative SNK for their finest. It’d be especially neat if Smash paired this inclusion with Chun-Li’s, but since I’m not a fan of charge inputs, let’s keep our attention on the firebender.
Colors & Design
Usually, third-party reps join Smash in their original looks, then fall back on secondary ones for the alternate costumes. But considering Mai’s signature dress was enough to keep her from Ultimate, I’ll instead base her design off the biker gear we see in CotW and SF6. If any version of her has a shot at the roster, it’s the one wearing pants. Getting into specifics, although Smash might want to play it safe and zip her jacket up a little more, how far that’d go is anyone’s guess. And as for whether she’d wear the high heels from CotW or boots from SF6, we’d probably see the former. After all, the latter were made to sync up with the classic threads’ animations, but that’s no longer an issue. Costume aside, Mai also stands out with unique particle effects on her stronger moves, such as fiery splashes and cherry blossom leaves. Oh, and assuming the next Smash gives more fighters English voice acting, the shinobi would be played by Rebecca Rose.
Mai could go the way of Kazuya and bring a model swap to the fray, but I doubt the devs would wanna push their luck. Our resulting lack of the old-school dress is unfortunate, but her palette swaps still sport plenty of colors. I’m pulling from her SF6 recolors for this lineup, with the caveat that any of them could be tweaked to better fit Smash or stand out more. After her default in black and pink, we’ve got white and red, blue and white, green and black, orange and blue, white and purple, white and light blue (featuring darker skin, like with Terry’s black color), and pink and yellow (taking after her retro sprite).
How Would She Play?
Mai’s stats and properties:
- Weight: ∼ Peach (89)
- Height: ∼ Falco
- Overall Speed: ∼ Squirtle
- Walk Speed: 1.259
- Initial Dash: 2.42
- Run Speed: 2.006
- Air Speed: 0.957
- Fall Speed: 1.65
- Jump Height: ∼ Lucas (29.41)
- Multi-jumping? No
- Crawling? No
- Wall jumping? Yes
(A closer look at the stats)
Our subject’s moveset (which mainly takes cues from KoFXV, SF6, and CotW) shouldn’t be hard to envision, since Smash regularly hosts ninjas and fighting game characters. The interesting part comes in mashing those archetypes together, giving a Greninja-like hit-and-run fighter the gimmicks Terry, Ryu, and the rest enjoy. That being said, her mobility doesn’t match the likes of Sheik or Joker, so she’ll have to rely on her more down-to-earth ninjutsu to keep up. Fortunately, thanks to the disjoints and strong projectile provided by her throwing fan, she won’t have trouble playing footsies. And with a unique mobility tool or two, she’ll excel at confounding enemies. Basically, although she can achieve that flow state other stealth-based characters are known for, she does so with a more subdued flair. You know, pushing herself out of foes’ reach by safely hitting their shields, interrupting their attacks with a well-timed poke, that sort of thing.
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As far as exclusive mechanics go, Mai shares a good few with her contemporaries. She always faces opponents during one-on-ones, whips out stronger versions of her specials via motion inputs, and even sports a back special and dodge attack. Reusing all these ideas doesn’t sound too exciting, but they serve new purposes in the kunoichi’s hands. Where Terry’s playstyle is more reactive and about baiting and punishing, Mai is proactive in her efforts to pester enemies and open them up. Though, given her linear recovery, lack of reliable kill moves, and mediocre grappling, she isn’t infallible. Rather, she’s an honest and consistent addition to the fighting game reps, rewarding fundamentals and cleverness above all else. That’s how it should be, as making like a butterfly and floating out of reach, then zooming in to sting like a bee is the Shiranui way!
Boxing Ring Title: “The Queen of Fighters”
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| Series Icon |
Stock Icon |
Kirby Hat |
| Move Type |
Description |
| On-Screen Appearance
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Mai strolls into position with a spinning parasol in hand, using it to shield herself from the camera. Upon tossing the prop aside, she draws a fan and gets ready to fight. During this entrance, she says, “I am the pride of the Shiranui!” |
| Stance
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Mai’s signature stance isn’t for good boys and girls, so she’ll instead use her new one from CotW. It sees her simply standing tall with her legs spread apart and a folded fan in hand. |
| Idle #1
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Mai straightens up, rests her fan on her other hand, then arrogantly tilts her head. |
| Idle #2
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Mai moves her fan closer to her face, then playfully shimmies while swinging it back and forth. |
| Walk
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Mai maintains her stance and carefully paces forward or backward. To help with spacing, her movement is on the faster side. |
| Dash & Run
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After grabbing the fan with her mouth, Mai holds two fingers to her face and sprints ahead. It’s your typical ninja run, complete with low profile, but she’s got something unique when dashing backward. With just a flick, she quickly hops out of harm’s way, letting her evade certain attacks, and only following up with her full-on sprint if the input is held. |
| Crouch
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Mai puts one knee on the floor and holds her fan closer to her face. Although you’d expect a ninja to have a crawl, her fighting game roots and use of a weapon mean she doesn’t. |
| Jump
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Mai simply flips in her desired direction for both her jumps (jiggle physics not included). Like with Terry and the others, her jump doesn’t have much horizontal distance. On the bright side, she has a workaround… |
| Damage
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As Mai stumbles and occasionally squeals in pain, her ponytail and the string on her fan flail in all directions. |
| Shield
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Mai shields by covering herself with an open fan, then poses and angles it toward the camera upon parrying. |
| Dodge:
Blow Back
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(Source)
Mai’s dodges are your typical stuff, simply having her pirouette left, right, or in place. That being said, her spot dodge apes Terry’s in that she can follow it up with a dodge attack: a Ryuuenbu-esque tail strike. Of course, her new costume doesn’t have a tail, so she instead uses sakura leaves to spawn the outline of one. |
| Floor & Edge Attacks
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One of Mai’s floor attacks involves a fan strike along the ground and the other a sweeping kick. Meanwhile, her edge attack sees her flipping onto the stage and swinging forward with an open fan. |
| Neutral Attack:
Kunoichi Kick
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Mai’s jab is a three-hit combo with a twist. She starts with a short-ranged knee strike, does a leaping poke with the other, then finishes with a two-legged kick that vaults her off any foe or shield she impacts (if she whiffs, there’s no movement). Afterwards, she lands a short distance backward, but can instead cancel this part into her aerial down special… |
| Forward Tilt:
Fan Thrust
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Mai widens her stance and stabs the folded fan forward, poking through anyone in range with a small disjoint. Altogether, it’s a decent sword tilt that kills at high percents and helps with spacing. |
| Up Tilt:
Hoshi Kujaku
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Mai puts one arm on the ground and kicks both feet upward, letting her duck under certain moves and retaliate with a powerful launcher. Although the kick’s defensive merit means it’s a bit laggy, it can eventually net knockouts. |
| Down Tilt:
Shinobi Shoulder
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Mai rotates her torso and strikes ahead with her elbow. The tilt is slower and less spammable than Terry’s, but it makes up for that in strength and forward movement. |
| Dash Attack:
South Town Boot
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Mai concludes her dash with a turnaround kick, then takes a moment to grab her fan out of her mouth. It’s hefty and reaches farther than most dash attacks, so it’s great at catching airborne foes and even killing weary ones. |
| Forward Smash:
Sayo Chidori
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Mai reels her fan back, then dramatically swings it downward. Basically, it’s a weaker and shorter version of Marth’s forward smash, but with standout speed and fancy blossom effects. |
| Up Smash:
Hana Arashi
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After opening two fans, Mai spins fast enough to stir up some glowing leaves and rise above the ground (about as high as Incineroar’s down smash takes it). Between its multi hits and impressive reach, this risky move does a great job swatting foes out of the air. |
| Down Smash:
Koukaku no Mai
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Mai slides a short distance along the ground, then follows up with a kick at the end of the move. Although this is a canon technique of hers, it actually works just like Harley’s down attack in MultiVersus (minus that one’s absurd range). |
| Neutral Aerial:
Nippon Knee
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Mai extends her knee for a brief period, repelling nearby foes with either the initial strike or lingering hitbox. Functionally, it’s the ever-reliable sex kick. |
| Forward Aerial:
Fan Flourish
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Mai opens her fan and swings it from side to side. The disjoint’s narrow angle resembles Mythra’s forward air, but faster and stubbier. |
| Back Aerial:
Shiranui Ryuu
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Mai turns around and swings her open fan in an upward arc, but not before covering it with fire. Although the move’s slower startup is a problem, its range and power are undeniable. |
| Up Aerial:
Ougi Kuzunoha
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Mai channels her inner Sonic, curling into a ball and spinning vertically. As she does so, a blazing circle engulfs her and traps anyone in her path. This up air is a weird one, but it does its job thanks to the hitbox reaching a ways above Mai herself. Even better, its multi hits give her access to drag downs, which are a Smash ninja staple. |
| Down Aerial:
Ukihane
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Mai opens two fans beneath herself, weakly launching enemies and delaying her fall. It’s like Lucario’s down air in that she can use it to mix her landings up, but it’ll only stall her once per airtime. |
| Grab:
Kidnap
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Mai reaches forward with her free hand and tries to swipe a foe. As expected of a weapon wielder’s grab, it’s stiff and wanting for reach. |
| Pummel:
Fan Smack
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Mai punches her prisoner with her fan-holding hand. Given her middling grab game, this pummel isn’t very fast. |
| Forward Throw:
Up & Over
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Mai grabs her foe’s shoulders and does a handstand over them, then flips over and tosses them a ways ahead. As expected of the lax animation, it’s mainly used for repositioning. |
| Back Throw:
Heated Headlock
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Mai wraps her enemy’s head with her legs, then slams them backward. It’s not the strongest throw, but it launches at a decently low angle. |
| Up Throw:
Shrine Drop
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Mai leaps with her victim in tow, flips herself on top of them, then poses as if meditating during their descent. The move’s coolness conveys its role as Mai’s best kill throw, but that isn’t saying much. |
| Down Throw:
Senkotsu Uchi
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Mai grabs the papery part of her fan, then drives its handle into her foe to ground them. Although it’s her highest-damaging throw, it doesn’t launch at angles good for combos or kills. |
| Neutral Special:
Kachousen
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Mai’s signature fireball sees her tossing a spinning fan forward. If tapped, the projectile slowly flies the same length you’d expect from a Hadoken, then flinches targets and deals slight damage. Generally, it’s decent at zoning and great for those looking to approach from behind a hitbox. If the input is held, Mai instead tosses two fans that move faster, hit harder, and surprise those expecting something slower. Finally, holding even longer yields four fans that do the previous version’s job better. Situational, but like with Byleth’s charged Failnaught, fun in free-for-alls. |
| Forward Special:
Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi
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When grounded, Mai cartwheels forward and carries the momentum into a leaping elbow strike. The first part helps her avoid stray hits, while the second pokes at foes. Though, it’s important that she hits shields with the elbow’s late hit, since that’s what makes it safe. When used in the air, Mai forgoes the cartwheel and ignites the elbow strike, propelling her ahead in a Fire Fox-like manner. Oh, and activating either version by inputting “↓  → + attack/special” strengthens it. |
| Back Special:
Ryuuenbu
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Mai spins in place and whips a tail of fire ahead, dealing decent damage, safely poking shields with good spacing, and knocking foes at one of two angles. If hit with the sweet spot at the tail’s tip, they’re sent directly upward and left vulnerable to an aerial follow-up, while the sour spot on the rest of it simply launches them diagonally. Meanwhile, the airborne Ryuuenbu trades precision for coverage, mostly helping with landings or edgeguards. By the way, “↓  ← + attack/special” serves as these moves’ special input. |
| Up Special:
Hishou Ryuuenjin
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Mai engulfs her feet in fire and backflips through the skies, bringing nearby enemies along via her multi-hitting flames. Although this dragon punch-esque recovery comes out quickly, its angle is predictable and its final hit doesn’t launch very far. Even so, using it with the input “→ ↓ + attack/special” gives it a handy damage multiplier. |
| Down Special:
Musasabi no Mai
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When used on the ground, Mai leaps diagonally upward, quickly traveling an impressive distance and maintaining her speed until she acts out of the lunge. Basic as this move sounds, it’s an incredible movement tool that lets her engage from afar and circumvent her weak jump. When airborne, this special instead sees Mai zooming diagonally downward, knocking anyone in her way, and refusing to exit it until she either lands or takes damage. Overall, this one’s great for making quick landings and synergizing with the leap (along with her jab), but both down specials lack a special input. |
| Final Smash:
Enbu Ada Zakura
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Mai’s supers tend to be flashy and doused in flames, so we’ll keep that in mind when pitching an original one. She begins by tossing her fan a ways ahead, which corrals anyone it flies through. Afterwards, she puts her hands together and summons an armada of fiery Mai clones, all of which converge on their targets and fuse into a blazing tornado. Finally, the real Mai leaps atop the carnage and launches her victims with a decisive sweep of her fan. |
| Up Taunt:
Shiranui Classic
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After relaxing her stance, Mai opens her fan and strikes her iconic pose. All the while, she exclaims her usual catchphrase: “Nippon Ichi!” |
| Side Taunt:
Let’s Have Some Fun!
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Mai spins in place, ends with one hand on her hip and her fan covering her mouth, then says, “Let’s have some fun!” |
| Down Taunt:
Ignited Idol
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Using her upside-down fan as a microphone, Mai points to the sky and yells, “Feast your eyes!” As she does so, a spotlight surrounds her and flames erupt on both sides, causing minimal knockback to those nearby. Basically, this acts like a sister to Greninja’s damaging down taunt. |
| Victory Pose #1
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Mai performs a waist-up version of her aforementioned pose. For added flair, it’d be pretty cool if Smash used CotW’s screen transition for all her wins instead of the standard one. |
| Victory Pose #2
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Mai rests her fan-holding hand on her hip, leans downward, and winks at the camera. Somewhat seductive, but trying to hide that side of her would be a lost cause. |
| Victory Pose #3
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The petal-littered scene opens on Mai in the middle of a backflip. After gracefully landing, she smiles and opens her fan toward the camera. |
| Victory Fanfare
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Mai could probably share Terry’s fanfare, but I usually prefer to give these concepts something new. In this case, let’s go with a short segment of “Enryuujin,” Mai’s recurring theme. Specifically, I’m envisioning something that sounds like the latter part of its SF6 version. |
Closing Thoughts
It’s been years since the last time I gave a fighting game character a “Dream Smasher.” While these movesets tend to come together easily, deciding on who to spotlight wasn’t as simple. I’ve loved my time with SF6, and it made a splash in the Switch 2’s big Direct, so it felt right to choose someone from there. Luke’s relevant, Chun-Li’s iconic, and Cammy’s my main, but Mai hit the streets just in time for me to consider her (and, for good measure, try her out in Fatal Fury 2 and CotW). She’s got a fun moveset and that whole “deconfirmed” angle, after all. Even better, I recently fell for Mega Man X4 and had the sudden urge to cram Ryuuenjin into a concept! The Smash gap clearly has me grasping at straws for article ideas, and while there’s still fun in that, I’m looking forward to that overpriced console finally releasing and breaking this silence…
