When Does Mai Release in Street Fighter 6?
After a few weeks of waiting, fight fans finally got their look at the latest DLC fighter from Street Fighter 6, Mai Shiranui. Mai's gameplay looks flashy, progressive and intense. While SF6 is an aggressive game by nature, Mai looks to be one of the most oppressive characters we've seen yet, with tools to control a match from almost anywhere on the screen. While we have no release date at this time, Mai is due for release this Winter. But in the meantime, her kit looks to be something to truly be reckoned with.
Let it Burn
In the trailer, we got to see a number of Mai's moves and generally her style of play. Typically in her native games, Mai has been a keep away character with strong air tools. That hasn't changed, but her ability to turn that zoning into damage looks incredible in SF6. Her trademark moves like Kachousen, Musasabi No Mai and Ryuuenbu all return. So long time players of the character from the Fatal Fury and King of Fighter's games will have quite a bit of familiarity with Mai on day one. But there's so much more to her in this iteration.
In a Steam Blog post, Capcom broke down some Mai's mechanics. She primarily centers around "Flame Stocks" that empower the vast majority of her moves. She gets 5 of them which means you could use a stock for some sick setups, or blow it all in one massive combo. With Flame Stocks, Mai can throw more fans and they hit more. Her Mususabi no Mai and Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi moves are buffed and hit more. And both her level 1 and level 2 Super Moves are empowered. This could essentially make Mai an "install" type character. One where she is significantly less effective until you get enough meter to activate her buff and then finally unleash her power.
Classic Callbacks
Capcom didn't shy away from Mai's in-universe rivalry with Chun-Li, starting the trailer with a battle between the two. The two characters serve as foils to one another and also serve as mascots for their respective game series'. Like Terry before her, Mai's move set, music and costume are all homages to her previous appearances. The music that plays in the trailer is an updated version of her stage theme from Fatal Fury 2. In addition to that, her alternate costume is her more updated look that will also appear in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, later this year. That plus the inclusion of some of her lesser known moves, like Hishou Ryuuenjin, make this version of Mai feel like the same labor of love that Terry's inclusion was.
When Does Mai Release?
Going against the near 5-week-long wait Terry had, Mai is set to release on February 6th. In between that time, we'll be sure to get one of Capcom's character guides that will further explain Mai's game plan and mechanics. After that, only Elena remains as the final DLC character of season 2.