The King of Fighters XIII/Mai Shiranui
Gameplay Notes
Less combo friendly, losing her anti-air from her repertoire, and having one of lowest damage outputs to her MaxCancel combos (due to damage scaling from her DM) makes even the most diehard Mai fans cringe when they first tryout XIII Mai. It's easy almost to chalk her off as fan-service for the "No Mai, No buy" XII-complainers.
Mai (XIII), however, really belongs to this growing list of revamped (and refreshing) characters such as Ralf, Chin, Iori and even Kensou. Once mastered, she's really a deadly weapon and some have reported that she's a lot more interesting to play than her former, formulaic iterations.
Pokes, priority, speed, and everything in between. Mai has amazing pokes; all of her ground pokes near and far are good. Close/Far C is fast and kind of acts as a pseudo anti-air (the close version is cancelable). Far D is meaty, has good range, and has a nice upward slant. Close/Far B has good range and is quick. Far A/Close A is fast and cancelable. Next thing one will realize about her is awesome priority: sick. Her priority is pretty disgusting and it was probably designed that way to compensate for a lack of a real anti-air. If timed correctly, Mai's j.B and j.C will even beat Kyo's wake up Oniyaki (dp+P). She has excellent air normals, in particular her j.CD is real fast (and a huge hitbox to boot), and her crossups are great and reliable (j.C and j.B). Her air throw is extremely threatening when you factor in her sheer speed hence, it is always a good habit to hold any direction (but up) plus C when you jump, to throw your opponent if they try to attack you air to air. Her dash speed is definitely one of the fastest in the game which work hand-in-hand with her pokes excellently. Everything combined, makes her have good offensive pressure and helps make her the perfect battery character.
Mai's pitfall is that she struggles to do great damage mid-screen. Mai's d.B, d.A/s.A, hcf+D (Hisstatsu Shinobi Baichi) combo is hard to hit confirm as well (remember she has no command attacks anymore) and she'll get punished easily if the opponent blocks your hcf+K. Her air.qcb+P (Musasabi No Mai)is not safe either; the Ex version is only safe if you aim it at their feet.
During a wake up block string, d.A, d.C works wonders and it will catch your opponent off guard the first couple of times. Do not risk throwing out too many blocked Ryuenbu to a savvy opponent as they are easily GCAB rolled --> punish. The only decent block string for pressure is j.CD, s.CD, qcf+C. If the opponent tries jump after the s.CD, more that likely they will get hit by the C Kachosen since the s.CD puts them in a longer hit stun.
Her only mid screen combo that's decent is a jump attack of choice, d.B, d.A/s.A, Ex Ryuenbu (qcb+P), hcf+D which is pretty handy considering you don't need to blow a drive cancel. Beware, if d.C --> C Ryuenbu is spaced even slightly apart, it will not combo. Alternatively, one can do d.B, d.A/s.A, Ex hcf K, far D even though it does slightly less damage.
On the subject of spacing, Mai's jump arcs need time adjusting to, because of her speed, making you miss the opponent when going for jump-ins if not used to it. Poke away or j.CD the opponents and overall just zone them until they are in the corner. Even when in the corner, her Ex Ryuenbu > C Ryuenbu > C Ryuenbu > air throw is so picky on timing that it's best off skipping the last C Ryuenbu and going for the air throw. Much like Hwa Jai, she doesn't have much mid-screen options but turns in to a monster in the corner (especially in HD).
A special mention to her Ex Kachosen (qcf+P), it is extremely fast and will catches people off guard. Even her C Kachosen is fast again. When connecting her Kachosen, her NeoMax can be quickly linked even from a full screen away. Also, her j.B, j.D, and j.CD have a special property which allows them to wall jump AFTER they have put the opponent in block stun, in the corner, from above.
In hindsight, SNK did a good job taking an cookie-cutter character (jump attack > stand attack > command attack > special attack) and made her gameplay more interesting. All in all, despite her shortcomings, her pros compensate and she belongs in the solid mid-tier section.
Pros
- Great Pokes
- Good normals
- Awesome priority
- Very fast
- Good keep away
- Great battery or second character
- 50/50 high/low and cross-up mix-ups
- Arguably the best Neomax in the game
- Damaging 2 meter corner HD combo
- High jump arcs enable to her to control air-air battles along with throw option
Cons
- Damaging combos do not really emerge until she corners the opponent
- Low damage in general outside of corner HD combos
- High jump arcs makes her more susceptible to anti-air tactics
- Weak under pressure, specially if cornered
- No reversal options under 2 meters
Normals
Standing
st. A: 25 damage, chain/cancel-able, hits mid. A quick standing horizontal poke, very fast and is cancel-able and it chain into s.A again or s.B.
st. B: 30 damage, hits mid. Mai leans back and tilts slightly giving a quick kick to the chest/head area, also very fast, great poke overall.
st. C: 80 damage, hits mid. A very fast over the head forward swing with her fan. This move has a decent hit box and is the normal of choice against hoppers an hyper hoppers.
st. D: 80 damage, hits mid. Mai faces towards the screen leans back and does a sidekick upward at a 20 degree angle, somewhat similar looking to her s.C (close version) If used preemptively, her far D works well against hoppers also.
Close Normals
cl. A: 25 damage, chain/cancel-able, hits mid. A quick standing horizontal poke, very fast and is cancel-able and it chain into s.A again or s.B (same as far A).
cl. B: 30 damage, hits mid. Mai leans back and tilts slightly giving a quick kick to the chest/head area, also very fast, great poke overall. (Same as far B)
cl. C: 70 damage, cancel-able, hits mid. A very fast over the head forward swing with her fan. This move has a decent hit box and is the normal of choice against hoppers an hyper hoppers. (Same as far C)
cl. D: 70 damage, cancel-able, hits mid. Mai faces away from the screen leans back and does a sidekick upward at a 35 degree angle. It would seem that s.D has a larger cancel window than s.C.
Crouching
d. A: 25 damage, chain/cancel-able, hits mid. A standard quick poke to the shins, it still can be blocked high but it has great recovery. On wake up opponents, d.A --> d.C is a great pressure string. This is chain-able to d.A, s.A, and s.B; it also is cancel-able.
d. B: 30 damage, chain-able, hits low. Also a very standard low hitting down B, chains easily to d.A/s.A/s.B.
d. C: 70 damage, cancel-able, hits mid. Mai's d.C from the previous years. A very meaty crouch back-elbow attack that is perfect for canceling out of. This move makes Mai crouch down extra low (on a very petite character to begin with) and will duck many high hitting moves if spaced correctly (Terry's Crack Shot etc.).
d. D: 80 damage, cancel-able, hits low. Another one of her normals from the older version. A standard sweep, it is cancel-able.
Jumping
j. A: 45(40) damage, cancel-able, hits overhead. Quick poke with her fan angled 45 degrees downwards. It stays out for quite some time so it's a pretty safe bet even for air-to-air battles and it works well air-to-ground and is also cancel-able.
j. B: 45(40) damage, cancel-able, hits overhead. Mai leans in and knees forwards, somewhat like Joe's Tiger Kick. Her j.B stays out for a long time, good air-to-ground, crosses up easily, and is cancel-able.
j. C: 72(70) damage, cancel-able, hits overhead. A very quick over-the-head forward fan swing (somewhat similar to her s.C) except she's jumping of course, and her body is tucked in. This move is very fast and has real good priority, it cancels, works well air-to-air and air-to-ground (crosses up well also but not as good as j.B). Also, if you hold any direction but up, Mai will perform an air throw. Easily her more versatile jump attack.
j. D: 70(68) damage, cancel-able, hits overhead. A very standard, ninja-like (martial arts like) air kick angled 45 degrees. Decent air-to-air (but j.C and j.B is better), great air-to-ground, and it also cancels.
Blowback Attack
CD: 75 damage, whiff/cancel-able, hits mid. Mai spins around real quick and her "tail" whips the opponent.
j. CD: 90(80) damage, cancel-able, hits mid. Somewhat similar to her ground CD, Mai spins around and whips her opponent. It is real fast and has great air-to-air priority and good horizontal hitbox.
GCCD: 10 damage, hits mid. Guard Cancel Blowback Attack: Same kick as her close D.
Throw
Fuusha Kuzushi = Close (b/f+C/D): 100 damage, can be broken, causes a hard knockdown. Mai uses her legs to wrap around the opponent's neck, flips over them and drops them to the ground.
- After C throw in the corner you can roll for an ambiguous roll setup that crosses up, or roll late to land on the same side each option leads to meaty d. b.
Yura = close in air (b/d/f+C): 125 damage, can't be broken. Mai grabs their body and plants both hands on their torso as if it was a pommel horse and as she "springs over" them she lands her knees onto their body and rides them down to the ground.
- After air throw ender in the corner you delay a full jump > J[1]D for a safejump setup. NOTE: For the safejump setup certain characters get up slowly so some need a Super Jump which are as follows: Ash, Yuri, Kensou
Command Moves
Filler Picture
"There's no picture of the wall jump in the mook, just read the description below!"
Wall Jump = (press uf when near the wall in the air, ub on the 2P side. Basically, the diagonal up direction away from the wall) -
- Area Detection: 1P Wall (uf) / 2P Wall (ub)
Ukihane = in air (d+B): Mai does a double knee downwards just like her air throw frames. She flips up slightly before coming downwards. This move has very high priority and has been known to beat certain DPs but is extremely punishable if blocked although it can be canceled.
- Cancelable
- Hit Detection: Mid
- Damage: 60
Special Moves
Kachousen = (qcf+P): Mai's trademark fan toss. It is still of great debate where Mai pulls her fans out from.
(EX) = qcf+AC -
- Super Cancelable
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 60/120
Ryuuenbu = (qcb+P): Mai whips around hitting the opponent with her "tail". It's basically a flaming version of her s.CD with a decently large hitbox. The A version is faster but C version hits twice if close enough. Canceling off the first hit sets up juggle opportunities in the corner.
(EX) = qcb+AC -
- Drive/Super Cancelable
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 65/40+65/50+80
Hissatsu Shinobi Baichi = (hcf+K): Mai does a quick cartwheel (like her forward roll) and does a lunging elbow as she leans her entire body into it. D version hits 4 times (but it has to hit pretty low for the first hit to connect and the B version hits 3 times. The Ex version hits six times and the last hit is pretty deceptive as it's the same elbow frame except it hits an extra hit. Ex version leaves you much safer than the non-Ex version.
(EX) = hcf+BD -
- Drive/Super Cancelable
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage:45x3/50x2+45+50/32x6
Musasabi No Mai = (c.d~u+P): Sends Mai shooting towards the back corner. You can force Mai to jump on the other corner by doing c.d~uf+P. If you hold onto the P it will make Mai perform her Musasabi No Mai. If you just tap the P she'll land on the wall but then fall to the ground.
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 70
Musasabi No Mai (Air) = (qcb+P) in air: Mai dives to the ground head first. Generally a very unsafe move if blocked.
(EX) = qcb+AC in air -
- Drive/Super Cancelable
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 70/48xN+48
Desperation Moves
Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Baichi = (qcb hcf+K) air version for non Ex only:
Another trademark move for Mai. Her whole body engulfs in flame as she does the cartwheel forward into the leaning elbow just like her hcf+K. This move sadly has a low priority considering it being a DM. The Ex version is slightly better and quicker but due to the forward motion, if the opponent is right above you the Ex DM will miss them completely so it is unwise to use as an anti-air. Her air version is returns after last being in '95 under a hidden movelist, not the best priority, use sparingly.
'(EX) = qcb hcf+BD
- Max Cancelable
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 30+25x8(25x8)/45+25x11
Neomax
Kunoichi no Mai = (qcf hcb+AC) also in air: Mai does Musasabi No Mai and springs quickly to the wall and quickly dives towards the opponent. Reports indicate her dive is just short of fullscreen. This move is relatively quick and will connect if say the opponent is hit by her qcf+P. If her dive connects, she'll proceed to dive in multiple directions (Mai actually spells out a Chinese/Kanji character) finally landing, does a pose point to the screen with her fan and the opponent explodes leaving the kanji "woman" (onna) burning in flames, very cool.
- Hit Detection: High
- Damage: 0+450
Combos
(Starters are: d.B, d.A/s.A; s.C/s.D and are interchangeable)
No Stock, 1+ Drive Gauge -
[Corner] s.C, hcf+K (2hits), [DC] air.qcb+C, qcb+C, air throw = 383 dmg
[Corner] cr.B, cr.B, cr.A xx hcf+B [DC] (air) qcb+C, qcb+C, Air Throw = 351 dmg
1 Stock, No Drive Gauge -
j.D, j.d.B [128]
s.C, Ex hcf K, Far D = 260 dmg
s.C, Ex qcb P, hcd D = 267 dmg
cr.B, cr.B, cr.A, hcf+BD, st.D = 246 dmg
[Corner] s.C, Ex hcf K, qcb C, s.C = 316 dmg
[Corner] s.C, qcb+AC, qcb+C, qcb+C, air throw = 431 dmg
[Corner] cr.B, cr.B, cr.A, qcb+AC, qcb+C, qcb+C, qcb+C, Air Throw = 436 dmg
1 Stock, 1+ Drive Gauge -
[Corner] s.C, Ex qcb P, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [DC] qcf+P, qcb C, qcb C, s.C = 497 dmg
[Corner] s.C, Ex qcb P, qcb C, hcf D [2hits[, [DC] qcb C, qcb C, qcb C, air throw = 514 dmg
[Corner] cr.B, cr.B, cr.A, qcb+AC,qcb+C, qcb+C, qcb+C [DC] qcf+A, qcb+C, Air Throw = 465 dmg
2 Stock, No Drive Gauge -
s.C, Ex qcb P, qcb~hcf+K DM = 315 dmg
[Corner] s.C, Ex qcb~hcf+K, air throw = 408 dmg
2 Stock, 1+ Drive Gauge -
[Corner] s.C, Ex hcf K, qcb C [1hit], [DC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C x2, s.C = 455 dmg
[Corner] s.C, Ex qcb P, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [DC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C, air throw = 543 dmg
[Corner] s.C, Ex qcb P, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [DC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C x2, s.C = 554 dmg
3 Stock, 1+ Drive Gauge -
[Corner] d.B, s.A, Ex qcb P, qcb P, hcf D [2hits], [DC] qcb C x2, Ex qcb~hcf+K = 580 dmg
HD Combos
No Stock -
(1) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D, [HDC] air.qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf D [1hit], [HDC] qcb A, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, air throw [640]
(2) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D, [HDC] air.qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf B [1hit], [HDC] qcb C, (hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C) x2, qcb C, air throw [659]
2 Stock -
(3) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, (qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] qcf A) x2, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C, qcb C, s.C [655]
(4) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb P, hcd D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C x2, air throw [711]
(5) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf B [1hit], [HDC] qcb A, (hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C) x2, qcb C, Ex qcb~hcf+ K [769]
(6) [corner]j.C, s.C, HD, dash D, (hcf D [1hit], [HDC] qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P) x2, hcf D [1hit], [HDC] qcb A, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, air throw [619]
4 Stock -
(7) [corner]s.C, [HD], s.C, hcf B [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb P, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] qcf A, [MC] NM [776]
(8) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D, [HDC] air.qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcf A, [MC] qcf~hcb +AC NM [799]
(9) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD], s.C, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb P, (hcf D [2hits],[HDC] qcb C) x2, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcf P, qcf~hcb+AC NM[/url]. (Approx. 790dmg) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvJsHUl1qX8#t=0m14)
4 Stock -
(10) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb P, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C, qcb C [1hit], [HDC] Ex qcb P, qcb A, qcb C, Ex qcb~hcf +K DM [808]
(11) [corner]j.C, s.C, [HD] s.D, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] air.qcb P, hcf D [2hits], [HDC] qcb C, hcf B [1hit], [HDC] qcb C, qcb C, Ex qcb~hcf +K DM, [MC] qcf~hcb +AC NM [908]
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