________ /_ ____ | /_______ / /| | | | | | /|_|_|_|__ /\ -+- | | \ | / _|_|_|_|_ _/| \_ | |--| / \ /_ _| | / \ / \_ /\/ _|_|_ | \ _/ / | [Kanji of Shiranui Mai, courtesy of Andy Bogard] CAPCOM VS SNK A GUIDE TO MAI SHIRANUI EASYE (Ernesto Schweikert) FEBRUARY 2001 VERSION 1.4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COPYRIGHT: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is copyright Ernesto Schweikert, 2001. Copying of this FAQ is limited to non-commercial purposes, and let me know if you intend to post this FAQ at easye@bu.edu. The least you can do is notify me so I know where to send updates and the extent of my power :) Seriously, though, you're not paying for having this on your website! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Intro Revision History Contact Info Profile of Mai Legend Throws Normal Moves Special Moves Super Moves Strategy EX Mai Miscellaneous Credits ----------------------------------------------------------------------- REVISION HISTORY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.4 - Welcome to the "Mai, mai, mai" edition, where you will find everything you need to know about your favorite bouncy ninja in CvS. Much thanks to Andy Bogard for his contribution to this update. 1.3 - HOPEFULLY fixed the spacing problem; more importantly, added some awesome combos I saw on James Chen's most excellent Fatal Fury Characters Combo Exhibition on Shoryuken.com. I recommend you go see these for yourself, and check out the website if you haven't done so already. You will learn TONS from that place. Also added some poking tactics I picked up over the weekend. 1.2 - Fixed some more spacing problems in Notepad. To all you budding FAQ writers out there, never use the tab button! That's all for now. 1.1 - Mainly fixed some spacing problems arising from Windows to text file copying. Pretty exciting stuff, huh? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRO: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm not that surprised by the lack of Mai guides on the net; not just for Capcom vs. SNK (henceforth referred to as CvS), but for all other games she's made an appearance in. She doesn't seem to be one of the more popular characters, but I figure I can still help a few people with this guide. Coincidentally, the lack of Ibuki guides led me to make a guide for her, and now I'm starting to realize that I have an obsession with female ninjas. Indeed, had she not a couple already, I'd write a guide for Psylocke in MvC 2. But I digress... Like most female ninjas, Mai has speed and a variety of moves. Unfortunately, the latter has been reduced considerably in CvS. She has gained better priority, however, and remains a threat if played properly (plus she retains that certain, hypnotic bounce in her step... must drink milk). On the other hand, like most female ninjas, too, Mai is weak and does not take damage well. I hope this guide teaches you to maximize her strengths and minimize her weaknesses. If you don't know the basics of CvS, I suggest checking out any of the general game guides available at www.gamefaqs.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTACT INFO: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Any questions/corrections/comments/awesome combos, e-mail me at easye@bu.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PROFILE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "You must have been intimidated by my strength, attractiveness, and beauty." Fighting Style: Shiranui Ninja Arts Birth Date: January 1 Age: 21 Country: Japan Blood Type: B Height: 165 cm Weight: 45 kg Hobbies: Cooking (she's especially into making Japanese boxed lunches) Favorite Food: Stewed foods (USA) Favorite Food: Ozouni (a New Year's dish including rice cakes with vegetables) (Japan) Mastered Sport: Japanese badminton Prized Things: Ornamental hairpins inherited from her grandmother Dislikes: Spiders Mai is a Ratio 2 character in CvS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGEND: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WP Weak Punch WK Weak Kick SP Strong Punch SK Strong Kick T Towards D Down B Back U Up P Punch K Kick ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THROWS: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Throw often because throws in this game hurt. Both of Mai's throws share some good damage and priority. Remember, there's nothing wrong with throwing. SHIRANUI GOURIN - (up close, B or F and SP): Mai does a handstand flip over the opponent and then throws them overhead. Direction pressed determines which way Mai throws her foe. Launches farther than the other throw, so use this to create distance between you and your opponent. FUUSHA KUZUSHI - (up close, B or F and SK): Mai uses her feet to choke slam her foe. Direction pressed determines which way Mai throws her opponent. Use this if you want to play wake-up games. YUME ZAKURA - (in air and up close, B or F and SP or SK): Mai leaps unto her opponent, using her weight to create a free fall and her opponent as a human cushion. Whenever this move comes out, 99% of the time it will be accidentally. That's because there's no air blocking in this game, so there's not much strategy in, reason for, or chance of using air throws. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NORMAL MOVES: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- When standing, Mai: WP - strikes directly in front of her with her folded fan. Has good reach, but is slow. You won't be using this too much. Up close, it comes out a tad faster, but you still don't want to use it. WK - kicks high with her back leg. Like her WK, has good reach, but is slow and misses crouching opponents. Unlike the KOF series, this kick is no longer reliable anti-air. Up close, Mai performs a weird kick to the shins that comes out fast and combos. SP - swings her extended fan downwards. Slow and lacking in priority, the good news is that it's highly combo-able and hits crouching opponents. T + SP - hits at a 60 degree angle with her folded fan. Mai's best anti-air, this comes out fast and has good priority. Rendered useless against crouching opponents. Furthermore, the move will trade hits with or whiff against opponents who are trying a cross-up or landing right on top of you. In these cases, block, roll, or use a jumping WK. SK - spins and delivers a big boot, er, sandal to her opponent's face. This move has nothing going for it except reach, but avoid this anyhow. Up close, Mai does an Ibuki roundhouse that comes out extremely fast and can be comboed into but not from. When crouching, Mai: WP - defies logic when she strikes her opponent with her "tail" of clothing. This move may look goofy, but it's Mai's best poke because it has good reach and priority. WK - slides her near foot across the ground. Slightly faster and more combo-able than the WP. SP - leans into a spinning elbow that has good priority, damage, speed, and is highly combo-able. The only drawback of this move is its poor reach. SK - simply sweeps her opponent. This move has good reach and is fast; still, it suffers from noticeable recovery time. Buffer with a fan. When jumping, Mai: WP - strikes below herself with two folded fans (I don't know where the second fan comes from, either). This move is quite sticky and has best priority when your foe is under you. Limited cross-up ability. WK - sticks out a knee. Also quite sticky, big priority, Mai's best air-to-air, and decent cross-up ability. SP - swings her extended fan downward. Good speed, some air-to-air capabilities, but lacks range and priority. SK - kicks at a slightly downward angle in her traditional SK pose. Your main weapon when jumping-in, this kick is fast, carries nice range, and is highly combo-able. It suffers somewhat in the priority department, but makes up for it with decent cross-up ability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL MOVES: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I list the Japanese name of a move first and then give it an English name based on its description (not a translation), all followed by the move's command input. For convenience's sake, I refer to the move by the homemade English name for the rest of the guide. SANKAKU TOBI - Off-the-wall jump (Jump towards a wall, then push UF as soon as you touch the wall): This move is handy when trying to escape corner traps or to cross-up your opponent with WP. Use sparsely. KACHOU SEN - Butterfly Fan (D, DT, T, P): Mai throws her fan in standard fireball pattern. Punch used determines speed of fireball, with strong punch going faster than weak. Moderate damage and priority, below-average recovery time (the recovery animation is worth it, though :) Adds Andy Bogard: The Kachou Sen will pass right over Terry's Power Wave or Rugal's Reppuken. Keep that in mind before starting a projectile war. RYUU ENBU - Flame Twirl (D, DB, B, P): Mai spins around, creating a blast of flame energy with her fan. As far as I can tell, the punch you use makes no difference. If you're really close, the move hits twice, once with the fan and again with the flame. Capcom toned down this move, increasing its recovery time and reducing the distance to get a two-hitter. Nonetheless, this move finishes combos nicely, and the recovery time is not too bad. MUSASABI NO MAI (KUUCHUU) - Air Dive (in air, D, DB, B, P): Mai dives towards her opponent, fan in mouth. The punch used determines the angle Mai dives at; strong punch comes down at a slightly wide angle while weak punch goes down at a slightly sharp angle (Thanks to Andy Bogard for confirming this). The dive carries good priority, damage, and speed, but its start-up is so slow that the move becomes anticipatory. Recovery times vary, depending how close you land to your opponent, though usually not in your favor. Can be comboed. Adds Andy Bogard: Do a Kuuchuu Musasabi no Mai after a triangle jump for escaping corner traps. This creates a lot of space between you and your opponent, leaving you time to think and breath. MUSASABI NO MAI (CHIJOU) - Wall Dive (Charge D, U, P): The same exact move as above, with the same exact properties, excepting one difference - she starts on the ground, quickly leaps towards a wall, and then does her air dive (somewhat resembles Vega's off-the-wall moves). The following is a list regarding the quirks of this move. 1) You can choose what wall Mai jumps to by pressing UB for the wall behind her and UF for the wall facing her (simply pressing up results in the wall behind her). Good confuse and surprise value with this. 2) You cannot aim the dive itself, and, unfortunately, this is the move's biggest drawback. The Wall Dive doesn't auto-aim like Vega's moves. Instead, Mai will usually land in the spot she leapt from, plus or minus her sweep distance. 3) Occasionally, Mai will leap to a wall but not finish with an air dive. (This also happens with Vega.) This will happen when you are far from the intended wall and your opponent is moving, causing the screen to scroll, effectively 'abolishing the wall' Mai was jumping to. 4) You cannot combo into the move. You can, however, combo from the move if your foe is in the corner. Check out the combos section for more. HISSATSU SHINOBI BACHI - Elbow Lunge (B, DB, D, DT, T, K): Mai cartwheels into a lunging elbow hop that spans the entire screen. The cartwheel hits once (if done close enough) as well as the elbow itself. Obviously, the range on this move rocks, as do its damage, start-up, and speed. On the other hand, priority is so-so, and the recovery time invites your foe to a free super. Thusly, use this move in only two situations: in combos and to punish mistakes from afar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPER MOVES: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I list super moves in the same manner as special moves. The description given is for the level 1 super. A new paragraph follows for any changes in the level 2 and 3 versions. BENI SUZAKU - Super Air Dive (in air, D, DB, B, D, DB, B, P): An Air Dive with flames engulfing Mai's body. The same exact properties as a normal air dive - fast, damaging, speedy, but slow on start-up and unfavorable recovery times. Can be comboed and hits up to 3 times, but cannot be aimed. A word of caution: though Mai's entire body is ablaze during the move, her hit frames remain around her head. So don't expect opponents jumping on top of you to get hit by the uppermost flames. No changes in the level 2 or 3 versions except for more hits. CHOU HISSATSU SHINOBI BACHI - Super Elbow Lunge (D, DB, B, DB, D, DT, T, K): A fiery Elbow Lunge that hits up to 7 times. Same properties as the normal Elbow Lunge except it hits more and does more damage. A lot more damage. I'd say this is one of the most damaging level 1 supers in the game. This move usually pushes opponents far away enough to make serious retaliation impossible. However, Capcom took out the invincibility frames from the level 1 version, so its only use is now in combos. Level 2 - No change except for an extra hit. It doesn't do much more damage than level 1, so stick to either level 1 or 3 of this move. (I think it carries the same priority as a level 1, but I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm?) Level 3 - Mai flips with invincibility frames into the air and performs an Elbow Lunge that spawns a spectacular conflagration around her body. The move hits about 11 times and reaches almost full screen. The elbow thrust itself is quick and highly damaging, and the recovery time is smaller than levels 1 and 2 but still noticeable. Hands down Mai's best super. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- COMBOS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Moves in parentheses are optional or can be used as an alternative. Optional jump-in attacks include cross-up attacks. Combos with the Super Elbow Lunge exclude the level 3 version. Master these! You can link up to 3 crouching WKs or crouching WPs. (Jump in attack), (crouching) close WK, (crouching WK), (Super) Elbow Lunge (Jump in SP or SK), (crouching) SP, any ground special or super move except the (Super) Elbow Lunge Jump in SK, Level 3 Super Air Dive Note: Tricky combo. Timing the cancelling of the Air Dive is difficult. When your opponent is airborne: Any jumping normal move, (Super) Air Dive Note: Although you can technically connect the (Super) Air Dive from any jumping normal move, you have a better chance of connecting if you use WP or SK. Poking Tactics: (Jump in WP or WK), crouching WK, close WK, crouching SK, Butterfly Fan Note: The Butterfly Fan will not connect if you succesfully sweep the opponent. On the other hand, the fan will cover Mai as she recovers from a blocked sweep. Thanks to Andy Bogard for the following combo: Jump in SP or SK, Level 3 Super Elbow Lunge Thanks to Mr. James Chen and Shoryuken.com for these corner combos: When your opponent is in the corner: (Jump in SP or SK), (crouching) SP, Flame Twirl, Level 3 Super Elbow Lunge Air or Wall Dive, Level 3 Super Elbow Lunge ----------------------------------------------------------------------- STRATEGY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL Mai should be played like every other female ninja - offensively. However, she neither has the usual priority nor confuse moves needed to excel offensively. Mai doesn't even rule footsie games. Still, the picture is not as bleak as it may sound. Mai is swift, has some simple but damaging combos as well as moves that have almost full screen range. The best way to play Mai is to use her speed to pressure opponents. Offensively, this is quite simple. Intimidate your opponent by letting them know you can punish them for their mistakes, even from across the whole screen. This does not necessarily entail a hit-and-run style, but Mai is certainly effective at it. Another method of pressuring your opponent is to constantly crowd them. You can try a variety of moves at your opponent's wake-up, such as a Wall Dive from the opposite wall or several WKs linked into WP (watch for the super). The safest move is timing a Butterfly Fan to hit at the exact moment your foe gets up, so he can't roll or jump out of the way. Takes some practice but worth the effort. Other than wake-up, Mai has good poking abilities but not the best. You should avoid footsie games and instead use Mai's speed to reestablish the pace of the match. (In the Dreamcast version, turning on the running feature improves Mai's offense significantly. The forward dash hop is pretty much useless, but the backward dash is quite useful.) Defensively, the speed concept equals the old adage "the best defense is a good offense." Remember, the best block is not to block at all. Mai's speed helps you avoid moves entirely, plus there's the roll. ROLLING Ah, the roll. Know when to use the roll. (SNK veterans may want to skip this part.) The roll provides you with a means to escape moves and thus not eat block damage. The entire roll, however, is not invincible. The very beginning and the very end of the roll leave you vulnerable, primarily so you can't roll on wake-up and can't abuse the move to kingdom come, respectively. Moreover, the entire roll is susceptible to throws, including command ones. The roll is meant for 2, maybe 3 things, depending on whom you play. Basically, you can use it for offense, defense, and as a means of transportation. Offensive rolling is ANTICIPATING a move, like when you predict your opponent is gonna throw a fireball. Defensive rolling is REACTING to a move, such as a jump-in attack or a fireball that's already traveled half the screen. Rolling to travel is used by charge characters so they can advance while still maintaining their charge. These last 2 are pretty safe, but offensive rolling is risky because nobody can anticipate moves 100% of the time. Yet, scrubs do this all the time. They roll and immediately perform an attack, say a dragon punch. They're not really anticipating ANY move. What they're betting on is that you can't hit them before they can bust out their move/super. For the most part, they're right. You can't hit them outta the roll unless you're wildly flailing crouching jabs or shorts. An effective method, but throwing someone out of their roll is even better. It's just a matter of timing it right. Faster characters have an easier time with this because they can position themselves faster to get in throw range, which is why I like Mai so much. Once the roll is rendered useless for the scrub, probably half of their strategy's gone. One last word of caution: don't roll yourself as a response to your foe's roll because they will recover first and apply the above tactics to punish you. Mai's roll is about average length and speed. Use it primarily as a defensive measure because she lacks moves with invincibility frames and high priority to use rolling offensively. GROOVE SELECTION So what about Groove selection? Hopefully you've guessed Capcom Groove fits Mai the best because it encourages you to be offensive. SNK mode may make you rely too much on supers, and, frankly, supers in general have lost much priority and invincibility in this game, including Mai's. Additionally, know that as you increase your super meter, you do more damage, up to 1.5x with a full super bar. (In SNK Groove, you don't get any damage boost unless your meter's maxed out.) So if your opponent is powering up in SNK mode, throw some Butterfly Fans or go on the offensive. Once they're powered up, retreat slightly until the super meter wears out. Repeat. I won't get into character-specific strategies, but if you're having difficulty beating a particular opponent, feel free to drop me a line. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EX MAI ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In EX mode, Mai: -Retains all normal moves and throws. -Loses the special move Elbow Lunge and gains the special move: KAGEROU NO MAI - Flame Pillar (Charge D, U, K): Mai meditates while a tall column of fire envelops her body. WK hits once and extinguishes rapidly, while SK hits thrice and lasts longer. In both cases, the fire dies as soon as the opponent gets hit. The initial explosion of the move carries almost as much priority as a dragon punch and gives Mai an invincibility frame only around the top portion of her body (Thanks to Andy Bogard for confirming this). The rest of the move can be treated much like Blanka's electricity - bad range, unable to absorb projectiles, vulnerable to low attacks, and low priority against ground attacks but high priority against air attacks. -Loses the super move Super Air Dive and gains the super move: MIZUTORI NO MAI - Triple Butterfly Fan (D, DF, F, D, DF, F, P): Mai lets loose three Butterfly Fans. The fans share the same priority, speed, and damage as normal SP Butterfly Fans (the last fan seems to do more damage, but I'm unsure). Nice recovery time; the only counter is your foe anticipating the move and jumping in. This move has two quirks. First, a tiny delay exists between the release of each fan except the first, occasionally allowing the opponent to recover before the 2nd/3rd fan hits. On the bright side, most characters won't be able to roll through the super unless they have a long roll, like Rugal. Second, doing this move extremely up close sometimes results in the first fan whiffing the opponent (I _think_ it's due to Mai's arm passing through the opponent and thus releasing the fan behind their back). If anybody can confirm any of my suspicions on this move, drop me a line please. Level 2 - same super except the fans are now aflame and hit 4 times. Level 3 - Fans are ablaze and hit 5 times. The damage done by levels 2 and 3 of this super don't justify the meter expended (unless you need considerable damage quickly). -Loses any part of a combo that involves the normal Elbow Lunge and gains: crouching WK (WP), WK Flame Pillar (Crouching WK), (Crouching WK), Crouching WK, Triple Butterfly Fan Once again, thanks to Mr. James Chen and Shoryuken.com for these gems: (Jump in attack), (crouching) close WK, (crouching WK), Level 1 Super Elbow Lunge, Level 2 Triple Butterfly Fan Poking tactics: (Jump in WP or WK), crouching WK, standing WK, crouching SK, (Level 3 Triple) Butterfly Fan Note: The difference between regular Mai's and EX Mai's poking tactics combo is that EX Mai's level 3 Triple Butterfly Fan will connect after the sweep! -Can afford to be more defensive with the Flame Pillar in her arsenal. The move has great priority and deters your opponent's use of rolling. Don't play like a charge character, though. Mai should still be played offensively because turtling does not suit her well. The Flame Pillar should be used exclusively for anti-air purposes; watch out for its long start-up time. EX Mai can work well with SNK Groove, if just to enjoy doing countless Triple Butterfly Fan supers when your life's flashing. However, Capcom Groove still suits Mai better. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MISCELLANEOUS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Many, many thanks to Andy Bogard for this section. This section is all his except for the ridiculous adjectives describing Mai's colors. Colors: WP: Fruit Juicy Red WK: Luscious Lavender SP: Sky High Blue SK: Effervescent Aqua These only take effect once EX characters are released: WP+WK: Inappropriate Ochre SP+SK: Awesome Periwinkle WP+SP: Pink Explosion WK+SK: Assassin Black Special Intro with Chun-Li: Chun-Li, biting one of her fingers, stares at Mai, who is turned away, like in her normal intro, but wearing Chun-Li's outfit. The color of the outfit depends on the color pattern of Mai's outfit, but she seems to use Chun-Li's colors, not hers. Mai then "notices" Chun-Li is waiting for her and spins, throwing the outfit away as if it was a cape. Then Mai points at Chun Li and says: "Kakkate rasshai!" (Come on [and fight me]!) as Chun Li shrugs, bemused. Taunt (Start Button): Mai teasingly waves her fan at the opponent while saying "Hora, ganbatte," which means something like "Hey, cheer up!" Mai's Win Poses: 1: Throws her fan upwards and catches it with the same hand. Quote: "Yo, Nippon Ichi!" ("Hey, [I'm] the best in Japan!"). Yet another variation of her classic pose. 2: Just like in the Real Bout games, she lays on the floor and opens her fan. There are two different quotes for this pose, but I can't figure out what Mai is saying. Winning Quotes: "I am "the best Female Ninja" in Japan!Hee hee hee!" "You are not even half as good as Andy." "Hey, just remember that I'm a true Japanese woman, kind and graceful!" "You lost. Now stop crying and accept that reality." "Now please chant! 'Nippon Ichi!'" "This is Shiranui style Ninjutsu!" "I thought you'd be... stronger!" (Plus the one I put up by her profile.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Andy Bogard for providing 99% of the miscellaneous section, numerous confirmations, and the kanji that graces the top of this guide. James Chen and Shoryuken.com for the expert level combos. I must suggest again that it is imperative you visit their site if you wish to stand a chance against Sheng Long. That's about it. If you have any questions/ corrections/ comments/ awesome combos, e-mail me at easye@bu.edu. I'd especially appreciate confirmations on any uncertainties I mention, such as the max number of hits of a give move, for example. (I don't own a Dreamcast, so I can't test any of my suspicions ad nauseum.)