After being absent in XI (Arcade only) and XII, she finally makes a comeback and then the Fandom Rejoiced.
Now, can the "No Mai, No Buy" crowd STFU?
- New Costume (A bare-backed version of her RBS costume, which gives Saigado and some artists an "Idea")
- New Seiyuu (Ami Koshimizu in her 2nd outing as Mai (1st was SkyStage), 1st time to voice Mai in a fighting game)
- And a New Sprite that makes someone "Hypnotized"
Moveset
Yume Sakura - (air) all but + or (air throw)
Uki Hane - (air)
Kacho Sen -
Ryuenbu -
Hissastsu Shinobi Bachi -
Musasabi no Mai (air) - (air)
Musasabi no Mai (ground) -
DM: Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi -
NeoMAX: Kunoichi no Mai -
Console Changes
- Kaschousen comes out faster, also has quicker recovery
* Ukibane (down + B in air) has different trajectory than Arcade, recovery time has been changed
* Musasabi(from ground) can be canceled to Floating attack
* WK>FK is a chain combo. Can be used to connect into HD mode, and also gives Mai more damage on pokes
* EX air Shinobibachi added in game. Invincible until hit detection comes out.
- Crouching FP has more cancelable frames
- Weak Ryuenbu has more vertical hitbox
* Neomax comes out faster and freezes time when it reaches the edge of screen
Producer Yamamoto says: We’ve balanced her as a female ninja by giving her attacks that can make her fight more tricky from the air. Using Ukibane to trick the opponent and doing an attack string, or hit confirming from her crouching fierce punch have become effective tactics. Her Neomax has also been buffed.
* Ukibane (down + B in air) has different trajectory than Arcade, recovery time has been changed
* Musasabi(from ground) can be canceled to Floating attack
* WK>FK is a chain combo. Can be used to connect into HD mode, and also gives Mai more damage on pokes
* EX air Shinobibachi added in game. Invincible until hit detection comes out.
- Crouching FP has more cancelable frames
- Weak Ryuenbu has more vertical hitbox
* Neomax comes out faster and freezes time when it reaches the edge of screen
Producer Yamamoto says: We’ve balanced her as a female ninja by giving her attacks that can make her fight more tricky from the air. Using Ukibane to trick the opponent and doing an attack string, or hit confirming from her crouching fierce punch have become effective tactics. Her Neomax has also been buffed.
- How to say this…she benefits a lot from the new system.
- Both A and C Ryuuenbu have low lag and can be followed up with stand A in the corner. If the opponent is in mid-air even stand C is possible.
- Musasabi no Mai is great for comboing in the corner. If you hit them near their feet (i.e. space it so that it hits them at the lower part of their hitbox) they shouldn’t be able to retaliate.
- Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is fast enough to combo from light attacks, and is damaging.
- d.B -> B -> Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi DC Musasabi no Mai -> C Ryuuenbu -> Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is a combo.
- Kachousen has slower startup but less lag
- Jump CD felt a little too fast
- She has an air throw which can be used in combos.
- EX Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is invincible.
Any Gameplay related Corrections is Welcome...
- Both A and C Ryuuenbu have low lag and can be followed up with stand A in the corner. If the opponent is in mid-air even stand C is possible.
- Musasabi no Mai is great for comboing in the corner. If you hit them near their feet (i.e. space it so that it hits them at the lower part of their hitbox) they shouldn’t be able to retaliate.
- Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is fast enough to combo from light attacks, and is damaging.
- d.B -> B -> Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi DC Musasabi no Mai -> C Ryuuenbu -> Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is a combo.
- Kachousen has slower startup but less lag
- Jump CD felt a little too fast
- She has an air throw which can be used in combos.
- EX Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi is invincible.
Any Gameplay related Corrections is Welcome...
Beginner combos
So where to start with Mai, I guess people are going to need a basic jump in and low combo so let us start with the jump in here.....
j.C, st.C, +C
This is pretty standard, just a 2-in-1 so you are cancelling the standing C into the +C, hit confirming may be a little hard at first but the earlier you learn and master it, the easier everything else is.
Okay so now that you have your jump in what about a low combo, now you might notice something about this combo but have a look first of all.....
cr.A, cr.C, +C
I'm going to take a pot shot a say that you saw something wierd, yes I did say a low combo and yes that does start with a crouching A which ISN'T low but there is one change that has been made from arcade to console is that changes the way Mai combos from her low (cr.B). In the arcade version it is possible to chain cr.B into cr.A and it is also possible to link cr.A into cr.C but in the arcade version the push back from cr.B, cr.A is too great and the linked cr.C will always wiff. Now a little nice thing SNK have done in the latest build of KoF13 is reduce the push back from cr.B, cr.A so that the linked cr.C IS in range. this means heavier and slower attacks can be comboed from lows and increases Mai's damage output but the link isn't the easiest in the world. So once you get that link down, once again it's a simple 2-in-1 from cr.C to +C.
So what do you do if you have the opponent in the corner? pretty much the same thing but with a small exception shown here.....
j.C, st.C, +A, cr.C
cr.A, cr.C, +A, cr.C
Now these two combos are pretty much the same as the ones above, the only difference being that I'm using the 1 hit +A version instead of the 2 hit +C version which means Mai recovers quicker and is able to put out a crouching C for some extra damage and a reset.
Okay so once you have those combos down, lets presume you have 1 bar of super meter or 'stock', well what's a good way to spend it with Mai?.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +D
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +D
So this is pretty similar to the last combos, it's just that instead of doing +C or +A you are doing +AC. I said earlier that hit confirming might be a little hard but that to learn it early is important, well this is why. If you learn to hit confirm you can always hit this and if you see it blocked you can go for a +A/C instead of wasting meter on a blocked EX move.
Once you get past the +AC all you need to do is input the +D but there is a little pause inbetween the +AC and the +D as you need to let the +AC recover so give it a little time just to make sure you hit the combo.
Intermediate combos
So after you have those basic combos down I'm guessing you want to use more resources to make Mai a bit more scary when she hits, well no worries, I have that figured out for you already.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD
cr.A, cr.C, .+BD
Now as you can see this is pretty simple to understand how this is done but hard to execute, it's one of those combos that just gets easier with more practice so put in the time to reap the rewards. the only thing I can say to make this easier is to try doing crouching A and then swinging half circle forward and while you are at down back, down or down forward press the C button, finish off the motion to forwards and then swing all the way half circle back. If you time this right you will hit the link and buffer in the part of the super making it very easy to finish off the combo.
One little extra note, Mai does recover quite quickly from her lvl.2 super, so quickly that she can tack on an extra hit.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD, cr.C
Now this hit is optional, it will give you more damage and reset the opponent but sometimes you want the enemy to hit the ground so that is your decision to make as a player.
So now that you know you have that extra time, what do you think you can do with it in the corner?.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, .+BD, air grab
That's right, it's air grab time
Now that you have something that stings a little, how about we add in a few drive cancels into your game.....
j.C, st.C, +D, DC +AC (air), air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +D, DC +AC (air), air grab
The initial element to this combo is that instead of comboing into +anything you are now comboing into +D. this is pretty much the same so if you can do all the basic combos you can do this one up to that point but it may require some practice, but you can do it. After this comes the slightly harder part, you need to Drive Cancel the aerial hit of the +D (which I believe is the 3rd hit) into +AC. The reason for using the EX dive mid-screen is because the hit box is much wider so if were to try and use the regular +C (air) dive, it would wiff unless you were very close. So now that you have hit the opponent with the dive, what do you do, well I hold up forward wait until Mai is in a jumping animation and then I start mashing on the C button and I hit that air grab very regularly. The only thing you need to be aware of is that if you press C while Mai is still on the ground you will get her far standing C so make sure she is getting off the ground before you start mashing C
Once you have learnt that combo, you can implement it in the corner like this.....
j.C, st.C, +D, DC +C (air), +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +D, DC +C (air), +C, air grab
The first difference is that because you are in the corner, you don't need the wider hitbox of the EX dive (qcb+AC) so a standard one can be used to save on meter. additionally, because you have put the opponent in the corner you can continue to juggle with a +C before you go for the air grab. This is an important combo to learn and when you get more skilled you will learn when you can carry from mid-screen to the corner so you can throw in the extra +C. It's also quite important to learn as it sets up your knowledge for the more advanced combos.
Advanced combos
So doing damage with Mai mid-screen is hard however, in the corner she has good damage with minimal resources. The good of this is that she won't need to be in last place to do her max damage stuff but the bad is that if you have extra stock then there isn't really a good way to spend it, could be good, could be bad depending on how you look at it.
So first of all, if you want to max out your damage in the corner for 1 meter, jump in or low, you could try and do this.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +C, +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +C, +C, air grab
So this combo is wierd and requires a little explanation although I will assume that the basic hit confirm into +AC is still okay for you guys. So the first thing to explain is how the +AC (EX Ryenbu might be the spelling, I could be wrong though) work/hits, Mai will spin and hit once with her spin, she will then flick out the tail cloth and that will hit while on fire, simple.
Problem number one, Mai moves significantly forward while doing this move, it's not a huge ammount but it's enough to make you drop your combo if you're not concious of it. Second problem (sort of), Mai's second hit comes from her tail cloth, think of it like a projectile, the problem is now that as Mai moves forward there is more chance of you hitting her body instead of the tail.
Mid-screen these properties are not a problem because pushback and hit stun mean you never really miss with it however, when you are in the corner the opponent can't be pushed back any further so while the +AC may hit fully, it hampers the juggling properties of follow-up moves because you are too close.
So how to overcome these problems? A slight step backwards. After performing the +AC I input the +C early but I don't press the button immediately so as soon as Mai recovers from the +AC she starts to walk backwards (to the right range). Once she hits the sweet spot I press C and Bob's your uncle, it connects nicely. You really do need to range this properly because if you are a little slow or badly placed then the +C will not hit properly and you won't launch the opponent for a second +C properly and you miss the air grab so make sure you get your positioning right.
Okay so if you have that above combo down, and it is hard to make that one consistent (but definately do able) then you can go a little further for you resources and it will still be worth your while.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +C, +D, DC +C, +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +C, +D, DC, +C, +C, air grab
Well this combo starts in the same way as the previous one and it's well worth noting that you still have to get your screen position right, but instead of doing the second +C, you do +D. This move is normally 3 hits when you are that close and previously you would have used it and Drive Cancelled into the air dive but this time you are cancelling the second grounded hit. You want to Drive Cancel before you get into the air so that you can cancel into +C (Ryenbu and NOT air dive), this hit will sort of re-launch so that you can tack on another +C and then go for you air grab.
Hope that helps and if you have any more questions then please do ask away.
So where to start with Mai, I guess people are going to need a basic jump in and low combo so let us start with the jump in here.....
j.C, st.C, +C
This is pretty standard, just a 2-in-1 so you are cancelling the standing C into the +C, hit confirming may be a little hard at first but the earlier you learn and master it, the easier everything else is.
Okay so now that you have your jump in what about a low combo, now you might notice something about this combo but have a look first of all.....
cr.A, cr.C, +C
I'm going to take a pot shot a say that you saw something wierd, yes I did say a low combo and yes that does start with a crouching A which ISN'T low but there is one change that has been made from arcade to console is that changes the way Mai combos from her low (cr.B). In the arcade version it is possible to chain cr.B into cr.A and it is also possible to link cr.A into cr.C but in the arcade version the push back from cr.B, cr.A is too great and the linked cr.C will always wiff. Now a little nice thing SNK have done in the latest build of KoF13 is reduce the push back from cr.B, cr.A so that the linked cr.C IS in range. this means heavier and slower attacks can be comboed from lows and increases Mai's damage output but the link isn't the easiest in the world. So once you get that link down, once again it's a simple 2-in-1 from cr.C to +C.
So what do you do if you have the opponent in the corner? pretty much the same thing but with a small exception shown here.....
j.C, st.C, +A, cr.C
cr.A, cr.C, +A, cr.C
Now these two combos are pretty much the same as the ones above, the only difference being that I'm using the 1 hit +A version instead of the 2 hit +C version which means Mai recovers quicker and is able to put out a crouching C for some extra damage and a reset.
Okay so once you have those combos down, lets presume you have 1 bar of super meter or 'stock', well what's a good way to spend it with Mai?.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +D
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +D
So this is pretty similar to the last combos, it's just that instead of doing +C or +A you are doing +AC. I said earlier that hit confirming might be a little hard but that to learn it early is important, well this is why. If you learn to hit confirm you can always hit this and if you see it blocked you can go for a +A/C instead of wasting meter on a blocked EX move.
Once you get past the +AC all you need to do is input the +D but there is a little pause inbetween the +AC and the +D as you need to let the +AC recover so give it a little time just to make sure you hit the combo.
Intermediate combos
So after you have those basic combos down I'm guessing you want to use more resources to make Mai a bit more scary when she hits, well no worries, I have that figured out for you already.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD
cr.A, cr.C, .+BD
Now as you can see this is pretty simple to understand how this is done but hard to execute, it's one of those combos that just gets easier with more practice so put in the time to reap the rewards. the only thing I can say to make this easier is to try doing crouching A and then swinging half circle forward and while you are at down back, down or down forward press the C button, finish off the motion to forwards and then swing all the way half circle back. If you time this right you will hit the link and buffer in the part of the super making it very easy to finish off the combo.
One little extra note, Mai does recover quite quickly from her lvl.2 super, so quickly that she can tack on an extra hit.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD, cr.C
Now this hit is optional, it will give you more damage and reset the opponent but sometimes you want the enemy to hit the ground so that is your decision to make as a player.
So now that you know you have that extra time, what do you think you can do with it in the corner?.....
j.C, cr.C, .+BD, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, .+BD, air grab
That's right, it's air grab time
Now that you have something that stings a little, how about we add in a few drive cancels into your game.....
j.C, st.C, +D, DC +AC (air), air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +D, DC +AC (air), air grab
The initial element to this combo is that instead of comboing into +anything you are now comboing into +D. this is pretty much the same so if you can do all the basic combos you can do this one up to that point but it may require some practice, but you can do it. After this comes the slightly harder part, you need to Drive Cancel the aerial hit of the +D (which I believe is the 3rd hit) into +AC. The reason for using the EX dive mid-screen is because the hit box is much wider so if were to try and use the regular +C (air) dive, it would wiff unless you were very close. So now that you have hit the opponent with the dive, what do you do, well I hold up forward wait until Mai is in a jumping animation and then I start mashing on the C button and I hit that air grab very regularly. The only thing you need to be aware of is that if you press C while Mai is still on the ground you will get her far standing C so make sure she is getting off the ground before you start mashing C
Once you have learnt that combo, you can implement it in the corner like this.....
j.C, st.C, +D, DC +C (air), +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +D, DC +C (air), +C, air grab
The first difference is that because you are in the corner, you don't need the wider hitbox of the EX dive (qcb+AC) so a standard one can be used to save on meter. additionally, because you have put the opponent in the corner you can continue to juggle with a +C before you go for the air grab. This is an important combo to learn and when you get more skilled you will learn when you can carry from mid-screen to the corner so you can throw in the extra +C. It's also quite important to learn as it sets up your knowledge for the more advanced combos.
Advanced combos
So doing damage with Mai mid-screen is hard however, in the corner she has good damage with minimal resources. The good of this is that she won't need to be in last place to do her max damage stuff but the bad is that if you have extra stock then there isn't really a good way to spend it, could be good, could be bad depending on how you look at it.
So first of all, if you want to max out your damage in the corner for 1 meter, jump in or low, you could try and do this.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +C, +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +C, +C, air grab
So this combo is wierd and requires a little explanation although I will assume that the basic hit confirm into +AC is still okay for you guys. So the first thing to explain is how the +AC (EX Ryenbu might be the spelling, I could be wrong though) work/hits, Mai will spin and hit once with her spin, she will then flick out the tail cloth and that will hit while on fire, simple.
Problem number one, Mai moves significantly forward while doing this move, it's not a huge ammount but it's enough to make you drop your combo if you're not concious of it. Second problem (sort of), Mai's second hit comes from her tail cloth, think of it like a projectile, the problem is now that as Mai moves forward there is more chance of you hitting her body instead of the tail.
Mid-screen these properties are not a problem because pushback and hit stun mean you never really miss with it however, when you are in the corner the opponent can't be pushed back any further so while the +AC may hit fully, it hampers the juggling properties of follow-up moves because you are too close.
So how to overcome these problems? A slight step backwards. After performing the +AC I input the +C early but I don't press the button immediately so as soon as Mai recovers from the +AC she starts to walk backwards (to the right range). Once she hits the sweet spot I press C and Bob's your uncle, it connects nicely. You really do need to range this properly because if you are a little slow or badly placed then the +C will not hit properly and you won't launch the opponent for a second +C properly and you miss the air grab so make sure you get your positioning right.
Okay so if you have that above combo down, and it is hard to make that one consistent (but definately do able) then you can go a little further for you resources and it will still be worth your while.....
j.C, st.C, +AC, +C, +D, DC +C, +C, air grab
cr.A, cr.C, +AC, +C, +D, DC, +C, +C, air grab
Well this combo starts in the same way as the previous one and it's well worth noting that you still have to get your screen position right, but instead of doing the second +C, you do +D. This move is normally 3 hits when you are that close and previously you would have used it and Drive Cancelled into the air dive but this time you are cancelling the second grounded hit. You want to Drive Cancel before you get into the air so that you can cancel into +C (Ryenbu and NOT air dive), this hit will sort of re-launch so that you can tack on another +C and then go for you air grab.
Hope that helps and if you have any more questions then please do ask away.