So wait it wasn’t Mr. Big after all?
SNK’s had a streak going for quite a few weeks now revealing brand new characters for The King of Fighters 15, but they’ve finally gone back to giving fans a closer look at a series mainstay that’ll certainly make people happy.
As I’m sure everyone already guessed from the silhouette this morning, Mai Shiranui is the latest character to receive her full gameplay trailer though she’s not apparently the last member of the Women Fighters Team as many had predicted.
Like most of the returning cast, Mai players will probably feel right at home in KOF15 with most of her moves and specials appearing to perform much the same as they did in the last entry — just with a new graphical overhaul.
Ryuuenbu, fan toss, Hissatsu Shinobi-Bachi, Musasabi no Mai, Chou Hissatsu Shinobi-Bachi, and Kagerou no Mai are among her specials and supers that are back in though she’s shown to have a new replacement for her Climax.
Her Slide has also made a return, and it’s cancellable this time too.
Many had presumed Mai would be the final member of the Women Fighters Team, but since there was no confirmation at the end of the trailer as was the case with Hero, Fatal Fury and Sacred Treasures, this probably means that the original group isn’t getting the band back together after all.
Mai, King and Yuri made up the first Women’s Team all the way back in ’94 though they’d only appear fighting together a handful more times with the last coming in KOF13.
The Women Fighters Team has been among those in the series with the most changes between entries. While Mai and King have typically remained as consistent members throughout the years, Yuri has bounced back and forth between them and the Art of Fighting Team, which has opened the door to other members in the past including Blue Mary, May Lee Jinju, Kasumi Todoh, Hinako Shijou, Alice Nakata and Li Xiangfei.
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With King and Mai being the most consistent members over the years, the apparent disconfirmation likely means that Yuri has a much better chance of being on Team Art of Fighting again alongside potentially Ryo and Robert — though neither of them have been confirmed at this point.
That also opens the door for prior members to re-join the ranks, or perhaps SNK will follow the pattern of matching the veterans up with a rookie newcomer like we just saw in KOF14 with Alice.
Mai was one of the characters shown in the initial announcement trailer for KOF15 where K’ and Leona remain as the only fighters not to get their spotlight yet.
You can check out the gameplay trailer below, and we’ve also included the official high-resolution screenshots of Mai from SNK above in the gallery.
