Sakurai: The Terry DLC Won’t Include Mai Shiranui, Because Smash Bros. Is For Good Boys And Girls

During today’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate livestream featuring Terry Bogard, producer Masahiro Sakurai revealed that the DLC character’s new stage would feature other character cameos in the background. However, SNK fans may have noticed the absence of a super hot fan-favorite in that roster – Mai Shiranui!

Sakurai actually addresses this right after talking about the character cameos. Unfortunately, it looks like the foxy ninja will not be appearing in the backdrop of Terry’s stage, apparently because of her design. Namely, Sakurai stated:

“You may have noticed that a very important character from the Fatal Fury series was not included. Yes – Mai Shiranui.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is for good boys and girls of many different ages, so we decided not to feature her. Please forgive us.”

You can check out Sakurai mentioning this below. (Starts at 27:12)

For those unfamiliar with Mai Shiranui, she’s one of the most popular characters in the King of Fighters series to date – owing to her attractive appearance and playful personality. She originally debuted in Fatal Fury 2 (1992), so she has quite a bit of nostalgia power behind her. However, it’s well-known that her outfit can be a little too mature for some folks, as the following examples from her various games illustrate (might not be safe for work):

It’s no secret that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate covers up some of its sexier characters to keep the game family-friendly. Some examples include Bayonetta’s costume covering up more of her legs, and the Mythra spirit from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 having additional black tights plus a covered chest.

In Mai Shiranui’s case however, it looks like Sakurai’s team simply chose to leave her out all together! Perhaps her design was just too saucy no matter what alterations were suggested – or perhaps, SNK was adamant on maintaining her design no matter what.

In any case, what do YOU think? Are you disappointed that Mai will not make a cameo in Smash Bros.? Feel free to share your thoughts below.