As part of a nearly 50-minute stream this morning focusing on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s new DLC fighter, Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury series of games, director Masahiro Sakurai revealed that a slew of other characters from the game will feature as guests in the background and the like. After a number of these guest characters from the Fatal Fury franchise were revealed, Sakurai took a moment to address the question that might have been on people’s minds: Mai Shiranui won’t feature in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While he didn’t come right out and say it, what he did actually say implied that Mai’s design is perhaps a bit too… much.
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“By the way, you may have noticed that a very important character from the Fatal Fury series was not included,” Sakurai said after the reveal of the guest characters. “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.”
There’s also some laughter in the background while he says this, so it’s unclear just how much of a joke it is. Here’s the segment in question where Sakurai says this, clipped out for easy viewing:
LMAO #SmashBrosUltimate pic.twitter.com/hgc7Ba0cuT
— Nibel (@Nibellion) November 6, 2019
Given Nintendo’s penchant for family-friendly entertainment, it isn’t entirely shocking that Mai wouldn’t be included. Mai Shiranui is an iconic character within the franchise, but her design also leaves little to the imagination. Here’s an example of what Mai looks like in action in the recent video game Dead or Alive 6:
What do you think? Would you have liked to have seen Mai Shiranui in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or do you generally agreement with Sakurai’s sentiment? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently available for the Nintendo Switch and its lighter kin, the Nintendo Switch Lite. There is still another unannounced DLC fighter left to join the game beyond Terry Bogard as part of the already announced set of slots, but it’s unclear exactly who that might be. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Nintendo’s fighting game right here.
