SNK's Fatal Fury has been one of the longest-running fighting franchises around, with a following that, while not as large and as mainstream as Streetfighter, is defintely as loyal. With a different feel and style from Capcom's flagship, Fatal Fury has it's own heroes and heroines that we have grown to love all these years. Of course, foremost of SNK's babes is Mai Shiranui, the bouncy ninja girl who is forever running after hero Andy Bogard.
Mai's surely SNK's answer to Chun-Li, their main babe. And why not? She's hot, has a great fighting style and certainly has star quality (I'd go for a Fatal Fury: The Legend of Mai anyday). But back when she started, Mai wasn't a babe barefoot fans could relate to much, as she was known more for her healthy chest than her other assets. During her first appearance in Fatal Fury 2, Mai appeared in a more provocative costume than you'd usually expect for a ninja (in fact, she may have given rise to all the sexy kunoichi designs since then). However, she didn't show off her feet. Mai wore the traditional ninja tabi, a toed sock or shoe/sandal.
It wasn't until Fatal Fury 3 that we suddenly did double-takes and saw that Mai had finally bared her beautiful feet to the world. Instead of all-covering tabi, Mai now wore sexy foot supporters that, while protecting her more vulnerable instep, left the front part of her foot, her toes and a nice view of her heel, bare. In my book, if a significant part of a babe's foot touches the ground, then she's barefoot, so finally, Mai was a barefoot babe! Her beautiful barefoot portraits that came with every game were, needless to say, must-haves for barefoot fans to admire and enjoy.
Mai Shiranui in Fatal Fury 3.
Mai Shiranui in Real Bout Fatal Fury (my favorite portrait of her).
Mai Shiranui in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. Damn, she's hot.
A more cartoony style of Mai for Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The New Challengers, but thankfully her feet are still hot.
Mai would always wear her sexy foot supporters in the subsequent Real Bout Fatal Fury series (all three installments). So while the bouncy ninja would wear her old-style tabi in the King of Fighters series, it's nice to know that barefoot fans can enjoy Mai's sexy bare toes and soles as she kicks butt in the colorful and vibrantly-animated Real Bout Fatal Fury titles. All these are available in SNK collections on the PS2, and are a great addition to any barefoot fan's fighting game library.
Enjoy the the two videos above, mirror matches between barefoot kunoichis from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The New Challengers.
Here's to Mai going barefoot once more in future SNK games. She may be bouncy, but it's her feet that we find heavenly.
Jennifer Shope
7 years ago
