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lead=yes is a fictional character in the Sega fighting game series Virtua Fighter, debuting in the first installment from 1993. She is the daughter of Lau Chan and a martial arts action movie star in her hometown, fighting using Mizongyi. She seeks to defeat her father and prove herself a worthy successor to his school of martial arts. She was initially hostile towards her father for neglecting her until Virtua Fighter 4, where she reconciled with him after finding out he had been diagnosed with an incurable disease. Although Pai Chan is from Hong Kong and her native language is Cantonese, due to the game's Japanese origin, she is voiced by an actress speaking Japanese, Iwao Junko, in Virtua Fighter 2, and Minami Takayama from Virtua Fighter 3 onwards. Besides the main series, Pai Chan has appeared in multiple spin-offs as well as the anime adaptation of the series, where she follows protagonist Akira Yuki and other fighters on a journey after being attacked by criminals.
Critical response to Pai Chan's character has been generally positive, with several writers noting her to be one of the earliest examples of a female character in a fighting game with a distinct sex appeal, often compared with Sarah Bryant due to their different nationalities. Her bad relationship with her father, Lau Chan, was also notable for showing a distinct negative characterization mixed with tragedy.
Her look, including her various uniforms and appearance, was designed to be appealing, with the team experimenting with different outfits, like a sailor uniform, before settling on her signature styles. Pai Chan's design originally had a sailor uniform in location tests, eventually changing to something fitting for Winter. Several of her uniforms involved a skirt that the designers felt was unfitting. Rather than Aikido, the outfit exudes an air of ultimate self-centeredness. Several versions of the uniform were designed. The staff aimed to make her skin appealing. "Not only the costume, but the hat looks good too. The Indian-style costume also suits him. A version with a shirt underneath, giving her a youth aura. The outfits made were also drawn to reinforce her Chinese nationality as well as her acting work. It reminded me of the villains in old kung fu movies."
During the past year, she incorporated her own techniques and tactics she had discovered. She is determined to defeat her father again but is defeated. Pai began working on her new world-spanning, big-budget film until she heard that there would be a third tournament in Virtua Fighter 3. After being defeated in Virtua Fighter 3 and discovering that her skills matched those of her father's, Pai went back to Hong Kong to concentrate on her acting career. One day, she hears of Lau's intention to find a suitable successor in Virtua Fighter 4. Finding it strange, she investigates the matter and discovers Lau's terminal illness. She too decides to join the fourth world tournament to prove that she is a worthy successor to her father's legacy.
It is revealed in the Virtua Fighter anime that Pai was taught Ensei-ken forcibly rather than by her own volition, and that Jacky accuses Pai early on of being part of the Koenkan mafia group. Her mother, though not shown in the games, was shown in the anime. Lau did not train in Koen-ken to cope with his wife's passing, but rather, he was absorbed in it. He became so absorbed that he did not even notice that his wife was dying. Also, it is revealed that Pai's mother did not die when she was 16, but she instead died when Pai was really young, maybe around 6 to 10 years of age.
She is also present in Project X Zone, Project X Zone 2, , and The King of Fighters All Star.
The staff of the Chinese magazine Diànzǐ Yóuxì Ruǎnjiàn, in their supplemental 1997 issue, stated that while she was not as popular as Sarah, attributing it in part to Pai's similarity to Capcom character Chun-Li, they felt she had a completely different charm to her. Describing her as having a very stubborn personality due to how repetitive her reasons for participating in the tournaments were, they saw her as becoming more fleshed out as the series went on and that her role as an actress helped illustrate an easy-going aspect to her personality. In Japanese Culture Through Videogames, Pai Chan's Chinese design is noted for contrasting Sarah's Western look, which was one of the earliest portrayals in fighting game history. (2019). 9780429655944, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780429655944
GameSina said she is basically a female version of Mortal Kombat character Johnny Cage due to their acting careers but felt Pai's story was expanded more, thanks to her early issues with her father. The writer said that her biography gives a notable hint about her dark depths, as during the Virtua Fighter narrative, a young Pai tries to kill her father until learning of his terminal illness. Pai's hatred of her father being related to her mother's death was notable, as that ignited her full dedication to martial arts. Nevertheless, she fails in each installment and changes her viewpoint upon learning the truth. At that time, she only wanted to prove to her father that she could inherit his legacy and become an invincible martial artist rather than kill him.
In another analysis of the character, GameSina said Lau and Pai might be father and daughter in the story, but there is almost no father-daughter relationship between them. The father is obsessed with pursuing perfect and invincible martial arts, leaving the family solely to Pai Chan's mother's hard work because of her death. This became a notable feud between father and daughter in gaming. While both use a similar martial art, Pai is designed to use standard Yanqing Fist, while Lau uses the highest level of Yanqing Fist, Tiger Swallow Fist. Yanqing Fist emphasizes agility and stability, focusing on combat techniques rather than flashy moves, and is known for its proper stance and powerful, flowing energy. By the fifth installment, Lau had become the weakest fighter due to becoming an elder, while his daughter remained in her prime.
In a discussion with Takashi Kurokochi, orthopedic surgeon and director of the Yurakucho Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, the Japanese magazine Game Hihyou asked him to comment on female characters in fighting games and what made their designs particularly beautiful in the eyes of Japanese audiences, among them Pai. Kurokochi pointed out her forehead, stating that while he felt it was too high, it was actually a very popular sight in Korea, where an uneven forehead by comparison is considered unlucky. Going further, he also pointed out she had narrow eyes and a raised nose tip, something he also felt helped fit Korean beauty standards.
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