Gen (Street Fighter)

General CVG character
name=Gen


caption=Gen in "Street Fighter Alpha 3", as drawn by Bengus
series="Street Fighter" series
firstgame="Street Fighter"
artist=
voiceactor=
japanactor=Wataru Takagi
inuniverse=Street Fighter character
nationality = China
affiliation =
fightingstyle = The assassination techniques of the nihongo|"Mourning Style"|喪流|Sō Ryū and nihongo|"Hateful Style"|忌流|Gi Ryū
specialskill = Prescribing Chinese herbal medicine
likes = Meat Buns, Chinese Poetry
dislikes = Many Different Peoplenihongo|Gen|元 is a video game character from the "Street Fighter" fighting game franchise. He is an elderly Chinese martial artist and assassin with white hair and beard who wears a purple changshan with red slippers. He made his debut as a computer-controlled opponent in the original "Street Fighter" and later resurfaced as a playable character in the "Street Fighter Alpha" sub-series.

Appearances

Gen first appears in the original "Street Fighter" (vgy|1987) as the second opponent the player faces from China in the single-player tournament (the first one being Lee). Gen is portrayed as an elderly martial artists who according to the game's backstory, works as an assassin as well.

Gen would resurface as a playable character in "Street Fighter Alpha 2" (vgy|1996) and its sequel, "Street Fighter Alpha 3" (vgy|1998). Gen is the only character in the game who can switch between two fighting styles during gameplay: the Mourning Style and the Hateful Style, also known as the Mantis and Crane styles respectively. He changes not only his fighting stance and basic moves, but his special moves and Super Combos as well. In "Alpha 3", this feature is removed when Gen is selected in X-ism mode.

In the storyline of the "Alpha" series, Gen is a terminally ill assassin who seeks to fight Akuma as his last opponent before dying. Gen also confronts Chun-Li (whose father was Gen's student according the backstory) as a secret rival character in "Alpha 2" and Ryu as mid-boss in "Alpha 3", believing that he uses the same murderous style as Akuma. He confronts Akuma in "Alpha 2" as his final opponent and in "Alpha 3" as the last one before M. Bison.

The character appears in an animated teaser for the upcoming home versions of "Street Fighter IV".

In other media

UDON's line of "Street Fighter" comic books delves into some of Gen's history as well as giving him a fairly pivotal role in the second arc of the series. In a past life, he was an assassin who gives up his life of murder to repay for his sins. It is during this time that he trains a young Chun-Li and is forced to kill another assassin (who appears to be Geki from the original "Street Fighter" game, though he is unnamed in the comic) in front of her eyes, revealing to her his shameful occupation. In the present of the comics, he's depicted as a restaurant manager (taking care of Yun and Yang in the stead of their deceased father) who helps Chun-Li and Fei-Long discover the whereabouts of a Shadaloo-run Triad compound. He aids the duo in fighting off a legion of criminals lead by Xiayu and Yanyu but pushes his body too hard and begins coughing up blood. He reveals to Chun-Li that he is dying of leukemia. Later on, Ryu seeks him out to ask about his encounter Akuma in preparation for his own battle. Gen tells him that Akuma is the only person who has ever survived his deadliest technique and he chose not to kill him out of pure intrigue. After Ryu leaves, as in the official story, Akuma challenges him to one final match. The two clash but they both end up admitting that they have passed their peaks some time ago. Akuma also notes Gen's ill health and calls off the bout, parting company honorably. After this, Gen collapses one last time and dies, his body discovered by the twins.

In the upcoming "" film, Gen will be played by Robin Shou. Rick Yune was originally cast in the role. [cite web | last = Gibson | first = Ellie | url = http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=94998 | title = Street Fighter film out next year | work = EuroGamer | accessdate = 2008-06-01 | date = 2008-03-19]

Promotion and reception

IGN ranked Gen at number eighteen in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, stating he "represents an ever-reliable character type, made famous by dozens of kung fu movies – he's the old, decrepit, seemingly-crippled senior citizen who can still kick your ass blindfolded." [ [http://stars.ign.com/articles/895/895023p3.html Top 25 Street Fighter Characters - Day II] . IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-15]

References

External links

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