30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #4

It's been 30 years of Street Fighter and nobody is talking about Gen. We have to give this grandmaster of kung-fu the attention he deserves. Gen is one of the original opponents in the series, the best fighter in China. He has popped up just a few more times since his debut. His return to the game, in Street Fighter Zero / Alpha 2 (1996), was easily his best appearance. Gen became the first character to offer players two completely different fighting styles, that of the mantis or crane. Players could alternate in between rounds their style by holding down different buttons. This meant completely different move sets, super moves and strategies. Imagine how unpredictable this made him in tournaments. Gen was a call back to the classic fighting archetypes that inspired the original Street Fighter line up. Remember how Dhalsim (#30 on my list) was based on the Yoga Master in the Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)? Gen is a nod to the various white-haired masters from martial arts cinema, including Executioners from Shaolin (1977), Born Invincible (1978), Abbot of Shaolin (1979), and Fist of the White Lotus (1980). The ancient kung-fu techniques had been featured in cinema but rarely used in actual games until Gen. 

The legend of the white haired master went back to the earliest days of the martial arts in China. Gen was derived from a number of movie heroes and villains but even those characters were inspired by historical figures. The most likely root was Bak Mei, one of the founders of the Shaolin school. He was allegedly a survivor of the Shaolin massacre during the Qing Dynasty. He was one of the Five Elders, the survivors of an assassination attempt against the monks. They eventually rebuilt the school and preserved the early martial arts. This group also began developing new schools of fighting based on predatory animals like tigers and eagles. Gen was derived from those classic heroes. He had superhuman strength and speed despite his age and made us believe that these fabled masters might still be hiding in China. He represented the last living member of an ancient lineage. Hiding in plain site, wandering in the back alleys of the oldest corners of Shanghai. Where a centuries-old market had been paved over by a modern, indifferent world. Only a few clues remained of what was once there. A few crumbling signs, posters and ads, left to fall in disrepair in the shadows like the rest of ancient China.

Gen was symbolic of the mythical martial artists. He was just like the characters written about in wuxia, or classic hero stories. These were the ones that inspired revolutions. The handful of masters that led poor people to victory over corrupt regimes using only their fighting skills. These larger-than-life characters killed tigers with their bare hands, could run over rivers and along treetops. The people that were romanticized in stage plays and films. The kung-fu characters inspired people all around the world. Especially the developers working at Capcom in the '80s. His abilities were fantastic but sadly they were out of place. Gen was the last of his kind. A holdover from the 19th century, a person that had a connection to the original masters. His time was rapidly running out and he wanted to be killed in a fight and not by the ravages of age and disease. His legacy did carry through thanks to some talented students he trained. There may never be another character as important to the history of Street Fighter as Gen. For that we salute you on this anniversary and hope that your legacy will live on.v> If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!