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Norman ‘GEN1US’ Chatrier is the best and most well-known French TEKKEN player who went to TEKKEN 6 Global Championship Final as the official European Champion. In Tokyo he managed to place 3rd in the PlayStation 3 tournament, becoming the best non-Asian TEKKEN 6 player. SDTEKKEN has decided to interview the best European Paul operator! You can read it in the rest of the entry. Stay tuned with SDTEKKEN.COM for more interviews coming!

Hi! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello, my nickname is GEN1US. I’m 23. My main character is Paul Phoenix. I’m from Paris.

Can you tell us something about the French Tekken scene?

The French scene is really crowded. There are lots of new online players who are learning fast and there are still some oldschool players. One of the biggest Tekken tournaments in Europe (and in the world, in fact) takes place in France and it’s called the Ultimate Tournament. There are always at least 120 players including Europe’s best and sometimes great Korean players like Knee, Nin, Holeman and Borami. Another participants were Tissuemon, the great Marduk player from Japan and one of the American Tekken 5 players, Wayne Gamble.

You are officially the best non-Asian Tekken 6 player. How do you feel?

I feel great to be the best non-Asian Tekken 6 player, eventhough I believe the Americans would have been much better with no lag and I know they couldn’t play ‘the real’ game. But I’m looking forward to playing against them with lag-free TVs. In fact I have been looking forward to that since Tekken DR era, hehe. I’m sure that they’re all great players considering what I have heard about their performance. Nevertheless it was a great honor for me to be considered the best non-Asian player.

How did you like your trip to Japan?

This trip was absolutely amazing! I had been dreaming about going to Japan for a long time and finally I managed to do it. You can really call it a ‘different world’ and it is – of course – a paradise for video game lovers. It was very cool to meet and have dinner with all the American players; I only met Wayne Gamble when he came to France like 4 years ago. They are all very cool and it was really pleasant to mess around with them (Mr. NAPS – next time don’t be afraid to talk a bit more, hehe). The tournament place was, in fact, extraordinairy! I had never participated in such a great show and I’m sure I’ll never forget it!

Which player(s) impressed you the most during the trip?

I met a lot of players in Tokyo. It was cool to meet for the first time JDCR and Shinz. I had already known Nin very good because we had met each other a couple of times. Of course it was cool to meet the Americans. Watching Aris arriving at the dinner room was something. He looked like Jackson in Bloodsport with Jean Claude Van Dame. A bit cliché but true, hehe. He is a very nice and a funny guy anyway, just like the crazy bronson. It was also cool to meet chetchetty and Mr. Naps although we didn’t talk much.
I think the player who impressed me most was JDCR.

What about players you didn’t meet in Tokyo, like judging from videos?

Mmm I don’t watch lots of Tekken 6 videos but I must say that Knee has been impressing me since Tekken DR. I’ve always considered movement and spacing the most important in Tekken and Knee is simply a master of it. He moves so nicely and keeps playing so solid. It’s really the style of gameplay I had in DR and would like to get back in Tekken 6.

Did you have an opportunity to visit one of the Japanese arcades?

Not really. I had to stay with one of my group from French television and we had to shoot some stuff (you can watch the TV show here). I went to an arcade center the other afternoon but there were no players. Anyway Japanese sticks are used there and I only know how to play on Korean sticks, lol. And there are no USB ports in the arcades :).

What had been your biggest success before the TEKKEN 6 Global Championship Final?

Well I’ve been the European Tekken 6 Champion for a few months now, having won the finals in London in December. Nevertheless I’ve played in lots of yournaments for the past 4 years and I think that I’ve won about 20 tournaments in Europe. I placed 3rd during one of the Ultimate Tournaments when Knee and Holeman came to France two years ago (yeah, again behind the Koreans). I’ve always wanted to go to Evolution just like Ryan Hart does, however, I don’t have any sponsors who would support my trip. I feel disappointed every year.
Coming back to my successes, I think that the most important were my close challenge matches against Knee and wins against Nin, Holeman and Borami; I am very proud of them although it wasn’t during a tournament. They were really impressed with my DR performance so I like to mention it often, hehe. I’ve always wanted to be the best Paul player in the world, creating a ‘new Paul’ and not being able to fight against such players as Na Rak Hof, chetchetty or Brian H has always been very frustrating. I’ve wanted to share Paul stuff with them and defeat them, hehe.

Have you been playing any other fighting game?

No, not competitively. Like everyone I tried Street Fighter II on SNES, playing it with my brother. I also tried playing Soul Calibur 1 & 2, Bloody Roar, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, Rival Schools and more but only with my brother or best friend, just for fun. I had never tried to play fighting games ‘seriously’ until Tekken 5. Nevertheless I really want to learn 2D games, including Street Fighter. I really want to learn and be the best, eventhough it will be so hard with such players as Daigo Umehara, Justin Wong and a couple of great players in France as well. It’s going to be so hard and I will probaly suck since I’ve never learned 2D games, lol, but even so I want to try and go for it. I’ve already fell in love with one of the characters, just like it happened with Paul. This time it’s Boxer. He’s like a black Paul, lol. I like him like crazy.

What’s your opinion on Paul in Tekken 6?

In my opinion Paul wasn’t very good in Tekken DR and he is even worse in Tekken 6. I love playing him and he’s been my main character for like forever. He’s got good damage – that’s for sure, but he has got so many useless moves and he is so unsafe… the better your opponent is, the harder it is to win using Paul. Not to mention that spacing is not as important now as it used to; it was my main weapon which helped me to beat any type of player.
For me Paul isn’t difficult when speaking about technical issues, it’s just that it’s very hard to win with him in a high-level match – it requires lots of movement, spacing, creativity, patience and, in general, playing as solid as possible. But obviously it’s only my opinion.
I remember that when playing against Knee I had to concentrate on using 1,2 and d+1, that’s it, lol. But Paul has got some good attacks still remains a solid character (especially against the wall, hehe). I love you, Poly! :)

What are Pauls best moves? You seem to have a very unorthodox style and it gives good results – is it the way Paul should be used?

Like I’ve said, I’m trying to play him the same way I did in DR which consists of moving around, spacing, staying out of distance and punish any whiff I can see. I’ve been trying to create a „new Paul” for all these years and I hope I’ve managed to succeed in doing it, hehe. This is the way he should be used in my opinion, however, any player has his own style. I am for quick, distant moves and pressure. But I need to practise it in Tekken 6. I haven’t practised Tekken 6 a lot in general so my selection of moves and defense are pretty bad.
As for the best moves, I’d go for: jab 1,2 for good pushback, d/f+1 sway for mix and teasing, hehe. d+1 is also very solid. His new d/f+2 is excellent! The hitbox is really big and sometimes it highcrushes – you can spam it safely and it will eventually hit the enemy. His new sway 2 is very good as well – using it against wall is safe and it can be mixed up with the sweep. Of course do not forget to punish all -12 moves on block with b+1,2. Last but not least is Deadfist. If you play Tekken then you most probably know this move; it’s great to punish whiffs if your reaction time is short enough.

Have you been using Paul since you started playing Tekken? Ever thought of trying a different character?

I’ve been using Paul since Tekken 1. I learned how to play the game „seriously” 4 years ago, during the Tekken 5 era, but I always stick to Paul. I used to play Bryan in Dark Resurrection quite a lot since he was such a cool character to use. I enjoyed playing him especially 2 years ago, when I started using an arcade stick.

Which characters – in your opinion – are among the best in Tekken 6?

For me the best character is, withut a doubt, Bryan Fury. He simply has all that’s needed. He’s very safe, has lots of lethal moves, great lows, has a great wall game, nice step-killers and – last but not least – the magic taunt which is the best move in the game (after Deadfist in rage mode of course, hehe). But obviously he is very difficult to use and requires a lot of technical skill. It’s very, very difficult to be good with him in my opinion. You need some kind of perfection to reach the next level with him in my opinion.

How would you compare DR to BR? Which one do you prefer to another?

They differ a lot. Tekken 6 is much more offensive and it’s much more difficult to defend in Bloodline Rebellion. The main difference between DR and BR is the movement. In Dark Resurrection the spacing played a much bigger role – if you knew how to move and keep the distance you could control the game. Actually you could win without even knowing well the character your opponent used, unlike in Tekken 6. Now you have to play much more often face to face, eventhough it’s still possible to move well and keep space.Unfortunately it’s more difficult and much less efficient. Tekken 6: BR is really cool and Tekken 5: DR was a great game as well. They are simply different fighting games. I like both of them.

What are your future plans connected to Tekken? Any upcoming big tournaments you’re going to take part in?

The main plan is to really get into the game – starting training, learning the game, learning to use a Japanese stick and taking part in more tournaments. I would really want to participate in MLG, Evolution, WCG and the next Ultimate Tournament at the end of the year – these are my main goald when it comes to tournament, however, I’m not sure if I can do it all because of lack of sponsor that would help me with the tickets.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 10:36 AM and is filed under Interview, SD TEKKEN, TEKKEN 6. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.