Professor Genki

Overview

Professor Genki is a character inspired by Japanese culture and game shows in particular, often appearing in surreal contexts and acting seemingly pleased at the pain and death of others. If his show is to be believed Genki was a scientist who had a pet cat named Todd, and managed to fuse himself with Todd so they could act as one. At this point he became a spiritual leader with a cult-like following, developed an enlarged brain, and developed a taste for wet cat food and human brains. Professor Genki's catchphrase is "Murder time! Fun time!".

In Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax participants make their way through a course filled with jets of fire, traps which electrocute them and various mascots trying to attack them, usually with firearms. The goal of the game is for the participant to kill enough of the mascots and make it to the exit alive where they are rewarded with cash. Genki's face is painted across some of the targets in the show and when the player collects bonuses like additional health or extra money he will shout out specific phrases such as "Extended reality" or "Cash in pocket". The promotional material for Saints Row The Third also shows a version of the show where Genki takes a more central role and tasks are more varied, with contestants facing self-cannibalisation, being mauled by men dressed as dogs and other indignities.

As one radio advert in the game reveals Professor Genki also has a theme park, where much of the novelty is based around the fact that the parkgoers may die on the rides. The first DLC expansion for Saint's Row The Third, Genki Bowl VII, focuses on a sporting event themed around Genki and the Genki Girls, three women dressed in skimpy animal costumes. Contestants in the Genki Bowl face challenges such as dressing up as a Panda and chainsawing their way through mascots, or running an enormous ball of yarn through the street, crushing vehicles.

It is possible for the player to randomly encounter an armed and hostile Professor Genki in the game, who if killed will drop a large amount of cash, however, the death of Professor Genki seems to have no consequences on his ability to operate his game show. Much of the pre-order content for the game is also themed around Professor Genki, such as a cannon which people can be shot out of or a gun with shoots mind-controlling octopuses.