God Hand is primarily an action beat-’em-up game created by Clover Studios, the company behind Okami and Viewtiful Joe, and is directed by Shinji Mikami, best known for his work on Resident Evil and The Evil Within.
However, God Hand restricts movement by locking the camera behind its character and limiting the user to only seeing what their character sees, in contrast to other action games that permit complete freedom of movement and place a strong emphasis on mobility.
God Hand is the result of a number of brave design choices that come together to make something peculiar, predictably controversial, and unmistakably unique, even by today’s standards. The game features outlandish characters, storylines, and a blend of western and Japanese comedy.
The game combines classic beat ’em up elements with fresh additions, such as the ability to map and link a wide variety of fighting strategies to the gamepad’s face buttons to create one-of-a-kind combo attacks.
A martial artist must defend his partner while using the famous celestial arm known as the “God Hand” to safeguard the world from demons. If you like games that require quick reflexes and some refined button-mashing skills, you will probably appreciate this one.
WHAT LED TO THE RISE OF GOD HAND?
AN AMAZING STORYLINE
The game had quite the storyline to keep the gamers hooked. According to the game’s history, a fallen angel became the Demon King Angra, whose demonic army ravaged the planet. Angra was defeated by a man who held the power of God in his hands and was exiled once again. The individuals he saved bestowed upon him the moniker of “God Hand.” A human clan guarded the God Hands since it was thought that anybody who acquired them would be “capable of becoming either god or demon.”
Gene, a 23-year-old warrior with one of the God Hands, which a group of demons seeks, is the primary character. Gene, a 23-year-old warrior with one of the God Hands, which a group of demons seeks, is the primary character. He is masculine and opinionated, yet he has a strong sense of fairness. Olivia, a 19-year-old descendent of the tribe that previously guarded the God Hands, joins Gene.
She escaped with one of the God Hands after the demons killed her family, grafting it onto Gene when she met him after he saved her from bandits seeking to seize the God Hand from her and had his right arm chopped off in the process. The primary antagonists are the Four Devas, a demonic society aiming to revive Angra for global dominance.
The commander Belze, the cigar-addicted officer Elvis, the circus ringmaster Shannon, and Azel, also known as the “Devil Hand,” a human who also has one of the God Hands and previously joined the Devas to fulfill his own purposes, are among the members.
A pair of highly flamboyant twins; the trio responsible for removing Gene’s original arm; a gorilla dressed in a Lucha Libre wrestling mask and outfit; an android warrior sent by Belze twice to stop Gene; an aspiring rock duo who sold their souls to the demons in exchange for power; and a group of dwarfs dressed in Super Sentai-style clothing with plaits; and an android warrior sent by Belze twice to stop Almost every battle is disclosed through amusing quips and speech. Angra rises from within Azel’s body after Gene beats him at the Tower of Angra; Azel then rips off his God Hand and entrusts it to Gene, refusing to be ruled. Gene fights Angra and saves Olivia now that he has both God Hands.
AN ENGAGING GAMEPLAY
The gameplay was notorious for being difficult and unapologetic. The player travels in all directions, attacks with the face buttons, and uses special techniques in this 3D action game. A button allows the player to turn around, while a context-sensitive button controls all actions other than basic attacks.
The player may use the button to hop up ladders, pick up things, and utilize special attacks against strange monsters like Gene. The directions on the right analog stick are set to four dodge movements. The player may assign any attack to any of the four function buttons. Square lets the user launch a series of assaults at the same time.
The user may pick from over a hundred movements in the game, ranging from simple jabs and punches to drunken-style and capoeira martial arts. In the game, the player’s “God Reel,” a roulette wheel with movements that the user picks, may be used to unlock more powerful powers. These moves are restricted to a certain amount of “Roulette Orbs,” which may be increased by collecting “Skull Cards” scattered throughout each stage. One to three Roulette Orbs is required for God Reel methods.
Some attacks send opponents soaring into the air, while others are basic punches or kicks to specific body areas. The God Hand is another gameplay mechanism at the player’s disposal. The player’s “Tension Gauge” rises as he attacks and beats foes.
To raise the bar, the player can escape assaults, taunt, employ tension-boosting techniques, or discover cards within each stage. The player can momentarily release the God Hand by removing the bracelet off Gene’s arm when it reaches a specific number. He is absolutely unstoppable in this state, as all his strikes gain strength and speed. The player may raise the size of his Tension Gauge to hold more power by employing various stat-enhancing items.
While in combat, the player may keep an eye on a “Difficulty Level” meter that varies according to how much damage is dealt or received. The level will drop if the player gets caught up in a barrage of punches and combinations. The player’s level will rise if they deal with a significant number of unanswered attacks on their opponents. The bar is divided into number levels one through three, with the fourth level, “Die,” being the highest.
During levels one and two, foes will not attack the player until he is assaulting them or they are in his line of sight. The opponents will attack independently of the camera position on stage three and Die. Also, as the levels go, enemy attack strength rises; at level Die, the monsters can destroy a completely maxed-out player character in a few strikes.
At the end of a stage, defeating adversaries at higher Difficulty Levels gets the player bonus points. Additional techniques are available in the form of technique scrolls, which may be found in phases. The store, which is located on the map screen, also sells and buys roulette moves and techniques. A casino, which offers several minigames like slots, blackjack, poker, chihuahua racing, and a combat arena, is also accessible from the map.
A QUINTESSENTIAL ANTI-HERO
Let’s talk about Gene, the game’s protagonist and also one of the main draws. Gene is a young man dressed in a tight white shirt and black coat with shin-length coattails and black slacks, with the left sleeve ripped at the forearm and the rightfully ripped off. He’s wearing an orange handkerchief around his neck.
Gene also sports a silver belt buckle, long black boots, and a set of braces ornamented with skull forms on his tattooed right arm, his Godhand known as the “Deistic Brace,” and a fingerless glove on his left hand. His hair is light brown, slicked back, and his body is top-heavy and strong.
He has a white square patch on his left face, probably a bandage, and his eyes appear brown, though the exact hue is impossible to tell. Gene is best defined as a borderline conventional anti-hero because he isn’t strictly a morally dubious figure but lacks heroic traits.
On the one hand, he is arrogant, lazy, and rude, as he treats every opponent with equal disrespect, complains whenever he has to go on a mission at Olivia’s command, and enjoys making fun of and even bullying his opponents; a prime example of this would be the majority of his interactions with Elvis, as he tends to make remarks about Elvis’s weight or baldness with the intent of provoking the demon.
On the other hand, he is brave, empathetic, strong-willed, and generous, as he attacked Felix & Bruce when they were assaulting Olivia to steal the God Hand from her, despite having no idea what they were capable of, and was particularly upset when he saw a gang of Henchmen attacking a Villager to grab his arm, as he had experienced the same misfortune as the villager. His strong will & selflessness are best demonstrated by how he agrees to accept the missions assigned by Olivia even when he despises them.
Gene also has a lighthearted and laid-back demeanor, as he is rarely seen as furious or serious until he or someone he knows is in danger. Gene was as powerful as any mortal man, easily defeating even the most idiotic and inept demons, such as the Three Evil Stooges. Still, after obtaining the God Hand’s power, his strength skyrocketed, making him the only one capable of saving humanity.
Gene’s most essential and dependable talent, apart from the supernatural abilities bestowed upon him by the fabled God Hand, is his mastery in many types of eastern and western martial arts, including, but not limited to, various varieties of Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, and Boxing. When he isn’t performing robust singular attack techniques, he may use this proficiency to tie together numerous methods from his repertoire of styles to execute deadly combo assaults.
The God Hand gives him the ability to defy the laws of physics to perform fantastic physics-defying attacks straight out of a martial arts film. He can even do things like attack his enemies with waves of energy or create weapons out of thin air. Still, one of the most useful and practical powers comes from unleashing the power of the God Hand itself, which increases his strength and agility, and makes him utterly invincible to all forms of attack, making him the warrior of the world.
FALL OF GOD HAND
While God Hand is a cult classic that everyone remembers fondly, the game’s designer, Shinji Mikami, feels he made a mistake. Resident Evil’s father has stated that the game should not have been so esoteric and that it was all due to him being granted much too much creative freedom. In the game, there were certain errors that needed to be corrected. The lack of a lesson or explanation of the concept, in my opinion, was the worst mistake.
Although there were teaching icons scattered throughout the first mission, they were not adequately labeled as such, and there was no practice area to begin. I believe that the developers should give a tutorial before the game starts to explain how everything works, including dodges, guard stuns, complete stuns, stun moves, default movements, and setting tactics.
Because the system is so complex and unique, I believe the creators should take the time to explain what’s available and how to navigate it without getting your head kicked in. And also, to mention that the gameplay is challenging would be an understatement. The game is quite tricky to play, even in more accessible modes. Let’s not go into the difficult modes; this challenging aspect of the gameplay might appeal to a few hardcore gamers, but most of the populous don’t seem to appreciate it.
FUTURE OF GOD HAND
Even though Hideki Kamiya, the designer of God Hand, is still up for a sequel to God Hand, it seems very unlikely that a sequel will ever make it considering it has been sixteen years since God Hand first came out. The game was never a commercial juggernaut, even though it became a cult classic over the years. The game was designed for hardcore gamers who appreciate the difficulty of the game, but this also left out a majority of gamers who invest in a game to enjoy it in their leisure. So to much dismay of fans of God Hand, they will have to make do with the old version of the game.