| God Hand | |
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| Developer(s) | Clover Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Designer(s) | Shinji Mikami (director) Atsushi Inaba (producer) |
| Released |  September 14, 2006 October 10, 2006 February 16, 2007 |
| Genre | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Ratings | ESRB: Mature 17+ CERO: B PEGI: 16+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Media | 1 DVD |
God Hand is a video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sci-fi/post-apocalyptic-themed comedy beat 'em up that combines traditional gameplay elements of the genre with new features such as knocking enemies into the sky and a new counter system. Development was supervised by Shinji Mikami, best known for the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series of games. It was released in Japan on September 14th 2006, and on October 10th 2006 in North America. It was released on 17th February 2007 in Europe. God Hand was the last Clover Studio game. There are a few minor differences between the American and Japanese versions of the game. The Chihuahua Curry power-up was changed to Puppy Pizza. Also, a new roulette move called "Head Slicer", which lets Gene send a wave attack that can knock enemies into a distance, or even slice their heads off, was added at the expense of the roulette move "Pan Drop", which gives the user short-lived invincibility in return for taking some damage.
Contents |
Story
In the days before time, an angel filled with pride fell from the heavens to a life in exile as the Demon King Angra. Filled with spite and hatred, Angra spearheaded an army of demons and specters to overthrow the world of mortal men. His plan was foiled, a man appeared with the power of God sealed in his arms, and used this power to once again send Angra into exile. The people, grateful that the Angra's threat had subsided, bestowed upon the man the title of Godhand. Legend states: "Although the man is long since gone, a single clan continues to this day to defend the Godhands, and the power held within". "Those who possess this power are capable of becoming either god or demon."
Characters
Main characters
- Gene
A 23-year old, dusty rambler that ends up stuck with one of the famed Godhands -- with a bunch of nasty demons on his tail. Though outspoken and a constant complainer, he has a keen sense of justice. He likes to imagine he has a gentle, kinder side despite his rough, macho exterior. In the end, he slays the demon Angra by taking control of both Godhands. Voiced by Beng Spies.
- Olivia
Nineteen years old, this beauty is a descendant of a family that protected the Godhands for centuries, until demons hunting for the arms wiped out most of the family. As the sole survivor, she fled with one of the Godhands, allowing fate to carry her to a small town where she crosses paths with Gene and entrusts the Godhand to him. Voiced by Bettina Bush. The Four Devas
- Elvis
Possessing amazing strength and a huge appetite, Elvis likes to chase the ladies when he's not kicking butt. Despite being a demon, he has acquired some nasty human habits. He's brutally honest and something of a potty mouth. Appears in "human" form as a fat, yet heavily muscled Mexican man in a poor fitting white vest and pants, with a giant set of purple Buddhist prayer beads around his neck. Is relentlessly and constantly chewing on an enormous cigar. His demon form is giant and purple/red, with a chomping face on his belly, mouths for hands that shoot fire, and a retractable head that's pounded into his body when Gene preforms the 'Pummel' action command on him. Voiced by Jamieson Price.
- Shannon
The life of the party, this ravishing hedonist hides cold, cruel instincts. In the pursuit of satisfying her own hunger for pleasure, no sacrifice is too much. Appears as a coquettish, lithe female in an outrageous maroon and yellow outfit, with candystriped horns and green tattoos. Fights with a fairy wand that shoots energy blasts and heart-shaped energy balls that temporarily turn Gene into a dog while she kicks him. Her demon form is a cyclopean female form, melded with a four-legged monster with a mouth like a Predator and a single eye on its butt. Due to her status as an attractive, blonde, promiscous, caucasian female, and her association with Chihuahuas, some take her as a parody of Paris Hilton. She is eventually beaten to death by angry peasents with folding fans. Voiced by Susan Chesler.
- Azel (Devilhand)
Azel is mysterious and supremely confident, and his left arm is one of the fabled Godhands. Though human, he joins the demons in order to further his own ambitions. He was engaged to Olivia by arrangement. On his death throes, he launches his devilhand at Gene, giving Gene the power of both Godhands. Voiced by Sam Riegel.
- Belze
Cold as ice, the leader of the Four Devas is deeply loyal to Angra and very proud of his demon heritage. He doesn't fight against Gene in his usual form, but transforms into his demonic form in the only boss fight against him. Belze's demon form is a giant, purple praying mantis with Belze's face shown in between two big bug eyes that turn purple whenever he attacks. When he has 50% health remaining, he grows wings and separates himself from his thorax, resembling a fly. His attacks include blinding Gene with acid, swiping at Gene with claws glowing with purple energy, charging at him, and slamming into the ground. Voiced by Daran Norris.
- Angra
The fallen angel who was slain by the Godhand Warrior years ago. He was almost resurrected by Azel, using Olivia's body as a host. He is the final boss character with two health bars to drain. He battles Gene in his true demon form, which is gigantic, flat with 2 spikes on his tail, which is erected over his head. His head has 2 ram-like horns; he has 2 hands with opposable thumbs; and he is covered with dark red scales. He teleports around the edge of the tower top, and attacks by flicking off Gene like a booger, swiping with his right hand, striking the ground in his path with his tail-spikes, and generating an energy ball that fires blades that resemble Gene's 'Shockwave' God Reel attack. He occasionally summons demons that can easily be killed and always reveal an item. Angra's most powerful attack is a blast of flame from his mouth, but if you press the circle button when the 'Counter' command appears, Gene uppercuts Angra in the jaw, preventing the attack and leaving Angra stunned for a few moments. The ending cutscene shows Gene slaying Angra with a flying swarm of energy fists. Voiced by Jamieson Price.
Minor characters
- Mr. Gold & Mr. Silver
Two campy men who work for Elvis. They're both old, dark-skinned, and speak with a gay lisp. They have the letters Q and A tattooed on their backs. During battle with them, they constantly make comments and gestures that further suggest their homosexuality. The first minibosses of the game. Both voiced by Wally Wingert.
- The Evil Trio (Bruce, Conchita, and Felix)
The group responsible for cutting off Gene's original arm. Bruce wears blue armor, horns and spiked balls over his fists. Conchita wears red leather, a mask, and wields a whip. Felix wears a green full-body suit and wields the boomerang he used to chop off Gene's arm. Featured twice as minibosses, the first time you fight them one by one, followed by two of them at once (defeating either Bruce or Felix brings Conchita into the ring). They're eventually slain by Devilhand. Voiced by Sam Riegel, Melissa Charles, and Fred Tatasciore.
- Gorilla Mask
Initially this appears to be a gorilla wearing a lucha libre wrestling mask and outfit. Upon defeat it becomes more apparent that he is a man in a gorilla suit. Is featured as a mini boss twice, returning with a tiger stripped mask near the end of the game.
- Dr. Ion
An Astroboy style robot that bursts apart during the fight and recreates himself in several different styles. Every time Gene hits him with a launching or God Reel attack, Dr.Ion explodes and reconstructs himself. When he has two regular hands he attacks with dashing kicks and flying (literally) fists. When his right hand is replaced with a drill, he attacks with charges and electric punches. When Dr. Ion's right hand is replaced with a rocket launcher, he shoots 4 rockets (when Gene is at a distance) before changing back. Features once in the Kilo Crab level, then again in the Desert as a miniboss, complete with a new red suit, a battery on his back, and a claw that replaces his left hand when his right is a drill or a rocket launcher that can grab, strangle, and slam Gene.
- Ravel & Debussy
A rock duo who seem to have a problem with Gene. Originally aspiring (and awful) musicians, they sold their souls to the demons in exchange for musical prowess. Using his guitar, Ravel will shoot at you with purple shockwaves and laserbeams, with Debussy smacking against his drums to send out a yellow musical beam that distorts time and space. There also exists an unnamed third to their group, but he is really just a skin swap of Ravel. Ravel is an obvious homage to Axl Rose from the band Guns N' Roses. Voiced by Sam Riegel and Fred Tatasciore.
- Psychic Midget
A paranoid old hermit who thinks somebody is always out to kill him. Psychically throws rocks at you, causing a large amount of damage, but upon falling off his rock podium is extremely easy to beat. Voiced by S. Scott Bullock.
- Mad Midget Five
A group of five midgets dressed in Super Sentai / Power Ranger style clothing. The emblems on their costumes are the Heart, Club, Diamond, and Spade suits on playing cards, along with a 'J' for 'Joker'. Featured twice as minibosses.
- Great Sensei
An old samurai that fights with a katana. You fought his dark-haired apprentice three times, including on the 'Flying Pyramid' level before the Grand Sensei boss fight. He is able to make up to four copies of himself. Both he and his apprentice travel through inter-dimetional doors. Uses a lot of Street Fighter/King of Fighters esque comments during the battle.
- Afro Fist
Featured as a miniboss in the 3 Trials section towards the end of the game, Afro Fist is an afro-coifed black disco reject in a yellow vinyl suit, replete with arm tassels and flare bell bottom pants. He sits on a couch the first half of the fight while his girlfriends fight Gene, but will join the action when both are beaten or if one of them is launched into the couch.
Gameplay
God Hand is a 3-D action game in the same spirit of Devil May Cry. The player moves in all directions, attacking with the face buttons and using special moves (unlocked or powered up as the game progresses through an in-game shop). God Hand's control scheme is borrowed directly from Resident Evil 4 with some major changes. The player must manually turn around using a button, and all actions (outside of basic attacks) are performed via a context sensitive button. Using this button allows the player to jump up ladders, pick up items, and use special attacks that can only be used when the enemy is in a dazed or tired state. The Right Analog stick no longer controls the camera, but maps four dodge moves to the directions on the stick; a duck move, a backflip, and a left and right dash. God Hand borrows a lot from Devil May Cry in the sense that the player is given a character to build and mold. The player maps any attack they wish to Triangle, Square, and X. Square is the only button that allows the player to chain multiple attacks at once. All buttons allow the player to map an alternative move to a combination of back (on the analog stick) and a button press (Back and square, back and triangle, back and x). There are over 100 moves in the game for the player to choose from including drunken-style and capoeira martial arts to basic jabs and punches. The player can map a limited amount of moves to their God Reel (aka God Roulette). This moves are limited to a number of orbs that Gene has collected throughout the level (in the form of cards in three levels). Some moves require Gene to have two or three orbs, while a good deal of them only require one. These attacks are notably more powerful then Gene's basic punches and kicks. Some moves send Gene's opponents flying into the stratosphere while others are simple punches or kicks to specific places (a groin kick, for example). Another move in Gene's arsenal is the God Hand itself. As Gene strikes and defeats enemies, his TP bar goes up. Gene can also taunt and use TP boosting attacks to increase his TP bar. When it reaches a set amount, Gene can remove the bracelet from his arm (referred to as the "Deistic Brace") to unleash the God Hand. In this state he is almost completely invincible and all of his attacks increase in both power and speed. By using various stat boosting items, Gene can increase the size of his TP bar to hold more power. Gene can also find cards or glamour pictures in the middle of a level to increase his TP. While in combat, the player must monitor a level bar that goes up and down depending on how much damage the player is dealing or receiving. If the player gets caught up in a flurry of punches and combos, his level will drop. If the player deals a large number of attacks to their enemies, then their level will go up. The lowest level is Level 1 with the highest numerical level being 3, and the highest overall being Level DIE. During Level 2 and below, the enemies will not attack Gene unless they are in his line of sight or he is attacking them. On level 3 and above, the enemies will attack regardless of the camera position (leading to many offscreen blows or hits unless the player monitors the radar in the top screen). Also, enemy attack strength increases as the levels increase; at Level DIE a fully maxed out Gene can be killed in about 6 hits. Gene possesses a move called Grovel, in which he falls to his knees and begs. This has the effect of instantly resetting the level bar to 1, regardless of its previous state. The in-game level meter ties in with the difficulty options that the player has when they first start the game. EASY mode keeps the level meter capped at Level 2. NORMAL starts the player at Level 1 and lets them go as high as Level DIE. HARD difficulty, unlocked by beating NORMAL, increases enemy health slightly and keeps the level on DIE. While NORMAL keeps the level meter open for all levels of difficulty, most high level players will want to play the game on HARD to avoid maintaining the level meter and keeping it at the highest level possible. Grovel has no effect on Hard Mode.
Music
Masafumi Takada from Grasshopper Manufacture (of Killer7 fame) composed most of the game's soundtrack. The soundtrack is heavily influenced by 60's and 70's theme songs and other genres, including techno, rave, rock and funk. The song "Gene's Rock-A-Bye" is considered to be a variation of the Hawaii Five-O main theme. The soundtrack itself, God Tracks, is composed of 23 tracks:
- Gene's Rock-A-Bye 名も無き始まりの町
- Smoking Roll エルヴィスとの対峙
- Nippy Dog
- It's A Smile World 大人の遊園地
- Rainy Rose シャノンの誘惑
- Top Of The Humans 激戦?ゴリラーマスク
- Yet... Oh See Mind 高嶺のゴッドハンド
- Devil May Sly 宿命の対決
- Old Hand
- The Gang Of Venice 水の都 水上貿易都市
- Bald Mountain はげ山の一夜
- Battery :Size AA
- Floating Fort 移動要塞 King Crab
- Unnavigable Sea
- Sunset Heroes 悪魔の味方 ミニミニファイブ
- Battery :Size D 機械仕掛けのブリキ人形
- Please Mr.SENSEI 先生、出番です
- Too Hot!!! 燃え盛る鉱山
- Forgotten Song 砂漠の蜃気楼都市
- Higher Than Heaven 試練・3重の塔
- Anthem Of Satan 史上最高の戦い
- Handsome Dynamite (RX-Ver.S.P.L) パンチ V.S キック
- The Horror
God Tracks does not contain all the songs from God Hand, however. The game includes four unlockable sections of a "Jukebox" (A to D) which contains music that can be played from, appropriately enough, a jukebox machine located to the right outside of the item shop. The tracks are: Section A: unlock by completing the game on any difficulty.
- A-1 Gene's Rock-a-bye ジーンのRock-a-bye
- A-2 Too Hot !! マジ熱ィ！！
- A-3 It's a smile World それは笑顔の世界
- A-4 Floating Fort 浮遊要塞
- A-5 The Gang of Venice ベニスのギャング
- A-6 Bald Mountain はげ山
- A-7 Forgotten Song 忘れられた歌
- A-8 Higher than Heaven 天国を超えて
- A-9 Unnavigable Sea 航行不能な海
- A-10 GOD HAND JPN 俺の右手はゴッドハンド
- A-11 GOD HAND JPN ♪ （カラオケVer）
Section B: unlock by winning the slots in the casino (3-in-a-row of the gift box).
- B-1 Be ready for it 準備は出来た
- B-2 Broncobuster ブロンコバスター
- B-3 Fire-Works 花火
- B-4 Water Line 喫水線
- B-5 Sultry Night 情熱的な夜
- B-6 Big Hit 大当たり
- B-7 Chihuahua Soldier チワワの戦士
- B-8 Surrender 降参
- B-9 Colonel Chihuahua 傲慢チワワ
- B-10 Hanging Bridge 吊り橋
- B-11 Which do you prefer? どちらが好み？
- B-12 Fork in the road 道の分岐点
Section C: unlock by completing the Kick Me challenge (complete an entire game without using God Hand power or any God Reel moves).
- C-1 Peek-A-Boo ピーカブー
- C-2 Sweet Nightmare 甘い悪夢
- C-3 That's enough of that... ヤッテ オ シ マイ
- C-4 Top of The Humans 人類の頂点
- C-5 Sunset Heroes 夕焼けのヒーロー達
- C-6 Nippy Dog すばしっこい犬
- C-7 Old Hand ベテラン
- C-8 Please Mr. SENSEI センセイ、オネガイシマス
- C-9 Handsome Dynamite ハンサム・ダイナマイト
- C-10 FUNK MAN 臆病な男
- C-11 Come from Dark 闇からの訪れ
- C-12 Dark Matter 暗黒物質
Section D: unlock by completing the game on Hard difficulty.
- D-1 AA Battery AAバッテリー
- D-2 Size D Battery サイズD バッテリー
- D-3 Smoking A Roll スモーキング ロール
- D-4 Smoke Out 煙を味わう
- D-5 Rainy Rose 雨に濡れたバラ
- D-6 Poison Queen 妖艶毒姫
- D-7 Devil May Sly 悪魔は狡猾になる
- D-8 Duel Storm 決闘の嵐
- D-9 Fly Flap 羽ばたく蠅
- D-10 Anthem Of Angra 悪魔の賛美歌
- D-11 GOD HAND 俺の右手はゴッドハンド（英語Ver）
- D-12 GOD HAND ♪ （英語 カラオケVer）
Reception
- Press Start Online awarded God Hand a score of 9:10 (9 being the score representing overall quality, 10 representing the reviewer's individual opinion.)[1]
- videoGaiden, in the final episode of season 2, claimed the game to be one of the "best ever made".
The game's difficulty often turns away many gamers, but seems to attract "old school" gamers, especially those who enjoy fighting games. God Hand received mixed reviews from many magazines and websites (including a 3.0 out of 10 from IGN - this score was largely based upon the fact that the reviewer found the combat system was "too simple", and the game was too hard). Since that review, the reviewer, Chris Roper, has been openly criticized by fans of the game. Many people praise the game for its use of humor and refreshing change of difficulty from what the recent mainstream of gaming has to offer, while others scored it low for its camera system and lack of polished graphics and co-op game modes. It garnered an 8.0/10 from Gamespot, a 4/5 from G4's X-Play and an 8/10 by Eurogamer. Famitsu rated the game 26/40 (6/7/7/6). Independent PlayStation Magazine listed God Hand among the "11 PS2 Games You Need to Play (But Haven't)."[2] Erik Wolpaw remarked in an interview, in regards to the rock song that plays over the end credit sequence: "...[the song is] one of the many reasons [God Hand is] so great."[3]
Influences, tributes, and Easter eggs
- Several bonus levels have Gene destroying a car similar to the bonus level in Final Fight and Street Fighter II.
- The chihuahua race features several dogs with notable names. Mikami's Head is a reference to Shinji Mikami's promise about Resident Evil 4 not being ported from the GameCube. Boom Headshot is a reference to the internet meme developed by the Pure Pwnage series. 37 In A Row is a reference to the movie Clerks, Amaterasu is the name of the main character from Okami, also developed by Clover Studios, and Massive Damage is a reference to the Sony conference held during E3 2006.
- The level "Giant Enemy Crane" is also a reference to the Sony conference during that same E3. While playing the game Genji 2 the man introducing the game refers to boss he meets as a "Giant enemy crab" and afterwards the phrase has become a huge hit online amongst fans. The same joke is repeated in the intro movie for stage 4-1 where Gene hops onto a giant mobile fortress shaped like a crab.
- Devil May Sly (song played during the Azel fight) is an obvious reference to the Devil May Cry series (also produced by Shinji Mikami).
- The Mad Midget Five look similar to Viewtiful Joe and both themselves are a reference to the Japanese tokusatsu television series, JAKQ, one of the earliest Super Sentai (Power Rangers in the West) series in Japan.
- The ending theme song is a style parody of the Mazinger Z opening theme song.
- At one point in the game, Elvis refers to himself as "Viewtiful Elvis", before shouting "Henshin." This is a blatant reference to Clover's flagship series, Viewtiful Joe.
- There are a lot of Elvis Presley jokes related to the Deva Elvis. Two of the levels are called "The Return of Fat Elvis" (referring to the singer's weight gain in correlation to the Deva's obesity) and "Elvis' Graced Land" (referring to Presley's Graceland Estate) where you fight and kill Elvis. In the 2nd cut scene after defeating Elvis, Bezel says "Elvis has left the building". A trio of human hostages you rescue in Bald Mountain talk about if Shannon likes big guys like Elvis. One of them says that "he's a hunka hunka burning love".
- The first God Hand teaser trailer quotes "Its style is impetuous. Its defense is impregnable." Enemies also say "You're not Alexander!" "I'm brutal and ruthless!" and "I'm Alexander the Great!" These are all references to an infamous press conference quote from Mike Tyson when asked about Lennox Lewis. [3]
- Tiger Joe (mini-boss encountered late in the game) is a tiger-themed Muay Thai kickboxer with an eyepatch, a tribute to Sagat from the Street Fighter series.
- The 100 Fists roulette technique is a reference to some of Kenshiro's signature moves from the Fist of the North Star, the "Hokuto Hyakuretsuken" (North Star Hundred Crack Fist). The title God Hand itself may also be a reference to Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro's fighting style is called Hokuto Shinken ("The Divine Fist" or "God Fist of the North Star").
- The One inch punch roulette is a technique from Chinese martial arts which was popularized by Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee.
- In the Home Run God roulette, Gene has the same characteristic batting stance as Japanese-born Major League Baseball player Ichiro Suzuki.
- In a cutscene, Bruce recites, verbatim, a joke from an episode of Chappelle's Show. The joke in question is "What did the five fingers say to the face? Slap!"
- Some generic opponents that Gene encounters use a move in which they spin both of their arms around forming tornado-like gusts and then stretch them outwards, allowing the vacuum created in the space between the arms to both propel them forward and tear Gene apart. This move is identical to the signature technique (translated roughly as "Holy Wind") of Wham, a villain in Part II of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- In a cutscene between Gene and Elvis, Gene provokes Elvis by saying ``You can wax on, wax off all you like, I`m still....Kicking your ass`` a reference to the famous concept introduced in the movie The Karate Kid
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Teresa Dun and Tom Hololen, "11 PS2 Games You Need to Play (But Haven't)," Independent PlayStation Magazine 129 (November, 2007): 37.
- ^ [2]
External links
- Official websites
- General resources
