God Hand (video game)
Encyclopedia
is an action
beat 'em up
video game developed by Clover Studio
and published by Capcom
for the PlayStation 2
video game console
. God Hand was directed by Resident Evil designer Shinji Mikami
. It was released in 2006 in Japan and North America and in 2007 in PAL territories. On October 4, 2011 the game was rereleased for the PlayStation 3
as a downloadable title on the PlayStation Network.
God Hand puts players in the role of Gene, a martial artist
who is bestowed with one of the legendary "God Hands", a pair of divine arms that were once used to save the world from a demon called Angra. Gene and his companion Olivia are eventually caught up in an attempt by a group of demons known as the Four Devas to resurrect Angra for purposes of world domination. The game mixes western and Japanese-themed comedy, containing over-the-top characters and storyline events. The gameplay combines traditional elements of the beat 'em up genre with new features. These include being able to map and string together a large repertoire of fighting techniques to the gamepad's face buttons in order to create unique combo attacks.
Shinji Mikami
whose desire was to create an action game aimed at "hardcore gamers" intermixed with a large amount of comic relief
. The game received an overall lightly positive response from critics. God Hand sold only modestly upon its release in Japan. Capcom announced just days after the game's North American ship date that it would dissolve Clover Studio, making God Hand the developer's final game released.
action game
in which the player moves in all directions, attacking with the face buttons and using special moves. 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, as Gene, to jump up ladders, pick up items, and use special attacks that can only be used when the enemy is in a dazed or in a tired state. Four dodge moves are mapped to the directions on the right analog stick. The player can manually assign any attack (punch, kick, etc.) they wish to Triangle, Square, and X buttons. Square allows the player to chain multiple attacks at once. There are over one hundred moves in the game for the player to choose from including basic jabs and punches to drunken-style
and capoeira
martial arts.
More powerful abilities in God Hand can be utilized in the player's "God Reel" (or "God Roulette"), a roulette
wheel that contains moves that the player chooses. These moves are limited to a number of "Roulette Orbs" that the player can increase by collecting "Skull Cards" found throughout each stage. God Reel techniques require between one and three Roulette Orbs to execute. Some moves send the opponents flying into the stratosphere while others are simple punches or kicks to specific bodyparts. Another gameplay mechanic in the player's arsenal is the God Hand itself. As the player strikes and defeats enemies, his "Tension Gauge" goes up. The player can also evade attacks, taunt
, use tension boosting attacks, or find cards within a stage to increase this bar. When it reaches a set amount, the player can remove the bracelet from Gene's arm to temporarily unleash the God Hand. In this state he is completely invincible and all of his attacks increase in both power and speed. By using various stat boosting items, the player can increase the size of his Tension Gauge to hold more power.
While in combat, the player can monitor a "Difficulty Level" bar that dynamically adjusts to how much damage the player is dealing or receiving. If the player gets caught up in a flurry of punches and combos, the level will drop. If the player deals a large number of unanswered attacks to their enemies, then the level will increase. The bar consists of numerical levels one through three with a fourth level designated "Die" being the highest overall. During levels one and two, the enemies will not attack the player unless they are in his line of sight or he is attacking them. On levels three and Die, the enemies will attack regardless of the camera position. Also, enemy attack strength increases as the levels increase; at level Die a fully maxed out player character can be killed in a few hits. Defeating enemies at higher Difficulty Levels earns the player more bonus points at the end of a stage.
Additional techniques can be found in stages in the form of technique scrolls. Techniques and roulette moves also can be purchased or sold at the game's shop, Barely Regal, which is found on the map screen. Also accessible from the map is a casino
, which contains a number of minigames including slots
, blackjack
, poker
, chihuahua
racing, and a fighting arena.
became the Demon
King Angra and attempted to destroy the world of humans using an army of demons and spectres. A man holding the power of God
within his arms defeated Angra, sending him into exile once again. The man was then given the title of "God Hand" by the people he saved. A clan of humans was established to protect the God Hands. It is said that anyone who possesses them will be "capable of becoming either god or demon." Within the game, the player takes on the role of Gene, a 23-year old fighter who has one of the God Hands, which is sought after by a group of demons. Although he often appears outspoken and macho, he has a keen sense of justice
. Gene is accompanied by nineteen-year old Olivia, a descendant of a clan that once protected the God Hands. With most of her family killed by the demons, she fled with one of the God Hands, entrusting it to Gene upon meeting him.
The game's primary antagonists are the Four Devas, a society attempting to resurrect Angra and take over the world. The group consists of the proud leader demon Belze; the large and boisterous demon Elvis; the extroverted and hedonistic female demon Shannon; and Azel, also called the "Devil Hand", a human that also possesses one of the God Hands and earlier joined the Devas to achieve his own goals. God Hand also features a number of recurring minor enemies that Gene encounters on his journey. They include a pair of twin
, extremely flamboyant homosexuals
; the trio responsible for cutting off Gene's original arm; a gorilla
wearing a lucha libre
wrestling mask and outfit(who has a suspicious zipper on his back); an android; an aspiring rock
trio; and a group of midgets
dressed in Super Sentai
-style clothing. Nearly all of the battles are bookended by comical gags and dialogue.
. Development was supervised by Shinji Mikami
, best known for the Resident Evil
series of games, and was produced by Atsushi Inaba
. The original idea for God Hand came about during a conversation between the two about the current state of action game
s; they found that many games in the genre at the time focused on the use of weapon
s and had gotten away from hand to hand combat
. Mikami later approached Inaba with a poster depicting two stylized fists, meant to exemplify the kind of original game he wanted the two to create. Originally, God Hand was to focus solely on "hardcore action" without much humor. However, after showing a trailer for the game at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) which contained some comic relief
, the team decided to integrate a large amount of comedy into the game based on the viewers' reactions. Inaba stated that God Hand is "aimed at hardcore gamers," which is shown in its hard difficulty. Unlike with their previous games Viewtiful Joe
and Ōkami
, the design team had no particular goal when designing the graphical style of God Hand other than that they wanted it to look more realistic. Although God Hand appears to share many elements with manga
and anime
such as Fist of the North Star
and MD Geist
, none were actually used as inspiration for the game.
There are a few differences between the North American and Japanese versions of the game. Among minor alterations, such a few signs being changed, the "Chihuahua Curry" power-up was renamed to "Puppy Pizza" in the English localization. A free Roulette called "Pan Drop", which gives the user short-lived invincibility in return for taking some damage, was removed from the American version. However, another technique called "Head Slicer," which allows the player to bloodlessly decapitate
an enemy, was featured in the North American localization but not the Japanese version, most likely due to CERO
censorship policies in Japan.
Masafumi Takada
and Jun Fukuda from Grasshopper Manufacture
composed the game's soundtrack. The score contains many throwbacks to older video game music, and is heavily influenced by 1960s and 1970s theme songs
and other genres, including techno, rave, rock and funk. Takada was told by Mikami that due to the game's hardcore nature, the soundtrack should be composed to "relax things a little bit." Takada's score utilizes motifs
in the game's boss battle songs because many of the them are fought more than once; Takada hoped that using different arrangement
s and orchestrations would remind players of older encounters with each boss. The soundtrack itself, God Tracks, is composed of 23 tracks and was packaged with the Japanese version of the game. A 128-page player's guide titled God Hand Official Guide Book was published by Capcom in Japan on October 7, 2006.
' s "Top 10 Reader's Most Wanted" for a few weeks. The game was the fifth best-selling game during the week of its release in the country, selling 48,280 units. Capcom managed to both ship and sell nearly 60,000 copies of the game in the country by the end of 2006. God Hand was later re-released under the CapKore line of budget titles and the PlayStation The Best range.
Critical scores for God Hand were somewhat mixed yet generally positive from many magazines and websites. The game currently has a 73 out of 100 on Metacritic
and a 75% on Game Rankings
. God Hand received almost universal praise for its combat system and an attempt at adhering to an "old-school brawler" formula, attributes which the same critics found to overshadow glaring flaws in its graphics, play control, level design, and camera. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine opened its review by commenting, "God Hand is a terrible, terrible game, yet I can't stop playing it. There's just something horrifically appealing about how bad it is in almost every conceivable way." Despite IGN
scoring God Hand a poor 3.0 out of 10 during its original release, the website ranked the game at #100 for their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games" list in 2010. It should be noted that the person at IGN who reviewed God Hand, Chris Roper, admitted on his blog that he based his entire review on playing only 1 level of the game, after seeing fan backlash regarding his review.
Independent PlayStation Magazine listed God Hand among the "11 PS2 Games You Need to Play (But Haven't)." God Hand was a nominee for "Best Fighting Game" at the 2006 Spike Video Game Awards. Rab Florence
of the Scottish
television series VideoGaiden
claimed God Hand to be one of the best games ever made. The presenter summarized his review by stating, "What an epitaph for Clover Studio: We made one of the best games of all time and it was just a game about punching people." God Hand is the final release of developer Clover Studio, which announced its dissolution mere days after the game's release in North America. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
video game developed by Clover Studio
Clover Studio
Clover Studio was an independent Japanese development studio, funded by Capcom Japan. Clover Studio developed the PlayStation 2 port of Viewtiful Joe, both versions of Viewtiful Joe 2 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation 2 titles Ōkami and God Hand...
and published by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. God Hand was directed by Resident Evil designer Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
. It was released in 2006 in Japan and North America and in 2007 in PAL territories. On October 4, 2011 the game was rereleased for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
as a downloadable title on the PlayStation Network.
God Hand puts players in the role of Gene, a martial artist
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
who is bestowed with one of the legendary "God Hands", a pair of divine arms that were once used to save the world from a demon called Angra. Gene and his companion Olivia are eventually caught up in an attempt by a group of demons known as the Four Devas to resurrect Angra for purposes of world domination. The game mixes western and Japanese-themed comedy, containing over-the-top characters and storyline events. The gameplay combines traditional elements of the beat 'em up genre with new features. These include being able to map and string together a large repertoire of fighting techniques to the gamepad's face buttons in order to create unique combo attacks.
Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
whose desire was to create an action game aimed at "hardcore gamers" intermixed with a large amount of comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
. The game received an overall lightly positive response from critics. God Hand sold only modestly upon its release in Japan. Capcom announced just days after the game's North American ship date that it would dissolve Clover Studio, making God Hand the developer's final game released.
Gameplay
God Hand is a 3D3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
in which the player moves in all directions, attacking with the face buttons and using special moves. The player must manually turn around using a button, and all actions outside of basic attacks are performed via a context sensitive button
Context sensitive user interface
A context sensitive user interface is one which can automatically choose from a multiplicity of options based on the current or previous state of the program operation.Context sensitivity is almost ubiquitous in current graphical user interfaces, and should, when operating correctly, be practically...
. Using this button allows the player, as Gene, to jump up ladders, pick up items, and use special attacks that can only be used when the enemy is in a dazed or in a tired state. Four dodge moves are mapped to the directions on the right analog stick. The player can manually assign any attack (punch, kick, etc.) they wish to Triangle, Square, and X buttons. Square allows the player to chain multiple attacks at once. There are over one hundred moves in the game for the player to choose from including basic jabs and punches to drunken-style
Zui Quan
Zui Quan is literally Drunken Fist, also known as Drunken Boxing or Drunkard's Boxing) is a concept in traditional Chinese martial arts, as well as a classification of modern Wushu forms...
and capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
martial arts.
More powerful abilities in God Hand can be utilized in the player's "God Reel" (or "God Roulette"), a roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
wheel that contains moves that the player chooses. These moves are limited to a number of "Roulette Orbs" that the player can increase by collecting "Skull Cards" found throughout each stage. God Reel techniques require between one and three Roulette Orbs to execute. Some moves send the opponents flying into the stratosphere while others are simple punches or kicks to specific bodyparts. Another gameplay mechanic in the player's arsenal is the God Hand itself. As the player strikes and defeats enemies, his "Tension Gauge" goes up. The player can also evade attacks, taunt
Taunt
A taunt is a battle cry, a method in hand-to-hand combat, sarcastic remark, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the target's cultural capital...
, use tension boosting attacks, or find cards within a stage to increase this bar. When it reaches a set amount, the player can remove the bracelet from Gene's arm to temporarily unleash the God Hand. In this state he is completely invincible and all of his attacks increase in both power and speed. By using various stat boosting items, the player can increase the size of his Tension Gauge to hold more power.
While in combat, the player can monitor a "Difficulty Level" bar that dynamically adjusts to how much damage the player is dealing or receiving. If the player gets caught up in a flurry of punches and combos, the level will drop. If the player deals a large number of unanswered attacks to their enemies, then the level will increase. The bar consists of numerical levels one through three with a fourth level designated "Die" being the highest overall. During levels one and two, the enemies will not attack the player unless they are in his line of sight or he is attacking them. On levels three and Die, the enemies will attack regardless of the camera position. Also, enemy attack strength increases as the levels increase; at level Die a fully maxed out player character can be killed in a few hits. Defeating enemies at higher Difficulty Levels earns the player more bonus points at the end of a stage.
Additional techniques can be found in stages in the form of technique scrolls. Techniques and roulette moves also can be purchased or sold at the game's shop, Barely Regal, which is found on the map screen. Also accessible from the map is a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, which contains a number of minigames including slots
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
, blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
, poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, chihuahua
Chihuahua (dog)
The ' is the smallest breed of dog and is so named for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahuas come in a wide variety of sizes, head shapes, colors and coat lengths.-History:...
racing, and a fighting arena.
Plot
The backstory of God Hand reveals that long ago, a fallen angelFallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
became the Demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
King Angra and attempted to destroy the world of humans using an army of demons and spectres. A man holding the power of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
within his arms defeated Angra, sending him into exile once again. The man was then given the title of "God Hand" by the people he saved. A clan of humans was established to protect the God Hands. It is said that anyone who possesses them will be "capable of becoming either god or demon." Within the game, the player takes on the role of Gene, a 23-year old fighter who has one of the God Hands, which is sought after by a group of demons. Although he often appears outspoken and macho, he has a keen sense of justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
. Gene is accompanied by nineteen-year old Olivia, a descendant of a clan that once protected the God Hands. With most of her family killed by the demons, she fled with one of the God Hands, entrusting it to Gene upon meeting him.
The game's primary antagonists are the Four Devas, a society attempting to resurrect Angra and take over the world. The group consists of the proud leader demon Belze; the large and boisterous demon Elvis; the extroverted and hedonistic female demon Shannon; and Azel, also called the "Devil Hand", a human that also possesses one of the God Hands and earlier joined the Devas to achieve his own goals. God Hand also features a number of recurring minor enemies that Gene encounters on his journey. They include a pair of twin
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
, extremely flamboyant homosexuals
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
; the trio responsible for cutting off Gene's original arm; a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
wearing a lucha libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
wrestling mask and outfit(who has a suspicious zipper on his back); an android; an aspiring rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
trio; and a group of midgets
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
dressed in Super Sentai
Super Sentai
The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
-style clothing. Nearly all of the battles are bookended by comical gags and dialogue.
Development
God Hand was first announced in April 2006 along with the use of a small teaser page on the Clover Studio website. The game was developed by the team responsible for Resident Evil 4Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
. Development was supervised by Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
, best known for the Resident Evil
Resident Evil (series)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a media franchise owned by the video game company Capcom. It was created by Shinji Mikami as a survival horror game series that was initiated with the eponymous PlayStation title Resident Evil in 1996. Since then, the game series has strayed from its roots to...
series of games, and was produced by Atsushi Inaba
Atsushi Inaba
is a Japanese video game producer for Platinum Games. He is also the former CEO and producer of the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio, best known as the creative force behind Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami and God Hand.-Career:...
. The original idea for God Hand came about during a conversation between the two about the current state of action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s; they found that many games in the genre at the time focused on the use of weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s and had gotten away from hand to hand combat
Hand to hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or nonlethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons...
. Mikami later approached Inaba with a poster depicting two stylized fists, meant to exemplify the kind of original game he wanted the two to create. Originally, God Hand was to focus solely on "hardcore action" without much humor. However, after showing a trailer for the game at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) which contained some comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
, the team decided to integrate a large amount of comedy into the game based on the viewers' reactions. Inaba stated that God Hand is "aimed at hardcore gamers," which is shown in its hard difficulty. Unlike with their previous games Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe
is a video game developed by Capcom's Production Studio 4 for the Nintendo GameCube. It was originally released in 2003 as a part of the Capcom Five under director Hideki Kamiya and producer Atsushi Inaba. Viewtiful Joe was later ported to the Sony PlayStation 2 by the same design team under the...
and Ōkami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...
, the design team had no particular goal when designing the graphical style of God Hand other than that they wanted it to look more realistic. Although God Hand appears to share many elements with manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
such as Fist of the North Star
Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...
and MD Geist
MD Geist
is an anime and manga about a post-apocalyptic world. The series is extremely violent, often depicting graphic scenes of human dismemberment and evisceration....
, none were actually used as inspiration for the game.
There are a few differences between the North American and Japanese versions of the game. Among minor alterations, such a few signs being changed, the "Chihuahua Curry" power-up was renamed to "Puppy Pizza" in the English localization. A free Roulette called "Pan Drop", which gives the user short-lived invincibility in return for taking some damage, was removed from the American version. However, another technique called "Head Slicer," which allows the player to bloodlessly decapitate
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
an enemy, was featured in the North American localization but not the Japanese version, most likely due to CERO
Computer Entertainment Rating Organization
The is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo. rating video game content in console games with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable...
censorship policies in Japan.
Masafumi Takada
Masafumi Takada
is a Japanese video game music composer. His most notable work is the soundtrack composition for the three video games killer7, God Hand and No More Heroes...
and Jun Fukuda from Grasshopper Manufacture
Grasshopper Manufacture
Grasshopper Manufacture, Inc. is a Japanese video game development house founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Japan. Grasshopper gained mainstream attention in 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 game Killer7...
composed the game's soundtrack. The score contains many throwbacks to older video game music, and is heavily influenced by 1960s and 1970s theme songs
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
and other genres, including techno, rave, rock and funk. Takada was told by Mikami that due to the game's hardcore nature, the soundtrack should be composed to "relax things a little bit." Takada's score utilizes motifs
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
in the game's boss battle songs because many of the them are fought more than once; Takada hoped that using different arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s and orchestrations would remind players of older encounters with each boss. The soundtrack itself, God Tracks, is composed of 23 tracks and was packaged with the Japanese version of the game. A 128-page player's guide titled God Hand Official Guide Book was published by Capcom in Japan on October 7, 2006.
Reception and legacy
In Japan, God Hand was listed on FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
Critical scores for God Hand were somewhat mixed yet generally positive from many magazines and websites. The game currently has a 73 out of 100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and a 75% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. God Hand received almost universal praise for its combat system and an attempt at adhering to an "old-school brawler" formula, attributes which the same critics found to overshadow glaring flaws in its graphics, play control, level design, and camera. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine opened its review by commenting, "God Hand is a terrible, terrible game, yet I can't stop playing it. There's just something horrifically appealing about how bad it is in almost every conceivable way." Despite IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
scoring God Hand a poor 3.0 out of 10 during its original release, the website ranked the game at #100 for their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games" list in 2010. It should be noted that the person at IGN who reviewed God Hand, Chris Roper, admitted on his blog that he based his entire review on playing only 1 level of the game, after seeing fan backlash regarding his review.
Independent PlayStation Magazine listed God Hand among the "11 PS2 Games You Need to Play (But Haven't)." God Hand was a nominee for "Best Fighting Game" at the 2006 Spike Video Game Awards. Rab Florence
Robert Florence
Robert Florence is a Scottish presenter, comedian and writer from Glasgow, Scotland, best known for starring in the popular BBC comedy sketch show Burnistoun, and the video-game review shows Consolevania and Videogaiden. He was a core writer of Chewin' the Fat and with Iain Connell wrote the...
of the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
television series VideoGaiden
VideoGaiden
VideoGaiden is a Scottish computer games television show broadcast by BBC Scotland. Its creators and presenters, Robert Florence and Ryan Macleod, are responsible for the internet-distributed videogaming show Consolevania, upon which the show is based...
claimed God Hand to be one of the best games ever made. The presenter summarized his review by stating, "What an epitaph for Clover Studio: We made one of the best games of all time and it was just a game about punching people." God Hand is the final release of developer Clover Studio, which announced its dissolution mere days after the game's release in North America. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
Quintessence Editions Ltd.
Quintessence Editions Ltd. is a publishing company based in London which is the originator of the "1001 Before You Die" series. Typically, the titles in this series are intended as reference books. They are illustrated books authored by multiple contributors...
.