Most gamers enjoy a good fighting game; Tekken and Mortal Kombat are usually the first titles to roll off the toungue – or perhaps DOA with its stylized fighting techniques is more familiar. But in 2006 a small offshoot of Capcom’s development studios, Clover brought out a fighting game that brought gamers a truly unique fighting game titled God Hand.
In God Hand, you follow the story of the hero, a martial arts fighter named Gene. Gene loses his arm in a street battle while attempting to defend a woman. He’s left for dead and is even given a new arm by the curvy but bossy woman Lydia. Gene is largely out for some payback, but Olivia (who could have easily been cast from the same mold as Bulma from Dragonball Z) keeps pressing him to take on her little “tasks”. It’s these tasks that pits Gene against a cabal, made up of several demonic beings.
God Hand presents gamers with several new and interesting features while playing the game. The first of these features is a semi-open world environment. While the game tends to lead the player generally in the right direction, there is some leeway for the player to explore. The game is also 3-D, which allows the player to become immersed in the environment. Another neat feature is that while making your way toward each area’s goal, there are smaller battles to overcome; each with its own set of hooligans to battle, and this is where God Hand really gets interesting.
Gene not only has basic fighting skills, but he can obtain ever-more increasingly astonishing skills. From the ever-impressive pimp hand slap – a series of quick back-and-forth slapping with his wrist – to even more jaw-dropping moves like the dragon kick that sends the hordes of thug minions of the cabal into orbit. But the really powerful moves come when Gene earns enough skill points to use his God Hand moves – moves the player can select from what’s called a roulette wheel. The roulette wheel is propagated by various technique names the player can accumulate while breaking various objects or performing certain in-game tasks. Each of the God Hand moves is supremely powerful, and as such can be used only sparingly during game play.
Some of the more interesting moves on the roulette wheel are the 100 Fists move – a move that allows Gene to inflict one hundred punches onto a single opponent. Another signature move, the Home Run God works about the way you expect it to; Gene takes out a baseball bat made out of Qi energy and smacks his opponent out of the park amid cheers from a bunch of unseen fans. Each roulette wheel move requires the use of an energy orb. Orbs are picked up along your path in the game at varying points. These orbs, once used up can be earned again by performing feats or locating more elsewhere in the game.
God Hand moves from the roulette wheel are only one of the things that makes God Hand the cult favorite that it is today. Another fun thing in the game is the use of some well-timed glib lines. Either part of the many cut scenes or in the heat of battle, the titular character, Gene utters some wonderfully funny lines.
At one point in a cut scene, when Gene is about to face the first really tough intermediate boss, Gene is quoted, “You can wax on, wax off all you want – I’m still gonna kick your ass!” Lines like this one have helped make God Hand the wonderful game it is. But as far as God Hand goes, All fighting and no fun, makes Gene a pretty boring guy.
If you need to take a short break from the button mashing fun that is the story adventure, you can travel to the main hub, where you can purchase special moves and roulette wheel moves with the fortunes you’ve taken from your enemies. You can also spend time practicing your moves and techniques in the simulation room, or better yet, try your luck at the Chihuahua races!
You heard me right! This funny little gem was built into the game and you can actually bet some of the fortunes you’ve earned battling the minions of the cabal at the race track! Oh, it should be mentioned that the Chihuahuas at the race track, were probably created by the wicked Shannon – one of the members of the evil cabal! You place your bet at the betting window, then you’ll be able to watch a race run by 5 colorful Chihuahuas. Each race is different, and the outcome is not as easy to predict. They are however really funny. The dogs race along a track to a fun little musical accompaniment. You never know who will win. Sometimes you just have a bad day at the track. Remember these Chihuahuas used to be humans, so be kind to the poor Chihuahuas, because as Gene would say, “It sucks to be him”.
If the gameplay wasn’t over-the-top already, the musical score is fantastic. It’s a cross between rock and stylized jazz. You can still find the original soundtrack online, but you may have to search a bit. But if you’re able to locate it, grab it – if only for the end theme song. The end theme is perhaps my most favorite tune from any video game. If you listen to the lyrics, you’ll be able to hear many of the game’s signature moves referenced in this catchy tune.
While God Hand was Clover’s last game release, it is considered by many to be a cult classic. With all the wonderful features in this game, it’s well worth locating a copy of this game for the Playstation 2 and making it a part of your video game collection.
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