God Hand (PSN) Review

Give danger a hand.

 God Hand is a weird game. On one hand (pun intended) it's a clunky beat 'em up while on the other it's an over-the-top adventure. Developed by the defunct Clover Studio (Viewtiful Joe, Okami) and directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, God Hand was a hardcore beat 'em up game from the PS2 era. Unfortunately, it didn't meet with the warmest welcome upon release, garnering (a now infamous) 3/10 review by gaming site IGN, that quickly tainted its look. Nevertheless, it has since then been regarded as Clover Studio's swan song before their closure and developed a cult following over the years. I've been hearing nothing but great things about God Hand over the years and been mentioning it in previous Top 10 lists. It was until recently, that I finally got to give it a go through the PSN re-release these past weeks-- unsurprisingly, I've fallen in love with the game's charm and character.


 We follow carefree martial artist Gene, who  just happens to be down on his luck and broke. He posses a legendary arm known as the "God Hand", capable of eradicating the overwhelming threat of demons. He's joined by his fellow companion, Olivia, in his pursuit against the Four Dark Devas and their demonic forces. It should be clear that God Hand doesn't take itself too seriously. Even though he might come off as unlikable at times, I still liked Gene's sarcastic tone and hot-headed personality. Much of the narrative is jam-packed with weird Japanese-themed humor, cheesy one-liners, pop-culture parodies, and at times some "what the hell?" moments. Surprisingly, that's source of much of its charm. Also, the game's is influenced by the likes of the hit anime, Fist of the North Star as it shares some resemblances to the narrative and aesthetics such as enemy and environment designs.

"Weird" is an understatement for what 

God Hand has in store.

 God Hand is a 3D beat 'em up with the primary focus of beating all enemies standing in your way. The game isn't forgiving when it comes to its gameplay. In fact, it's tough as nails and isn't afraid to hand you your ass over and over again. The game's fast-paced in the sense that there's no block button, meaning that Gene has to be on alert by dodging and sidestepping oncoming attacks. That being said, Gene's not entirely helpless as he can assign fast attacks such as punches and kicks by mapping them to a specific button. Below Gene's health gauge is the tension meter, which powers up the titular God Hand, giving Gene a brief frame of invincibility when he's in a pinch. There's also supplementary special attacks called "God Roulette", which at the cost of one or two orbs, can unleash some healing techniques and powerful attacks. They're perfect for when surrounded by large crowds and in boss fights. Scattered through the levels are weapons such as the likes of hammers, boxes, poles, and even rocket launchers to strike down goons. There's also health items and roulette orbs when you're getting low on health but I hate that their drops are often times random.

Addictive and unforgiving are two words that 

come to mind when mentioning the gameplay.

 Additionally, God Hand features a dynamic difficulty system. It's scaled by four levels; 1, 2, 3, and "DIE". As you continuously dodge and chain attacks, the difficulty will automatically increase and enemies will get tougher to kill. Conversely, if you're repeatedly knocked down, the difficulty will scale down and enemies will hold back on attacks. Additionally, taunting enemies can also increase the difficulty and quickly fills the tension gauge. I liked this mechanic as it encourages risk-taking and skillful play as the extra cash from completing stages on a higher difficulty are worth it. In between levels, you can save the game and visit the game's hub. The general store is where you can buy new techniques, roulettes, and stats increases for Gene at the local shop. There's also Chihuahua races in which you can bet on which Chihuahua will cross the finish line first for some extra cash (always pick "Lucky Clover"). Additionally, there's also a casino loaded with slot machines and blackjack tables if you're looking to seriously rake in some cash as well. Lastly, there's the fighting arena where you can test your new techniques on a dummy, or earn some cash by beat waves of enemies that gradually get tougher each time. If you'd like the extra challenge there are "Little Devils" hidden in some levels that offer some timed-based missions that'll net you extra cash as well.

The game's endless attack moves allows 

for many forms of experimentation.

 Enemies come in all sizes, small, medium, tall, extra tall, and even round. But they're all pretty easy to beat once you nail down their patterns. Often times you might beat an enemy and a supped up demon my spawn at random, they're more tougher and can take off a good chunk of health if you're not prepared. The main highlight of the game are the constant bosses you'll be facing. The four devas all have their own move sets and equally infuriating attacks, but they're actually manageable once you memorize all of their attacks. Some of which such as the Mad Midget Five (a parody group of Power Rangers) and the wrestling gorilla were my favorites mainly due to their hilarious and over-the-top nature. Conversely, some bosses such as the Great Sensei and Devil Hand can be outright damning due to their speed and godly reflexes-- don't be surprised if you keep dying by the dozens. That being said, God Hand has its own share of problems as well. I didn't mind the lack of a lock-on option at first, but as enemies started to gang up on me, it gets tough to stay focused on one enemy. It's even more annoying when you want to roulette move a specific enemy, only to hit the wrong one. The frequent clipping issues and stiff animations also got irritating with time the more you play as well. But that's about it for nitpicking.

His style is impetuous. 

 God Hand is surprisingly subpar for a late PS2 game. I'm not holding it to the standards of Metal Gear Solid 3 or Final Fantasy X, but even compared to Clover's previous visually-stunning game, God Hand definitely feels on the mid-budget side. Still, I liked the some of the character designs as they complimented the post-apocalyptic premise of the narrative. The voice-acting is on the cheesy side but I enjoyed some of the performances seeing they captured much of the casts' charm. The soundtrack is composed by non-other than Grasshopper Manufacture's Masafumi Takada (Danganronpa, No More Heroes). With striking focus on rave and rock music to compliment the game's bombastic adventure. There's also a feel of nostalgia with old-school, catchy tracks being present too. By far the main highlights are easily the Elvis boss themes and the outstandingly awesome ending theme, which I consider to be one of the catchiest ever made.

Despite its showing age, God Hand is still

fun to play a decade later.

 As sad as it was being overshadowed by multiple heavy-hitter games and console releases at the time, it's clear that Clover Studio went out with a bang. Alongside Okami and Viewtiful Joe, God Hand is among one of their most memorable offerings. The silly humor and oddball personalities gives it own unique charm, not to mention the tough-as-nails gameplay is rewarding and has lots of replay-value. God Hand is not a perfect game by any means, but it's nowhere near as bad as some made it out to be. Who knows if Capcom's willing to make a sequel one day, but for know you can always go back have at it with this digital release.