Remembering God Hand, A Beat ‘Em Up Masterpiece And Comedy Gold Twin Pack

I’ll be honest with you: I miss God Hand like crazy, given the fact that the PlayStation 2 exclusive never received a port to PC or any other platform where there would be some semblance of hope for replaying it in a way. If not for getting a PS2 specifically for the title, which I’m sure is well worth the effort anyway, there’s no straightforward method of experiencing this stellar beat ’em up in 2024, and that’s just pure tragedy.  

For the uninitiated, God Hand was released in 2006 by a Capcom subsidiary called Clover Art, a newfound studio at the time that prioritized the development of brand-new Capcom games instead of working on existing IPs. Sadly, Clover Art wasn’t able to bring in the type of profits the parent company had lined up in expectation despite making some really solid games, so Capcom decided to go ahead and axe it.

Though the majority of Clover’s team members were Capcom’s own devs from its R&D wing, the studio heads chose to depart the company altogether. Those who didn’t leave opted to be merged back into Capcom, with all of this taking place back in 2007.

Now, somewhere in there, God Hand got left out. That means no DLC, no expansions, no nothing, which is extremely sad concerning the potential of this sensational IP.

Here are some of the glaring highlights of the game that make me want to revisit it every now and then.

Incredible Gameplay, Nonsense Story 

What sets God Hand apart from regular beat ’em ups is many a things, but if I have to point out an anointed few, I will put my finger on the gameplay first. The game features unfiltered, purely chaotic combat, where you’re able to give the same treatment to a boss as you do to a regular enemy in terms of throwing them around all over the place.

But that’s not it; crafting your own combos and playstyle is the real deal in God Hand, and there’s a whole world of creativity in there. The beat ’em up lets you employ a range of special abilities that it coins as God Reel techniques, and trust me, you’ll be needing these in spades to take down the swarms of enemies putting you in a pinch, which is going to happen more times than you’d like to admit.  

God Hand, a massively underrated masterpiece.
byu/kiryyuu inpatientgamers

And then there’s the ultra pro power move of the game known as the titular God Hand, which is a supercharged buff that grants Gene — the protagonist — elevated speed and attack power for a short period of time, not to mention immortality as well. It’s a great addition to the gameplay and highly resourceful for when things get tough. Way too tough. 

The Humor Is On Point

I understand why the critics were so hard on God Hand despite the game being so much fun. First off, its the voice acting that comes across as shabby, and the voiceovers aren’t too swiss either. However, from an average gamer’s perspective purely, God Hand manages to dispel humor in the air with its amusing atmosphere, and juvenile trash talk from enemy bosses and mobs. 

So yeah, don’t expect too much from the game’s story or anticipate things to make a lot of sense. God Hand is one of those games that are recognized for their gameplay mainly; it’s advised to take the title as such as well. 

Shut Your Brain Off And Go On A Rampage

And that last sentence brings me to talk about God Hand’s shut-your-brain-off-aspect. Where titles like Cities: Skylines 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, or even Hearthstone, so to speak, require a fair bit of thinking, strategy, and effort to make the gameplay stand-out, God Hand should be dismissed as an extremely fun-oriented title that’s out there to show players a good time. That’s quite about it.  

Is There A Godhand Sequel Or Remake Prospect? 

As unfortunate as it sounds, it’s actually true. Word is dead in the water regarding a new God Hand game, remake, remaster, or anything of the sort, so one doesn’t really have a lot of hope to cling on to here. However, if it’s any comfort, one of the founders of PlatinumGames, Hideki Kamiya, who relatively recently departed from the company as well, did say earlier that he wants to make a God Hand sequel. 

A rough translation of the tweet where he expressed his desire reads, 

God Hand is Mikami-san, I quit Capcom on my own, I really want to make a sequel, I’ve never been a producer and I don’t have the skills, if I were the president the company would be in trouble, I want to make Okami 2 Super, even if we make a game, the rights holder is the publisher, it’s not under Tencent, it’s PlatinumGames.” 

However, it has been well over 4 years since that tweet was made, and now that Hideki isn’t even in PlatinumGames anymore, the possibility of a God Hand sequel seems even more bleak, much to my sadness and I’m sure many others’. One can only hope that things change down the road, and this magnificent IP, one which wasn’t received as well critically, gets the treatment it rightfully deserves.