God Hand

From Capcom Database Wiki

Trailer

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. 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. A free Roulette called "Pan Drop", which gives the user short-lived invincibility in return for taking some damage, was removed.

Despite the game being intended for a mature audience, there are no signs of actual blood or sexual content. However, there is brief profanity and some suggestive content.

[edit] Characters

Alternate U.S. and European Cover Art with the fist going through the opponent's mouth

Gene - A twenty-three 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.

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 - 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 fights the same way as Gene does, having weaker variations of Gene's roulette moves. Azel 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 performs a jumping ball buster on 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.

[edit] 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."

[edit] 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.

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.

[edit] Notes

Included in the press kit when God Hand was released was a digitally altered photo depicting an opponent getting punched through the mouth, inside of to the side of the face like in the image featured on the covers of the North America and European versions. The exact reason this more disturbing image was not used is unknown, although one can probably take a good guess.