God Hand - 2006

God Hand is something that so many games should be: self aware. As I have noted in pieces detailing a movie like Die Hard, there is a certain charm to a movie that does not care if it is stupid or not as long as it gets its point across. In that respect God Hand is a much better game on a story level than self important tripe like so many videogame storylines. However, to simply say that this is a game that understands conventions is to give it too little credit. No, like many Clover studio games, this game recognizes the aspects that are frequently found in a particular canon. However, unlike Okami which takes the content in a new direction, God Hand pokes fun(with a very big fist that is) at those things that ultimately hurt videogames(and other texts too): storylines and context that are claiming to be more than Macguffins but, in truth, are just that. There is nothing wrong with just providing context, but a line must be drawn somewhere and God Hand draws it deep into the sand of its starting town.

I do not think it necessary or productive on my part to list in any length the numerous visual cues to other games and texts(Wikipedia does this well enough at the moment). It is sufficient for the purposes of this piece for it to be known that the game is set in the cliche post-apocalyptic world with martial arts wielding demons. This, I think, is enough for my points that will follow to be granted additional merit.

The stages that one visits are standard fare for an action game, and that suits itself fine for the purpses of the game. It starts as a Western and then suddently becomes entangled with a Demon's Tower, floating pyramids and even a giant mechanical crab. Initial context with the western town is important to note in the grander scheme of things in this fashion: it is perhaps a subtle critique of how games operate. The humble origins(in this case a town of the past) is frequently the case for games that take themselves too seriously. Rather than dwell on it, the protagonist is quick to leave this world and go onto other adventures without looking back(not curious here but very much so with other games). Also, and more importantly, the game throws you into the action very quickly. Unlike other games that have a long drawn out prelude to action, this game places you quickly within the thick of it all. Rather than bore the player it wishes them to have fun with the game--this is something I can really be happy about.

Those that criticize the game on a general level, and there are many, usually do so in relation to the gameplay itself: it is granted that the complaints levelled by the game's story towards others is hard hitting. Often, the game is said to be simplistic due to its use of only three buttons. This, I should think, is simply not the case. The depth of the fighting system is far, far deeper than it might seem on the face of it. Indeed, those that mock the game on this level might wish to go and look deeper at those games in this canon that they profess to enjoy. God Hand, in a curious twist of fate, has a deeper combat system than those games that take themselves seriously(a problem for them). It understands the conventions within its own genre, builds upon them through combat, and dismantles the storyline tripe that is elevated to a "Godly" level by those that think their stories are important. Ultimately, it makes one very convinced that the people at Clover Studio knew what they were doing when they made this game.

Shinji Mikami, the director of this game, makes a most interesting statement in this game that I will later use when I write about the lauded Resident Evil 4. Note that Azel(Devilhand) looks curiously like Leon Kennedy from the Resident Evil series. Through this visual cue there is an obvious understanding of the--shall I say odd dumbness--of that series. It leads me to think that, despite the odd dumbness, Mikami knows what he wants to be in games: fun. And you know what, your enemies are having their own laughs in this game and it is good for you to also.

And as a closing note, "A Bus!" should be an internet meme but, alas, it shall never be. Such a shame that a good game like this falls through the cracks.