having died in the flower of their youth, loved and renowned, sit on ivory thrones with eagles at their feet.Īin°ld Palmer, God of Golf, sat lacing his shoes in the locker room at Indian Wells Country Club in Palm Springs, Calif., before the first round of the Bob Hope Desert Classic. Maybe in 55 years when Capcom’s copyright ownership of God Hand expires someone can think about making their own successor.The San Jacinto Mountains of the Southern California desert were worlds away from the blue peaks of Mount Olympus, where, according to mythology, the golden‐haired heroes of ancient Greece. As much as I would love to see more of what Shinji Mikami had in mind with this game, or even to see Gene’s voice actor appear in another game, I don’t believe it’s possible. From it’s ridiculous narrative, to its style of gameplay, the real problem with making a sequel is that it’s the exact kind of game that AAA developers don’t make anymore. This is one of the things that makes God Hand more of an anomaly than anything. If the story follows the “hero’s journey” formula like the first game, I suppose it could take notes from movies like Star Wars and The Matrix, while making fun of all the “father figure” games of today, but this begs the question… how do you recapture the original game’s tone? I mean the first part of telling any story is deciding what tone you’re going for, and while it’s pretty clear that God Hand is meant to be funny, its style of comedy is so nonsensical that even though it makes me laugh, I can’t tell if it’s actually self-aware or not. Things would escalate when she has to step up her game sooner then she expected (which would be consistent with what the player would have to do). Gene would take the new protagonist her under his wing and teach her to fight demons. The player would learn of how he and Olivia learned to get along over time.
She would then meet Gene, who is older and wiser but still a buffoon (kinda like Peter Parker from the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse). My first thought was to feature a plucky new protagonist who aspires to follow in the footsteps of the God Hand. God Hand’s story is a mix between a parody of Japanese games & anime, and a Jackie Chan kung fu movie, with the thematic randomness of an NES game, framed within the “hero’s journey”… How the hell do you follow up on that? There’s something to be said about how it never compromises player autonomy to reach a wider audience, and I think a lot can be learned from that.
A sequel to God Hand has so much potential to expand upon its design philosophies, and change the way game design is looked at. That’s what lead most players to look for the most efficient means to get to the end credits, rather than learning to engage with the game’s mechanics at a higher level. God Hand is also a game with a well-known conveyance problem.
◦ Maybe an upgrade for a short or combo to allow for new tactical possibilities.
Changes to the upgrade system to incentivize using new techniques rather than boosting your HP, or getting the most damaging roulette move.▪ Level-1 makes you faster and take less damage
◦ The God Hand could have levels to it that have to be charged. ◦ There could be more roulette moves with unique properties.
More interesting ways to incentivize skillful play, like a style system that isn’t just for show.An ability to switch move-sets on the fly (currently only possible with a cheat engine).A lock-on button you have more control over than with the roulette wheel.But what could be added other than new moves and new enemy types? Here is what I would want to see: If God Hand got a sequel, I would expect nothing less than a 1 to 1 recreation of the original game’s mechanics. This is a game where nearly every aspect of its design is complimented by its engine quirks. The game is animated with damn-near perfect visual clarity, and even the glitches serve to raise the game’s skill-ceiling. First of all, there is no point in changing how the combat functions.