In today’s video game landscape, it takes a groundbreaking idea to truly stand out and deliver a unique gaming experience. But over 15 years ago, one game did just that: God Hand, a third-person action-adventure game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom.

God Hand was Clover’s final release and was the brainchild of Shinji Mikami, the man most associated with the development of Resident Evil. Mikami set out to create an action game with a unique vision, one that offered a host of innovative gameplay mechanics never before seen in the genre. The result was the most innovative and unique action game of its time, and one of the most popular fighting games of all time.
In
God Hand, players take on the role of Jean, a young, brave warrior with a heart of gold who happens to possess the God Hand, a legendary power that gives him god-like powers in his right arm. As Jean wanders the dusty desert, he becomes embroiled in a battle against evil that seeks to harness his incredible power for nefarious purposes. With this setup, the fighting action begins. Through its gameplay, God Hand quickly makes it clear to players that this action game is unlike any game ever made.

One of God Hand’s most direct innovations is the locking of the camera controls to keep the action firmly in the center of the screen. At first glance, this decision may seem like a disaster in an action game. However, this decision, like almost all others, was made to take advantage of the game’s fantastic combat system. Locking the camera frees up the right stick, which the player can use as a multi-directional evasive maneuver that can be used very effectively, allowing players to avoid ferocious enemy attacks. God Hand demands the player to continue the action, rewarding aggression with success, just as the dangerous ballet of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice did a few years later.

This mechanic alone is incredibly powerful and could be an overwhelming strategy in a weaker game, but God Hand solves this problem with its second major innovation: adaptive difficulty. If the player engages an enemy, successfully dodging their attacks and not getting hit, the game will eventually detect this and level up the enemies in real time, making them more resilient and harder to defeat. If the player is defeated by these more powerful foes, the game will detect this and lower the enemy’s level again. This dynamic difficulty is beautifully expressed during the game’s frenetic combat, and is a mechanic that is still very rare in action games.

But God Hand’s innovation doesn’t end there. The game allows players to fully customize Gene’s entire attack scheme, with all combos and movesets being fully interchangeable for players. Instead of using the standard sequence of three punches or three kicks, God Hand allows players to swap out each attack in a combo sequence. Don’t like your left jab, right jab, uppercut combo? Turn it into a punch, a slap, and finally an elbow strike. There are over 100 techniques in the game that can all be combined for nearly endless options, keeping combat fresh with every playthrough.

Additionally, God Hand offers another unique customization mechanic, God Roulette, a roulette wheel mechanic that players can customize with a set of special moves. In each area, players can find Skull Cards scattered throughout the levels. These cards act as currency to increase the number of roulette balls available to the player, allowing players to add more hands to the roulette wheel. Similar to customizable combos, the roulette wheel allows players to constantly unlock new moves and use them to try out new combinations and special attacks against unsuspecting foes.

By emphasizing great game mechanics and player choice that have never been copied before, God Hand were able to create a truly innovative beat’em up that remains one of the best games ever made. In the years since its release, it has been recognized as a cult classic, and hopefully one day we’ll at least get a deserved remaster, or a spiritual sequel that takes advantage of the woefully underutilized combat system.