God Hand Lovers Unite!

I have to say, I love Clover’s often overlooked PS2 brawler God Hand. To me, it’s like what the Fist of the Northstar saga would be if it were a comedy, and the gameplay is fantastic (albeit hard). I got hooked on it, and its catchy tunes in late 2007, and Maureen being the awesome wife she is, went ahead and surprised me with it last Xmas (even though we didn’t have a PS2 in our possession at the time). I’ve played a fair amount, though haven’t made it too far, but it’s definitely a fantastic game that I may try to beat over holiday break.

I just found out that the soundtrack is composed by Masafumi Takada of Grasshopper Manufacture (Suda 51’s company), who has jumped up on my list of favorite video game composers. Along with composing the music for God Hand, he’s done other great soundtracks to games such as Killer 7, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and the game that is currently lodged in my Wii right now: No More Heroes. I found this out last night poking around looking for a No More Heroes OST (Original Soundtrack), and after I had this tidbit of knowledge about Takada-san, I looked everywhere for a God Hand OST as well.

I finally found it, and a fantastic site devoted to God Hand itself:

Kung Pao Fu. They’ve got a lot of info on the game, hidden tributes to Capcom classics that can be found throughout it, strategies, pictures, reviews, and as previously mentioned, the OST available for download. What a great site for a great game! Check it out, if only to educate yourself about how cool God Hand is.

Of course, with Clover gone and the game selling poorly, we’ll never see Capcom release a God Hand sequel. Still, I’d like to think the spirit of God Hand lives on in Madworld, just as Clover lives on in Platinum Games.

And hey, for those of you who don't know the awesomeness of God Hand, take a look at what you've been missing:

Max