It seemed like a good idea at the time
January 6, 2009
God Hand is one of the greatest games on the Playstation 2, and is frequently lauded for its music and the combat system, which is surprisingly deep and varied. One thing that is rarely mentioned, however, even among fans of the game, is the plot. Despite appearing initially to be a flimsy justification to punch things and a vehicle for silliness and jokes, and both of these are perfectly fine reasons to have a plot, God Hand’s story and characters have a depth rarely seen in game plots in any genre. In it, the writers create a likable main character whose struggle and motives are well explained, and moreover, they explore the dynamics of male-female relationships in a manner that is at times brutally honest.
Gene’s battle begins in media res, with only a sliver of exposition. Immediately, his troubles are revealed to the player. He is thirsty and needs water, badly. However, he is suddenly approached by a pair of thugs, interrupting his important quest for a refreshing drink. Here, the other main character is also introduced, a young woman who implores him to beat them up, further encouraging him by saying that it will be “cake.” Gene’s response, “and [they're] sexier than you!” indicates some animosity or perhaps resentment toward her on his part. However, the game wastes no more time at this point explaining what the cause of this might be; it is, in fact, time to go bust some heads for Gene.
The first environment wordlessly expresses many elements of the game’s world. The town resembles one that would appear in a Western, with rickety wooden barrels and buildings, stables and a saloon, and dusty main roads. Later areas build upon this, slowly revealing as more high-tech objects appear, that the setting is certainly not the 19th century. The neon lights in the safe town where Gene shops and gambles begin this, and the massive, robotic crab that serves as the stage for stage 4 shows that the world has reached a state of advanced technology, and then, for some reason, regressed. The story scenes never state anything about this outright, allowing the world to explain itself, where so many other modern games would feel compelled to describe every conceivable element and more of the apparent apocalypse.
In the second scene, Gene and Olivia’s relationship is further elaborated upon. He shows himself again to be easily cowed by her, and furthermore, she places a piece of paper reading “Kick Me!” on his back as he leaves, as in the well-known practical joke. Even though she depends on his assistance, it seems, performing no actual combat herself, she does not appear to value it. However, the “Kick Me Sign” disappears if Gene uses one of his God Hand powers, thus asserting his masculinity in the face of her mocking. Should he choose to not resort to such overt displays of power, though, the game is much more difficult. Therefore, the meaning is apparent: though acting macho works well in the short run, it is the long-term, subtle displays of strength that show true manliness to friends and enemies.
Soon, the player learns that Olivia’s family are the keepers of the God Hands, and that she has entrusted one to Gene so that he will protect her. He resents being used as a tool, but is unable to rebel against her as she carries an axe with her at all times and threatens to remove his arm with it. Even when she is taking a bath, he finds her sufficiently intimidating and is unable to confront her.
Unknowingly, she is playing on his fear of having his arm cut off, which comes from a previous traumatic experience in which he did in fact lose that appendage due to work of three villainous thugs. All people are fairly attached to their limbs and would not like to lose them, but having suffered this fate himself, Gene is especially sensitive in this situation and his suffering is entirely relatable to the player, who knows that missing one or more hands would mean he or she would never be able to play God Hand again.
Gene is, ultimately, devoted to Olivia despite her bullying, and though the game never explains why, it becomes more apparent as the story progresses. The handling of this is also impressive, because as opposed to many game plots in which the main character is a jerk the entire time until he has a sudden, complete reversal, Gene’s signs of caring are revealed incrementally and his “reasons” are never explained-it could just be that for all he knows, she’s the last remotely decent woman in the world-but that’s just the sort of mystery that should be present in a love story. Though, to the end, Olivia continues to intimidate Gene with the axe, she seems to value him in return, especially as she knows how to keep him under control.
Thanks to the complicated interactions between Gene and Olivia, they stand out from so many characters who feature simple motives, spelled out in a manner so stupid as to not be worth talking about at all. While the obvious elements of God Hand’s storyline are cliche and predictable, the real meat of the storyline lies in these characters, and they only add to what is already a fantastic game.
