dynamoxavier
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No More Heroes III
2021
Perhaps one of the more conflicting Suda51 titles in terms of reception with the audience, No More Heroes 3 tries to bring new life for Travis Touchdown following years of trying new combat systems and narratives within Grasshopper Manufacture's titles. There are TONS of gameplay, narrative, and stylistic elements drawn from their older titles (a similar overworld to One Night Kiss, similar space fights to Liberation Maiden, a similar art style to Killer Is Dead, various characters returning from previous Suda51-written stories, etc.), and it's pretty obvious that this and Travis Strikes Again serve to be a celebration of everything Suda and Grasshopper have created for over 20 years of game development.
I'm going to be honest and upfront: Travis Strikes Again has the best story. Yeah, pretty unique take, right? But regardless, I think it's fine that this game went the direction it did. After all, Travis' development in TSA already did most of the legwork with the narrative and I don't think it had much to go by after that. That being said, there's still quite a bit to digest with this game's story: love, hatred, death, life, heroism, villainy.
Suda51 wasn't very subtle with most of these recurring themes, especially knowing how much of a New Order fan he is. But even then, it's interesting to see all of them being demonstrated through the interactions of Travis and the rest of the cast. You have the big bad villain of the story, FU, who serves as a reflection of what Travis used to be in the earlier entries. FU is in a relationship conflict with his best friend Damon, who you can hardly tell if the pair really love each other until the very end. Travis meets various characters who have their own reasons for fighting. Some fight for glory, some fight because they believe it's their destiny, some fight because it's the heroic thing to do (one person in particular is actually a coward under the guise of a hero), and some fight because they're just damn mad. The final hour of the game demonstrates that last fact pretty well. It's a perfect culmination of everything that occurred in the previous games, thematically speaking. Some might argue that the story was a little rushed or unfinished, but I think it works well anyway. There were some subversions of expectations that had me a bit frustrated at first, but in any case, it's a satisfying conclusion to a t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ tetralogy that begs to leave it the way it is.
Gameplay wise? It's the best that Grasshopper Manufacture has to offer. For No More Heroes veterans like myself, there is still a lot more to digest in terms of tech and strategies that allow for more fun with the beam katana. For example, learning how to reduce attack animations with jump attacks, learning combinations of light/heavy attacks with said jump attacks to maximize damage output while minimizing battery usage, learning that you can technically stock 2 Full Armors with an exploit, and finding new ways to look flashy all the while doing so. There are returning mechanics from 1 and 2 that are both easier and harder to complete. Dark Steps can be exploited by spamming the dodge button while holding the katana charging input, and extra damage from Kill Slashes are more subtle and are shown with the intensity of the light of the Blood Berry. There's just a lot to take in for those who want to find everything this game has to offer for gameplay. It's also a bit like Travis Strikes Again, so NMH3 mixes in traditional action gameplay with arcade style combat for a pretty unique and stylish experience. Fun? Yes. Monotonous? Yes. Conflicting? Yes. I don't care. I fucking love it.
Suda51 has a lot of love for this series and the way it ended should be left that way. I don't think we need a fifth installment because I wouldn't really be much point to it, unless you want something of a boring, quirky tale like No More Heroes 2. That's just me, though.
Playing this game for over 400 hours and I still can't get enough of it. Thank you, Grasshopper Manufacture, for creating a satisfying beginning, middle, and end to my favorite series.
Farewell, My Hero
I'm going to be honest and upfront: Travis Strikes Again has the best story. Yeah, pretty unique take, right? But regardless, I think it's fine that this game went the direction it did. After all, Travis' development in TSA already did most of the legwork with the narrative and I don't think it had much to go by after that. That being said, there's still quite a bit to digest with this game's story: love, hatred, death, life, heroism, villainy.
Suda51 wasn't very subtle with most of these recurring themes, especially knowing how much of a New Order fan he is. But even then, it's interesting to see all of them being demonstrated through the interactions of Travis and the rest of the cast. You have the big bad villain of the story, FU, who serves as a reflection of what Travis used to be in the earlier entries. FU is in a relationship conflict with his best friend Damon, who you can hardly tell if the pair really love each other until the very end. Travis meets various characters who have their own reasons for fighting. Some fight for glory, some fight because they believe it's their destiny, some fight because it's the heroic thing to do (one person in particular is actually a coward under the guise of a hero), and some fight because they're just damn mad. The final hour of the game demonstrates that last fact pretty well. It's a perfect culmination of everything that occurred in the previous games, thematically speaking. Some might argue that the story was a little rushed or unfinished, but I think it works well anyway. There were some subversions of expectations that had me a bit frustrated at first, but in any case, it's a satisfying conclusion to a t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ tetralogy that begs to leave it the way it is.
Gameplay wise? It's the best that Grasshopper Manufacture has to offer. For No More Heroes veterans like myself, there is still a lot more to digest in terms of tech and strategies that allow for more fun with the beam katana. For example, learning how to reduce attack animations with jump attacks, learning combinations of light/heavy attacks with said jump attacks to maximize damage output while minimizing battery usage, learning that you can technically stock 2 Full Armors with an exploit, and finding new ways to look flashy all the while doing so. There are returning mechanics from 1 and 2 that are both easier and harder to complete. Dark Steps can be exploited by spamming the dodge button while holding the katana charging input, and extra damage from Kill Slashes are more subtle and are shown with the intensity of the light of the Blood Berry. There's just a lot to take in for those who want to find everything this game has to offer for gameplay. It's also a bit like Travis Strikes Again, so NMH3 mixes in traditional action gameplay with arcade style combat for a pretty unique and stylish experience. Fun? Yes. Monotonous? Yes. Conflicting? Yes. I don't care. I fucking love it.
Suda51 has a lot of love for this series and the way it ended should be left that way. I don't think we need a fifth installment because I wouldn't really be much point to it, unless you want something of a boring, quirky tale like No More Heroes 2. That's just me, though.
Playing this game for over 400 hours and I still can't get enough of it. Thank you, Grasshopper Manufacture, for creating a satisfying beginning, middle, and end to my favorite series.
Farewell, My Hero
Lost Judgment
2021
This review contains spoilers
Lost Judgment (alongside its companion DLC; The Kaito Files, both make an absolutely killer combo, as one brilliantly supplements the other) is by far the best game RGG Studios have EVER put out to date.
Nearly everything is in tip-top shape and quite the improvement over the last game; the combat, with its wide variety of combo options and approaches to encounters; for starters, the preexisting styles; Crane and Tiger are actually viable and useful in encounters unlike the last time, and we have two new styles; Snake and Boxer, and while Snake is an awesome and fresh new style with plenty of fun mechanics, Boxer falls a little bit short but is still fun in combos. Oh, and there's also the boss fights, the side content and activities, as Seiryo High is a brilliant, unique, and brand new setting for the RGG franchise, the music, the writing, the character interactions, and the majority of the new characters: with my favorites of the bunch being Kuwana, who is the best antagonist in the franchise, Sawa, and Amasawa, who is the best substory character the franchise has seen, (although there are duds like Koda and Bando), hell even Akutsu, Tesso and Soma, as relatively minor as they all are, are still pretty great and memorable despite their lack of screentime comparatively, and there's also the storytelling, which is deliciously gripping, enthralling, and morally complex all the way through, and on par with the great storytelling of the previous game, maybe even slightly better, as the first game had a bit of an issue with its pacing.
Even though the narrative's government conspiracy kind of trips over itself in the last few chapters of the game, the positives far outweigh the negatives, as I think it's a very refreshing, unique, and engrossing story narrative, tackling themes and topics the mainline Yakuza series wouldn't even dare to touch, like bullying and suicide, and what kind of damages it inflicts upon society and its people, and how various people get caught in the crossfire of it all. People might say the story's worse because it's less personal; and I'd say I disagree with that notion because while it may be a bit less personal than the first game, it still fits the Yagami squad's M.O as detectives, taking on various morally complex jobs and stories, and it does the job perfectly.
The only things that fall a bit too flat here are the detective and courtroom aspects, as they feel way too simplistic and tacked-on, and don't really require too much critical thinking to solve, and that Mafuyu does absolutely fucking nothing in this game, and by GOD, I hope JE3 fixes that because these two issues have been plaguing the Judgment series since day one. There are also some other small gripes I have, like some of the bullies' redemption arcs feel a wee bit rushed (looking at you Akane and especially Sakaki who barely counts as a character compared to the other two and on his own), and the sexual harassment plotpoints being a bit weird (they technically make sense but still feel lowkey in poor taste), that and the boxart is uhh... yeah it's bad, not even gonna sugarcoat it. But, despite the negatives, I'd say that the game is still more than the sum of its parts in the best way possible.
If I had to describe this game's narrative in a single word, it would be... morally grey. No one's right in this whole situation, but no one is wrong either, and no single perspective is correct, and that's the beauty of it all, honestly, I rarely see video games approach morally gray topics like that, and I'd say Lost Judgment aces it pretty well! so in short, it's absolutely peak, play the Judgment games now!
See you in Judgment 3! (it's gonna come out sooner or later by the way, Johnny's and Associates is out of commission, and Takuya Kimura has a YT channel, and there's also that big announcement Yokoyama was talking about https://twitter.com/Okami13_/status/1740800530056712454 so it's only a matter of when at this point)
Nearly everything is in tip-top shape and quite the improvement over the last game; the combat, with its wide variety of combo options and approaches to encounters; for starters, the preexisting styles; Crane and Tiger are actually viable and useful in encounters unlike the last time, and we have two new styles; Snake and Boxer, and while Snake is an awesome and fresh new style with plenty of fun mechanics, Boxer falls a little bit short but is still fun in combos. Oh, and there's also the boss fights, the side content and activities, as Seiryo High is a brilliant, unique, and brand new setting for the RGG franchise, the music, the writing, the character interactions, and the majority of the new characters: with my favorites of the bunch being Kuwana, who is the best antagonist in the franchise, Sawa, and Amasawa, who is the best substory character the franchise has seen, (although there are duds like Koda and Bando), hell even Akutsu, Tesso and Soma, as relatively minor as they all are, are still pretty great and memorable despite their lack of screentime comparatively, and there's also the storytelling, which is deliciously gripping, enthralling, and morally complex all the way through, and on par with the great storytelling of the previous game, maybe even slightly better, as the first game had a bit of an issue with its pacing.
Even though the narrative's government conspiracy kind of trips over itself in the last few chapters of the game, the positives far outweigh the negatives, as I think it's a very refreshing, unique, and engrossing story narrative, tackling themes and topics the mainline Yakuza series wouldn't even dare to touch, like bullying and suicide, and what kind of damages it inflicts upon society and its people, and how various people get caught in the crossfire of it all. People might say the story's worse because it's less personal; and I'd say I disagree with that notion because while it may be a bit less personal than the first game, it still fits the Yagami squad's M.O as detectives, taking on various morally complex jobs and stories, and it does the job perfectly.
The only things that fall a bit too flat here are the detective and courtroom aspects, as they feel way too simplistic and tacked-on, and don't really require too much critical thinking to solve, and that Mafuyu does absolutely fucking nothing in this game, and by GOD, I hope JE3 fixes that because these two issues have been plaguing the Judgment series since day one. There are also some other small gripes I have, like some of the bullies' redemption arcs feel a wee bit rushed (looking at you Akane and especially Sakaki who barely counts as a character compared to the other two and on his own), and the sexual harassment plotpoints being a bit weird (they technically make sense but still feel lowkey in poor taste), that and the boxart is uhh... yeah it's bad, not even gonna sugarcoat it. But, despite the negatives, I'd say that the game is still more than the sum of its parts in the best way possible.
If I had to describe this game's narrative in a single word, it would be... morally grey. No one's right in this whole situation, but no one is wrong either, and no single perspective is correct, and that's the beauty of it all, honestly, I rarely see video games approach morally gray topics like that, and I'd say Lost Judgment aces it pretty well! so in short, it's absolutely peak, play the Judgment games now!
See you in Judgment 3! (it's gonna come out sooner or later by the way, Johnny's and Associates is out of commission, and Takuya Kimura has a YT channel, and there's also that big announcement Yokoyama was talking about https://twitter.com/Okami13_/status/1740800530056712454 so it's only a matter of when at this point)
Tekken 3
1997
Although I have dabbled in fighting games here and there, the only major franchise in this genre that I'd consider myself to be a devoted fan of would be the Super Smash Bros. series. In terms of the genre's most iconic franchises, I find the first three Mortal Kombat games to be irresistibly charming and nostalgic (even if they barely work as actual fighting games), and the phrase "not my thing" constantly echoed throughout every match of Street Fighter II I've ever played. Other than that, the only fighting games I've really sunk my teeth into were the Super Smash Bros. games, Injustice 2, and, for some reason, the Wii port of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. Despite all of that, the Tekken franchise has always looked intriguing to me after playing a bit of Tekken 6 at my cousin's house a few years ago, and since I've heard a lot of people say that Tekken 3 was the best game in the series, I was pretty excited to give it a go.
I don't know what it was about Namco's late-90s offerings on the PS1, but they always seem to be jam-packed with personality, but unlike the laidback confidence of something like Ridge Racer Type 4, the cool allure of Tekken 3 comes from its in-your-face aggression. Even when you're not fighting an opponent, Tekken 3 still knows how to put you in the mood to fight someone from its varied cast of characters, as the stylish menus, energetic prerendered cutscenes, and amazing music do a lot to make the game look as exciting as it feels to play. Speaking of which, the actual combat in Tekken 3 is awesome, as the tight controls, buttery-smooth animations, and the well-implemented third axis meshed well with the impressive amount of moves and combos to make each punch and kick feel natural and weighty. The satisfaction that comes from experimenting with the roster is amplified by a ton when it comes to learning combos, with characters like Bryan Fury and Eddy Gordo being especially fun to play as thanks to how flashy, yet intuitive their movesets were for me. Pretty much every positive thing I've said about Tekken 3 is increased tenfold when multiplayer is involved, as this game is an absolute blast to play with a friend.
As great and mechanically robust as the traditional one-on-one fights are, I will admit that the most enjoyable way to play Tekken 3 for me came from the ever-so-silly "Tekken Ball" mode, and while the actual path to unlocking it can feel a bit grindy due to how often you have to keep replaying the game's standard arcade mode, the amount of fun that I had playing the mode made it all feel worth it. Playing through that mode was also satisfying in its own right, as it not only unlocked the rest of the game's roster, but each playthrough rewarded me an ending cutscene that pretty much always made each run feel worthwhile in how over-the-top (and occasionally funny) they were. My only real complaints with Tekken 3 can be found in its single player content, because while there are quite a few modes to choose from, a lot of them just felt like slight variations of the arcade that you're already going to spend a lot of time with. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the "Tekken Force" mode, because while the concept of a Tekken beat-em-up is really cool, it was all very clunky in its execution, and actually beating it feels based more on luck than anything else. These gripes pale in comparison to just how fun and stylish of a game Tekken 3 is, though, and it definitely deserves its legacy as one of the best fighting games on the PS1 (although it's not like it had very much competition to begin with).
I don't know what it was about Namco's late-90s offerings on the PS1, but they always seem to be jam-packed with personality, but unlike the laidback confidence of something like Ridge Racer Type 4, the cool allure of Tekken 3 comes from its in-your-face aggression. Even when you're not fighting an opponent, Tekken 3 still knows how to put you in the mood to fight someone from its varied cast of characters, as the stylish menus, energetic prerendered cutscenes, and amazing music do a lot to make the game look as exciting as it feels to play. Speaking of which, the actual combat in Tekken 3 is awesome, as the tight controls, buttery-smooth animations, and the well-implemented third axis meshed well with the impressive amount of moves and combos to make each punch and kick feel natural and weighty. The satisfaction that comes from experimenting with the roster is amplified by a ton when it comes to learning combos, with characters like Bryan Fury and Eddy Gordo being especially fun to play as thanks to how flashy, yet intuitive their movesets were for me. Pretty much every positive thing I've said about Tekken 3 is increased tenfold when multiplayer is involved, as this game is an absolute blast to play with a friend.
As great and mechanically robust as the traditional one-on-one fights are, I will admit that the most enjoyable way to play Tekken 3 for me came from the ever-so-silly "Tekken Ball" mode, and while the actual path to unlocking it can feel a bit grindy due to how often you have to keep replaying the game's standard arcade mode, the amount of fun that I had playing the mode made it all feel worth it. Playing through that mode was also satisfying in its own right, as it not only unlocked the rest of the game's roster, but each playthrough rewarded me an ending cutscene that pretty much always made each run feel worthwhile in how over-the-top (and occasionally funny) they were. My only real complaints with Tekken 3 can be found in its single player content, because while there are quite a few modes to choose from, a lot of them just felt like slight variations of the arcade that you're already going to spend a lot of time with. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the "Tekken Force" mode, because while the concept of a Tekken beat-em-up is really cool, it was all very clunky in its execution, and actually beating it feels based more on luck than anything else. These gripes pale in comparison to just how fun and stylish of a game Tekken 3 is, though, and it definitely deserves its legacy as one of the best fighting games on the PS1 (although it's not like it had very much competition to begin with).
Ico
2001
The three games made by Team Ico have been some of my most anticipated games for about as long as I can remember, and since I absolutely loved the Shadow of the Colossus remake back when I played it on the PS4 two years ago, I was even more excited to eventually give Ico a try. Long before I played any of these games, I remember being struck by the beauty and detail of this game's European cover art, and it looked like one of those covers that perfectly reflected what it was like to play the game. As it turns out, I was half right, because while I would say that I liked Ico overall, the elements that this game handled poorly meant that this statement would have to come with a bunch of asterisks right alongside it.
If there was one word that I'd use to describe the atmosphere of Ico, it would be "mysterious", as practically every aspect of the game's presentation evoked that feeling. This game placed a heavy emphasis on visual and environmental storytelling, as the simple, fairytale-like plot, fictional languages, and minimal dialogue put a stronger emphasis on having the moment-to-moment gameplay be the main source of the game's storytelling than the cutscenes. This stripped down, minimalist approach made me really appreciate the detailed art direction, as the cinematic camera angles gave the castle's mossy stones and rusted metals a strong sense of ancience. Ico also doesn't use music very often in favor of the naturalistic sounds of bird chips, waterfalls, and Ico's own pitter-patter, but the game's few uses of actual music were beautiful, and they greatly strengthened the emotional impact of the scenes that they were featured in. Despite how all I did was have her hold my hand and watch her climb ladders throughout my playthrough, I was surprised with how much I cared about Yorda, as having to take her everywhere made me feel like I had formed a genuine bond with her without having the game straight-up tell me that I did. All of these elements made for an especially impactful ending, as the use of the song "You Were There" being combined with the filmic cutscenes left me in awe.
Despite how much Ico got right in terms of its atmosphere, storytelling, visuals, and uses of sound, the actual gameplay was what held me back from liking the game as much as everyone else apparently does. The worst part of Ico would easily be its combat, as everything about it felt unintuitive with how long it took for enemies to die and how sluggish the weapons were to use. Every combat encounter in Ico felt like it was interrupting the game rather than complimenting it, as spending minutes at a time just mashing square until the copypaste enemies eventually went away felt mindless, and it didn't even really make sense for a quiet, thoughtful game like this to even have combat in the first place. On top of that, the wonky controls felt like they were working against me a lot of the time, as they not only made the combat more annoying to deal with, but they also made making any jumps or even walking in a straight line annoying to deal with. Granted, Shadow of the Colossus also featured some janky controls, but the weighty physics applying to both you and the Colossi made the fights exhilarating, whereas the simpler gameplay of Ico made its unresponsive controls a lot more apparent. That being said, I did enjoy the game's final (and only) boss battle, as having to run behind cover in between attacks made for a tense and exciting fight. Ico is not a perfect game by any means, but I'd still consider it to be solid time overall, and while it didn't reach the heights of Shadow of the Colossus, I'd still say that I'm interested in checking out The Last Guardian at some point.
If there was one word that I'd use to describe the atmosphere of Ico, it would be "mysterious", as practically every aspect of the game's presentation evoked that feeling. This game placed a heavy emphasis on visual and environmental storytelling, as the simple, fairytale-like plot, fictional languages, and minimal dialogue put a stronger emphasis on having the moment-to-moment gameplay be the main source of the game's storytelling than the cutscenes. This stripped down, minimalist approach made me really appreciate the detailed art direction, as the cinematic camera angles gave the castle's mossy stones and rusted metals a strong sense of ancience. Ico also doesn't use music very often in favor of the naturalistic sounds of bird chips, waterfalls, and Ico's own pitter-patter, but the game's few uses of actual music were beautiful, and they greatly strengthened the emotional impact of the scenes that they were featured in. Despite how all I did was have her hold my hand and watch her climb ladders throughout my playthrough, I was surprised with how much I cared about Yorda, as having to take her everywhere made me feel like I had formed a genuine bond with her without having the game straight-up tell me that I did. All of these elements made for an especially impactful ending, as the use of the song "You Were There" being combined with the filmic cutscenes left me in awe.
Despite how much Ico got right in terms of its atmosphere, storytelling, visuals, and uses of sound, the actual gameplay was what held me back from liking the game as much as everyone else apparently does. The worst part of Ico would easily be its combat, as everything about it felt unintuitive with how long it took for enemies to die and how sluggish the weapons were to use. Every combat encounter in Ico felt like it was interrupting the game rather than complimenting it, as spending minutes at a time just mashing square until the copypaste enemies eventually went away felt mindless, and it didn't even really make sense for a quiet, thoughtful game like this to even have combat in the first place. On top of that, the wonky controls felt like they were working against me a lot of the time, as they not only made the combat more annoying to deal with, but they also made making any jumps or even walking in a straight line annoying to deal with. Granted, Shadow of the Colossus also featured some janky controls, but the weighty physics applying to both you and the Colossi made the fights exhilarating, whereas the simpler gameplay of Ico made its unresponsive controls a lot more apparent. That being said, I did enjoy the game's final (and only) boss battle, as having to run behind cover in between attacks made for a tense and exciting fight. Ico is not a perfect game by any means, but I'd still consider it to be solid time overall, and while it didn't reach the heights of Shadow of the Colossus, I'd still say that I'm interested in checking out The Last Guardian at some point.
God Hand
2006
Aside from seeing its cover pop up in a few of Dunkey's videos, I knew next to nothing about God Hand going into it, but seeing its immensely high average rating on Backloggd and the reviews that were exclusively just quotes from the game kept me curious about what the game was actually like. Although I have played through a few of Shinji Mikami's games in the past (with the original Resident Evil 4 being one of my favorite games), there was so much about God Hand that made his other games feel tame and restrained in comparison, so when I found out that this was essentially his passion project, it totally made sense to me. Although it took me a bit to fully grasp everything about the game and its mechanics, I immediately fell in love with God Hand once everything clicked, and it was one of those games where I spent practically every waking moment thinking about how amazing it was.
God Hand is going to be celebrating its 17th anniversary later this year, and I don't think that a single game has come out in all that time with a combat system that even comes close to the one that is present here. This game's in-depth and hectic combat system is one that blends seamlessly with its high difficulty curve, as customizing your combos with new moves from several different martial arts means that you're constantly trying to find ways to take enemies down effectively while also trying to dodge as many attacks as possible. When you kill an enemy in God Hand, you practically send them into another plane of existence, as all of the moves both look and feel satisfying to execute thanks to their pure, raw aggression, with the pummels, stomps, suplexes, and spankings being especially fun to pull off with their flashy animations and use of button mashing. Despite how tough it can be at times, God Hand never felt outright unfair to me, as the lack of any real secret to being good at the game other than just knowing its ins and outs meant that every victory, no matter how small, felt immensely rewarding. This especially applies to the boss fights in God Hand, as the cranking up of the game's fast pace and focus on reaction time and positioning leads to some of the hardest, most pulse-pounding, and exciting boss fights I've ever seen in a video game.
In my eyes, the gameplay alone was enough to make God Hand an all-timer for me, but it also managed to stick the landing in so many other ways that I ended up loving the game even more than I could've imagined. Even with its challenging combat, God Hand practically never takes itself seriously, as its quirky brand of absurdist comedy made it so that my encounters with poisonous chihuahuas, punk rockers, and boss fights against lucha libre gorillas never felt out of place alongside the slapstick-heavy action, over-the-top storytelling and lovably campy voice acting. The game's stylish art direction made all of the environments and enemy types feel very memorable, with the major boss fights looking especially striking in their scaly, hellish designs. The music for each of the game's stages are all immensely catchy, and they also fit the tone and atmosphere of each stage really well. God Hand also allows you to gamble in between stages in order to potentially get closer to getting that next upgrade, and not only are the more conventional card games like blackjack and video poker already fun and laid-back to play, but you also get the opportunity to bet on chihuahua races, and while I lost money every single time I played that minigame, I still found it quite fun. There's no doubt in my mind that God Hand is one of the very best games I've ever played, and while there are still a ton of character action games that I still want to play, I don't think that any of them will be able to get any better than this.
God Hand is going to be celebrating its 17th anniversary later this year, and I don't think that a single game has come out in all that time with a combat system that even comes close to the one that is present here. This game's in-depth and hectic combat system is one that blends seamlessly with its high difficulty curve, as customizing your combos with new moves from several different martial arts means that you're constantly trying to find ways to take enemies down effectively while also trying to dodge as many attacks as possible. When you kill an enemy in God Hand, you practically send them into another plane of existence, as all of the moves both look and feel satisfying to execute thanks to their pure, raw aggression, with the pummels, stomps, suplexes, and spankings being especially fun to pull off with their flashy animations and use of button mashing. Despite how tough it can be at times, God Hand never felt outright unfair to me, as the lack of any real secret to being good at the game other than just knowing its ins and outs meant that every victory, no matter how small, felt immensely rewarding. This especially applies to the boss fights in God Hand, as the cranking up of the game's fast pace and focus on reaction time and positioning leads to some of the hardest, most pulse-pounding, and exciting boss fights I've ever seen in a video game.
In my eyes, the gameplay alone was enough to make God Hand an all-timer for me, but it also managed to stick the landing in so many other ways that I ended up loving the game even more than I could've imagined. Even with its challenging combat, God Hand practically never takes itself seriously, as its quirky brand of absurdist comedy made it so that my encounters with poisonous chihuahuas, punk rockers, and boss fights against lucha libre gorillas never felt out of place alongside the slapstick-heavy action, over-the-top storytelling and lovably campy voice acting. The game's stylish art direction made all of the environments and enemy types feel very memorable, with the major boss fights looking especially striking in their scaly, hellish designs. The music for each of the game's stages are all immensely catchy, and they also fit the tone and atmosphere of each stage really well. God Hand also allows you to gamble in between stages in order to potentially get closer to getting that next upgrade, and not only are the more conventional card games like blackjack and video poker already fun and laid-back to play, but you also get the opportunity to bet on chihuahua races, and while I lost money every single time I played that minigame, I still found it quite fun. There's no doubt in my mind that God Hand is one of the very best games I've ever played, and while there are still a ton of character action games that I still want to play, I don't think that any of them will be able to get any better than this.
Hi-Fi Rush
2023
NIN and Number Girl are on the same soundtrack. GOTY
Silver Jiken
1999
i dont speak japanese
Killer7
2005
I'm revisiting this game as of right now (I made the log dates reflect my initial playthrough) but this game is seriously my favorite game of all time. Its combat requires strategy at time, and to me it doesn't feel "shooting is your only goal". Puzzles aren't frustrating but still take some challenge to do and I really like how every personae is different in ways. This game might not make a lot of sense to the average viewer, but I find Suda a genius writer and director regarding Killer7- focusing on the politics as well as Garcian's arc itself. This isn't just a game- It's an artistic masterpiece.
Killer7
2005
"directed by suda51"
no shit asshole
no shit asshole
God Hand
2006
GOES SO FUCKING H A R D
this is a total asshole of a video game but in the way where you get in the rhythm of it, your reaction times get better
youre actively learning and then the level sinks back down
THAT R U SH OF YOU BEATING THE FUCK OUT OF SIX GUYS ON LVL DIE LIKE IT AINT S H I I I I II T AND THEN YOU CHARGE THAT WILD PITCH UP AND YOU SEND THAT SHIT HOOOOOOOOME AHAHAHAHAHAH ITS SO FUCKING SICK!!!
I dont even think the "eoOOoeOO I AM EVIL SEXEY LADY" shit is cringe i think its more funny than anything else bc of how fast and powerful everything is in this game
Now the story and characters are really not deep at all, not that i went into this expecting such but everybody in the cast does a pretty well performance thats elevated by their VAs
Jean's VA is so fucking good that im surprised this guy isnt in a shitload of other media
he mustve quit, which is sad but god i loved a lot of his weird delivery that reminded me of an old 00s anime dub
My most hated fucking enemy to fight in this game was easily the big dickhead megatron robot because of how sporadic he would move all the time on Lvl Die even though i would Think i read his ass but i didnt
I think that the whip girls are atrocious to fight in a pack though, i usually singled them out when i activated the God Hand Fever because their range is so AIDS!!!!!
but i love the aesthetic, some of the levels particularly in the cave were looking samey up until the end but they were nice and varied and didnt feel like i was purely going down a hallway all the time atleast. Thank god there was no nonlinear puzzle stage or some shit, that wouldve given me a hernia
But yeah the writing is fun and inherently really simple, the moves are incredibly fun to use, theres some dope ass bosses you can deal with and all in all its just a REALLY good time that humbles you and then immediately has you on a power-high when youve jusT KNOCKED ALL THEM BITCHES OUT WITH FUCKING SHAOXLIN B L A S T AHAHAHHAHAHH
play it.
hell, i played it on normal mode so its probably infinitely more accessible in easy mode
Easily one of my new favorite games of all time, my favorite character action game on the ps2 and that credits song is the cherry on top
this shit got me to realize that Capcom's most experimental shit is probably exactly what im looking for in video games
No longer do i just seek games that are weird as hell
but now also dope as Fuck.
this is a total asshole of a video game but in the way where you get in the rhythm of it, your reaction times get better
youre actively learning and then the level sinks back down
THAT R U SH OF YOU BEATING THE FUCK OUT OF SIX GUYS ON LVL DIE LIKE IT AINT S H I I I I II T AND THEN YOU CHARGE THAT WILD PITCH UP AND YOU SEND THAT SHIT HOOOOOOOOME AHAHAHAHAHAH ITS SO FUCKING SICK!!!
I dont even think the "eoOOoeOO I AM EVIL SEXEY LADY" shit is cringe i think its more funny than anything else bc of how fast and powerful everything is in this game
Now the story and characters are really not deep at all, not that i went into this expecting such but everybody in the cast does a pretty well performance thats elevated by their VAs
Jean's VA is so fucking good that im surprised this guy isnt in a shitload of other media
he mustve quit, which is sad but god i loved a lot of his weird delivery that reminded me of an old 00s anime dub
My most hated fucking enemy to fight in this game was easily the big dickhead megatron robot because of how sporadic he would move all the time on Lvl Die even though i would Think i read his ass but i didnt
I think that the whip girls are atrocious to fight in a pack though, i usually singled them out when i activated the God Hand Fever because their range is so AIDS!!!!!
but i love the aesthetic, some of the levels particularly in the cave were looking samey up until the end but they were nice and varied and didnt feel like i was purely going down a hallway all the time atleast. Thank god there was no nonlinear puzzle stage or some shit, that wouldve given me a hernia
But yeah the writing is fun and inherently really simple, the moves are incredibly fun to use, theres some dope ass bosses you can deal with and all in all its just a REALLY good time that humbles you and then immediately has you on a power-high when youve jusT KNOCKED ALL THEM BITCHES OUT WITH FUCKING SHAOXLIN B L A S T AHAHAHHAHAHH
play it.
hell, i played it on normal mode so its probably infinitely more accessible in easy mode
Easily one of my new favorite games of all time, my favorite character action game on the ps2 and that credits song is the cherry on top
this shit got me to realize that Capcom's most experimental shit is probably exactly what im looking for in video games
No longer do i just seek games that are weird as hell
but now also dope as Fuck.