"Manos" The Hands of Fate is a platform video game version of the infamous B-Movie, developed by FreakZone games and done in an 8-Bit Style. In the grand tradition of NES Licensed Games from The '80s, it adds a lot of extra story and content that sometimes has nothing to do with the source material, including monsters from other B-movies as enemies and bosses.
You can purchase the game for iOS ($1.99), Android ($2.49), or the more improved PC version (pay what you want; $1 minimum). The Director's cut adds cutscenes, an extra stage and Torgo as a playable character. It can be purchased here on Steam.
Also see The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, later released by the same developers, and recycles the The Giant Claw boss, and The Room: The Game, another 8-bit tribute to a So Bad, It's Good Cult Classic.
The games provide examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion:
- There's a biplane segment where you engage in aerial battle with Torgo and The Giant Claw.
- In the Director's Cut, Torgo is Promoted to Playable after the game is beaten.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Collect all the hands of fate, and you won't get the bad ending.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: Why of course, seeing how it is a NES throwback game. It is even lampshaded in the game's description:Remember [...] when every man, woman, child, animal and inanimate object were out to get your character? When the streets were filled with bats, ghosts and Frankenstein monsters?
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: The Giant Claw and Ro-Man.
- Hell Hound: The Master's pet.
- Interface Screw: The Director's Cut adds a grainy filter during the first couple of stages to mimic the poor lighting in the movie. Every stage beyond that point has a lighting filter that makes everything dark except for the area around Mike, essentially making every level past the second a Blackout Basement level.
- Magic Staff: Torgo welds one in place of Mike's gun when playable in the Director's Cut version.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Many of the enemies include Trolls, Screaming Skulls, Ro-Man, and The Giant Claw. A playthrough cites many of them. The Director's Cut adds an extra stage based entirely around Plan 9 from Outer Space, which is also entirely black and white.
- Multiple Endings: Two.
- The original film ending where The Bad Guy Wins.
- An alternate ending after you get all the "Hands of Fate": Michael rates the place they stayed a 0 out of 5, and Torgo and Peppy are still alive.
- Nintendo Hard: Borrows from many old, difficult Nintendo games, along with no save system (though the PC version adds a save and password system). The abundance of Extra Lives and the shotgun make things a little more bearable, though.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Stage 5 is a shoot-em-up sequence, and you have only one hit point, regardless of the health upgrades you obtain. The Director's Cut averts this.
- Retraux: The audio and visuals are reminiscent of NES era games, but the Directors Cut adds film grain and lighting filters, as well as a black and white filter for a new stage.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: As long as you don't get hit.
- Shout-Out:
- Tom Servo can be seen in the background of Stage 2- interestingly enough, he and his friends covered Manos on their show.
- The text at the beginning of Stage 4 is "What a horrible night to have a curse".
- The final level is a Rise to the Challenge in the same vein as one of the levels in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
- The final battle is a reference to Dracula.
- Torgo being a constant hindrance to the player is based on Knuckles before his Heel–Face Turn in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- If you die, the main character goes the way of Alex Kidd and ascends.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Torgo and Peppy in the alternate ending.
- Spiritual Successor: The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures borrows many game play elements from this game, and even includes the Claw as a boss fight!
- Unexpected Gameplay Change / Unexpected Shmup Level: True to the NES homage, this happens; After Stage 4, you're put into a biplane and fly through the sky at breakneck speed, horizontally shooting monsters.
- Updated Re-release: A later update of the PC version adds a password/save feature. The Director's Cut adds cutscenes, filters on all stages, and an extra level before the final stage.
- A Winner Is You: The secret ending."YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER !!"
- Would Hit a Girl: To be fair, the master's wives are trying to hurt you too.