What’s up with all these eye-hand bosses?

I’ve always been a little obsessed with eye-hand bosses.

Everyone has battled at least one of these creatures, and they all follow the same basic script: A giant monster has big hands and within those hands are eyes. They’ll try to smack you around, but you can stop them if you hit them in the palm eyeball.

There are so many of these boss battles, especially in Nintendo games. And after years and years of fighting these bosses, it left me wondering: Why?

Why are there so many? Is there a deeper reason for these bosses? Are they inspired by something?

So since I’m stuck at home for the moment, I decided to use the extra time on my hands to research eyes on hands.

And while you’re watching, don’t forget to subscribe to Polygon on YouTube.

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Brian Gilbert
Polygon