General POPULAR Hanzo is great!
One consistent opinion that I’ve seen throughout the Overwatch community is that Hanzo is terrible. I happen to disagree. Hanzo’s buff just hit the PTR and I figured that there won’t ever be a better time to explain to you all why Hanzo Shimada is amazing.
Gameplay
Whether using scatter arrow or storm bow, Hanzo deals massive damage. One shot from scatter arrow does upwards of 400 damage if all arrows hit. Hanzo’s sonic arrow is also arguably one of the best utility abilities in the game, it practically replicates Widowmaker’s ultimate ability. Wall climb is an extremely useful ability that can get Hanzo out of danger, or help him reach a place to set up. Hanzo’s ultimate, Dragonstrike, is amazing. Dragonstrike has a beautiful animation and deals massive damage through walls, which means a good Hanzo can fire it without risking his own life.
Lore
In my opinion, Hanzo’s lore is some of the most interesting out of all the characters in Overwatch.
Hanzo grew up as one of the two scions of the Shimada Clan. The Shimada Clan was led by Sojiro Shimada, Hanzo’s father. The clan made their money by selling weapons and illegal substances. From a young age, Hanzo and his brother Genji were trained to take over when their father died. Their training included martial arts and war tactics, both of which Hanzo excelled in. When Sojiro died, the leader’s responsibilities fell to Hanzo, who took his job very seriously. Genji was very different. Genji would rather live a playboy-like lifestyle and rarely contributed anything to the clan’s well being. The Clan Elders confronted Hanzo about this and asked him to try and straighten Genji out. When Hanzo spoke with Genji, Genji refused to assist the clan. Hanzo reported this to the Elders and they gave him a new order. Kill his brother. Hanzo took up his sword and fought with Genji. Hanzo won the duel and killed Genji, cleaving him from his right shoulder to his left ribs. The act broke Hanzo’s heart. He abandoned the Shimada Clan and swore never to fight with a sword again, leaving his behind in the Shimada Temple. The Shimada Clan sent many assassins after Hanzo as they considered him a traitor, Hanzo slew them all with ease. The archer took up work as a mercenary, taking money to kill people. All while searching for someone who could defeat him in combat and end his suffering. None could. Hanzo returns to the Shimada Temple yearly, on the anniversary of Genjis death. While there, he leaves incense and offering as a way to honor his brother. One of these times, Hanzo was confronted by a green and gray cyborg.
The cyborg confronted Hanzo and they dueled. The fight climaxed when the cyborg sarcastically asked Hanzo if he thought he “honored his brother Genji with incense and offerings?” Hanzo responds with “you do not have the honor to say his name!”, before firing a Dragonstrike at his opponent. The cyborg responds by pulling the sword off of his back and summoning a dragon of his own. The cyborg guides Hanzo’s dragons back at him, where they pass through him (this would’ve certainly killed him in game). Hanzo falls to his knees, defeated. The cyborg dashed toward Hanzo and presses a knife to his throat. Hanzo, thinking he has finally found his match, asks the cyborg to kill him. The cyborg responds with with “No, I will not grant you the death you wish for, brother”. The cyborg reveals himself to be Genji, brought back to life by Overwatch. Genji backs away from Hanzo and removes his mask, revealing his identity to Hanzo.
Hanzo is shocked, Genji tells Hanzo that “the world is changing, [and] it is time to pick a side”. Hanzo responds with “the world is not like the stories our father told us, and you are a fool for believing it so!”. Hanzo knocks an arrow and aims at Genji. Genji calmly says “perhaps I am a fool, for believing that there is still hope left for you, but I do”. As the last words leave his mouth, Genji disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only a feather, a reference to his childhood nickname, Sparrow.
I think that Hanzo’s story is incredibly heart wrenching and touching. Hanzo was forced by the Clan Elders to murder the only family he has left (the lore makes no mention of his mother) and he is driven to near suicide by the act. Even after Hanzo learns that Genji is still alive, he still feels awful. The relationship between the two brothers may be the best relationship between two Overwatch characters. Their relationship remains very tense as Hanzo refuses to accept what his brother has become. From a story standpoint, Hanzo is incredibly interesting.
I hope I managed to change your point of view on Overwatch’s resident archer. I’m sorry if this was a little long, I got kind of carried away. Please leave in the comments whether or not I changed your opinion, and thanks for reading!
