Sin & Punishment

Any "core gamer" worth his salt by now knows the development history of Sin & Punishment, Treasure and Nintendo's N64 rail shooter made infamous by the lack of a Western release. But not all of them understand just how brilliant it truly is, the main reason for this being either that they never played it, or that they didn't practice enough to become competent at it and unlock the joy within.

S&P holds at its heart traditional values that will have videogame veterans reminiscing on the days when games were no-nonsense, non-stop action, and pure fun. It is arcade styled, featuring a credit system and scoreboards. As such, it is also very short. But once you have mastered this classic you will find yourself returning again and again to challenge yourself, replay your favourite levels and have a plain good time.

The gameplay takes a route often left unexplored. Forward progression is on-rails and fully 3D, but your character is on foot, strafing and jumping around the screen on a 2D plane. Aiming and movement is totally separate (so much so that the control scheme has one hand dedicated to movement and one to shooting). Not to mention there's a melee attack which can deflect projectiles into other enemies. All this multitasking will almost certainly be overwhelming to newcomers, but as they become more and more accustomed to the methods of using it to their advantage, they will become more "tuned in" with the game and ultimately enjoy themselves much, much more.

One particular thing S&P gets right is the level design - while it retains the clockwork pacing Treasure is an expert with, it also constantly innovates within itself, exploring new approaches to the control setup, while never feeling gimmicky. During the game the player will engage in a swordfight, fly around on a floating platform, and (perhaps the most conceptually imaginative of all) take on the final level in full 2D, while shooting at enemies both inside and outside of their plane of movement. All the while, the controls never change. In this respect S&P is simply remarkable.
But in the midst of all this pacing and creativity, Treasure hasn't taken it easy on the player - the game is intensely challenging, and at some points almost brutal. Thank goodness for difficulty modes! The player can also unlock options such as Frame Skip and Turbo, that speed up the game threefold! Imagine the cry-self-to-sleep insanity of Turbo-Frameskip-Hard Mode! It's frightening, isn't it?

The game's presentation is often criticised for being almost nonsensical, poorly dubbed and supported by a weak soundtrack. This reviewer strongly disagrees with all but possibly one of those points.

The storyline is only attacked because Western gamers never had access to the game manual, which contained important backstory detail. Personally, I found it unusually deep for an action-oriented title such as this.
The soundtrack is attacked for feeling generic and disinterested with the game's action - I disagree, and say that (just like the rest of the game) it takes time to fully appreciate, and that the cheesy guitar riffs induce an almost strangely nostalgic feel.
As for the English dub? Well. It has its ups and downs. To be perfectly honest I'd say there's only one genuinely bad voiceover. (Just a shame it belongs to the protagonist.)

The visuals aren't what you'd call polygon heavy. This is probably linked to the N64's technical limitations - BUT, the character and object designers have worked with this very well. One could say that Yasushi Suzuki's angular style is a perfect match for the low polygon count. But the details aside, the stylish art direction shines through brightly, and the color scheme fits the gritty, Japanimation-influenced feel and atmosphere.

In conclusion, S&P's mix of intricate control and superb, creative, fast paced level design, make it a thrilling ride that all game enthusiasts should invest time into and enjoy. Play it, and be thankful the powers that be at Nintendo talked Treasure into making a Wii sequel, which will undoubtedly be even more intense, and hopefully provide a continuation to the intriguing storyline.