There are plenty of obscure Japanese only games, and there are quite a few that have been favorites among the import gamer community. While I didn’t really have the necessary stuff needed for imports, I was always left in envy of all the awesome stuff the Japs got.

I only really got interested in the whole importing scene after getting my hands on Sin & Punishment. I didn’t have much interest in the game until I stumbled upon it last year when it came on to the Wii Virtual Console, and I had only heard nothing about it beforehand, save for a few mentions by various gaming magazines and other publications. After seeing that it was a game from Japan, I checked it out, forked over 1200 points from a Wii Points Card I got for my birthday, downloaded it, and upon playing it with my new Classic Controller, I got so addicted I couldn’t put it down when it got very late that night and I didn’t feel tired.

Why am I so addicted to this game? It’s the gameplay behind it all. Fast-paced, arcade, on-rails shooting action. I then took the time to look up some info on the developer, Treasure. After looking at their previous work, and their philosophy behind their games, I’ve now become quite a fan of their works. I appreciate what they do, and this game is in my top 5 games of all time (ranked #4, just beating Super Smash Bros Brawl).

Now, the sequel is coming, one that I had desperately wished for, but felt it wouldn’t happen, since Treasure chooses to avoid making sequels of their games. Well, I was proved wrong, and I was very much ecstatic over it that I couldn’t shut up on the game at school (true story. It was very tough for me to refrain from talking on it).

Now, we all know the 2 important rules of a sequel (of any kind, movies, books, games, so on) are

1: Take all that was established within the predecessor.

2: 1-Up it.

So, what could we expect to see out of this sequel? Well, let’s take a look at the establishments from the first game and see how these could be improved on.

#1: Language and Subtitles

Sin & Punishment was a Japanese exclusive game, yes, so you’d expect everything to be in the Japanese language. Well it was, except in voices. While there was text, and plenty of easy to understand instructions in the tutorial mode, the bulk of the game contained an English voiceover cast, which even a gamer who doesn’t wanna put up with Japanese text without understanding it could pick up on and have little trouble.

So, with this set up, there could be more added to it, like say, Japanese voiceovers and English subtitles. Don’t get me wrong, the English voiceovers are good for the most part (not the best, but not awful), but sometimes I like to see the difference between voices in games. It was one thing I did in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, except those games voiceovers were worse.

#2: Keep the Anime-styled Story and Length

This is sure to be subjective to others, but I actually liked the anime-styled plot, which ties in with the voice over essential mentioned above. Even though the game was on an N64, Treasure did quite a bit in making the anime effects, like streamlines or crazy camera angles, look pretty cool. This also plays into the game’s length. It works because #1: It’s an arcade shooter in general, and most arcade games don’t last you a month, or a week for that matter, and #2: The anime inspired plot is the perfect way of making you play this game over and over, in my case, since you can finish it in one after noon sitting the same way you would watch a couple episodes of your favorite anime.

But that’s not to say it should be EXACTLY like that. I can for the most part finish the game in about 40 minutes. The three acts in the game were kinda setup in the manner of anime episodes, and possibly adding in more could increase the length, with no more than 3 to 4 hours. It should be the kind of game the one HAS to play in one day. No one wants to start at a midway point in the game the next day and lose the score you had up to that point, right?

#3: Bring the Rankings to the Online Scene

Sin & Punishment is an arcade action shooter in nature, so it’s second hand nature to have a scoring system and rankings. With today’s gaming society playing more and more games with network multiplayer and other things, Online Leader boards would be a good way of sparking some inspiration in players to beat the record established by someone.

The game isn’t really made for typical online gameplay, whether it be co-op or competitive, but with some sort of online through the form of rankings and leader boards, this game could make a large community out of it, and increasing the fanbase.

#2: Full Blown Cooperative Play

Anyone who’s played the first game will surely know that the game’s “2-player” mode is really just using two controllers, with one controlling the character’s movement, while the other aims. Definitely sounds a bit awkward, and if the sequel is gonna have it, they best make it something much more enjoyable.

One thing I should say is that, Sin & Punishment is the 3D on-rails equivalent of Gunstar Heroes. That being said, the co-op in the sequel should be along those lines. 2 people on screen in an on rails game is definitely doable. I can picture it perfectly right now.

#1: Use the Controls in a Genius Manner Without Over Doing It

The Wii Remote has had a tendency of being abused by most 3rd party developers, usually assigning it to what would be done more efficiently with a button press, and makes the game not so fun. Luckily, games that require you to aim at the screen to shoot do a good job of making things play well and not feel tedious. But that may not be enough to get by.

One thing I can be sure of is that Treasure, with their tendency of making weird control setups that work in the end, knows how to use the motion controls to their best and make it satisfying.

And, in my attempt to think up a Treasure-esque control setup, what I came up with is a control mode that is based around the Wii Zapper. Yes, you heard me, but looking at what games have been easily made compatible with the Zapper have been games that are on-rails, light gun styled games. So, this control setup I came up with uses the Zapper, but you don’t keep the Nunchuck in the little clamp area in the back of the shell.

B - Fire/Use Sword at Close Range
C - Charge Shot (seen in the trailer)

Z - Jump

Control Stick -Move

Nunchuck - Flick left or right to do an evasive roll in the respective direction.

You’d think the Nunchuck would not be able to do it without mistaking it for something else, but when you think about it, it’s actually good, and it uses motion control without abusing it. Much like how the spin mechanic in Mario Galaxy flowed with the game and didn’t feel gimmicky, this form of control is sure to work well with Sin & Punishment 2.

-----

This game is in one of my top 5 games of all time, and the sequel is already my most anticipated title for 09. For those who have not played the first game, don’t wait on it. Get yourself some Wii points, buy the game, and take the time to enjoy this critically acclaimed action shooter.

Can’t wait for it.

There are plenty of obscure Japanese only games, and there are quite a few that have been favorites among the import gamer community. While I didn’t really have the necessary stuff needed for imports, I was always left in envy of all the awesome stuff the Japs got.

I only really got interested in the whole importing scene after getting my hands on Sin & Punishment. I didn’t have much interest in the game until I stumbled upon it last year when it came on to the Wii Virtual Console, and I had only heard nothing about it beforehand, save for a few mentions by various gaming magazines and other publications. After seeing that it was a game from Japan, I checked it out, forked over 1200 points from a Wii Points Card I got for my birthday, downloaded it, and upon playing it with my new Classic Controller, I got so addicted I couldn’t put it down when it got very late that night and I didn’t feel tired.

Why am I so addicted to this game? It’s the gameplay behind it all. Fast-paced, arcade, on-rails shooting action. I then took the time to look up some info on the developer, Treasure. After looking at their previous work, and their philosophy behind their games, I’ve now become quite a fan of their works. I appreciate what they do, and this game is in my top 5 games of all time (ranked #4, just beating Super Smash Bros Brawl).

Now, the sequel is coming, one that I had desperately wished for, but felt it wouldn’t happen, since Treasure chooses to avoid making sequels of their games. Well, I was proved wrong, and I was very much ecstatic over it that I couldn’t shut up on the game at school (true story. It was very tough for me to refrain from talking on it).

Now, we all know the 2 important rules of a sequel (of any kind, movies, books, games, so on) are

1: Take all that was established within the predecessor.

2: 1-Up it.

So, what could we expect to see out of this sequel? Well, let’s take a look at the establishments from the first game and see how these could be improved on.

#1: Language and Subtitles

Sin & Punishment was a Japanese exclusive game, yes, so you’d expect everything to be in the Japanese language. Well it was, except in voices. While there was text, and plenty of easy to understand instructions in the tutorial mode, the bulk of the game contained an English voiceover cast, which even a gamer who doesn’t wanna put up with Japanese text without understanding it could pick up on and have little trouble.

So, with this set up, there could be more added to it, like say, Japanese voiceovers and English subtitles. Don’t get me wrong, the English voiceovers are good for the most part (not the best, but not awful), but sometimes I like to see the difference between voices in games. It was one thing I did in Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, except those games voiceovers were worse.

#2: Keep the Anime-styled Story and Length

This is sure to be subjective to others, but I actually liked the anime-styled plot, which ties in with the voice over essential mentioned above. Even though the game was on an N64, Treasure did quite a bit in making the anime effects, like streamlines or crazy camera angles, look pretty cool. This also plays into the game’s length. It works because #1: It’s an arcade shooter in general, and most arcade games don’t last you a month, or a week for that matter, and #2: The anime inspired plot is the perfect way of making you play this game over and over, in my case, since you can finish it in one after noon sitting the same way you would watch a couple episodes of your favorite anime.

But that’s not to say it should be EXACTLY like that. I can for the most part finish the game in about 40 minutes. The three acts in the game were kinda setup in the manner of anime episodes, and possibly adding in more could increase the length, with no more than 3 to 4 hours. It should be the kind of game the one HAS to play in one day. No one wants to start at a midway point in the game the next day and lose the score you had up to that point, right?

#3: Bring the Rankings to the Online Scene

Sin & Punishment is an arcade action shooter in nature, so it’s second hand nature to have a scoring system and rankings. With today’s gaming society playing more and more games with network multiplayer and other things, Online Leader boards would be a good way of sparking some inspiration in players to beat the record established by someone.

The game isn’t really made for typical online gameplay, whether it be co-op or competitive, but with some sort of online through the form of rankings and leader boards, this game could make a large community out of it, and increasing the fanbase.

#2: Full Blown Cooperative Play

Anyone who’s played the first game will surely know that the game’s “2-player” mode is really just using two controllers, with one controlling the character’s movement, while the other aims. Definitely sounds a bit awkward, and if the sequel is gonna have it, they best make it something much more enjoyable.

One thing I should say is that, Sin & Punishment is the 3D on-rails equivalent of Gunstar Heroes. That being said, the co-op in the sequel should be along those lines. 2 people on screen in an on rails game is definitely doable. I can picture it perfectly right now.

#1: Use the Controls in a Genius Manner Without Over Doing It

The Wii Remote has had a tendency of being abused by most 3rd party developers, usually assigning it to what would be done more efficiently with a button press, and makes the game not so fun. Luckily, games that require you to aim at the screen to shoot do a good job of making things play well and not feel tedious. But that may not be enough to get by.

One thing I can be sure of is that Treasure, with their tendency of making weird control setups that work in the end, knows how to use the motion controls to their best and make it satisfying.

And, in my attempt to think up a Treasure-esque control setup, what I came up with is a control mode that is based around the Wii Zapper. Yes, you heard me, but looking at what games have been easily made compatible with the Zapper have been games that are on-rails, light gun styled games. So, this control setup I came up with uses the Zapper, but you don’t keep the Nunchuck in the little clamp area in the back of the shell.

B - Fire/Use Sword at Close Range
C - Charge Shot (seen in the trailer)

Z - Jump

Control Stick -Move

Nunchuck - Flick left or right to do an evasive roll in the respective direction.

You’d think the Nunchuck would not be able to do it without mistaking it for something else, but when you think about it, it’s actually good, and it uses motion control without abusing it. Much like how the spin mechanic in Mario Galaxy flowed with the game and didn’t feel gimmicky, this form of control is sure to work well with Sin & Punishment 2.

-----

This game is in one of my top 5 games of all time, and the sequel is already my most anticipated title for 09. For those who have not played the first game, don’t wait on it. Get yourself some Wii points, buy the game, and take the time to enjoy this critically acclaimed action shooter.

Can’t wait for it.

That makes a a lot of sense for the game.

Flick the Nunchuk to roll?! No way!! Rolling was unresponsive enough in the original, I'd rather not entrust my life to the Wii's unsophisticated motion detection. [C button + a direction] for rolling would do just fine, and the charge shot would be mapped to A.

All your other points (co-op, story, language) I agree with.

I have a concern with S+P2, however - in the trailer, when the player is shown using his sword to attack enemies, have you noticed how the cursor seems to be shaking back and forth rapidly as he does it? To be honest I think it's pretty much confirmation that they mapped the sword attack to waggle, which saddens me a little. I'll get over it though, because the actual content looks so brilliant, and hey maybe they'll include customizable controls! :D HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!

I don't see why they'd map a sword attack to a different button or action and not simply have it occur when the enemy is close enough and you simply shoot. Metal Slug style. We'll just have to wait and see.