Sin and Punishment

For many, the advent of 16-bit consoles opened up a world of import gaming. One incentive was the ability to get hold of games that would never appear outside Japan. With this in mind, we'll be taking a look at the import classics that were never relased in the UK.This month another classic from Treasure, the superb Sin And Punishment.

Sin and Punishment Case Scan Sin and Punishment Case Scan

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Treasure

Considering it creates some of the most technically impressive games whichever platform it chooses to work on, its suprising that Treasure has never actually had a runaway hit. Take Sin And Punishment for example: here was a title with superlative visuals, wonderful gameplay mechanics and more vibrant explosions than an eruption in a paint factory. Yet for some bizarre reason this superb on-rails blaster absolutly bombed in Japan and the planned US release was quickly shelved (a doubly frustrating blow as it already came complete with a superb English language option).

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Sin and Punishment Sin and Punishment
Sin and Punishment

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Sin And Punishment was a graphical tour de force that left your gob well and truely smacked. Indeed, a recent airing in the games room had many staring wide-eyed in disbeleif, as they struggled to comprehend how anything spectacular could run oon a humble N64. As it had done with countless other systems. Treasure used every trick in the book - and no doubt a few that weren't - to create a dazzling masterprices that made Nintendo's 64-Bit console scream with joy. A fact that's even more remarkable when you discover that this was the first fully 3D title that Treasure had worked on. X years on and Sin And Punishment remains just as impressive as the first day we played it.

It may have sufferend from rather poor textures and a low polygon count, but there was no denying the polish Treasure added to its 3D masterpeice. The screen was constantlt filled with hoardes of enemeies, while many of the bosses were gigantic, mechanical monstrosoties blessed with wonderfully comlex attack patterns and a devestating array of firepower, and all of this without a hint of slowdown. Sin And Punishment's hour-long running timing each encounter stayed with you forever. But perhaps the most outstanding moment of Sin And Punishment was when you took to the skies and participated in a spectacular aerial battle. Astride a flying craft, you swooped around the on-screen carnage while the N64's graphical abilities were pushed to it's limit. Battleships spun crazily below you, jets roared overhead and lasers appeared to be firing at you from all directions.It's easily one of the N64's most exhilirating gaming moments and something we'd love to see repeated on the next generation of hardware. Add to this an electrfying score, decent voice acting - that puts most RPGs to shame - and a selection of boisterious spot effects, and it's little wonder that Treasure's shooter is still held in such high regard by anyone fortunate enough to have played it.

Nintendo 64

Of course, there has always been more to Treasure then jaw-dropping aesthetics, and Sin And Punishment's superb control mechanics were no exception. Easily adaptable for both left and right-handed players, the interface set-up was elegant to use, yet remarkably effective. The N64's analogue stick controlled you on-screen cursor, while character movement was madded to the C-Buttons and D-Pad. Add the ability to jump or roll out of harm's way with a swift double-tap to the left or right and the end result was a fantastic mobility with minimum effort. And when you considered the sheer amount of firepower that Treasure threw at you, you needed all the help you can get.

Luckily your character was equipped with a handy gun that also doubled as an incredibly lethal sword (which in turn could be swung rapidly to act as a tempory sheild). If anythig got past your intense firepower, a few swings of your melee weapon would normally be enough to defeat whatever was after your. The sword wasn't used a simple gimmick either, as later bosses required you to use your sword alone (or a quick combination of both weapons would eventually defeat them). One notable moment in the game saw you climbing to the top of a massive building and slahing at the bull-like boss who resided there. Time your strokes correctly and it was possible to topple him from his lofy perch. Another occaison saw you using your blade to deflect the many dead bodies that a female psychic hurled at you. Best of all, though, is a propar sword fight - all clashing blades and grim expressions - that eventually resulted in your opponent getting hurled through a huge window. Whether you used a sword or gun, though, your enemies resources seemed limitless and constantly bombared you with one amazing boss after another. Indeed, by the end of the first level even a fairly skilled player would have amassed close to 200 kills and the death count just kept rising. Every 100 kills earned you a stack on bonus points and an extra continue, while defeating certain enemies - normally the game's many bosses - rewarded you will yellow gems which again could be amassed for huge bonusses. It may have lacked the complexity of scoring systems that were seen in such titles as in Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga, but the end result was no less enjoyable. Cynics may well scoff and describe Sin And Punishment as little more than a shallow, on-rails shooter, but those that do are missing the point entirely. Sin And Punishment is just as much an experience as it is a game and is a title that no self respecting gamer should be without. It demands your utmost reflexes, tests your skills to their limit, and will leave you gasping with utter amazement. It can change hands for as much as 60 nowadays but in our opinions it is worth every penny. What a shame it is that most PAL gamers won't even have heard of it...

Two's Company
Treasure doesn't get it right all the time...

While Sin And Punishment comes equipped with a 2-Player option, it was a bit of a wasted oppurtunity and something that we rarely bothered with. Rather than have 2 characters race co-operativly throughout each glorious-looking stage, Treasure instead opted for one character to be controlled by by both players. One person took care of all the hectic shooting - easily the most enjoyable aspect of the partnership - while the other was forced to avoid the carnage. It was certainly a novel idea, but it didn't really work, as it required a rediculous amount of co-operation for what was an incredibly intense game.

The above text was taken from GamesTM

SCREENSHOTS

Click on any of the images for a full set.

ACT 1

Sin and Punishment Act 1

ACT 2

Sin and Punishment Act 2

ACT 3

Sin and Punishment Act 3

IN TRANSLATION...

Whilst many of the cut-scenes have english voices there is very little on the in game menus.

For those who own the N64 version and see no point in buying the Wii download, the main menu is translated here.

Main Menu

IMPORTING

In order to get Sin and Punishment to play on a PAL N64 you will need a N64 Passport (Plus) and the following code:

E93D0054 003F

EMULATION

It is possible to play this game using the Project 64 Emulator. You can download this from Project 64 Official Website.

LINKS

Official Treasure Website

http://www.treasure-inc.co.jp/

Soundtrack Download

The soundtrack can be downloaded from the suberb Treasure Fansite http://www.mrmonkeyman.com/treasure/.


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