Sin And Punishment (N64) released on VC in English markets

[Julius Seeker]

Sin and Punishment, it was released in Japan after the end of the N64 lifespan. It can be best described as a 3D Gunstar Heroes (Same development team, also the same team that did Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun). It is a game that follows a similar style of rail shooter gameplay seen in Starfox 64/Lylat Wars. The action is somewhat more intense in Sin and Punishment (more along the lines of Gunstar Heroes), but very reminiscent of Starfox. The release of this game confirms two things, one: that virtual console games include those using the RAM expansion, and much more importantly, that games are being translated for release in other territories which they were not formerly released in. This means a stronger possibility for titles such as Treasure Hunter G and Terranigma (which already has an English translation anyway); and perhaps even a complete edition of Earthbound 64 (though I would say this is highly unlikely since it seems they took a lot of the story and put it into Mother 3).


Sin and Punishment was released to PAL territories today, which means we'll very likely see it in the next three weeks. Here's a video demo taken from the second level of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmxanWXvAgA there's some higher quality video footage on IGN, but the scenes don't demonstrate as much action as this video does. If you're part of the VC purchasing community, this is definately one to pick up.

[M'k'n'zy]

Also while on the topic of VC, I read an article about a week or so ago on Gamespot that NeoGeo games are going to be comming to VC soon, possibly before the end of the year

[kali o.]

Also while on the topic of VC, I read an article about a week or so ago on Gamespot that NeoGeo games are going to be comming to VC soon, possibly before the end of the year

I thought I read the Neo-Geo stuff was coming out as a compliation retail package...vaguely remember picking up that info recently - could be wrong though.

Edit: I'm sure there are better links, but I found this:

http://gonintendo.com/?p=25533

[Julius Seeker]

I thought I read the Neo-Geo stuff was coming out as a compliation retail package...vaguely remember picking up that info recently - could be wrong though.

Edit: I'm sure there are better links, but I found this:

http://gonintendo.com/?p=25533

Fatal Fury, World Heroes, and Magician Lord are already available in Japan for 900 points each. They should be released here sometime next month.

[Julius Seeker]

Sin and Punishment hit VC today, along with it came the Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 which was first released in the US under the Super Mario All Star title as "The Lost Levels."

Look into a future with Terranigma =)

[SineSwiper]

Sin and Punishment hit VC today, along with it came the Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 which was first released in the US under the Super Mario All Star title as "The Lost Levels."

That game could have easily been called "Skullfuck You with a Rusty Pitchfork".

[Julius Seeker]

So I have Sin and Punishment, and I have been playing it a lot. The setting reminds me a lot of Miltia in Xenosaga somehow. The controls are a bit rough to get used to, it would work a lot better as a Wii game; essentially the buttons/control pad are used for movement while the analog is used for shooting (controls can be changed, but I haven't bothered changing them around yet as the current setup feels quite comfortable once you get used to it) with the L button for shooting and the R button for jumping. The game feels quite good on the CC, I haven't tried the Gamecube controller yet, but I can't imagine it comparing well.

I got Star Fox for VC months ago, but I think I have already played Sin and Punishment more in the past few days than I have Star Fox since I got it. I was playing Breath of Fire 2, but this game has my attention for the time. So far this one may be my favourite game on the VC; it is also the first game outside of NES/TG16 that I have purchased which I did not own prior; so it feels quite fresh. I highly trecommend it to any of the VC purchasing community here who are into action games of any sort.

Level 2-1 on hard mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmG52VYcErg

[Julius Seeker]

Alright, I will say right now that Sin and Punishment is a Must Have title for the Virtual Console. I wonder what in hell Nintendo was thinking in not picking this one up and publishing it to the North American market when it was still on N64. All they would have to do is incorporate Wii Remote controls and I would very easily say that this is perhaps the best Arcade Style Action Adventure game I have ever played. As it is, with its current controls, it is already one of my favourites. Starfox 64, which is similar in style does not hold a candle to this game. I would LOVE to see this game Wii-ified in the future.

Here's level 2-2. Essentially what happened is after invading the flagship and defeating its commander there is a cutscene where the commander tells everyone to evacuate the ship. During the ships destruction Achi uses her powers to make a chunk of the ship fly off with her and Airan on it, and it essentially flies through the air as you blast through the levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqt-io47zUQ (level is played in Turbo mode)


"Regardless of whether you believe Nintendo cancelled the intended English release of Sin and Punishment because of low Nintendo 64 console sales or because the game's dark content didn't jive with the Big N's kid-friendly image at the time, one truth is undeniable: Players in the West missed out on one of the N64's defining games. For years, the only people who could play it were those who spent nearly $100 to import the Japanese version of the game. For most buyers, this turned out to be an exorbitant price to pay for an arcade-style "rail" shooter that--while dripping with slick production values--could be finished off in one short sitting. Thankfully, time and Nintendo have conspired to finally make things right by bringing this unique postapocalyptic bullet fest to the Wii's Virtual Console service for the comparatively reasonable cost of 1,200 Wii points" -Gamespot

Good write-up. Though I am not entirely sure what their definition of "one short sitting" is, looking at the Youtube videos which have people going through the levels at a much faster pace than I do, and skipping all cutscenes are still taking about an hour to get through the game. For me my fastest time (on easy difficulty) is 2 hours and 9 minutes.

[Zeus]

I got my Sin and Punishment about 4 years ago for $51 US on Ebay (that was about $75 Cdn back then) and it was worth every penny. That game is the epitome of Treasure-awesomeness.

[Julius Seeker]

I know, I just can't enough of it. I don't even have that much time but I find myself playing it every day.