Uncover the past and present of the Sin and Punishment series

Nintendo fans of a certain vintage may recall a moment in their younger years when, whilst flicking through the pages of their preferred gaming publication, their eyes alighted on an alluring new title called Sin and Punishment.

It was a game full of eastern promise, coming exclusively to Nintendo 64 courtesy of shoot ‘em up gurus Treasure – a developer with a reputation for producing the very best in arcade-style run and gun action. There would be enormous bosses to battle, a slick and stylish main character to control and more than a few rounds to fire off as you gunned for glory across a 3D universe drenched in unfiltered science fiction magic.

This was to be an action game that took your breath away, showered you with unfriendly fire, shattered your air of gaming invincibility and still kept you coming back for more.

There was only one problem – Sin and Punishment never made it to Europe. At least, not for a while.

While players in Japan were able to enjoy the game’s no-holds-barred delights at the turn of the new century, it would be another seven years before gamers in Europe finally got their hands on Sin and Punishment via Virtual Console on Wii. In the ultimate compliment to the game’s considerable charms, its release in these parts almost a decade after it first surfaced in Japan was met with much of the same excitement that it had generated upon initially being revealed. The wait had been a long one, but critics and fans agreed – it was worth it.

Following a sci-fi plot that sees mankind caught between an army of unruly mutants and a peacekeeping organisation with questionable methods, Sin and Punishment sees players taking charge of Saki, a young soldier heading-up a weakened but unrelenting resistance. From the depths of urban Japan to the furthest reaches of space, your job is to take aim at wave after wave of incoming enemies that beset Saki – dodging danger and fighting fire with fire every step of the way. Adding to the intensity of the overall experience is a scoring system that encourages players to score maximum hits on their enemies as quickly as possible. The idea that two different players could destroy a screen full of foes and rack up two entirely different scores in the process lends Sin and Punishment an extra edge that has long had high score seekers salivating in anticipation.

The fact that Sin and Punishment can now be easily downloaded and experienced thanks to Virtual Console would have been little more than a distant dream for the gamers who craved it so badly upon first laying eyes on it. But just as time has opened the way for players to experience the game outside Japan in recent years, so has it given developer Treasure the opportunity to return to their work stations and dream up what can only be described as a bigger, bolder, tougher and downright more spectacular sequel. And this one is coming to Europe from the outset!

Launching on 7 May, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies embodies the core values that helped make the original Sin and Punishment such a critical success. Treasure’s trademark blend of relentless action and stylish presentation return, offering instant evidence that some things simply never get old. In fact, if anything, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies is proof positive that some things get better with time. Ten years after the original game launched, the developer is clearly revelling in the wealth of new possibilities at their fingertips in bringing a sequel to Wii.

For starters, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies is a visual feast, shifting at 60 frames per second and filling the screen with a constant stream of eye-popping enemies. Players will take aim at their oppressors across more meticulously designed stages, opting to control Isa Jo or rogue agent Kachi as they fight for survival on both the ground and from the air.

As with the original game, bagging the highest score possible will become the chief aim for some players. The opportunities for individual players to take out a screen-full of enemies with dramatically different results remains, with expanded scoring possibilities added thanks to a system that recognises whether you did your shooting from the air or the ground, whether you were locked onto a target or not and how many consecutive hits you’ve dealt – among other things. Fans of the first Sin and Punishment might feel more at home using the Nintendo GameCube Controller or Classic Controller, but the freedom offered by aiming with the Wii Remote ensures there’s a control scheme to suit everyone. However you bag your best scores, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies offers the enticing opportunity to compare yourself with other players in Europe and the US via online leaderboards.

Also returning from Sin and Punishment is two-player cooperative play, only now both players can get in on the shooting action instead of opting to control either the character or their aiming reticule as in the original. Doubling your firepower not only makes the process of downing your foes more manageable, it also ensures the multiple “wow!” moments that the game brings your way can be shared on the spot.

Whatever way you look at it, the intervening period between the release of Sin and Punishment in Japan and the arrival of the upcoming sequel has allowed for an evolution of ideas that comes to fruition in Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies. Ten years on, Treasure are still doing what they do best, bringing perfectly balanced arcade experiences into the living room, and in Wii have found a platform that can ensure the rarified pleasures of playing the Sin and Punishment series is now a privilege anyone and everyone can get in on right from the start.

Click here to visit the official website for Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies and see more of Treasure’s latest gem in action.

Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies is in shops 7 May, only for Wii.