Not A Review: Sin & Punishment: Star Successor Dares You To Play It

Every now and then a game will come out that I wish would get more attention from gamers. While I don't have the time to give the game the proper review that it deserves, I will spend some time today to share some of my impressions of the game so far. Today I'll be talking about Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, the long awaited follow up to the cult hit on the N64 made by renowned developer Treasure back in 2000 and why I think that as great as the title is, the new Wii title sadly represents a dying breed of games.

Since it's a sequel to a game that got released a decade ago, the question on many people's minds is "do I need to play the sequel before picking this up?" The short answer is: no. The long answer is: It wouldn't do you any harm to go back as play a "better than the original release" Virtual Console port available for a fraction of what it cost original importers, but it the plot between the games are so nonsensical that it doesn't make a difference. All you really need to know going into this game is that you play as a kid with either a jetpack or hoverboard and blow lots of things up when running away/into hordes of monsters, robots, and "anime-femmy" badguys. The game recalls an era of gaming when it wasn't about complex story or presentation, but how much fun controlling the movement of a character was, how big the bosses were, and how intense the action could get. The only thing reminding players that Star Successor was made today would be the impressive visuals and an on the fly tutorial that takes place in "Level 0."

That game's action is a strange combination of an on-rails shooter in the same vain as Panzer Dragoon Orta or Rez, with touch of platforming that you could find in just about any other game made by Treasure. It's an odd arrangement at first, but it quickly becomes second nature. Many games try to have controls that are easy for gamers to pick up, learn, and then start performing complex maneuvers with, but this game pulls it off with seemingly incredible ease, helping ease players into Treasure's notoriously elaborate boss sequences, which get fair representation in this game. Each one that I've encountered so far challenges the player in unique ways, but players just instinctively know what they need to do to stay out of harms way while bringing them down.

While all of the things that I've said about this game are overly positive, I will say one negative thing about this game: it will not get the sales it deserves. There's no way this game will ever catch on with a large audience due to its quirky character designs, awkward name, and lack of "star power" behind it. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor reminds of the kind of NES or SNES game I would rent as a kid and fall in love with: It has some less than conventionally attractive box art, promises over the top action, and looks unlike anything else sitting next to it on the shelf, but plays like a dream the moment you fire it up and unexpectedly has you hooked.

Players that actively search for those off the beaten track titles, like many of you here do, will be well served by this game. This will be one of those games that will be fondly remembered years from now and its fans will be of the most diehard variety. I strongly suggest you check the game out for yourself to see if it's for you.