Gameplay
Awesome rail-shooter / action gameplay with an extremely well built control scheme. Just the right amount of waggle right where it should be. Can get infuriatingly hard sometimes.
Audio
The up-beat soundtrack fits the mood of the game perfectly with lots of memorable tunes. Campy dialogue.
Art & Animation
Gorgeous character and monster designs are complimented by elaborate and beautiful environments and level designs.
From the moment I was able to control my character, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor had me shoot anything that moved on the screen while dodging, rolling and reflecting a barrage of projectiles that came my way. You first choose to play as either a male or female protagonist. No matter which one you choose, the story plays out the same way as if both characters were fighting through the story together. The girl plays in a type of "auto mode" where she locks onto everything but does less damage. The boy however does more damage but you have to be precise in aiming the Wii Remote at baddies. Speaking of the boy and girl, technically... they are a man and woman but you would never guess that based on how they look. You also get to slash up some enemies with a sword if they get too close. Star Successor features melee attacks for each character which not only do damage to enemies close up but also reflect certain projectiles back at enemies.
The levels are beautiful; don't expect the color palette to get too vibrant considering the fact that this is meant to be taken as a fairly serious action game. However, it's still an arcade shooter at heart so it's not like everything is totally gray. It's apparent that incredible amounts of detail went into creating such large scale levels while still keeping things recognizable as to what needs to be blasted and what just looks pretty. The baddies that need to be blasted are also very well designed but also venture through the realm of "absolutely weird". One moment you are fighting human troops, the next a giant robot and then the next, a massive, fire-breathing tortoise that flies!
If you assumed that because this is a Japanese game that the voice acting would be incredibly cheesy, then you would assume right. The voice acting in Star Successor can't help but make you cringe with awkwardness. If you are a gamer from any walk of life then it's time that you come to expect that from a Japanese title. Don't let that stop you from playing this thing though because if you can get by the voice acting then the rest of the game is awesome.
I would dare say that Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is a must have for the Wii. Sure, a rail shooter like this which harkens back to the horse riding levels of Sunset Riders might not be for everyone but it sure as heck is at the very peak of it's genre. It's also totally satisfying to play with it's robust controls for such limited movement. Big ups to Nintendo for providing the product.
