Play Tsumi to Batsu - Hoshi no Keishousha Online

Summary

Sin and Punishment (often called Tsumi to Batsu – Hoshi no Keishousha) feels like a pure arcade blast transplanted onto the Nintendo 64. Treasure and Nintendo’s R&D team built a rail‑shooter that forces you to hold the left side of the controller, using the D‑pad for movement while the analog stick steers a targeting reticle that can lock‑on or be freely aimed for a stronger shot. The on‑screen sword adds a melee twist, letting you slash nearby foes or ricochet projectiles back at them, and the game even swaps the control scheme for left‑ or right‑handed players. Scoring is all about chaining hits, grabbing health, time and point items, and pulling off massive combos that earn extra continues and unlock tougher enemies and hidden bosses on Normal and Hard. A two‑player mode lets a friend take over the gun sight while you pilot the character, turning the solo rail‑shooter into a frantic co‑op showdown. Development stretched from 1997 to 2000, driven by the desire to showcase the N64 controller’s layout, and despite its Japan‑only launch it eventually reached overseas fans, moving roughly 100,000 copies.

Storyline

Sin and Punishment (Tsumi to Batsu – Hoshi no Keishousha) drops you into a bleak 2007 where a worldwide famine has driven scientists to engineer a new food species. The creatures, herded in northern Japan, mutate into aggressive "Ruffians" that terrorize the population, while the Armed Volunteers—an international peacekeeping force—tighten their grip on the Japanese people. A mysterious woman named Achi leads a rebel group that includes the male protagonist Saki and the female fighter Airan, fighting both Ruffians and the oppressive Volunteers. During a battle Saki is swallowed by a tide of blood in Tokyo and transforms into a massive Ruffian, prompting Achi to force Airan into a dream‑like vision of a future New York where she is compelled to shoot Saki.

Achi later reveals she is an alien who staged the conflict to forge Saki into a weapon for a cosmic war, even attempting to create a new Earth that she would rule. Saki, now part‑human and part‑Ruffian, merges with Airan to regain full Ruffian power while keeping his mind, and together they shatter the false Earth, sending Achi drifting into space. The duo returns to a ruined Japan, reverts to human form, and vows to continue hunting the remaining Ruffians.

The gamesdb description sums it up: Earth is under threat from bio‑genetic monsters and corrupt military forces, and as a young resistance fighter you battle the Ruffians to save the planet.