Sinful City is a Japanese fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Sega, releasing on June 8, 2008, as an exclusive title for the PlayStation 3, though it was later ported to PC and released on Steam due to good sales. It also serves as the first installment in the Sinful City series of games. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the game takes place in the titular Sinful City, which is heavily modeled after 1920s America, with the plot following both natives of the city and outsiders uncovering the secrets of the city. The gameplay has a heavy focus on speed, with players being encouraged to deal as much damage in as little time as possible.
Gameplay[]
Sinful City is a 2D fighter in a similar style as Arc System Works' other games. All fights in the game are split between three rounds, with the victor being determined by either whichever fighter lowers the other's health to zero first or whoever has the most health by the end of the round, with the round ending when a countdown at the top of the screen reaches zero.
All characters in the game have a very light, light, hard, and very hard attack, with the previous two being fast but doing less damage and the latter two dealing more damage but being slower. By holding down any of the attacks, they can also be charged up, allowing for more damage when released. By repeatedly pressing attack buttons in a specific order, combos can be performed, which cause the opponent to be unable to block until the combo is finished. Combos can be performed both on the ground and mid-air. By combining the different kinds of attacks and imputing them in a specific order, the character will perform unique moves.
Combos can be halted if the opponent blocks before one can be performed, which also causes the attack to deal no damage. If a block is performed at the exact moment of impact, the character will perform a "Perfect Block Counter", where they grab the opponent and toss them to the floor, dealing damage. But if the player or opponent is hit too many times while blocking, the block will break, stunning them and leaving them wide open for attacks. Another way to avoid attacks is to dash away from them. Characters are capable of dashing in three directions: backwards, allowing them to avoid close-range attacks, forwards, allowing them to close gaps, and upwards, allowing them to dodge projectile attacks easier.
Every time the character hits the opponent or is hit themselves, a bar at the bottom corner of the screen will slowly fill up. When the bar is full, the character will be able to perform their Ultimate Attack, which is what the game calls its supers. Ultimates are the strongest attacks for that particular character and the Ultimate Bar can be filled a total of three times, with the Ultimate Attack becoming longer and dealing more damage each time it is filled, but when the attack is performed the entire bar will drain.
The game has four major modes: Story Mode, Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, and Training Mode. Story Mode is exactly that, showing a chapter-based story that reveals the lore and motivations of most of the characters and the world in general. Arcade Mode allows you to fight against a group of randomized enemies, ending with a boss fight and showcasing a "what if?" ending to the game's Story Mode, though Arcade Mode is only unlocked after completing the game'e story. Versus Mode allows for single one-on-one battles against other CPUs or another player. And, finally, Training Mode teaches the player the basics of their character's fighting style and pitting them against a training dummy that they can control the AI of.