I don’t remember much about the original but Sin & Punishment 2 has a little dialogue near the end of Stage 1 that goes like this:
- Isa? That monster back there. Why did it attack us?
- Monster? Oh, that wasn’t a monster, Kachi. It was a Keeper. Long ago, the civilization of this earth became so advanced that it brought about its own destruction. Keepers are artificial life-forms created to protect what’s left. Think about it this way: Keepers act as Earth’s immune system. And in their eyes, we’re uninvited parasites.
http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/915/915813/sin-and-punishment-2-20081002032142590_640w.jpg
The girl character will probably also turn out to be such an artificial lifeform, since she’s being hunted by a group you fight against more often than you fight the Keepers, and it’s told she’s not human even though she looks like one.
Other similarities are obviously that it’s a rail shooter as well, though you can control your crosshair individually from your character, and cannot turn your view to look to your sides or back, the camera only changes if the designers have made it so for a part of the level (there’s a side scrolling secion for example). And that the girl’s special move is multiple lock-on shots, though you can’t do it all the time, it has to recharge.
The designs of the enemies are not really similar, more robotic than organic for the most part, but there are a few that look organic, like the turtle boss, though that is also in a different style than Panzer Dragoon stuff which don’t resemble animals we know.
Also, even though you’re normally on-foot or hovering Space-Harrier style (jetpack for the male, hoverboard for the female) there’s a level where you ride on a little bipedal dinosaur-like thing which looks similar to riding the dragon when it’s not flying in Panzer Dragoon Zwei. The male character uses some kind of hoverbike instead, which I guess is a bit similar to that Saga vehicle. The airship in the beginning also looks similar to PD aesthetics (all white and bulky) from the exterior, though the interior is more conventional high-tech looking stuff with panels and what not.
And there’s an “air fortress”
The rest of it is very different as the characters merely try to escape the planet while that group tries to stop them, the planet is actually Earth as you’re apparently fighting on what used to be Japan.
Anyway, fun game, I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it. Check out some videos. And yes, thankfully you can play with Japanese voices and English subtitles. It has a different PAL name.
It’s a Treasure game after all.