Release Date: June 1990
Developer: Software Creations, Ltd.
Publisher: GSC Imagesoft Inc.
As I mentioned in my Adventures of Lolo Retro Review, I have a special place in my low-res heart for puzzle games. From Tetris to Portal to Braid and everywhere in between, puzzle games have kept me occupied way more than RPGs and racing games, my other two favorite genres. On the NES, the aforementioned Lolo series and Dr. Mario took up a lot of my puzzle gaming time. The one I remember playing the most, though, is the subject of today’s Retro Review.
Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos, is a pretty obscure title to most. The only reason I became aware of the title was due to a feature article of the game on Nintendo Power. The wizards & magic setting was intriguing; the fact that it was an action/puzzle game sold me.
In Solstice, you are Shadax, the most ripped sorcerer in the world. (Well, on the box artwork he is. Seriously, the guy must’ve trained with Lex Luger.) An evil wizard named Morbius has kidnapped Princess Eleanor, and it’s up to Shadax to rescue her. To do so, he must brave the fortress Kastlerock and find the six pieces to the only artifact with the power to defeat Morbius: The Staff of Demnos.
The game is presented in an isometric perspective. You guide Shadax through the 255 rooms of Kastlerock, solving puzzles along the way in order to advance. The puzzles are mainly block puzzles. Throughout Kastlerock are numerous blocks that Shadax can use to traverse obstacles. Those obstacles include platforms, spike beds, faraway ledges, and enemies. You will need to learn how to block-jump – grabbing a block, jumping, and releasing the block in mid-air to use as a platform – in order to get through some of these rooms.
You will also find potions that will help you get through some areas. There are four different colored potions. The blue potion makes Shadax invincible. The purple potion disintegrates all moving objects in the room. You use the green potion to see invisible object s in a room, and the yellow potion freezes time in a room. The effects of the potions only last while in the room you are in when they’re used.
Other helpful objects include the Magic Elfin Boots, which allow Shadax to jump higher; Hats of Life to gain an extra life; and credits to give you extra continues if you lose all your lives. Leys and detonators are used to open up new areas of Kastlerock.
The game plays well for an isometric game on the NES. Control is precise, but the isometric perspective will confuse players at first. It will take a few unintended deaths before you get the hang of it. And you will need to get the hang of it to maneuver through some of the rooms in Katlerock. In one instance, you may have to drop a block on an enemy’s head in order to stand on it to reach a remote area. This game requires lots of ingenuity with potions, block-jumps, and other objects in rooms. There will be lots of experimentation. And there will be lots of death.
The game looks great. The rooms are nice and colorful, and there is decent detail in everything. There are only three chiptunes in the game that I can remember: the insanely epic title music, the game over music, and the theme music that plays throughout the entire playthrough. Despite being repetitive, the theme tune is not annoying. I actually like it.
If there is a drawback to the game – other than the expected difficulty – is the replayability. Once you have memorized the layout of Kastlerock and where everything is, the only reason to play it is to speedrun it. That’s an unfortunate cost of playing many puzzle games.
Does Solstice still hold up? I think it does. It’s still mind-bendingly fun for me. Then again, I never beat the game, so I still have reason to keep trying.
Unfortunately, the game’s obscurity means that finding a legitimate way to play it now is difficult. It was never re-released, and it has not been added to any Nintendo Virtual Console. If you want to try this game out now, your only options are the secondhand market or emulation. Obviously, I cannot recommend the latter in good conscience. But the option is there.
For hardcore puzzle game lovers, Solstice is a great skull-cracker. As a puzzler and dungeon crawler, it is very fun. Casual gamers can find fun here, too, assuming they don’t mind the occasional headache.
Good: Nice visuals; great chiptune music; inventive puzzles
Bad: Limited replayability; perspective will lead to accidental deaths at first
Final score: 7.5/10
