Solstice

"A challenging addictive game with many puzzles"

Gameplay 9/10
This game can be intense. You will find extra lives, potions, continue coins, hidden rooms, magic potions and items throughout the castle. There may be times when you have many extra lives, and 2 minutes later you lose them all because of a tough puzzle. It can drive you insane because it is so difficult and the only way to get through it is by trial and error. Most of the puzzles in the game require the use of potions or blocks to reach exits. It is a game of wits and intellect. The game is extremely fun and difficult at the same time.

Sound 6/10
The music is continuous through the entire game. I honestly like the music because it helped me concentrate. The music is kind of a catchy tune but other than that the only other sounds in the game are that of blocks being picked up or dropped, whenever you pick up a magic key, continue coin or any other item, and the sound you hear when you use a magic potion. Not a whole lot of sound changes throughout the course of the game except when you die and have to continue. That music makes you ''feel'' like you have let the world die and are a complete failure but at least you can continue from where you left off.

Graphics 9/10
The hero, monsters, spikes, blocks etc, all look pretty good. Everything in the game is easy to see except those moving platforms. You can see the platforms moving back and forth but it is almost impossible to tell what ''level'' the platform is moving on. Platforms are so many ''blocks'' high and the only way you can tell exactly where to jump to land on it is by trial and error (probably many deaths on spikes). The hero is a cool looking blue mage who looks a lot like those old Final Fantasy black mages closely resembling Vivi. When you pick up an item you will see a close up of it in the middle of your TV that are probably the best graphics you will see. For an old NES game this game does have great graphics.

Replay 9/10
Although you may finally defeat the game, you still will not have experienced the entire game. There are many rooms and I am not sure the total number because I have not achieved 100% on the rooms. There are lots more puzzles to find and figure out beyond finding all the keys and staff pieces. I have gone through and beaten this game many times just because its fun! The cartridge may collect dust for a while but when you are looking through your games and trying to figure out what to play, you will most likely throw this game in because it really is a lot of fun. Puzzle games generally do not have a lot of replay value but this is the exception to that. Getting 100% on all the rooms means you have seen and done it all that is why you will want to play Solstice again and again until you have mastered it.

Controls 8/10
It can be very tough to control Shadax when it comes to jumping on moving platforms or across large gaps. Some puzzles require you to use blocks that can be very tricky. You will have to practice some techniques in order to complete some puzzles such as: picking up a block while jumping, then dropping the block and jumping back off of it in mid-air). This is why I gave the controls such a high score however, not a perfect one because of the ''illusion effect'' this game has. Some platforms, floating blocks and even some spike balls look like they are somewhere and are actually somewhere else. You have to walk and jump around with Shadax a lot to test things out when you do some puzzles. What I like to do is jump under moving platforms if possible to see if it moves up. That will help you to figure out exactly where it is. Jumping out and immediately back will help you to make your jumps. You can see exactly how fast you jump and land. It takes some getting use to because up on the directional pad is actually northwest on the screen, down is southwest, left is northeast and right is southeast.

Overall 9/10

Solstice is a game with a weak plot but great gameplay, challenging puzzles and lots of rooms to explore. Solstice can be bought very cheap and is unknown to most people. I think people were disappointed because it's so easy to die and gave up on the game. With a little effort and ambition you will play this game for hours. The one drawback to this game is the way continues work. If you die, you will continue at the last place you acquired a credit. Anything you accomplished after picking up the credit will be lost and you will have to do it all over again. It is a pity the game does not have a battery. Overall I give this game a 9 and well deserved. If you like puzzling games, this is the ultimate one for the NES.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/03, Updated 04/05/03