Solstice

"A challenging adventure/puzzle game with great music!"

Solstice is one of the unsung heroes of the NES. You know, games like River City Ransom and Metal Storm that hardly anybody ever heard of or played, but those that did loved what they found. Solstice definitely falls into that category, because it received very little recognition, but is an excellent game.

Storyline: 3.0
Princess Eleanor has been kidnapped by the evil Morbius, and you, Sorcerer Shadax must traverse through Morbius's castle to rescue her. Nothing new here, but it doesn't detract from the gameplay.

Gameplay: 8.5
The meat of this game is the puzzles that you encounter as you explore the several hundred rooms of Morbius's castle. These puzzles involve using blocks to get up to high places, cross spike-filled gaps, and even dropping them on monster's heads and then jumping on them to hitch a ride. The blocks play an integral role in your success.

Each room is a single screen with one or more exits. The rooms can range from having nothing at all in them to a complex puzzle to solve. Because the castle is very large, it is important to draw a map as you play. The rooms are made up of squares, so graph paper works fine.

As you progress, you will encounter items, potions, and of course enemies. Shadax doesn't have any weapons, but the potions he collects do things like grant invincibility, freeze time, or destroy all the monsters in a room. These potions are in very short supply and it's important to use them only when necessary. Figuring out when it's necessary is also part of the challenge. The enemies include spikeballs that move complacently in a pattern, trolls which home in on your position, and more. All of them cause instant death. Fortunately you have four lives and can earn more lives by collecting hats and more continues by collecting credits. You also are on the lookout for four keys which don't actually open doors, but cause certain things to happen (like a new exit opening up).

Control: 6.5
Many of the puzzles require precise and timely jumping. Fortunately the controls respond well. Shadax can move in four directions, even while jumping (no inertia involved) and he's also kind of speedy, too. Some of the more complex techniques, such as picking up a block while jumping, dropping it in mid-air, and jumping off of it, require practice, but once you master them the controls won't fail you. The isometric view and the fact that you move diagonally may be confusing initially, but that too becomes second nature.

Graphics: 4.5
Unfortunately the graphics aren't anything special. Shadax is a mere two colors and not very well-animated (when he moves in a direction while jumping, he still looks like he's walking). The castle rooms look similarly plain, distinct only by color. One flaw that can hinder gameplay is the lack of depth perception and shadows. It can be difficult to see exactly what a moving platform's path and height are. Otherwise, the three-dimensional isometric view is good, but not great.

Sound: 9.5
Games with mediocre graphics also tend to have mediocre sound. Not this one. The music in this game is amazing. Let the opening theme play when you turn on the cart and you'll be awed at how long it is and the number of instruments being played at once. You'll hear flutes, drums, bass guitars, triangles, cymbals, and more. The sound quality is outstanding, and the actual song is over three minutes long, changing tempos and melodies seamlessly. It's simply the finest title theme song on the NES.

Most NES games are also dogged by in-game repetitive music. Fortunately, the in-game song is quite good, although just slightly below the excellence of the title theme. It's also over two minutes and is not as mind-numbingly repetitive as the music in other games. It's too bad that there's only one song, though. The other music that plays during the very short and sparse cinema scenes is also excellent. The minor knock is that there's few sound effects, only Shadax's death scream and a potion activating. But with such great music playing in the background, it's not a big deal.

Challenge: 8.5
With such a large castle, it will take some time to map and figure out. Fortunately, it's not boring, and some of the puzzles take some brainpower and/or perfect execution too. It can be frustrating with your limited lives and the demand to be precise, but the game can be completed with time and patience. It's by no means impossible.

Replay Value: 6.0
It's not necessary to find all of the rooms to complete the game, but the game does give you a ''percent complete'' score, so you can go for 100%. That should keep you busy for quite some time.

Overall: 9.0
Solstice is one of the gems of the NES world. I highly recommend that you either emulate or buy for some challenging puzzle action.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/03/00, Updated 05/03/00