Solstice (1990 video game)

An example of gameplay in Solstice. One of the game's many hazards is the large translucent tiles pictured here, which vanish quickly after being jumped on and risk sending the player character Shadax plummeting to the floor of spikes below.

Solstice is an isometric-perspective puzzle game in which the player controls the wizard Shadax, who must navigate 250 rooms within the fortress Kâstleröck and assemble the six pieces of the Staff of Demnos to defeat the baron Morbius and rescue the princess Eleanor.[1][2] Shadax's basic abilities consist of jumping, and picking up and dropping objects.[3] Early in the game, Shadax can obtain a pair of magic elfin boots that augment his jumping height. He is additionally equipped with a few beakers that can be used to store four different varieties of potions; these potions can either grant temporary invincibility, destroy all moving objects in a room, freeze time, or make invisible objects visible. At the beginning of the game, the beakers can only hold up to two doses of a potion each, though upgrades can be obtained later on. Any number of potions can be cast simultaneously within a given room, but the spell(s) will only last as long as Shadax remains within that room; any effects from the potion(s) will disappear when the room is vacated.[1]

Many of the fortress's rooms feature hazards such as floors covered in spikes, conveyor belts, vanishing bridges and tiles, and floating mines, and may also be inhabited by antagonistic creatures such as trolls, giant spiders and demons. The rooms often include movable blocks that can be found either lying on the floor or falling from above. These blocks can be used to move safely around the rooms and bypass enemies and hazards. Falling blocks can be frozen in mid-air with the time-freezing potion and be used as steps. There are also hovering crystal balls that can be pushed through the air and ridden as transportation, but cannot be picked up and carried. In some rooms, bombs can be detonated to create an entrance to a previously blocked-off passageway, though the detonators are hidden within nearby rooms. Other rooms contain portals that provide the only access to certain rooms within the fortress. Some rooms can only be cleared or accessed after finding and using of one of four hidden magic keys.[1]

Extra lives can be obtained by collecting blue pointed hats scattered throughout the fortress. Although the screen only registers ten lives at one time, the player can continue to accumulate more lives from that point. The player can also collect coins that allow them to return to a certain room when all lives are lost instead of having to restart the game from the beginning. At any point in the game, the player can access a map that chronicles any room that they have entered and indicates all possible exits; some of these exits appear on the map, but will not appear in-game until a certain task is performed. Aside from the map, the player can view an inventory listing a percentage of the total number of rooms they have visited, as well as the total number of magic items they have found.[1]

On the eve of the winter solstice, Morbius the Malevolent kidnaps Eleanor, Princess of Arcadia, to sacrifice her ritually and become the Evil Baron of Darkness. Shadax the wizard, after witnessing the kidnapping, heads to Morbius' stronghold, the fortress Kâstleröck, to rescue Eleanor. Once while researching Kâstleröck in the Library of Arcadia to find a way to overthrow Morbius, Shadax learned of a secret entrance into Kâstleröck and the whereabouts of the Staff of Demnos, an ancient weapon with the power to defeat Morbius. The staff was hidden in Kâstleröck because that was where Morbius would least expect to find it. Morbius' spies searched for the Staff but did not find it because it was broken into six pieces and made invisible. However, every one hundred years on the winter solstice, all six pieces become visible. Knowing a way in, Shadax enters Kâstleröck to reassemble the Staff of Demnos, overthrow Morbius' forces of darkness, and save Princess Eleanor.[4] Upon restoring the Staff of Demnos, Shadax seeks out and frees Eleanor from imprisonment and destroys Morbius with the Staff.[5]

Solstice was met with a positive critical reception upon release. Richard Leadbetter of Computer and Video Games described the gameplay as "excellent, with some brain-bending puzzles and nice power-ups for Shadax's abilities". Paul Glancey, also of Computer and Video Games, described Solstice as "a BIG game with an awful lot of secrets to discover", and compared the game's puzzles to those of Knight Lore.[19] Julian Rignall of Mean Machines also made a positive comparison to Knight Lore and noted that some of the puzzles were "very devious". However, Matt Regan, also of Mean Machines, stated that while Solstice is a challenging game that "puzzle fans should find interesting", "the excitement fades" as "shifting blocks to stand on or to prevent the attacks of a nasty becomes boring".[15]

While Marc Camron and Ed Semrad of Electronic Gaming Monthly respectively considered the game to be "unique" and "a refreshing change of pace from all of the me-too type puzzle games", the publication's four reviewers collectively found the controls difficult and awkward.[14] Robin Wyles of Raze compared the game's visuals and gameplay to those of Cadaver, and saw Solstice as "an admirable attempt to relive the Knight Lore days" that was "quite refreshing" in the face of the NES's lack of isometric-perspective titles. However, he argued that the game's quantity of puzzles negatively impacted their variety, and felt that the puzzles were "a bit too easy to solve, which reduces its long-term appeal".[21] Leadbetter described the graphics as "excellent throughout, with some of the best backdrops and sprites ever seen in this type of game", and Glancey also felt the game's graphics were "really lovely".[19] Rignall, Regan and Semrad described the graphics as "great",[14][15] and Steve Harris and Ken "Sushi-X" Williams of EGM said the game was "beautiful".[14] While Wyles appreciated the game's isometric perspective, he saw the colour schemes as "unimaginative".[21]

The game's score was singled out for praise. Leadbetter proclaimed that "the renowned Tim Follin comes up trumps yet again with some brilliant atmospheric scores", and both he and Glancey, along with Rignall,[15] considered the soundtrack to be some of the best they had heard on the NES.[19] Regan described the game's soundtrack as "moody and atmospheric",[15] and Semrad called the music "fantastic".[14] Wyles, however, described the sound effects as "ropey" and the in-game background music as "mediocre".[21] The title theme in particular became one of Follin's best-known tracks in retrospect.[23] Brett Elston of GamesRadar+ proclaimed that "if any 8-bit song could take you on a journey, this is it. From its modest, almost hobbit-like opening to its soaring jig halfway through, the title screen music tramples over all other NES music." He additionally described the game's primary background track as "considerably more mellow but no less proficient and listenable", and preferred its presence as in-game music "because there's no way I could play ANYTHING with that title screen going nuts".[24] Nate Andrews of Nintendo World Report said that "the regality of the opening track provides a fantastic build up for the ensuing blast, which nearly forces you to take a knee under its spectacle before dropping into extended, kicking jig, then moving into the rest of the prog-y soundtrack".[25] Layton Shumway of VentureBeat remarked that the theme "sounds like a lost track from a Yes album" and that it "psyches you out with its single-note fanfare intro, instantly kicks into high gear with cascading synth lines, then settles into a propulsive 6/8 rock beat".[26]

A sequel to Solstice, titled Equinox, was announced in January 1992,[27] initially for a summer release that year,[28] and was released for the Super NES in November 1993.[29] The game's plot centers on Shadax's son Glendaal, who must rescue Shadax from his treacherous apprentice Sonia.[30] The game consists of 450 rooms split between eight dungeons, and also features an isometric perspective, but includes a rotatable camera that incorporates Mode 7 effects.[27][28][31] Tim Follin reprised his role as composer and was joined in this duty by his brother Geoff.[32] Equinox was released to generally positive critical reception.[33][34] Hiroshi Minagawa enjoyed Solstice and its quarter-view perspective served as inspiration for a prototype design he showcased to Yasumi Matsuno, which formed the technical foundation for Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.[35]

• Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos at MobyGames