Sol-Deace is an odd little title. Originally it was a pack-in title with the Sega CD, giving that system a nice little boost. As a shooter it was solid; outside of its redbook audio soundtrack and intro it made little use of the Sega CD’s capabilities. But that is okay, a good game is a good game. Since the Sega CD game was never sold separately perhaps that is why Renovation decided to re–release it as a cartridge title with a slightly new name. Sol-Deace is not a title that you run out and buy immediately but if found cheap will provide some hours of entertainment.
In the year 3300 advances in AI lead to the creation of a super computer that is supposed to lead mankind. Rather than the humble benefactor we were expecting it instead becomes a dictator and enslaves humanity. One scientist creates a star fighter but is killed before using it leaving our protagonists to take up the cause.
The weapon system in Sol-Deace is a bit light. There are four primary weapons: the default plasma bullets, double plasma bullets, lasers, and missiles. Each weapon can be attached to a different part of your ship depending on the direction they are collected. While your options are small this system does give you a nice little range in terms of setups. Each weapon has its quirks; lasers are powerful but slow, the double plasma bullets are faster and more versatile. There is no optimal setup for every situation although weapon drops aren’t frequent enough that you get to play around with it as much as you would like.
The main mechanic of Sol-Deace is its positional cannons. When idle you can position the top and bottom cannon in one of four ways. Fully closed provides focused fire, fully open covers the widest firing angle, or you can leave the top or bottom closed while the other is exposed to produce a wide angle shot. When working in concert with the various weapons you end up with a system that is more than the sum of its parts and extremely fun to play with.
In its first half Sol-Deace is a fast paced yet familiar shooter. There is rarely a moment without enemy waves as the game can be a little relentless. The game does a good job of positioning its enemies such that you have to engage its systems. While it mostly focuses on wide open fields with turrets stationed out of sight it isn’t afraid to crowd you into tunnels with chasing enemies for an added challenge. When stage four arrives and is your typical R-Type style battle against a capital ship it even starts to seem a bit generic.
By stage five however it completely changes. The difficulty spikes significantly and in my opinion can be downright unfair. Each subsequent level introduces some new mechanic that is frustrating rather than fun. The fifth level squeezes you into narrow tunnels with enemies approaching from behind. You can’t turn around and return fire and so must avoid being rammed and crushed simultaneously. Stage six features gel like enemies that slow your ship down in a level jam packed with off screen turrets. I would enjoy moments like these if they were fair but they are not. Sol-Deace already had a few things working against it. Your ship is a large target and there are no shields. It didn’t need artificial tactics to raise its difficulty.
Sol-Deace was originally an X68000 game before coming to the Sega CD and Genesis. The difference in presentation between the two is significant. The backgrounds have been redesigned and have lost a lot of detail. The overall color palette is darker which further obscures some details. The biggest drawback is the presence of heavy slowdown and sprite flickering. For a game that isn’t pushing the system it is kind of embarrassing to see in action. Especially when Lightening Force was released earlier in the year and looked like a Neo Geo title. The Genesis version loses the CD soundtrack but gains a slightly different intro and longer ending to compensate. Otherwise it is identical to its CD counterpart.
In Closing
Sol-Deace has flaws but it is still a solid title overall. Its major problem is its heavy competition. The Genesis is inundated with many quality shooters, many of which I would recommend before Sol-Deace. It’s a solid second or third tier release but that’s about it.
