Developer: Boom Publisher: XS Games Release: 03/11/03 Genre: Shooter
When I first became aware of the wider world of import gaming in the year 2000 shooters were the most popular. I can see why of course; the language barrier is non-existent and there was an embarrassment of riches waiting to be discovered. While most were lamenting the fact Radiant Silvergun (the holy grail of shooters for a time) routinely cost hundreds of dollars I had my eye on Sol Divide. With its fantasy setting and mix of ranged and melee combat it reminded me of Lords of Thunder. But as a broke college student I could not afford it. Years later XS games would bring it to the US at a bargain price and sadly my dreams of a game that rivaled that beloved PC Engine shooter were shattered. Sol Divide is not outright bad but it is disappointing.
In the land of Shamain, Emperor Ifther had declared war on all surrounding kingdoms after embracing the dark god Heradious. And it’s up to three heroes, whose homes are destroyed in the ensuing battle, to stop him.
Sol Divide has three playable characters, each with their own reasoning for wanting Emperor Ifther dead. Tyora hails from Rangforce and was close to the Emperor before he became evil. Kashon is the prince of Neraphai and the only hawkman left strong enough to oppose Ifther after he conquered their land. Vorg used to be one of Ifther’s knights but now seeks revenge for his betrayal. Each character specializes in a different area: Vorg has the best melee capabilities but his ranged attacks are weak. Kashon is the most balanced and has the longest reach with his spear. Tyora’s deals the most damage from ranged and has more powerful magic. These differences are significant and change your approach to the game.
With its melee combat and traditional shooting mechanics Sol Divide resembles Lords of Thunder but only on a surface level. Each character has a combo executed with simple button combinations with some like Vorg dealing massive damage if executed properly. While mixing up enemy types sounds like it would be fun Sol Divide is too short to take advantage of it, at least in arcade mode. The levels are incredibly brief; most have two or three enemy wave before the boss battle if that. There are different routes through the game for each character but at most you can run through it in a little over ten minutes. The mechanics are sound but the game would be better if it were longer. It almost achieves that with the Original Mode but there are some caveats that ruin it.
There are RPG trappings within Sol Divide and the game’s Original Mode expands on it. Original Mode is a seventeen floor dungeon with full RPG mechanics. You start at level one and gain experience from killing enemies to boost your maximum health, strength, and defense. You also have an inventory and can equip items to raise your stats or grant status immunities. Enemies drop chests that also provide further items although you have limited inventory space. The catch is Original Mode is a rogue-like, meaning death sends you back to the beginning. You lose all items and your stats are cut in half but you keep your level. There is an item to return to the throne room and store items for later use but it is rare. This forces you to exercise caution as the cost of death is high. In the US version too high in fact.
Original Mode is one of the greatest extras in a shooter. Unfortunately XS games have made changes that ruin it. You no longer have the option to save your game which almost defeats the purpose of the mode altogether. The difficulty in original mode is high as it is designed around repeated runs to build up your stats and equipment over multiple sessions to progress. Without the ability to save you have to do it all in one sitting which is stupid. As a result the novelty of it wears off quickly. The also removed the cutscenes from the arcade mode which gave context to each character’s journey through the game. I get it, story is not important in a shooter but I welcome its presence if it is there. They did the bare minimum of localization as even the endings are still in Japanese! Lame!
Sol Divide is a bit unique within the shooter genre as it is one of the few to use prerendered graphics. Unfortunately you can kind of see why. While the fantasy setting makes for some diverse environments they are low resolution and blurry. The sprites do not fare much better. The bosses are impressive in their size and scale but often look like giant Jpeg images pasted on the background. The art direction is the only saving grace with this one sadly. It is kind of unfortunate that the game is so ugly as the CG graphics are what attracted me to Sol Divide in the first place.
In Closing
I have mixed feelings regarding Sol Divide. There are aspects of it that I like such as the mix between melee and ranged combat. But its brief stages, washed out graphics and uneven difficulty drown that out. Original mode could have been its saving grace but the changes made ruin it. Sol Divide is a game that ultimately fails to live up to its potential.
