Solstice: В поисках Посоха Демноса

1990 video game

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos, or simply Solstice, is a 1990 puzzle video game developed by Software Creations. It was published by Nintendo in Europe and CSG Imagesoft in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game focuses on the wizard Shadax's bid to defeat the evil baron Morbius and rescue Princess Eleanor, whom Morbius plans to sacrifice. Shadax aims to gather the six pieces of the titular Staff of Demnos hidden within the fortress of Kâstleröck. The game's setting is non linear, and consists of 250 rooms, each with a particular puzzle to solve. Solstice is the first original game to be developed by Software Creations, which had previously only worked on converted titles between 8 bit consoles. The game features a musical score by Tim Follin, who has named the game's title track as his favourite among his compositions. It became one of his best known tracks. Solstice was received positively by critics for its puzzles and graphics, and the audio was singled out for praise. A sequel, titled Equinox, was released for the Super NES in 1993.

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. Shadax's basic abilities consist of jumping, and picking up and dropping objects. 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. Upon restoring the Staff of Demnos, Shadax seeks out and frees Eleanor from imprisonment and destroys Morbius with the Staff.

The development of Solstice was initiated by the programmer Mike Webb of Software Creations, who desired to create a Knight Lore style isometric title for the NES. Solstice is the first original game to be developed within the company, which had previously only developed converted titles between 8 bit consoles. Mark Wilson, having previously worked as a programmer and a graphics artist for the company, saw Webb's proposal as an opportunity to attempt the role of a video game designer. In creating the game's setting and aesthetic, Wilson acknowledged the slim capacity for storytelling on Nintendo's cheapest available cartridge, and thus focused on the game's atmosphere, which he says "traded on the simplest and most basic of fantasy ideas". On stylistic influences, Wilson cited "all of the usual suspects [ ] from The Lord of the Rings to Excalibur". he felt that his work on the in game music could have been improved to be "a lot more spacious and interesting", as it "looped too short and became irritating quite quickly". The cover art was lambasted by Wilson as having nothing to do with the game that was written, and he deemed it inferior to a proposed cover created by Neal Sutton that had already been supplied to CSG. He also derided the instruction booklet written by CSG as "a mass of illiterate and asinine drivel". and was released that July in North America and Europe. It was also published by Epic/Sony Records in Japan on July 20 of the same year under the subtitle Sanjigen Meikyū no Kyō Jū. CSG's advertisement campaign for Solstice in North America consisted of a photograph of what Wilson described as "an oiled up bodybuilder with long hair wearing dayglo pink posing trunks", which he called "embarrassingly bad". with the first press coverage of the game in March by The Dallas Morning News as part of the Championships.

A sequel to Solstice, titled Equinox, was announced in January 1992, initially for a summer release that year, and was released for the Super NES in November 1993. The game's plot centers on Shadax's son Glendaal, who must rescue Shadax from his treacherous apprentice Sonia. 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. Tim Follin reprised his role as composer and was joined in this duty by his brother Geoff. Equinox was released to generally positive critical reception. 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.