Equinox (1993 video game)

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This article is about the 1993 SNES game. For the 1986 home computer game, see Equinox (1986 video game).
Equinox
EquinoxSNES boxart.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s)Software Creations
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Ste and John Pickford
Composer(s)Tim Follin
Geoff Follin
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
  • JP: November 12, 1993
  • NA: March 1994
  • EU: March 25, 1994
Genre(s)Action-adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Equinox, known in Japan as Solstice II (ソルスティスII), is an isometric 3D action–puzzle video game developed by Software Creations and published by Sony Imagesoft and Sony Computer Entertainment for the Super NES in 1994. It is the sequel to Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos, a 1990 Nintendo Entertainment System game.

Gameplay[]

Equinox gameplay screenshot

The protagonist Glendaal moves from room to room looking for ‘tokens’ (blue orbs), twelve of which must be collected and brought to a boss area where they enable the ‘summoning’ of one of the game's boss characters. Each of these must be defeated to enable progress to the next area. To aid the player in their quest, one projectile weapon and one magic scroll is hidden on each level for Glendaal to find. Most levels contain a number of entrances which are accessed from an over-world map, home to a sparse collection of wandering monsters. There are eight levels ("worlds") in the game, each of them with its own weapon, spell and boss (called a Guardian) as well as tricky platform-jumping and block-sliding puzzles.

Plot[]

Shadax, the wizard hero of Solstice, has been captured and imprisoned by his treacherous apprentice, the sorceress Sonia, in her Ice Palace. Sonia's army of monsters and demons then overrun the seven kingdoms of the world. It is now up to his young son Glendaal, the only man with the magical powers strong enough to defeat the evil empress, to journey to rescue Shadax from her icy fortress in Death Island and put an end to her reign.[1] If Glendaal manages to reach and destroy Sonia, he finds his barely alive father in a tiny chamber concealed behind the witch's throne.

Development[]

Software Creations began development of Equinox in March 1990 and ended in the summer of 1993.[2] As the first non-Japanese developer to have a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) development kit[3] before Japan's SNES console Super Famicom, the Manchester-based developer began by creating Equinox's engine with analysis of the Super Famicom.[4] Although Webb started programming, it was mostly done by Ste and John Pickford.[5] Whereas Solstice was a single-map puzzle game where the player could only use magic, the Pickfords and Sony director Ryoji Akagawa intended Equinox to be more of an action game by adding weapons and larger bosses, and more RPG-esque and allowing for discovery by having multiple maps.[2]

The graphics took more than a year to complete and caused Equinox to take unexpectedly longer.[2][4] Mike Webb reported in April 1994 that Equinox was completed 18 months prior, but it took longer to get released due to technical problems running on different SNES consoles.[5] Blocks were made as sprites and overlapped to work within the processing power, but the picture processing unit (PPU) couldn't process sprites on the same layer properly, resulting in glitches, with the most "front" sprites disappearing;[4][2] to fix the problem, rooms were resigned, and sprites that disappeared were removed.[2] Another major challenge was the isometric perspective, as shadowing to indicate 3D depth was impossible due to limited processing power.[5] For animation and character design, Glendaal took the longest due to having many movements, while the bosses were done in a week.[4] After the graphics were finished, the final part of development was altering the difficulty of Quagmire by removing a talkable character.[2]

Reception[]

Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "a good action/adventure game with one major problem: The perspective is very disorienting."[9] Gamefan Magazine was far more positive, reviewing it twice and giving the import version 90% and 96%.[11] Equinox was awarded for having the Best Ad of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[31]

The graphics were called "smart" and "addictive."[25] Nick of Games World noted an isometric-perspective title was unusual on a console consisting of platformers and shoot-em-ups.[25] The magazine's Adrian wrote it "has the most beautiful backdrops and sprites that have been produced for ages."[25] She also noted its the huge environments to explore and "sedately haunting" sound, where "even when you're walking overland there's always a soft wind blowing so you're never really sure if a Goblin will attack you."[25]

The gameplay was described as addictive.[25] Trevor of Games World called its many puzzles "excruciatingly difficult."[25]

Notes[]

  1. ^ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's coverage, three critics scored it 8/10, two others 7/10.[9]
  2. ^ In GameFan's coverage, two critics scored Equinox 43/50 and on 40/50.[12]
  3. ^ Nintendo Power scored Equinox 4/5 for graphics/sound, 3.1/5 for play control, 3.7/5 for challenge, and 3.6/5 for theme/fun.[17]
  4. ^ Game Power scored Equinox 4/5 twice for graphics and sound, and 5/5 twice for difficulty and fun factor.[24]

References[]

  1. ^ Equinox manual at celephais.net.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "『ソルスティス２』のできるまで". ソルスティス２ (in Japanese). Sony. 1993. pp. 114–116.
  3. ^ Bevan, Mike (December 2013). "Bubbles, Baseball and Buzz Saws..." Retro Gamer. No. 122. pp. 74–79. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "『ソルスティス２』のできるまで". ソルスティス２ (in Japanese). Sony. 1993. p. 48.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "An Interview with Software Creations". GameFan. Vol. 2 no. 5. April 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Equinox". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). August 1994. p. 38. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  7. ^ Keen, Steve; Sumpter, Garth (April 1993). "Equinox". Computer and Video Games. No. 137. pp. 44–45. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  8. ^ Petersen, Sandy (September 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (209): 61–62.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Review Crew: Equinox". Electronic Gaming Monthly (57). EGM Media, LLC. April 1994. p. 40.
  10. ^ NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ソルスティスII. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.257. Pg.38. 12–19 November 1993.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Halverson, Dave (Skid); Brody (December 1992). "Viewpoint". GameFan. Vol. 1 no. 2. pp. 8–9.
  12. ^ "Equinox". GameFan. Vol. 2 no. 5. April 1994. p. 31. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. ^ Butcher, Andy (December 1993). "Equinox". GameZone. No. 14. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  14. ^ Humphreys, Andrew (January 1994). "Equinox". Hyper. No. 2. p. 57. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  15. ^ Nuktos (17 October 2011). "Test : Equinox". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  16. ^ Markus (March 1994). "Equinox" (PDF). Mega Fan (in German). p. 38. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Equinox". Nintendo Power. Vol. 44. January 1993. pp. 102, 107. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Equinox". Player One (in French). March 1994. pp. 63–66. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  19. ^ The Elf (May 1994). "Equinox". SuperJuegos (in Spanish). No. 25. pp. 58–63. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  20. ^ Brookes, Jason (June 1993). "Solstice II: Equinox". Super Play. No. 8. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  21. ^ Frank (May 1994). "Equinox". Total!. No. 29. p. 48. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Equinox". Video Games (in German). February 1994. p. 94. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  23. ^ Camron, Marc (January 1993). "Equinox". Electronic Games. p. 62. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  24. ^ Kamikaze, Marcelo (October 1993). "Equinox".  [it] (in Italian). Vol. 2 no. 16. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Dave; Nick; Adrian; Trevor (June 1994). "Equinox". Games World. p. 10. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  26. ^ Simon; Chris II (November 1993). "Equinox". SNES Force. No. 6. pp. 46–48. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  27. ^ Frank (May 1993). "Equinox". Super Action. No. 8. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  28. ^ Paul; Alex; Allie (July 1993). "Equinox". Super Control. pp. 24–27. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  29. ^ Andy; Keith; Ryan (April 1994). "Equinox". Super Gamer. No. 1. pp. 50–51. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  30. ^ "1993 Electronic Gaming Awards". Electronic Games. January 1993. pp. 30–35. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". 1995. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links[]

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