SOL CRESTA is an intense and deep vertical shooter entry on Switch, and genre enthusiasts would be doing themselves a favor by adding it to their libraries. In-game achievements unlock new content, such as Caravan Mode, online leaderboards, and the aforementioned Sound Test. Even finishing the final stage on normal difficulty is a steep challenge that requires a fair measure of skill, particularly with swapping formations and the slowing of time that this ability grants. If this is the level of quality we can expect from future arcade-style shooters courtesy of PlatinumGames, I’ll be demanding as many as we can get, until Kamiya-san blocks me on Twitter.
Sol Cresta is a game that you need to chew on for a bit before it shows its true value. But stick with it, learn its idiosyncrasies, and you’ll find a unique, satisfying entry into the crowded shoot-em-up genre. Is it an all-timer? Probably not, but considering Platinum just waltzed into this club for the first time, it has done an exemplary job.
Great gameplay. Not a danmaku, it finds the complexity in other aspects of the gameplay and level design. I truly enjoy it and the price won't blur my score on it, although I get it is difficult to anyone to trust willingly recommendations on an unknown game that came out the same week as Elden Ring. Whenever you give it a shot, you won't regret, mostly if you like Hideki Kamiya and what he brings to his games
OK, so I’m going to ‘copy and paste’ this review in to the ‘Sol Cresta Dramatic’ section because I feel my words fit exactly for both. Anyway, Sol Cresta is mega, I’m in my late 30s and as a kid, family holidays in the UK down in Newquay I LOVED the big arcades I’d pretty much be there from open till close I only had a fiver per day but that was OK because I enjoyed watching the older people play just as much as playing myself! It’s those family holiday, those arcades, in the 80s and 90s where I played MoonCresta and TeraCresta being a hardcore Voltron super fan the whole stacking the three ships to make one bigger faster more powerful ship blew my mind, I loved it! Fast forward to 2020 and Platinum Games with Hideki Kamiya and HamsterCorp announce ‘SolCrest’ an all new game in the much loved ‘Cresta series’ I was so excited, then though realisation sank in, it was April first, Kammy had trolled me, then as now Platinums Kammy is well know for trolling others… Oh well maybe one day we’ll get a new Cresta… but, imagine… two years has flown by and it was true, a new ‘Cresta’ game, ‘SolCresta’ it’s hear and my god, it’s bloody awesome’ oooo, Yuzo Koshiro(StreetsOfRage music) also did the music in ‘SolCresta’ and my god, it’s fantastic! I won’t go on to much, you really need to see/hear/play it yourselves, you won’t be disappointed it really is amazing! Not releasing it physically means most fans will double dip also with the physical being a LimitedRunGames release there’ll be a premium right there, my one gripe in all of this and I’ve no idea why this wasn’t noticed, if like me your going to double dip and buy the £8.99-DLC content, the DLC is a ‘story option’ summit super fans In love with the ‘Cresta’ lore will LOVE IT…… well, love it briefly before pulling there hair out, swearing like a drunken sailor, then chucking you SwitchOLED across the room in anger! The ‘story’ gos on as your playing meaning meaning you have to take your eyes off the action/play/shooting to read it while praying nothing kills you as you read, oh the story mode is voiced ‘YAY’…. It’s voiced, in Japanese only meaning unless your fluent in the Japanese language as cool as this would be, in its current for you might as well avoid it, saving £8.99s not much but us ‘double dipper’ need every penny we can get! I really hope Platinum fix this, apart from that ‘SolCresta’ is a real thing, a real thing that looks/plays/sounds fantastic!
@mattyjjenkins
For anyone who’s still just dabbling with the genre, there are a slew of genuine retro shoot ‘em ups – many of which have been published on the Switch by Hamster itself – which serve as perfectly fine entry points at a fraction of the cost. For those who already adore shooters, however – the sort of people who call them ‘schmups’ – Sol Cresta is a fantastic entry that won’t leave you disappointed.
Sol Cresta has excellent core gameplay with a lot of depth, but it is held back by technical issues in its current state on Nintendo Switch. If PlatinumGames can improve on this base release through updates, Sol Cresta has the potential to be something special.
If you’re a fan of this now very old series, you might find Sol Cresta’s mould appealing. It’s certainly fun to improve, win shields, and prolong your survival by grabbing back lost ships; and to be able to whip your craft into formation and quickly destroy bosses with a countdown of powerful ordnance — and the audio is sublime. At the same time, with all of its interesting ideas, one can’t help but feel that there are elements here that need more polish and careful implementation. There are very few memorable boss attacks, and while some stage junctures are somewhat shrewd, others come off as ill-conceived or uninspired. By no means is that to say it’s unenjoyable — there is a definite groove within its visual mess that becomes clearer over time as you chip away at the interesting core gameplay — but the fact of the matter is that Sol Cresta is up against a wealth of extremely steep competition, and to stand out it needs to be hitting the all-important notes with greater finesse.
Behind Sol Cresta lies the desire for redemption of a Platinum Games wounded in pride since Star Fox Zero. A Shoot 'em up with ancient inspirations but aware of coming into the world in 2022, capable of introducing a huge variety of innovative and brilliant mechanics but that exaggerate with the amount of its contents, which become almost suffocating. Excellent work done on accessibility in a genre in which it is not obvious to have so much freedom of approach, less brilliant than done in terms of legibility, crippled by a shallow color palette and a difficult understanding of the layout of the individual stages. Absolutely unacceptable that its plot has been cut and is being sold separately in a DLC priced at € 10.
Sol Cresta can be a little annoying with its mechanics for anyone who is willing to take the time to get good at it. There are way better scrolling shooters already on Nintendo Switch and the one thing that makes this one notable is the pedigree behind it. At the very least, the music is pure fire and energy - some of Koshiro's best work to date.
Been putting high scores up in local arcades for moon cresta and terra cresta since the 80's. Terra cresta when it came out on new tech arcade boards was the best arcade machine at the time for shmups. Inin and hamster have made an absolute classic here. The ship shift is a bit difficult to get your head around initially, but on ps4 this is a total classic and genuine part 3 of the series. I think hamster need to make online leaderboards available online as this will attract the serious shmup lads, however on switch its a bit ropey. Lag and less than 60fps will put off serious shmup gamers.
Sol cresta is a pretty fun decent shoot em up style game with some really unique elements and great ost to help bolster a shorter but fun level campaign. It has a lot of modes and a nice simple fun story leading to an downright amazing final boss. The main holdup was the short length and price being a bit high in my mind for this game. The levels and difficulty can feel a bit hard even on easier modes, and other modes are a bit sparse. Id say this is a pretty solid game that could be fun if you enjoy this type of gameplay and get it discounted. Its a good time. Also banger OST.