Platinum Games announces Sol Cresta, Sequel to Terra Cresta

[Skykid]

I wouldn’t expect you to be. I think Kamiya spends around an hour each day, naked and in yoga position, fingertips tingling as he goes at the keyboard and mouse, and starts blocking with purpose until he reaches zen.

Like I said: if he blocked me it means he read the article, which I genuinely appreciate knowing. Also, it was the first review to go live in western English-speaking media as far as I know. Poor Kamiya probably expected some Platinum fanboy or shmup-ignorant journo to sing his praises from the hills.

Unfortunately he got me.

[kid aphex]

Kamiya, incidentally, gave me an insta-block on Twitter shortly after my review went live.

That... is awesome.

[Steven]

Oh lawd, the invocation of Slap Fight MD (cracking article wot u wrote a while back ) hit my enthusiasm right in the nuts X_X Now that there be shump with NIL FUCKS 2 GIVE for anyone but the diehards. "Wah it's short!" So's your cock! Ram it up to Loop 200 and see how well you do, CUCKY BOY!

You just convinced me to finally try the higher loops on Toaplan mode, so I put it to loop 32. Holy fuck those bullets move fast. Lol that shit's absolutely fucking terrifying!

Anyway, yeah, Kamiya is an ass. Dude's so damn arrogant and I can't stand him. Like I understand that he gets inundated with people asking him about all kind of shit daily, but god damn Kamiya, calm the fuck down and at least pretend to be a civilized human being. As for the game, maybe I'll try it. They are doing a thing over at Mikado until the 24th where I guess you can play it for free or something, so maybe I'll go try it. Have to stay away from Mikado, though... Garegga and all of those delicious Toaplan games call to me...

[EmperorIng]

we should all aspire to be blocked by Kamiya, it's like a mark of distinction.

I caved in and bought the steam port, here's to hoping for decent performance (I presume so).

[Skykid]

we should all aspire to be blocked by Kamiya, it's like a mark of distinction.

I caved in and bought the steam port, here's to hoping for decent performance (I presume so).

Looking forward to your thoughts! I hear the PS4 version runs better than the Switch, so Steam should be on the level.

[EmperorIng]

Thanks! A japanese player is (or was?) streaming, triggered an invincibility bug, and is well on his way to attaining the afk world record counterstop 7 loops in
EDIT: the invincibility wears off at the start of the next loop

Does platinum patch their games?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Platinum releases patches, yeah. Vanquish's PC release had a bug where the damage you took wasn't authentic to the Xbox 360 / PS3 release due to framerate difference. Apparently it's still not 100% the same on God Hard but close enough that only dedicated players would notice minor differences (some stuff apparently won't one shot you on the PC version that used to, such as final Bogey's lasers).

Shame about the issues with their foray into the world of shmups. Ah well.

[DietSoap]

Thanks! A japanese player is (or was?) streaming, triggered an invincibility bug, and is well on his way to attaining the afk world record counterstop 7 loops in
EDIT: the invincibility wears off at the start of the next loop

Does platinum patch their games?

So you have to trigger the invincibility bug once every 55 minutes? What a pain, absolute shit AFK shmup.

[m.sniffles.esq]

I like it?

I mean--sure--It's a little odd that it's $40 and it's supposed to look like shit...
I'm usually more down on 'antiquing' than most people, but it's no more annoying here than anywhere else. And while I can't say the whole ship stacking/switching mechanic is either intuitive or elegant (ultimately, it reminds me of an overly complicated version of the Gunstar Heroes mechanic), but then again, I'm 40 minutes deep, It could smooth itself out with familiarity (maybe).

But visual and gameplay gimmicks aside, it's really fun to blow shit up. Like, really fun. Isn't that what it's fundamentally about?

[Skykid]

It does smooth itself out, yes. The main issue for me with the formation assembly stuff is that it’s kind of ineffectual for anything except ruining bosses quickly - and it’s unclear what formations you might want to use at which junctures.

Of course with extended play you can head for formations that can take out waves for points purposes, but it’s going to take some legwork.

Like I said though, it’s fun enough on a basic level. The lack of technical polish is a bit problematic, however, especially at that price.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Can’t believe that platinum games failed to make an quality shooter. Must be embarrassing.

[glide]

40$ for this shit? It wouldn't even be considered a good game 30 years ago, let alone today. Looks like shit too.

[evil_ash_xero]

I got it, and it does look poor. A nice CRT filter would help a lot. The ones it has are WAY too dark. I have no idea what's going on there.
If they worked on that, it would help a lot. Those graphics are meant to have scanlines and smoothing.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It does smooth itself out, yes. The main issue for me with the formation assembly stuff is that it’s kind of ineffectual for anything except ruining bosses quickly - and it’s unclear what formations you might want to use at which junctures.

This was the concern I had when I saw the formation system; it comes across as complexity for complexity's sake. Worse, it doesn't look like it's as quick and easy to transition compared to games with multiple shots you can access at once (Radiant Silvergun, 6 Button Daioh) so it requires some memorization and planning to use effectively? I think it would've turned out better if they produced a mechanically simpler game but focused on nailing the execution.

[ATTRACTS]

Got the PS4 version.

So aside from being ugly as hell (the dinosaurs on level 5 made me LOL) with broken scan lines that make the game so dark you can’t see anything, the actual gameplay I find pretty decent after a few credits.

I like that it’s not a bullet hell shooter and more tuned in with the original games where it’s a slower paced/environmental hazard style of gameplay. The formations are a bit of a handful to dial in but on the later levels I found them useful for bosses and certain enemy waves. I think the game’s first two levels put a bad taste in my mouth because they felt so dull but once I got into the more environmentally dense levels, it felt more engaging. I like knowing what level ups are coming next with the meter on the right because it makes planning out the use of formation weapons more strategic. I think Hard mode should have been the default out of the gate. I also think reading the manual is beneficial as there are shot types I wasn’t aware of until I read about them. The ability to fire backwards and in a circular burst come in handy after stage 2.

Overall not as bad as some are making it out to be. Yea the visuals are awful and the enemy variety kinda blows but the game still captures that older generation feel nicely.

[Gaiaresis1]

I got the steam version. I didn't notice any performance issues, runs well. I'm liking the game so far, but those graphics are rough they need to change the CRT filter way too dark.

[m.sniffles.esq]

it’s kind of ineffectual for anything except ruining bosses quickly

So say on the first boss, I know that I want the formation where charge shot gives me the big drill on the front so I don't have to dodge. Yet, it usually takes me several attempts to actually make that happen. And sometimes, the fumbling around causes me to--y'know--run into bullets. Therefore causing me to go "fuck it" and just use whatever formation happens to be on at the time.

That indicates to me your gimmick ain't working. Where the player knows what they want to happen, but the act of making that thing happen is more arduous than it not happening.

Which, as you said, will smooth itself out... eventually. But the fact that I'm even having to ride out this learning curve (instead of tapping the button and the formation switching. Which is the way most games would have handled it), leads me to believe that perhaps the cart was put in front of the horse to begin with.

[ATTRACTS]

it’s kind of ineffectual for anything except ruining bosses quickly

So say on the first boss, I know that I want the formation where charge shot gives me the big drill on the front so I don't have to dodge. Yet, it usually takes me several attempts to actually make that happen. And sometimes, the fumbling around causes me to--y'know--run into bullets. Therefore causing me to go "fuck it" and just use whatever formation happens to be on at the time.

That indicates to me your gimmick ain't working. Where the player knows what they want to happen, but the act of making that thing happen is more arduous than it not happening.

Which, as you said, will smooth itself out... eventually. But the fact that I'm even having to ride out this learning curve (instead of tapping the button and the formation switching. Which is the way most games would have handled it), leads me to believe that perhaps the cart was put in front of the horse to begin with.

Are you talking about the yellow drill?…it’s a charge shot. It’s not supposed to be instantaneous. Hold down the shot button with the correct ship on top, release it once the ship glows. As for actual formations, they are simple directional movements. I think people are spending time trying to “shape” them when you don’t really need to. Up, down, left, right, diagonal or down/left, down/right puts everything into place, time also slows down while you do it. Just takes a few plays to get it.

[Skykid]

Yeah the yellow drill you want is a charge, although you need the right ship stack to actually make it work, and SP stock to use it.

The thing is, there’s often times when you don’t actually need a formation at all: a lot of the enemies and bosses can be easily dispatched with a charge shot + regular shot. It doesn’t entirely defeat the purpose, just diminishes it somewhat. If you roadmap the stages, it’s entirely possible to figure out exactly what process of formation attacks you want to use and when, and maximise certain kills or bonuses.

For me the game is more enjoyable from the 4th stage onward, but there’s still a lot of tacky-feeling stage design elements that don’t entirely work.

I’d say for those willing to put in the time, it’s a decent 7/10 experience (which is good) - but at that price you need to consider the vast wealth of other shmups available right now and which you’d rather be playing.

My main concern with Sol Cresta is longevity. I got to the point after a few hours where I felt no compulsion to go back to it.

It does smooth itself out, yes. The main issue for me with the formation assembly stuff is that it’s kind of ineffectual for anything except ruining bosses quickly - and it’s unclear what formations you might want to use at which junctures.

This was the concern I had when I saw the formation system; it comes across as complexity for complexity's sake. Worse, it doesn't look like it's as quick and easy to transition compared to games with multiple shots you can access at once (Radiant Silvergun, 6 Button Daioh) so it requires some memorization and planning to use effectively? I think it would've turned out better if they produced a mechanically simpler game but focused on nailing the execution.

On paper it’s a fun thing, in the middle of a shmup it’s a bit fiddly. And it takes a long time before you memorise what formation to crack out and when. For a good while you’ll be flailing with it and experimenting with what works, only to find that most formations don’t really do much for you, ultimately.

[m.sniffles.esq]

Are you talking about the yellow drill?…it’s a charge shot.

Really?

So say on the first boss, I know that I want the formation where charge shot gives me the big drill

EDIT: Sorry, that was unnecessarily jerky of me. Yes, I know the drill is a charge shot, I say so in the first sentence of my post. I was saying that the act of making it my charge shot is so arduous, I often just do without. Which I believe is a failing in the design.

[ATTRACTS]

Are you talking about the yellow drill?…it’s a charge shot.

Really?

So say on the first boss, I know that I want the formation where charge shot gives me the big drill

EDIT: Sorry, that was unnecessarily jerky of me. Yes, I know the drill is a charge shot, I say so in the first sentence of my post. I was saying that the act of making it my charge shot is so arduous, I often just do without. Which I believe is a failing in the design.

I was clarifying because I couldn’t really believe that holding down a button for 2 seconds is that hard. I thought you had your terms mixed up. Sorry, I guess I’m not seeing the issue. Formations sure, I get that it can take a second to figure out the flow but a charge shot that functions literally like any other charge shot in any other shmup doesn’t seem like a design flaw.

[jehu]

I've put in a handful of hours now - got through the Arcade stages, cruised through Drama mode on Easy - and I have to say, so far the longer I've played, the more this game has grown on me. There's so much to say, so I'll just word vomit and anyone who cares enough to read can sort things out.

The mechanics are a pain in the ass at first. I couldn't figure out how things were working, what did what, why certain mechanics weren't behaving like I thought they should etc. But now that I've put in about 3 or 4 hours, I've tested enough to get a handle on things and I really like the vintage Platinum over-designed quality of it all. The "Street Fighter" inputs work way better than I would have expected and are almost a little too lenient. The formations were flummoxing me for awhile, but I got the hang of it - and it works well enough, though it is still lacking a certain precision we're used to in the genre. It's a blessing only one ship can take hits during these attacks, and it's clearly delineated. I think the 'wonk' factor will really settle down for everyone once they've put time in, but it likely won't disappear forever. Like someone else noted, it's imperative you be able to reshuffle ship order quickly, and I'm still no adept at doing that. Nevertheless, there's a ton of different options you have at any one time, and the game always feels like it's giving you a fighting chance. It's also really nice to be able to continue shooting with 'rapid' while you simultaneously charge another attack with 'shot' - stroke of genius, that.

Jury's still out on the aesthetics - it's such a bizarre artistic vision, and it's implemented so evenly through the game that I can't totally hate it. Though I do wish everything was sharper - sometimes I still get the feeling like the assets are mid-load and will pop in with greater clarity at any time + there's a glossiness to them I still don't really like. (As a bonus: the scanlines are so fucking miserable it's comical - on my OLED Switch things get so dark it looks like you're looking at the game through thick sunglasses.) The game's assets are this strange combination of chunky and tilt-shifted that it makes you feel like you're controlling these little ships in a big diorama. And the game clearly has a sense of humor about itself - the dinosaurs, as someone mentioned, are cute little menaces - can't help but make you smile. At the very least, Sol Cresta looks like absolutely nothing else - even if the style never sits right with you, it's still damn interesting they committed to the art direction.

Yuzo's put together a collection of catchy tunes, no doubt. And there's a ton of music here, too. Everything on the sound front is like a 9 or 10/10 in my book.

I didn't notice much of the loading hitches others pointed out in their reviews. I have Ver. 1.01 - was there a pre-release patch? Edit: Playing on Switch (handheld), if that wasn't clear.

Drama DLC isn't really that interesting - unless you want to buy it just to buy it, I'd pass. It explains the things you see through Arcade mode, but it's not at all necessary - and the storyline is tounge-in-cheek anime tropes all the way down. If you don't know Japanese, it's hard to keep up with a lot of the written dialogue while you're playing. And the Drama Campaign adds little bonus sections where you fly through hoops - mostly as a means of killing time - while they story dump on you. I lost patience with the story a long while before it was over. Sol Cresta's credit sequence is pretty sick, though.

I don't think (hardly) anyone is going to find a 'forever game' in Sol Cresta, but I think many of you will find a lot of charming elements in it. It has the personality of a Platinum game, and I do mean that affectionately. I think I'll get some milage out of it.

[banjoted]

I'm enjoying it. It feels like as close as we get nowadays to a proper 'mainstream' shmup release. I can picture it on the cover of Mean Machines or CVG. It even has the authentic arcade-style flyer manual (albeit digitally). And I love that it's trying to do some things differently, and that it has its own personality.

It's too early to say how much of what it attempts does or does not land at this stage, but the vibe I get from it is great, and something I didn't realise I'd been missing.

[Emppixel]

New to this forum. I joined exclusively because I have just helped release a shmup, I wanted to check if anything was being talked about it, and now this game came out and I wanted to see the discussion around it too.

I have just one thing to say: Had I known I could sell such an ugly-looking game for $40, I wouldn't have lost nights of sleep polishing sprites for Sophstar, nor would I have tortured Shatterhand to make the art do exactly what I envisioned it to do. I did not play Sol Cresta but from everything I saw, this does in no way look like a $40 game.

Sol Cresta looks extremely cheap for having been produced by Platinum.

[Shatterhand]

New to this forum. I joined exclusively because I have just helped release a shmup, I wanted to check if anything was being talked about it, and now this game came out and I wanted to see the discussion around it too.

I have just one thing to say: Had I known I could sell such an ugly-looking game for $40, I wouldn't have lost nights of sleep polishing sprites for Sophstar, nor would I have tortured Shatterhand to make the art do exactly what I envisioned it to do.

Sol Cresta looks extremely cheap for having been produced by Platinum.

I really really don't want to boast my own game, but.... we just got this review on Steam, I have no idea who's the player other than it seems he's from Japan.

[Sima Tuna]

New to this forum. I joined exclusively because I have just helped release a shmup, I wanted to check if anything was being talked about it, and now this game came out and I wanted to see the discussion around it too.

I have just one thing to say: Had I known I could sell such an ugly-looking game for $40, I wouldn't have lost nights of sleep polishing sprites for Sophstar, nor would I have tortured Shatterhand to make the art do exactly what I envisioned it to do. I did not play Sol Cresta but from everything I saw, this does in no way look like a $40 game.

Sol Cresta looks extremely cheap for having been produced by Platinum.

Ha, I love dev smack talk!

I also agree. The game looks very cheap. People tend to forget that Platinum have made some bad/mediocre games in the past. They can make some very good games (Revengeance, Bayonetta) but that doesn't mean everything they make is on that level.

[Skykid]

I didn't notice much of the loading hitches others pointed out in their reviews. I have Ver. 1.01 - was there a pre-release patch?

You didn’t say what you’re playing it on. From what I’ve heard the PS4 has a few minor issues between stages and the odd stutter, and Steam seems fine. The Switch version stutters throughout the game, pauses before bosses appear, and frame drops up and down constantly: https://youtu.be/mhzXVTOGqWs

I think you have a fair appraisal there otherwise. Even though I had to play the jankiest version going, I think that there’s some short-term mileage to be had from it, but I don’t see it having much real shmup longevity.

I disagree about the visual style though. I don’t understand anyone saying it looks somehow “endearing” in a purposeful, throwback way. That’s just seeing something that isn’t there. Between the horrendous scaling and the putrid colour scheme, I’d say it has almost no redeeming aesthetic features.

[BIL]

Great to see some more hands-on reviews, enjoyed yours especially jehu.

I’d say for those willing to put in the time, it’s a decent 7/10 experience (which is good) - but at that price you need to consider the vast wealth of other shmups available right now and which you’d rather be playing.

For whatever my opinion's worth, I totally get you on the 7/10. I automatically divide down by two, to my preferred five-star scale. A 3.5 is exactly what you and others are describing to me. I may give this a shot (bwaaa!), but as you say, absolutely deluged by 10/10s at the moment, in this genre and beyond. Funny old gen, this one.

(The accursed length of Dr. Biruford:

5/Elite
4/Excellent
3/Good
2/Substandard
1/Shite
0/)

[ATTRACTS]

I've put in a handful of hours now - got through the Arcade stages, cruised through Drama mode on Easy - and I have to say, so far the longer I've played, the more this game has grown on me. There's so much to say, so I'll just word vomit and anyone who cares enough to read can sort things out.

The mechanics are a pain in the ass at first. I couldn't figure out how things were working, what did what, why certain mechanics weren't behaving like I thought they should etc. But now that I've put in about 3 or 4 hours, I've tested enough to get a handle on things and I really like the vintage Platinum over-designed quality of it all. The "Street Fighter" inputs work way better than I would have expected and are almost a little too lenient. The formations were flummoxing me for awhile, but I got the hang of it - and it works well enough, though it is still lacking a certain precision we're used to in the genre. It's a blessing only one ship can take hits during these attacks, and it's clearly delineated. I think the 'wonk' factor will really settle down for everyone once they've put time in, but it likely won't disappear forever. Like someone else noted, it's imperative you be able to reshuffle ship order quickly, and I'm still no adept at doing that. Nevertheless, there's a ton of different options you have at any one time, and the game always feels like it's giving you a fighting chance. It's also really nice to be able to continue shooting with 'rapid' while you simultaneously charge another attack with 'shot' - stroke of genius, that.

Jury's still out on the aesthetics - it's such a bizarre artistic vision, and it's implemented so evenly through the game that I can't totally hate it. Though I do wish everything was sharper - sometimes I still get the feeling like the assets are mid-load and will pop in with greater clarity at any time + there's a glossiness to them I still don't really like. (As a bonus: the scanlines are so fucking miserable it's comical - on my OLED Switch things get so dark it looks like you're looking at the game through thick sunglasses.) The game's assets are this strange combination of chunky and tilt-shifted that it makes you feel like you're controlling these little ships in a big diorama. And the game clearly has a sense of humor about itself - the dinosaurs, as someone mentioned, are cute little menaces - can't help but make you smile. At the very least, Sol Cresta looks like absolutely nothing else - even if the style never sits right with you, it's still damn interesting they committed to the art direction.

Yuzo's put together a collection of catchy tunes, no doubt. And there's a ton of music here, too. Everything on the sound front is like a 9 or 10/10 in my book.

I didn't notice much of the loading hitches others pointed out in their reviews. I have Ver. 1.01 - was there a pre-release patch?

Drama DLC isn't really that interesting - unless you want to buy it just to buy it, I'd pass. It explains the things you see through Arcade mode, but it's not at all necessary - and the storyline is tounge-in-cheek anime tropes all the way down. If you don't know Japanese, it's hard to keep up with a lot of the written dialogue while you're playing. And the Drama Campaign adds little bonus sections where you fly through hoops - mostly as a means of killing time - while they story dump on you. I lost patience with the story a long while before it was over. Sol Cresta's credit sequence is pretty sick, though.

I don't think (hardly) anyone is going to find a 'forever game' in Sol Cresta, but I think many of you will find a lot of charming elements in it. It has the personality of a Platinum game, and I do mean that affectionately. I think I'll get some milage out of it.

Agrees with all of this. It has grown on me a ton over the span of the day. It retains some old school charm and I enjoy seeing how these different formations help blast through the later stages creatively.

[BloodHawk]

I picked it up on Steam and did a couple playthroughs. First was a "not even going to read the manual" run to feel things out on Normal difficulty while not screwing around with formations too much, and I was surprised I made it almost through stage 6 in this manner. After actually reading the manual afterwards and understanding what they are wanting the player to do, the next runs started clicking and it became pretty fun.

It's definitely different... You have a giant hitbox but they are very generous with the shields and replacement parts with your ship. Basically letting you play more aggressively and taking more chances than most other shmups. When you combine that aggressiveness with active formation management and command inputs (the fighting game motions) it does stand out in the gameplay department.

The graphics are odd, definitely not screenshot friendly, but to me it looks "okay" while playing.

Is it worth $40 though? I can't definitively say yes as of now... Maybe after I get more time with it.

Quick suggestion: If you are using a native X-Input controller on Steam, you can go ahead and just turn the Steam Controller Config off and it will still work fine. Steam's Controller Config has been reported to add "some" latency. I don't know if it would account for a full frame or not but it doesn't hurt to turn it off if it's not needed anyway. While playing though I noticed the game is VERY responsive. It feels identical to other games in the 2 frame range while using G-sync.