Equinox is an action adventure puzzle video game developed by Software Creations and published by Sony Imagesoft for the Super NES. A sequel to Solstice (1990) for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Equinox depicts Glendaal saving his father, the predecessor’s playable character Shadax, from the imprisonment of Sonia, Shadax’s apprentice.
The player acts as Glendaal, exploring 458 rooms in eight underground dungeons. The player collects 12 blue orb tokens while solving puzzles, killing enemies, collecting keys, navigating platforms and blocks, and battling bosses. It continues Solstice‘s isometric puzzle game style, with greater emphasis on action adventure and Mode 7 overworld map.
Development of Equinox lasted from 1990 to 1993 and beyond the game’s completion, due to difficulty running the graphics on all minor variations of SNES consoles.
Brothers Ste and John Pickford were responsible for the programming, design, and visuals, and Solstice composer Tim Follin returned to work on the music with his brother Geoff. The game was released in February 1993 in North America, in November 1993 in Japan, in January 1994 in Australia, and in March 1994 in Europe. It was critically acclaimed for its graphics, sound, atmosphere, gameplay, potential lifespan, and for the extremely high challenge level of its puzzles. However, the isometic perspective garnered a more mixed response; some critics found it an intentional puzzle design aspect, some dismissed it as a technical flaw, and others said the puzzles created from it were cheap.
Gameplay – Equinox
Similar to its predecessor, Solstice (1990), Equinox is an isometric arcade adventure puzzle video game featuring elements of platform and RPG, such as using a menu screen to swap items and weapons.[b] However, it has a greater emphasis on action and adventure than its predecessor.
[1][6] The player acts as Glendaal, who traverses through eight dungeons to rescue his father Shadax from the imprisonment of Sonia, Shadax’s apprentice.
[1] The dungeons traversed are Glendaal’s home Galadonia, the forest kingdom south of Galadonia named Tori, a desert with ancient remains east of Galadonia named Deesa, the underwater Athena, the swampy Quagmire, a sea-surrounded kingdom with a big tomb named Afralona, the Ice Palace, and Sonia’s resting place of Death Island.[7][8] Equinox
From smoke-puffing huts on the overworld, Glendaal enters the dungeons which contain an increasing number of rooms. The first has 16 rooms, the second 34, third 45, fourth 47, fifth 63, sixth 75, seventh 71, and the last 107.[1][3][5][8] There are 458 rooms in total, double the predecessor. Equinox
[9][8] Many of the rooms are barred by colored doors that must be unlocked with matching keys, except red herring keys.[4] Apples provide extra lives, and progress can be saved by simply exiting a dungeon.[1][5]
In a dungeon, Glendaal moves at right angles looking for tokens shaped as blue orbs. Twelve must be collected to summon a boss, all physical manifestations of the spirits guarding the bridges to other lands in the overworld. Equinox
[1][5][10] The bosses include a Bone Head that shoots ghosts; Dung Dung, a chunk of soil that pops out of the ground and shoots boulders; Pincha; Dollop, a blob of slime; Quetzalcoatl, a sentient pole-shaped statue made up of multiple blocks; Eyesis, a spinning pyramid; and Billy Bones, a ghost pirate captain that shoots cannonballs.[7][3] Getting to the tokens requires navigating platforms, moving blocks, dodging spikes, killing enemies, and increasingly complex puzzles.
[2][5][10][11] The isometric perspective optical illusions form puzzles, based on determining the position of platforms.[10] The rooms all have a single objective, and in some cases rooms must be done in a specific order.[1]
Glendaal starts with nothing, but obtains tools to attack foes in his quest. Every dungeon contains one magical spell Glendaal can perform, including those for healing, freezing, slowing down and decreasing the energy of enemies, unlocking doors, destroying rooms, and viewing invisible blocks.[3][7] The magic is powered by collecting potions, defeating vampire bats and trolls in the overworld, and the dungeon bosses.[1][3][5] Glendaal collects weapons, including daggers, swords, axes, twin daggers, swords, scimitars, maces, and twin swords.[7] A boss kill increases Glendaal’s strength and provides him with one of five strings for a harp that can be played in the Overworld to teleport.[5][8][11] Equinox
In each room, all the foes must be eliminated to escape, and they can respawn upon reentry.[12] Because Glendaal is killed in one hit, learning how to destroy all enemies in rooms is a puzzle.[12] Enemies must be defeated to collect keys, potions, and tokens.[4] Foes include ghosts, spinning devils that can only be harmed while still, bouncing blobs with random movement patterns, and plate-armored knights vulnerable on back.[7] Most follow a set pattern, but take several hits.
