by alienjesus Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:02 pm
I started up Soleil this evening, better known by it's US name Crusader of Centy.
First impressions were pretty good - first of all, this game has a surprisingly good translation for it's time - it's better than many Playstation RPGs translations are (such as Final Fantasy VII, or Wild Arms) with a well written script and a pretty engaging (if light) story.
I also noted that it's a rare game that recieved a UK English localisation from the era - this is relatively rare even now, so to see a Mega Drive game that uses 'Mum' instead of 'Mom' for example is surprising.
The game itself is pretty good - it's level based but takes a lot from the likes of Zelda. The levels are more linear but at the same time the environments are sometimes a bit too open for my liking making it easy to feel you're missing something in another direction. The sword has some slightly odd hit detection when cutting grass, but it seems fine for hitting enemies so it's not the end of the world.
The plot of the game so far seems to be that monster are coming back, and you head out in the world only to meet a fortune teller who grants you the ability to talk to animals and flowers. Unfortunately, this gift removes your ability to talk to humans, so interacting with the animals is how to progress currently.
You get animal helpers to help you on your way - you can equip 2 at once, and some offer passive abilities (the cheetah increases run speed for example, and the penguin makes your sword throw do ice damage) whilst some offer active ones (the dog holds enemies if you press C). A few animals are one time use and must be 'hired' from shops - the cat revives you like a fairy in Zelda, the bat grants invincibility. It's a fun little system, even if so far I only really make regular use of one of my 9 animal companions (the penguin's ice spell is excellent).
Other than that, I'm having a good time. I wish the controls could be customised as they're set up wrong for my personal Mega Drive preferences, but unfortunately it's not an option here unlike most games on the system. The game defaults A to sword, B to jump and C to animal abilities, but I prefer C being jump and B attack on the 3 button layout. Oh well, no big deal.
I think I'm a good chunk in now, maybe a third based on a quick glance at a walkthrough. Should only take a few more evenings to get through, I'm looking forward to it.