Relatively few have heard of Solstice; fewer still have conquered it. Fortunately, one need only spend a few minutes with this isometric fantasy puzzle-platformer (how’s that for a genre?) to experience most of what is arguably the best part of the game: the soundtrack.
Composed by Tim Follin, who’s made a name for himself creating astounding music for games you didn’t know existed, the soundtrack of Solstice is so layered that it’s hard to believe the NES is capable of producing these sounds. There isn’t much here in terms of quantity—a half-dozen tunes, with the beginning and ending themes comprising a whopping 50% of the soundtrack—but the quality more than makes up for it. Dying repeatedly on awkward jumping challenges never sounded so cool.
