Equinox (1993 video game)

Equinox
North American cover art
Developer(s)Software Creations
Publisher(s)Sony Imagesoft
Designer(s)Ste and John Pickford
Programmer(s)Ste and John Pickford
Artist(s)
  • Ste and John Pickford
  • Neal Sutton
  • Martin Holland
Composer(s)Tim Follin
Geoff Follin
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
  • JP: 12 November 1993
  • NA: March 1994
  • EU: 25 March 1994
Genre(s)Action adventure, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Equinox[a] 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 Shadax, the previous game's playable character, 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 in Japan, in January 1994 in Australia, and in March in Europe. It was critically acclaimed for its graphics, sound, atmosphere, gameplay, potential lifespan, and for the extremely high challenge level of its puzzles. The isometric perspective however 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.
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