Sol Cresta

Title card

**Sol Cresta** (ソルクレスタ) is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Hamster in 2022 for the Sony PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC through Steam.

## Story

It is Cosmic Year 101. Humanity is facing an unprecedented crisis. It all began when Mandler, Archfiend of the Void, appeared from a distant cloud of darkness and invaded the solar system. The Mandler Army gained control over several planets within a short time, and built a fortress on the moon with the intention to invade Earth.

Humanity combined its forces and developed the CR47, an advanced multi stage docking rocket, and established Lunar Recovery Army Moon Cresta to confront this threat. Sadly, their brave fight was in vain as they were helpless before Mandler's "Power of Void" and in the end, Earth fell into Mandler's clutches. With their homes taken, the people managed to flee to a secret underwater base, but they did not stand idly by as their planet fell deeper into darkness.

They gathered what little forces remained and formed Earth Recovery Army Terra Cresta. from their underwater base, they launched the multi-docking fighter Wing Galiber to strike back at Mandler. It was a heated battle with neither side backing down. For a brief moment, the Mandler Army appeared to have been destroyed but Mandler, sustained by the Power of Void, returned leading Zofer, the Universal Order of Darkness and attacked Earth once more. Although humanity resisted with everything they had and beat back the new threat, they eventually realized that they had been drawn into a never-ending war with the seemingly endless waves of invaders. Ultimately, what awaited them at the end of their heroic fight was a devastating loss.

An even stronger invasion force known as Mega Zofer finally took control of the sun itself, leaving humanity with no choice but to flee to Laomedeia, the 12th moon of Neptune located at the edge of the solar system. With their lives hanging by a thread, humanity formed Solar Recovery Army Sol Cresta, and with their last hopes raced to develop the Yamato, an all new, cutting-edge docking fighter.

And now, the hand of Mega Zofer stretches toward humanity's last stronghold...

## Gameplay

*Sol Cresta* greatly expands on the gameplay mechanics from its predecessors. The player controls the Yamato, a ship comprised of three separate units, with each unit having its own unique shot type which is mostly effective against certain enemies. By pressing the formation change button the three units are separated while time is slowed down, allowing the player to rearrange the order of the ships to better suit the situation: the frontal ship acts as the main attacker and the third gives support fire, while the second ship is used for charged shots. If the player has collected the corresponding formation icons on the current stage it can also position the ships in the specific pattern of the formation icon in order to launch a powerful attack, with each formation giving a different attack type. While a special formation is active only the frontal ship is vulnerable. Both charged attacks and formation attacks consume from the Sol Meter, which refills by shooting down enemies.

New to *Sol Cresta* is the presence of the Sol Gauge, a vertical bar on the right of the screen which starts emptied out on every stage but fills up as the player collects coins dropped by enemies and from passing through colored rings. As the gauge fills up, the player unlocks various buffs and bonuses to power up the ship, including passive attack/speed boosts, upgrading the Sol Meter, adding more shields and unlocking Command Shots, special attacks which are executed through directional combinations.

## Characters

	+ Sho Tendo
	+ Luna Zarnitsya Sheena
	+ Dril Martin
	+ Go Kurogane
	+ Reichi Cosmea
	+ Reini Cosmea
	+ Noboru Tendo
	+ Shukrah
	+ Brihas
	+ Rahhu
	+ Scara
	+ Garaka
	+ Kethu
	+ Budah
	+ Dita
	+ Chandor
	+ Mandler

## Playable Ships

* Yamato
* Shin Yamato (Dramatic Mode only)
* CR47 ("Legendary Fighters" DLC)
* Wing Galiber ("Legendary Fighters" DLC)
* Wing Galiber II ("Legendary Fighters" DLC)

## Glossary

* Special Unit Constella
* Amano-Iwato
* Sol Cresta Gem
* Yatagarasu
* Thunder Cygnus
* 3D Simulator

## Enemies

* Cold Eye
* Atomic Pile
* Super Fly
* U-Boss
* Amoeba
* Deross
* Reflector Cannon
* Hitode
* Megalo Mark II
* Dragon
* Eleking
* Mine Killer
* Micane
* Blaster
* Firissbi
* Metal Eye
* Saturn
* Chario
* Megadeross
* Shobo
* Shocon
* CR47 Replica
* Wing Galiber Replica
* Brahma
* Vishnu
* Siva
* Vaikun
* Astral Barrier Generator
* Mega Antimatter Particle Cannon

## Gallery

Key artCountdown Illustration by Jun Seung JinCountdown Illustration by Manami SaitoCountdown Illustration by Rui OnishiFinal Character Design
## Videos

Sol Cresta Announcement TrailerSOL CRESTA - Game System TrailerSOL CRESTA Opening MovieSOL CRESTA Launch TrailerSOL CRESTA "Legendary Fighters" DLC Set Trailer
## External Links

* Official site
* Steam store page