Looks Sol-Deace-ent
Retro-Bit has announced that they’re bringing the rather obscure titles – Sol-Deace and El Viento – back to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive this year. Pre-orders are now open.
Sol-Deace was originally released exclusively in Japan in 1990 on the Sharp X68000 as Sol-Feace. It would then receive a port to the Sega CD worldwide and the Genesis in North America. I have no idea why the Sega CD version is called Sol-Feace and the Genesis version is known as Sol-Deace. To my knowledge, neither “Feace” nor “Deace” are actually words. Hold on, let me look that up.
No, the dictionary thinks I mean “feces” and “deuce,” respectively, which is actually pretty amusing but not helpful.
Anyway, Sol-Deace/Feace is a horizontal shoot-’em-up. Developed by Wolf Team, the word I’ve seen most applied to it is “typical,” but also that it’s pretty nice looking. I haven’t played it, but you can color me curious about the Retro-Bit reproduction.
Hungry like the Wolf Team
El Viento, on the other hand, is a sidescrolling action game released in 1991. Also by Wolf Team, it has the rare distinction of having a female protagonist. It’s actually the first game in a trilogy, of which we only got this and Earnest Evans. It’s usually described as janky but fun, with many contemporary and more recent reviews looking on it rather favorably.
Both games are rather obscure titles, so I’m happy to see that they’re given new life by Retro-Bit. Especially because both games are rather pricey on the collector’s market. Personally, I’m considering checking them out because they look just so early Genesis.
Both of the games come with the full gamut of a slipcover, clamshell case, Genesis/Mega Drive cartridge, and manual. Pre-orders are open on Retro-Bit’s store from now to July 30 for $54.99 USD each. They’re expected to ship out Q4 2023.
