Is Equinox Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk 

The ad for this game in EGM when it was released was hilarious. It showed a little boy aging while completing the game. Finally he's an old man and croaks while making it to the final dungeon. The end showed his grandson missing his grandfather's funeral to beat the game. Classic.

the minimalistic score by tim follin is one of the only reasons i played through this game honestly

I *LOVE* Equinox. I rented it when I was a kid, and it really stayed in my memory because there's really nothing else like it. I think the graphics are some of the very best on the system, and the music is absolutely gorgeous. Once you get used to the perspective and the rules of the game, I think it's a really fun game.

This is a hangover from the UK 8-bit micro days in the mid-80s, when we had tons of these isometric style games such as Knight Lore and Alien8. UK developers for this too.

This is a GREAT review. Straightforward and in-depth at the same time. Your reviews are some of the BEST on RU-vid.

The graphix look pretty darn sweet :-O

One of my favorite games. It has atmosphere in spades. The Follin bros are among the best music composers of the era. With such an early SNES game, they pushed the sound chip to its limits... It's as if there are gust of wind are blowing or droplets of water falling around me as I progress in the dungeon. I can almost feel like I am the explorer of a fantasy world unravelling secrets of forsaken places. It's a cruel game comforting you with a false sense of serenity, as death lurks around the corner... I have seen no other game replicating this that well. Sure, the isometric platforming can be frustrating (my absolute nightmare is timing the diagonal jumps on these slippery tiles) but then again, Equinoxe is an unique experience. Oh, you complain about the monsters' resilience, but you get more powerful weapons and offensive spells during the game, so I believe it's quite an illegitimate grief on your part.

Great meditative and slow game, along with the hypnotic ambient soundtrack by Tim Follin, it's a jewel of a game. I'm a lover of isometric games as well! One of the best SNES games, yep I mean it! I played and beat it in the 90s and I play it now! Difficult and fantastic game!

As for myself, I actually love this game! But... I can see the many flaws that it still has. I believe small additions (such as shadows, different-colored blocks, less HP for enemies, etc.) would have made this game a lot more enjoyable for the general public, but as it stands now, I still fell in love with it. I love the amazing ambient score by Tim Follin, the colorful and unique graphics, the clever and challenging puzzles and more! Despite its flaws that you mentionned in this video, its certainly a unique experience that, in my honest opinion, deserves more attention to it, just to see how people will feel about the game. But personally... well, I love it!

The boss battle music got me so hyped as a kid, orbs swirling you, ominous sounds, then boom boss music, so awesome. Highly recommend this game!

I don't know what it is about the isometric view. But for some reason these games attract me like magnets. Frustrating or not, I can't get enough of this genre.

"New York's hottest club is EQUINOX."

Even if you gave this game a somewhat negative review, I am very glad you at least featured it on your channel. I think it deserves a lot more attention than it got over the years

I remember when I was subscribed to Nintendo Power, this game always had questions in the Counelsor's Corner section of the magazine. Every month.

Man, just hearing the music brings me back.

This game has EVERYTHING

I love seeing new snesdrunks pop up on my subscription feed, everytime I know its going to be an awesome lil blurb. Thanks for making these, totes appreciated.

People always complain about those isometric views,but i never had problems with this game really,in fact,i finished the game twice because i forgot that i had finished it long before hahahaha.anyway i love everything about snes,and i guess this is the right channel to spend a good amount of time.keep up the good work drunk!

I really like the flow you ve got! As always very informative & concise Thanks for putting the tine to make videos!

One of my most favorite SNES games. You do need to make your own map which is part of the fun. Solstice is another game that really isn't very hard if you make a map, it all comes together when you can see how the areas fit. Can't believe you didn't mention the waaaah sound when you die!

I always loved the boss music lol.

If you like exploration and puzzle solving try Alundra for ps1. Lots of great gameplay, less frustrating isometric platforming.

Yo you've got 71k subs now! I'm so happy to see how much you be grown man, been here since 15k 😄 can't wait for the 100k!!!

I remember reading an interview with the developers in Diehard Gamefan a million years ago in which they said they'd wanted to include shadows to help with the jumping puzzles, but ran into some sort of technical problem. I also remember them saying that they'd like to make something like Day of the Tentacle, but couldn't afford such a lavish production. That might have been when I first thought to myself "oh making games is expensive and involves compromises and that's why some games have issues, as opposed to the designers being jerks trying to hurt me."

Goofy music?? IT'S A MASTERPIECE! Man, Equinox is the game of my life, sure it's not perfect but it's indeed a gem. Tim Follin is so under appreciated and also the boss club music is fire!

I don't know about your description of Solstice. It's one of my favorite platformers, and I like how there are lots of different ways to complete the game by using your abilities in different puzzle-like ways. Equinox I liked too, but not as much. Mostly because of how long it took to kill things.

Can sound strange but... Love you, SnesDrunk! ;) Thanks for the review. I really apreciate it... My favorite game reviewer on youtube hadn´t reviewed one of my very favorites... Until now. Well, everything is in order now. As I said, Equinox is one of my all time favs. Difficult to explain, like in Breath Of Fire or Another World... Hard, but at the same time rewarding games. Frustrating... and at the same time relaxing, if that is possible... Weird... and in some ways, deep. Like if there were more than it looks like on a fast view. Contemplative games. That´s it. I love the colourful and huge sprites on Equinox... really apreciate the graphics. So cute, so round, so compact. And I just adore the isometric view... makes me feel an omniscient viewer, and a clever gamer playing a clever game, that requieres observation and calm. The music is just awesome... the ambience is mythical, mysterious, something between karmatic and sinister... The deep travel of the hero. I like to think of adventure and rpg games as classic myths that play a psycological effect on you... And Equinox is a perfet example: The nightmare laberynth of yourself. Yeah, can sound weird. But the game is weird. I like weird. Thank again, Mr. Drunk.

I loved Solstice as a kid, so when Equinox came out, I was looking forward to playing it. Unfortunately, I never got around to buying it, instead renting it for long periods. I liked it, but it came out around the time when great RPGs were starting to take up my time, and by the time I had time to get back to it, I had gotten to where I no longer had the time nor patience for it anymore. Maybe one day, when I'm retired or somehow have plenty of time to catch up on all the games I never completed... :/

Equinox is one of those games that when I finally beat it (years ago), I vowed to never play it again. I’ve proud to say I’ve kept my word.

Solstice is a game I loved as a kid since I was fascinated with wizards at the time. I ended up making a speedrun for it all the way back in 2003. I got stuck on some stupid puzzle early in Equinox though. Finally went back and beat it this week...and that ending made the whole revisit worthwhile.

The music of solstice is my jam

Was this game ever remade for the 3DS? If not, I can see this type of game on the 3DS with the dimensional effects. Thanks for bringing this game up and for doing a great video!

That ad on early magazines for this game was hilarious to read. XD

Glad to see your commentary improved a bit here! I feel it was very smooth to watch but I can't point out why

This is a truly underrated game. I had it when it came out and completed it. The US box-art is great, as is the EU box-art ...even if it's for a totally different game.

This is quite impressive for SNES, both graphics and gameplay.

Correction: Really good game. While it can be frustrating/confusing, that's also the charm of it. Music is very atmospheric and boss music stresses you out. Which is the point. Most angle puzzles can be made easier by using the throwing weapon to discern where a block is, or isn't placed. So yeah, this game is vastly recommended. Also the weapon upgrades makes the weapon a tool for slaughter, removing the high health problems.

Your content is great, man. I would love to see a video about the game, 7th Saga. Lots of people hated it for being too difficult, but I loved the characters and gameplay. Keep up the good work, bro!

I loved Equinox up until the Ice Palace that traps you and forces you to restart the entire game if you save after not opening the doors in the right order.

I vividly remember the ads for this. Playing it your whole life and dying at the end. Not something that would pass muster nowadays. I'm glad to have grown up in simpler times...

The main reason I play this one according to a interview of Tactics Ogre developers , the gameplay layout inspired the direction of game design for the tactics SRPG genre. Still timeless for its own way.

I completed this on the console back in the day. It was HARD HARD HARD. Here's my personal rundown: positives: - It's a very pretty SNES game (in my opinion) and the soundscaping is still some of the best of any game on the system. The dungeons felt spooky and haunted thanks to the ambient sounds and music. Much as I loved Zelda on the SNES, I don't think it's music ever really conveyed that sense of being a lone adventurer in a big cruel world full of monsters. Equinox made you feel unsafe and like you were in these dangerous forgotten places. I genuinely think it was ahead of its time in this respect. - the build up to the bosses with the summoning circles genuinely filled you with dread! they always felt like you were doing something kind of occult... very cool - the weapon upgrades were pretty interesting. Maybe not very coherent, but they made a nice change from "sword is followed by... slightly harder hitting sword" - IT IS A HUGE GAME. and the dungeons get exponentially bigger to go with that. negatives: - way too many of the puzzles rely on screwing with sense of perspective. Sure the game is isometric, but you shouldn't punish the player because a block looks like it's lower/higher/1 left/1 right of where it actually is. I love isometric games but it's a shame they didn't mix up the mechanics to make the puzzles interesting. Games like Heimdall 2 on the Amiga had you figuring out more interesting puzzles for example. - the overworld, even though it looks pretty cool was a bit of an oversight. There wasn't much point to it in the end. It's a shame they didn't have villages and things to flesh out the landscape...

Isometric platforming 😑

I'd like to see you compare new revisions of old games vs original. Advise us of pros-cons of just playing original. Thank you for your content and reviews

The boss music totally sounds like the boss music from Plok!

This game looks amazing

the look of this game amazed me as a child. Never got to play it but in my mind it was this incredible thing.

Christ do I remember this one... this was one of the first games to really teach me the meaning of "Nintendo Hard" (admittedly I missed the NES and started with the Gameboy and SNES). I think I managed to make it up to about the 6th level before I was forced to stop (although I think that was when I was moving on the next generation of the N64). It requires INCREDIBLE perseverance, patience and lateral thinking (god, I remember that "jump on top of the gate" puzzle). It's a serious challenge alright.

Or play Lumo, fixes a lot of the really annoying aspects of isometric platformers.

This game needs a 3ds re-release (in a two-pack with Solstice).

I like this game, there's a balance between the perspective cheats (and the secret rooms that you have to find walking directly to a wall withour door...), the cruel instant death (you die even if you don't touch the enemies or spikes..:) and the satisfaction to solve a puzzle, complete the dungeon and say "goodbye" to the weird boss. I like it, but it can be very difficult and frustrating.

Can you do spindizzy worlds next??

One of the most underrated games on the Super Nintendo

Man I had 6 years when I played this game, imagine how hard it was .. I loved it tho it was different and mysterious.

I was obsessed with this game as a kid. After clearing the game normally, I went back and beat it with getting as few spells as possible and only the starting weapon.

Great analysis. Have you ever checked out Light Crusader? Fairly unique isometric game from Treasure.

I listen to your relaxing SNES music videos and the first one has the overworld theme and the first time I heard it I was like “what is this? It’s so weird…” I kinda like it though. 😂

I remember playing this game when I was a kid, man was this punishing to my 9-year old mind. Plus it was kinda difficult to get a chance to play it as, along with Lufia 2, my parents loved to play them constantly. I only ever barely got a chance to play them. Now, being older, I got a chance to play them again, and in my eyes, Lufia 2 was the only one that truly kept my interest.

Playing Solstice - Return to the Kastlerock (mod) and im loving the isometric view; i thought NES didnt fare well with this kind of perspective but the NES one might be the best in the library

The label art on this game is deceiving. I bought it thinking it might be a fun RPG but was both disappointed and pleasantly surprised at what I got. Great review!

This illustrates why the makes of Landstalker were so smart to make that game's hero Nigel able to take more hits than the Terminator.

"Super Mario RPG" also suffers from some of the same problems involving isometric gameplay, except that game became such a huge hit. :P

Supposedly this game had a pretty rough development and was getting changes and fixes right up to it's release. They initially wanted it to be a big grand RPG, but eventually gave up on that idea when they realize how much time and money that would require to do right, so they ended up turning it into a puzzle platformer instead. But you can still see hints of the RPG in the gameplay with spells, equipping and leveling up weapons, and such. Makes you wonder if they didn't have such limited resources, what kind of game this would've turned out to be...As you can really tell they were super creative and were dedicated to making a really unique experience. I 100% feel that if they were able to do what they initially planned, we could've had a true SNES classic on our hands. But still, even with their limitations they were able to come up with a very unique game, both in gameplay and in style. Which is something even the biggest developers with unlimited resources have trouble doing. So they should be really proud of what they accomplished... I just wish it wasn't so dang frustrating! To me, it almost feels unfinished in a way, with how bare-bones it feels in some regards. Like the lack of any storyline elements, other characters to talk to, and with just the state the over-world is in. I get the gameplay is supposed to hearken back to old-school games and is meant to be challenging, but the lack of any QoL elements that were common place back then really hurts it IMO. I mean, I'd be happy if they just got rid of the One-hit deaths and replaced with a health bar system, and gave us some shadows or something so we can properly judge distance and our jumps. Those two simple things (oh and a dungeon map!) would've made the whole experience so much more pleasant, without decreasing the difficulty and would've made this a true hidden gem. As it is though, IMO it's a just a cool little known game that will be WAY too frustrating to most people and will prevent them from enjoying any of the games nice aspects. I think only a small handful of dedicated people will be willing to look past and put up all the cons and be able enjoy it for what it is. And IMO that's a shame because it's really cool concept and has so much potential!!!

Man I completely forgot about this game, need to revisit it. Some reason it used to scare me from time to time as a kid (Think it had to do with the dungeon music, as sweet as it is) so I'd often play for a bit, stop then continue at some random point in the future lol

I always imagine reviewing games like this would be hard just given the names and terminology in the story haha.... Jerax of the Viluvian Tribe from the reaches of Kintax found Tolborn in the battle Girindanalar... *getting dizzy* :S

i remember the ads for this game. it was implying that the game was really long and it would take forever to complete. it was a multipage ad with a time line that starts as a kid starting the game and ending with a grandpa finishing it.

I remember looking at the cover art of this game when I was little, thinking "WOW, what a cool game this must be!" only to find out pain and anxiety 😂

This game gives me Final Fantasy - Crystal Chronicles flashbacks..! 🤩 I love it!

Stephan always recommends "that" kind of club, 4:00

Reminds me a lot of Crusader Of Centy for Sega Genesis. I loved that game! Nice video :D

I do agree, but I still liked this game. It was very unique, and its just fun if you like puzzle games like this. The movement and 3d view can be confusing though definitely, but the graphics/music/levels are so well done its worth putting up with. Not many games on snes like this heck not many games to this day like this.

Funny thing i'm enjoying equinox i go between hating it to loving it constantly i still really like the game.Yesterday i went from frustration to exatic joy on solving a puzzle and happiness. Even if it frustrates me i feel exilirated at solving puzzles.

Still have my snes and Equinox is one of a few games that I like to dust off and play once in awhile. Great game. Awesome music.

"One of THOSE games"

New York’s hottest new club is Equinox. It’s got guard that you stab them in the back and spikes that kill you in one touch.

Music has some Earthbound vibes here and there.

Wow, I still own and have yet to beat this game, and agree with every single word you said. Great analysis!

Equinox Overworld song is one of the best the SNES ever had

After winning my brother's copy of Zelda, A Link to the Past, I wanted to find some more adventure games. This one was on sale, and gave me some entertainment for awhile. After I won it, I think I then traded it in for another game.

Although SNES Drunk is on point with the review. The first 2 caves of the game are my all time favorite look and music in a game. Idk what it is it just brings me comfort in some weird way I guess.

I used to play the hell outta this game when i was younger. Then 15 years later. Still can't beat it. But, at least it is fun ish.

Lumo (for current consoles) is the 1st isometric game that I find to be playable.

I remember seeing this in Nintendo Power and thinking "Huh, someone made a sequel to that awful, awful game Solstice? Well, never playing that", lol. To this day I can't believe there are some gamers nostalgic for this kind of isometric puzzler/adventure... mostly UK gamers from what I gather. For example, I recall there was way more attention paid to that indie game, "Lumo" on sites like Eurogamer, and so many positive comments from readers. Heck, that one area in that forest level in Yooka-Laylee was done entirely in awful isometric puzzler style. Stuff like that apparently reminded UK gamers of stuff on the ZX Spectrum or something, like that weird Batman game... those poor, poor gamers :P Oh well, this ain't my thing, but to each their own. I really do enjoy reviews like this that show off strange (to me) games I will never play, and show off stuff like that awesome boss fight music, haha

Landstalker for Genesis was awesome but similarly frustrating due to the perspective

I’m nearly done with world 5. I started my file like 8 years ago haha. I love it but it’s work. Equinox was a less intimidating size

"Trapped in a nightclub Steffon recommended" lol, yes!

I have to disagree on one thing: Solstice is the better game. It never used its perspective to trick you, and it had a map. Plus, the title theme is so fantastic, and though both games have great soundtracks, I consider the Solstice theme Tim Follin's magnum opus.

i tryed several times to play the game and because the first level looks so ugly i never get deep into it. also i loved the fact solstice was in a castle and this game begin outside. so maybe one day i will try again this game and found some fun i have with solstice, cause it's a pretty unique style of game.

i was looking for this game, i cant believe i found it so fast.

“Thanks for watching and have a great rest of yer day.” *fixed

Thank you Snesdrunk for introducing me to puzzle - adventure games! I’m almost finished with Brain Lord - man, some of it’s puzzles are awesome, but I can’t stand some of the platforming. I can’t wait to try out Equinox! After getting disapointed from A Link to the Past’s dungeons, these games are just what I needed.

I freakin love the moody soundtrack in this game.

Isometric platforming is a hate crime

One of those 'very good/not great' reviewed SNES titles I was always wary of blind buying as I could never find a rental copy to test run. This is one of the first times I've watched footage, I probably would've grown tired of playing.

Finished it and it was sooooo satisfying. One of the early games I treasured. Also finished Landstalker which was similar

Never heard or seen this game before but it looks kinda like a decent game

Equinox was like an hallucinogenic drug trip without doing the drugs.

Just downloaded thugs for my emulator. This game haunted me as a kid. Now I have save states. 😎

The graphics and the brothers follin carrying the game! one of the best SNES games

Speaking of isometric quasi-adventure games that love to kill you, you should review The Immortal for SegaDrunk at some point. It's basically this, except from EA and with incredibly gruesome death animations. (For the time, anyway.)