Sol Cresta is a NEO-CLASSIC shooter in which you pilot the cutting-edge docking fighter Yamato and initiate Operation: Sol Cresta to take back the solar system from the evil Mega Zohar army.

The 2D shooting genre has a long history, and the challenges and choices made by pioneers have refined the genre. Sol Cresta includes not just tried and true gameplay, but also goes beyond the mainstream with the intent of raising the classic to the Neo-Classic, creating fun that is both nostalgic and innovative.

Originally planned for release on Dec. 9, 2021, PlatinumGames' creative director Hideki Kamiya revealed in yesterday's "Very Sorry" stream that Sol Cresta is getting delayed, no new date was announced.

"Of course a lot of things come up that you want to do during development and getting those things made, polishing them up and making sure that they’re of the quality that we need is a difficult endeavor. We really do apologize for delaying the game, but there are some schedule and quality issues that we want to focus on and make sure that everything is right."

Pilot 3 ships and free the solar system from the clutches of evil in this free-form shooting game!

The Yamato is made up of 3 smaller ships; Unit 01 “Amaterasu,” Unit 02 “Tsukuyomi,” and Unit 03 “Susano.” By docking and splitting these three ships in a variety of ways, you can adapt to a variety of enemies and situations!

The three ships that make up the Yamato dock in lead, center, and rear order, and can split and re-dock at any time! By splitting, re-ordering, and re-docking, you can change the Yamato’s weaponry and choose the best shot for the job!

• Unit 01: Amaterasu
  • This ship represents the sun and has lasers as its main weapon.
  • Dock it in the lead to use the Tri Laser! While not very powerful, it fires lasers in 3 directions!
  • Dock it in the center to use the Wide Laser! You can shoot a giant laser that eradicates enemies!
• Unit 02: Tsukuyomi
  • This ship represents the moon and has missiles as its main weapon.
  • Dock it in the lead to use the Electro Missile! This missile homes in on enemies and delivers a jolt on impact!
  • Dock it in the center to use the Full Burst Missile! This fires a barrage of missiles with enhanced homing, leaving the enemy with nowhere to run!
• Unit 03: Susano
  • This ship represents Earth and has drills as its main weapon.
  • Dock it in the lead to use the Drill Shot! This fires a multi-hit drill that pierces enemies and can crack stone!
  • Dock it in the center to use the Gigaton Drill! This activates a giant drill that pulverizes approaching enemies! Mash the button to make it spin faster!
  • The ship docked in the rear offers support fire! Use your arsenal wisely to lead Sol Cresta to victory!

When the 3 ships are split, they can get into special Formations and gain access to extremely powerful Formation Shots for a limited time. However, Formation Shots require energy to activate, so don’t just blaze away!

• Delta Formation: This formation fires a huge volley of shots over a wide range to wipe out enemies! Single shots aren’t very powerful, so don’t waste them on strong enemies!
• Moon Formation: This formation fires large, crescent-shaped shots to the left and right! With this shot you can deal heavy damage to the enemy’s flank!
• Afterburner Formation: This formation fires three deadly lasers to the rear! They’re difficult to aim, but their power is unmatched!

There are other formations to find as well! Use Formations wisely to get out of a jam!

There are a lot of other gameplay features to enjoy in Sol Cresta, like Command Shots that are activated with special controller commands, Sol Medals and Sol Gauge system to power up your ship, and more.

Sol Cresta is coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC.