I beat Sol-Deace, and had a very good time doing it. It goes to show that the Genesis library is an endless well for quality shooters (Sol-Deace and Sol-Feace have almost no hype at all).

Thematically it's your standard shooter. The gimmick is that your ship can pick up adjustable guns and shoot straight ahead with full force or in increasingly broad V patterns. Simple, but I like it.

The first 4 levels were really easy, though they kept my interest anyway. Level 6 has a tough-as-nails boss with about 8 phases. I feel like playing again just for that stage.

I get a kick out of shooter translations, but this one is actually really good (for the most part. There is a bit of engrish in the ending).

The bullet patterns are what make Sol-Deace stick out. The game is riddled with bullets. The ship is a bit bigger than I would like, and the bullets are small (Phalanx-size, though easier to see because of color), but the bullet patterns are more manic than any other Genesis shooter I've played and they seem to be well thought-out.