Playable Vectrex game
About Solar Quest
Fight around a gravity well and rescue survivors in Scott Boden’s vector arcade shooter Solar Quest, converted for Vectrex in 1982.
- Collection
- Games
- Classification
- Official library
- Catalog year
- 1982
- Programmed by
- Scott Boden
- Designed by
- Scott Boden
- Publisher
- GCE / Milton Bradley under license from Cinematronics
- Genre
- Multidirectional shooter, Arcade conversion
- Players
- 1–2 players, alternating
- Research confidence
- verified
- ROM editions
- 1
- Browser controls
- Keyboard, joystick, or gamepad
Development and history
Solar Quest was designed and programmed by Scott Boden for Cinematronics in 1981 and received a Vectrex release in 1982. The game shares the clean rotational control language of other vector space shooters but centers the action on a dangerous sun.
The gravitational pull affects ships and debris, while destroyed enemies can leave crew members who must be rescued before they fall into the sun. That rescue mechanic gives the score attack a second layer beyond simply clearing waves.
This page uses one stable canonical URL for the title and loads its embedded ROM directly into the emulator after the Vectrex BIOS is ready.
Gameplay and background
Rotate, thrust, fire, and use hyperspace while compensating for the sun’s pull. Shoot hostile craft, then collect drifting survivors before gravity claims them. The best scoring runs balance aggressive shooting with careful rescue routes.
How to play in Vectrexia
- Move with the Arrow keys or WASD. Compatible controllers can use the left analog stick or D-pad.
- Vectrex buttons 1–4 map to Z, X, C, and V, and to the standard face buttons on most gamepads.
- Press a controller button after connecting it so the browser can expose the gamepad to the page.
Audio may begin after the first click, key press, or controller input because browsers can restrict autoplay.
Research sources
Available editions
Alternate dumps and revisions share this canonical page to avoid duplicate search pages. Choose a specific edition from the in-app Library.