Assuming the role of three different starships — the Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susano — the player is tasked with completing seven stages by shooting them whilst having to avoiding collision with them and their incoming projectiles.

Humanity's last hope is now reliant on the ability of Yamato, a cutting-edge docking fighter, and its three pilots, Sho Tendo, Luna Zarnitsyna Sheena, and Dril Martin, in order to free the Solar System from the reign of the Mandler in one final battle.

[6] Sol Cresta was directed by Takanori Sato, with music by Yuzo Koshiro, while PlatinumGames' chief designer Hideki Kamiya assumed the roles of creative and story director.

[8] Yuzo Koshiro was chosen to compose the music for Sol Cresta and worked alongside sound designer Hiroshi Yamaguchi during development.

In a blog post on PlatinumGames' official website, he wrote: "A few months before I received the offer, by sheer coincidence and just for fun I had copied Terra Cresta's music using the PC-88's FM sound source so from a technical standpoint, I was already prepared to start".

This DLC includes the true ending to the base game and a text-based story on the sides of the screen along with Japanese-voiced audio akin to Star Fox.

[16] Destructoid gave the game an 8 out of 10, praising the docking system, technical polish, clear visual style, sound design, and soundtrack, while criticizing the high price tag.

[20] Nintendo World Report cited the five difficulty settings, in-game achievements, and soundtrack as the game's positives and wrote that the repetitive boss types and lack of visual clarity were minor drawbacks.