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Solar Assault is a three-dimensional shoot 'em up released by Konami in 1997. A spin-off of the long running Gradius series, the title retains most of the gameplay characteristics of its 2D counterparts including the same powerups and display system The player takes control of one of three spaceships, battling enemies and bosses in settings like tunnels, planet surfaces, and space fields.[citation needed]

The game came in three versions, two wide stand-up arcade cabinet (one Japanese and one American), and a SpeedKing deluxe simulator. The SpeedKing is an enclosed pod which tilts, using pneumatics, according to the action occurring on-screen. The American standard version had its cockpit permanently attached with the game monitor, while on the Japanese version there were separated pieces for each one of them

Solar Assault is similar to other rail-shooters like Star Fox and Galaxy Force, where the player must move both horizontally and vertically. Like the other games in the Gradius series, there is no health bar, meaning one hit ends up in death; however, this time the player may be able to collect a "shield" power up which can take one hit or two hits before the ship's destruction. The other major gameplay change is the ability to adjust the speed, which is necessary to time the avoidance of certain obstacles and enemies. There are three ships to choose from: the Vic Viper, Lord British and Alphinia.