Solomon's Key: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:25, 28 June 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses".Template:Use mdy dates Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "infobox".Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other

Template:Nihongo foot is a 1986 puzzle video game developed and published by Tecmo for arcades. It was ported to multiple systems including the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64. The PC Engine version was known as Zipang and the Game Boy version as Solomon's Club. A prequel, Solomon's Key 2, was released in 1992 for the NES. The NES version of the game was also released in emulated form on Virtual Console for the Wii in 2006, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 2013 and later to the Nintendo Classics service in 2018.

Gameplay

File:Solomonskeyscreenshot.jpg

Arcade gameplay

The player, controlling a sorcerer known only as Dana, must overcome unlimited enemy spawning, challenging level designs, a countdown timer, instant death from any physical contact with enemies, and limited ways to dispatch enemies.

Dana is sent to retrieve Solomon's Key to restore the world to light from demons that were accidentally released. The object of the game is to advance through the 50 rooms of "Constellation Space" by acquiring a key to the door that leads to the next room before a timer runs out. The game incorporates elements of the platform shooter genre. Dana can run, jump, create or destroy orange blocks adjacent to him, and cast fireballs to destroy demons. The orange blocks can also be destroyed by hitting them with the character's head twice. Along the way Dana can acquire items to upgrade his firepower and extra lives, as well as items that award bonus points and unlock hidden rooms. With certain items, Dana must make, then break blocks (sometimes in a certain manner) to make these appear.

In the NES version, a "GDV" (Game Deviation Value) score also appears at the game over screen. The score uses a weighted composite of several factors (like levels completed, items found, time and points) which gives the player a good idea of how well the last game was played. The higher the GDV, the better the game.

Solomon's Key has many hidden items and secret levels that are hard to find which enhances the reward for playing. The ending slightly changes depending on which secret levels, if any, the player finds and completes.

Levels

For the NES version there are 64 levels in total, of which 15 are secret and one is the final level. The main 48 levels are divided into groups of 4 with one group for each of the 12 Zodiac constellation (in order, Aries, Taurus. Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces). The final level is called Solomon's room. Each constellation has a secret bonus room which can only be accessed by finding a seal for the constellation in the last room of the group. The other three levels are Page of Time, Page of Space and the Princess Room, which occur only if the player has acquired the hidden Seals of Solomon.

Development

Solomon's Key was designed by Michitaka Tsuruta, who took inspiration from Lode Runner and added the ability to both destroy and create tiles. The initial game design leaned towards being more of an action title until Tsuruta's boss at Tecmo, Kazutoshi Ueda, suggested it incorporate puzzle elements. Tsuruta took inspiration from Greek mythology as well as the film Jason and the Argonauts for the visual aesthetic of the game. The title of the game itself came from the sales manager, Harano, after one of the developers explained that the star-like symbol throughout the levels was the seal of Solomon and that there was a book called the Key of Solomon. Harano stated that he liked it, at which point it got its title.^[1]

Ports

In 1988, a port of the NES Solomon's Key was released for the Master System in Japan.^[2]

In 1990, Pack-In-Video converted the game for the PC Engine under the title Zipang.^[3]

In April 1991, a Game Boy version was released under the title Solomon's Club.^[4]^[5] It was developed by Graphic Research.

The arcade version of the game was released for PlayStation 4 in September 2014 for Japan, and September 2015 for North America, by Hamster Corporation as part of the Arcade Archives series.^[6]^[7] The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch, worldwide, in June 2019.^[8]^[7]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Solomon's Key on their September 1, 1986, issue as being the eighteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.^[9] Solomon's Key sold 300,000 copies in Japan.^[10]

Legacy

The NES version of the game was released for the Wii Virtual Console on November 19, 2006, in North America^[11] and on December 15 in Europe and Australia.^[12] Later, it was also released on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console. Since then, it has been released as part of the Nintendo Classics service. A "reverse engineered" port from the Atari ST version was released for the Commodore Amiga in 2013.^[13]

In 1992, a prequel was released for the NES named Solomon's Key 2 (called Fire 'n Ice in North America).

Monster Rancher Explorer (Solomon in Japan), also released by Tecmo, features the same gameplay but with Monster Rancher characters.

Notes

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:KLOV game
Template:Trim Template:PAGENAMEBASE at MobyGames
Template:WoS game
Solomon's Key at Arcade Archives Page

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{other uses|Key of Solomon (disambiguation)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
 {{Infobox video game
-| title = Solomon's Key
 | image = Solkeybox.jpg
 | caption = NES cover art
-| developer = [[Tecmo]] <br /> [[Probe Software]] (computers) <br /> Aisystem Tokyo (Master System)
+| developer = {{Plainlist|
-| publisher = Tecmo <br /> [[U.S. Gold]] (computers)
+* [[Tecmo]]
+* [[Probe Software]] (computers)
+* Aisystem Tokyo (Master System)
+}}
+| publisher = {{Plainlist|
+* Tecmo
+* [[U.S. Gold]] (computers)
+}}
 | designer = Michitaka Tsuruta
-| released = {{collapsible list|title=1986|'''Arcade'''<br />1986<br />'''NES/Famicom'''<br />{{video game release|JP|July 30, 1986<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://famicomworld.com/game-list/|title = Game List « Famicom World}}</ref>}}{{video game release|NA|July 1987<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=www.nintendo.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921015524/https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}{{video game release|EU|March 30, 1990}}'''C64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST'''<br />{{vgrelease|EU|1987}}'''IBM PC'''<br />{{vgrelease|EU|1988}}'''Master System'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|April 17, 1988<ref name="Sega titles - Sega JP">{{cite web |title=Software List |url=https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html |website=Sega Hard Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Sega|Sega Corporation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621034428/https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html |access-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-date=2019-06-21 |language=ja}}</ref>}}'''PC Engine'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|December 14, 1990}}'''Famicom Disk System'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|January 25, 1991}}'''Game Boy'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|April 5, 1991|NA|April 1991|EU|1991}}}}
+| released = {{collapsible list|title=1986|'''Arcade'''<br />1986<br />'''NES/Famicom'''<br />{{video game release|JP|July 30, 1986<ref>{{Cite web |title=Game List « Famicom World |url=http://famicomworld.com/game-list/ |access-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407070913/https://famicomworld.com/game-list/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}{{video game release|NA|July 1987<ref>{{Cite web |title=NES Games |url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921015524/https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2008 |access-date=12 January 2022 |website=Nintendo.com}}</ref>}}{{video game release|EU|March 30, 1990}}'''C64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST'''<br />{{vgrelease|EU|1987}}'''IBM PC'''<br />{{vgrelease|EU|1988}}'''Master System'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|April 17, 1988<ref name="Sega titles - Sega JP">{{Cite web |title=Software List |url=https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621034428/https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html |archive-date=2019-06-21 |access-date=May 15, 2023 |website=Sega Hard Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Sega|Sega Corporation]] |language=ja}}</ref>}}'''PC Engine'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|December 14, 1990}}'''Famicom Disk System'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|January 25, 1991}}'''Game Boy'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|April 5, 1991|NA|April 1991|EU|1991}}}}
 | genre = [[Puzzle video game|Puzzle]]
 | modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
@@ Line 17: / Line 23: @@
 ==Gameplay==
-[[image:solomonskeyscreenshot.jpg|left|thumb|Arcade gameplay]]
+[[File:solomonskeyscreenshot.jpg|left|thumb|Arcade gameplay]]
 The player, controlling a sorcerer known only as Dana, must overcome unlimited enemy spawning, challenging level designs, a countdown timer, instant death from any physical contact with enemies, and limited ways to dispatch enemies.
@@ Line 29: / Line 35: @@
 For the NES version there are 64 levels in total, of which 15 are secret and one is the final level. The main 48 levels are divided into groups of 4 with one group for each of the 12 [[Zodiac]] constellation (in order, [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]], [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]]. [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]], [[Cancer (constellation)|Cancer]], [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]], [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]], [[Libra (constellation)|Libra]], [[Scorpius|Scorpio]], [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]], [[Capricornus|Capricorn]], [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]] and [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]]). The final level is called Solomon's room. Each constellation has a secret bonus room which can only be accessed by finding a seal for the constellation in the last room of the group. The other three levels are Page of Time, Page of Space and the Princess Room, which occur only if the player has acquired the hidden Seals of Solomon.
-== Development ==
+==Development==
-''Solomon's Key'' was designed by Michitaka Tsuruta, who took inspiration from ''[[Lode Runner]]'' and added the ability to both destroy and create tiles. The initial game design leaned towards being more of an action title until Tsuruta's boss at Tecmo, Kazutoshi Ueda, suggested it incorporate puzzle elements. Tsuruta took inspiration from Greek mythology as well as the film ''[[Jason and the Argonauts (1963 film)|Jason and the Argonauts]]'' for the visual aesthetic of the game. The title of the game itself came from the sales manager, Harano, after one of the developers explained that the star-like symbol throughout the levels was the seal of Solomon and that there was a book called the ''[[Key of Solomon]]''. Harano stated that he liked it, at which point it got its title.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Story Behind Solomon's Key, One Of The Most Challenging NES Games|url=https://kotaku.com/the-story-behind-solomons-key-one-of-the-most-challeng-1840421992|access-date=2020-08-14|website=Kotaku|date=31 December 2019 |language=en-us}}</ref>
+''Solomon's Key'' was designed by Michitaka Tsuruta, who took inspiration from ''[[Lode Runner]]'' and added the ability to both destroy and create tiles. The initial game design leaned towards being more of an action title until Tsuruta's boss at Tecmo, Kazutoshi Ueda, suggested it incorporate puzzle elements. Tsuruta took inspiration from Greek mythology as well as the film ''[[Jason and the Argonauts (1963 film)|Jason and the Argonauts]]'' for the visual aesthetic of the game. The title of the game itself came from the sales manager, Harano, after one of the developers explained that the star-like symbol throughout the levels was the seal of Solomon and that there was a book called the ''[[Key of Solomon]]''. Harano stated that he liked it, at which point it got its title.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2019 |title=The Story Behind Solomon's Key, One Of The Most Challenging NES Games |url=https://kotaku.com/the-story-behind-solomons-key-one-of-the-most-challeng-1840421992 |access-date=2020-08-14 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en-us}}</ref>
 ==Ports==
 In 1988, a port of the NES ''Solomon's Key'' was released for the [[Master System]] in Japan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Purcaru |first=Bogdan Ion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB4PAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Solomon's+Key%22+master+system+%221988%22&pg=PA447 |title=Games vs. Hardware. The History of PC video games: The 80's |date=2014-03-13 |publisher=Purcaru Ion Bogdan |pages=447 |language=en}}</ref>
-In 1990, [[Pack-In-Video]] converted the game for the [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]] under the title ''Zipang''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Zipang.htm|title = Zipang - the PC Engine Software Bible}}</ref>
+In 1990, [[Pack-In-Video]] converted the game for the [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]] under the title ''Zipang''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zipang - the PC Engine Software Bible |url=https://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Zipang.htm |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=PCEngine.co.uk}}</ref>
-In April 1991, a [[Game Boy]] version was released under the title ''Solomon's Club''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Solomon's Club for Game Boy (1991) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy/solomons-club |website=[[MobyGames]] |publisher=Blue Flame Labs |accessdate=2 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Solomon's Key (Spinoffs / Ripoffs) |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/solomons-key-spinoffs-ripoffs/ |website=Hardcore Gaming 101 |accessdate=2 December 2019 |date=27 November 2019}}</ref> It was developed by Graphic Research.
+In April 1991, a [[Game Boy]] version was released under the title ''Solomon's Club''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solomon's Club for Game Boy (1991) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy/solomons-club |access-date=2 December 2019 |website=[[MobyGames]] |publisher=Blue Flame Labs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 November 2019 |title=Solomon's Key (Spinoffs / Ripoffs) |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/solomons-key-spinoffs-ripoffs/ |access-date=2 December 2019 |website=Hardcore Gaming 101}}</ref> It was developed by Graphic Research.
-The arcade version of the game was released for [[PlayStation 4]] in September 2014 for Japan, and September 2015 for North America, by [[Hamster Corporation]] as part of the ''[[Arcade Archives]]'' series.<ref>{{Cite web|script-title=ja:アーケードアーカイブス ソロモンの鍵|url = https://store.playstation.com/ja-jp/product/JP0571-CUSA00650_00-HAMPRDC000000001|website=store.playstation.com|language=ja|access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2025 |title=Arcade Archives |url=https://www.arcadearchives.com/en/}}</ref> The game was rereleased for the [[Nintendo Switch]], worldwide, in June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arcade Archives Solomon's Key for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site |url=https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/arcade-archives-solomons-key-switch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227022001/https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/arcade-archives-solomons-key-switch/ |archive-date=2022-02-27 |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www.nintendo.com |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2025 |title=Arcade Archives Solomon’s Key |url=https://www.arcadearchives.com/en/title/aca-009/}}</ref>
+The arcade version of the game was released for [[PlayStation 4]] in September 2014 for Japan, and September 2015 for North America, by [[Hamster Corporation]] as part of the ''[[Arcade Archives]]'' series.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ja:アーケードアーカイブス ソロモンの鍵 |url=https://store.playstation.com/ja-jp/product/JP0571-CUSA00650_00-HAMPRDC000000001 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Store.PlayStation.com |language=ja}}</ref><ref name="ArcadeArchives">{{Cite web |date=February 27, 2025 |title=Arcade Archives Solomon's Key |url=https://www.arcadearchives.com/en/title/aca-009/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=[[Arcade Archives]]}}</ref> The game was re-released for the [[Nintendo Switch]], worldwide, in June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arcade Archives Solomon's Key for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site |url=https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/arcade-archives-solomons-key-switch/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227022001/https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/arcade-archives-solomons-key-switch/ |archive-date=2022-02-27 |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Nintendo.com |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="ArcadeArchives" />
-== Reception ==
+==Reception==
-In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Solomon's Key'' on their September 1, 1986 issue as being the eighteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]]|issue=291|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=1 September 1986|page=23|lang=ja}}</ref> Solomon's Key sold 300,000 copies in Japan.<ref>John Szczepaniak (2016), ''The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers, Volume 2'', page 205</ref>
+In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Solomon's Key'' on their September 1, 1986, issue as being the eighteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1 September 1986 |title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos) |magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]] |publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]] |page=23 |issue=291 |lang=ja}}</ref> Solomon's Key sold 300,000 copies in Japan.<ref>John Szczepaniak (2016), ''The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers, Volume 2'', page 205</ref>
-== Legacy ==
+==Legacy==
-The NES version of the game was released for the Wii Virtual Console on November 19, 2006 in North America<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154811 |title=Wii Virtual Console Lineup Unveiled |access-date=2006-11-01 |last=Parish |first=Jeremy |date=2006-10-31 |publisher=[[1UP.com]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511025632/http://www.1up.com/news/virtual-console-lineup-unveiled |archive-date=2013-05-11}}</ref> and on December 15 in Europe and Australia.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 December 2006 |title=Euro VC updates for tomorrow |url=http://gonintendo.com/?p=10452 |publisher=gonintendo.com}}</ref> Later, it was also released on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console. Since then, it has been released as part of the [[Nintendo Classics]] service. A "reverse engineered" port from the Atari ST version was released for the Commodore Amiga in 2013.<ref>http://hol.abime.net/6009 Details of Amiga version on Hall Of Light</ref>
+The NES version of the game was released for the Wii Virtual Console on November 19, 2006, in North America<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parish |first=Jeremy |date=2006-10-31 |title=Wii Virtual Console Lineup Unveiled |url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154811 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511025632/http://www.1up.com/news/virtual-console-lineup-unveiled |archive-date=2013-05-11 |access-date=2006-11-01 |website=[[1UP.com]]}}</ref> and on December 15 in Europe and Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2006 |title=Euro VC updates for tomorrow |url=http://gonintendo.com/?p=10452 |website=GoNintendo.com |access-date=December 29, 2006 |archive-date=November 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102132830/http://gonintendo.com/?p=10452 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later, it was also released on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console. Since then, it has been released as part of the [[Nintendo Classics]] service. A "reverse engineered" port from the Atari ST version was released for the Commodore Amiga in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solomon's Key |url=https://amiga.abime.net/games/view/solomons-key |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=Amiga.Abime.net}}</ref>
 In 1992, a prequel was released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] named ''[[Solomon's Key 2]]'' (called ''Fire 'n Ice'' in North America).
@@ Line 59: / Line 65: @@
 ==External links==
 * {{KLOV game|9617}}
-* {{MobyGames|id=/solomons-key}}
+* {{MobyGames|/solomons-key}}
 * {{WoS game|id=0004643}}
 * [http://www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/solomonskey.htm ''Solomon's Key''] at [[Arcade Archives]] Page

Solomon's Key: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:25, 28 June 2025

Contents

Gameplay

Levels

Development

Ports

Reception

Legacy

Notes

References

External links

Navigation menu

Solomon's Key: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:25, 28 June 2025

Gameplay

Levels

Development

Ports

Reception

Legacy

Notes

References

External links

Navigation menu

Search