Solomon's Key
Encyclopedia
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, although it also appeared on many other game systems of the time, like the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
in 1988 and the Famicom Disk System
Famicom Disk System
The was released on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo as a peripheral for the Family Computer console in Japan. It was a unit that used proprietary floppy disks for data storage. It was announced, but never released, for the North American Nintendo Entertainment System...
, released in Japan on January 25, 1991.
Overview
Solomon's Key is generally recognized as one of the most difficult games to appear on the NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The player must overcome unlimited enemy spawning, challenging level designs, a countdown timer, Dana's fragility, and limited ways to dispatch enemies. In addition, it's easy for players to unintentionally make levels impossible to clear while playing them. There is no saving, so if you lose all of your lives at level 49, you have to start from the beginning.
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.
Gameplay
The main character, named Dana, is sent to retrieve "Solomon's KeyKey of Solomon
The Key of Solomon , is a grimoire, or book on magic incorrectly attributed to King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century Italian Renaissance...
" 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 as well as create fireballs to destroy demons. The orange blocks can also be destroyed by hitting them with your 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.
Levels
There are 64 levels in total with 15 being secrets. The main levels are divided into groups of 4 with one group for each ZodiacZodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
constellation. 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, The Page of Space, and the Princess Room which occur only if the player has acquired the hidden Seals of Solomon.
- 1-4 AriesAries (constellation)Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac, located between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. Its name is Latin for ram, and its symbol is , representing a ram's horns...
- 5-8 TaurusTaurus (constellation)Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is a Latin word meaning 'bull', and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head:...
- 9-12 GeminiGemini (constellation)Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins", and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology...
- 13-16 CancerCancer (constellation)Cancer is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for crab and it is commonly represented as such. Its symbol is . Cancer is small and its stars are faint...
- 17-20 LeoLeo (constellation)Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for lion. Its symbol is . Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east.-Stars:...
- 21-24 VirgoVirgo (constellation)Virgo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for virgin, and its symbol is . Lying between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is the second largest constellation in the sky...
- 25-28 LibraLibra (constellation)Libra is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for weighing scales, and its symbol is . It is fairly faint, with no first magnitude stars, and lies between Virgo to the west and Scorpius to the east.-Notable features:]...
- 29-32 ScorpioScorpiusScorpius, sometimes known as Scorpio, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for scorpion, and its symbol is . It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east...
- 33-36 SagittariusSagittarius (constellation)Sagittarius is a constellation of the zodiac, the one containing the galactic center. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is , a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur drawing a bow...
- 37-40 CapricornCapricornusCapricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac; it is often called Capricorn, especially when referring to the corresponding astrological sign. Its name is Latin for "horned male goat" or "goat horn", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature that is half...
- 41-44 AquariusAquarius (constellation)Aquarius is a constellation of the zodiac, situated between Capricornus and Pisces. Its name is Latin for "water-bearer" or "cup-bearer", and its symbol is , a representation of water....
- 45-48 PiscesPisces (constellation)Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish, and its symbol is . It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east...
Ports and sequels
In 1988, a port of Solomon's Key was made for the Sega Master SystemSega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
in Japan.
A port for the Nintendo Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
system entitled Solomon's Club
Solomon's Club
is an action puzzle video game, developed and published by Tecmo for the Game Boy handheld, which was released in 1991. It is one of the ports of Solomon's Key.-External links:* at GameFAQs...
was released in 1991.
In 1993, a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
was released for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
named Fire 'N Ice
Fire 'n Ice
Fire 'n Ice is a puzzle game released in limited numbers by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the prequel to Solomon's Key, and is known as Solomon's Key 2 in Europe and Solomon no Kagi 2: Coolmintou Kyuushutsu Sakusen in Japan.The aim of the game involves players extinguishing...
in North America (called Solomon's Key 2 elsewhere).
The 1999 Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
release Monster Rancher Explorer
Monster Rancher Explorer
Monster Rancher Explorer is a Game Boy Color game released in 2000. It is a remake of Solomon's Key featuring some Monster Rancher characters.-References:http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/015/015386.html...
(called simply "Solomon" in Japan) by Tecmo is an updated port of Solomon's Key.
The arcade version was included in Tecmo Classic Arcade
Tecmo Classic Arcade
Tecmo Classic Arcade is a collection of classic Tecmo arcade games for the Microsoft Xbox. This collection was released on September 13, 2005 in the U.S. and October 27, 2005 in Japan. This game was published and developed by Tecmo...
in 2005.
The NES version of the game was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on November 19, 2006 in North America. and on December 15, 2006 in the PAL regions.
The arcade version came out on the Virtual Console in Japan on August 18, 2009, in the PAL regions on September 11, 2009 and in North America on November 30, 2009.