Editing Solomon's Key

{{Short description|1986 video game}}
{{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)
| publisher = Tecmo <br /> [[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}}}}
| genre = [[Puzzle video game|Puzzle]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Atari ST]], [[IBM PC]], [[Master System]], [[TurboGrafx-16|PC Engine]], [[Family Computer Disk System|Famicom Disk System]], [[Game Boy]]
}}

{{Nihongo foot|'''''Solomon's Key'''''|ソロモンの鍵|Soromon no Kagi|group=lower-alpha|lead=yes}} is a 1986 [[Puzzle video game|puzzle]] [[video game]] developed and published by [[Tecmo]] for [[Arcade video game|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==
[[image: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.

Dana is sent to retrieve [[Key of Solomon|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 (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 ==
''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>

==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 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.

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>

== 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>

== 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>

In 1992, a prequel was released for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|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 group="lower-alpha" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{KLOV game|9617}}
* {{MobyGames|id=/solomons-key}}
* {{WoS game|id=0004643}}
* [http://www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/solomonskey.htm ''Solomon's Key''] at [[Arcade Archives]] Page

[[Category:1986 video games]]
[[Category:Amstrad CPC games]]
[[Category:Arcade Archives games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:Crossover video games]]
[[Category:Famicom Disk System games]]
[[Category:Game Boy games]]
[[Category:Hamster Corporation games]]
[[Category:Master System games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Classics games]]
[[Category:Puzzle video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Tecmo games]]
[[Category:TurboGrafx-16 games]]
[[Category:U.S. Gold games]]
[[Category:Video games about magic]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games for Wii]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games for Wii U]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]