Lost In Translation/Solomon's Key - Solomon no Kagi

About The Game
Solomon's Key - Solomon no Kagi is an arcade video platform/puzzle game in which a single player controls a wizard called 'Dana', whose quest is to retrieve "Solomon's key" and vanquish the demon hordes that have broken through into the world. To achieve this Dana must advance through the fifty rooms of 'Constellation Space', before finally reaching the magical key.

Each room has a key that Dana must collect. Once collected, the room's exit will open and the wizard must then try to find and/or create a safe route past the constantly spawning demons to reach the exit and progress to the next room. To enable him to do this, Dana is armed with a magic wand that can be used to both destroy and create granite blocks to use as platforms and barriers. Dana can remove existing blocks with his wand, and can remove blocks directly above him by repeatedly jumping up into them until they shatter.

Bonus Items litter each room, as well as being hidden in granite blocks, and collecting these will earn the player for extra points. Power-ups can also be found and picked up. These appear as potion bottles with a flame emblazoned on them. When used, Dana shoots a fireball which will start moving along the walls and platforms and will destroy the first demon it comes into contact with.

As well as the bonus items and power-ups, each level also has a hand bell which, when collected, will trigger the release of a trapped fairy. The fairy will slowly fly around the room and can be rescued for bonus points. An extra life is awarded for every ten fairies rescued.

The game's levels are set around the Zodiac star constellations. The main levels are divided into groups of four - making a total of forty-eight standard rooms - with each group representing a separate constellation. In addition to the standard rooms, each constellation also has a secret bonus room that can only be accessed by finding the given constellation's 'Seal', which is located in the last room of each group. There are three further secret rooms - 'Page of Time', 'The Page of Space' and the 'Princess Room' - that are only accessible if the player has found the 'Hidden Seals of Solomon'.

The four room groups are :
 * 1-4 Aries - 5-8 Taurus - 9-12 Gemini
 * 13-16 Cancer - 17-20 Leo - 21-24 Scorpio
 * 25-28 Libra - 29-32 Virgo - 33-36 Sagittarius
 * 37-40 Capricorn - 41-44 Aquarius - 45-48 Pisces

Technical
Players : 2

Control : 8-way joystick

Buttons : 2 (CREATE BLOCK/DESTROY BLOCK/SWAP KEY, MAGIC)

Trivia
The subtitle of this game translates from Japanese as 'Key of Solomon'.

Secret Rooms
Shoot the key to change its colour: -
 * Room 3-3 : Red Key -> Room 4-1 (normal), Blue Key -> Room 3-4 (secret room)
 * Room 5-6 : Red Key -> Room 6-1 (normal), Blue Key -> Room 5-7 (secret room)
 * Room 6-6 : Red Key -> Room 7-1 (normal), Blue Key -> Room 6-7 (secret room)
 * Room 7-2 : Green Key -> Room 7-4 (normal), Blue Key -> Room 7-3 (secret room)
 * Room 8-6 : Red Key -> Room 9-1 (normal), Blue Key -> 8-7 (secret room)
 * Room 9-6 : Red Key -> Room 10-2 (normal), Blue Key -> Room 9-7 (secret room)

Series

 * 1) Solomon's Key - Solomon no Kagi (1986)
 * 2) Solomon's Club (1991, Nintendo Game Boy)
 * 3) Solomon no Kagi 2 - Coolmin Tou Kyuushutsu Sakusen (1993, Nintendo Famicom)
 * 4) Solomon - Cox Adventure of the White Tower (2000, Nintendo Game Boy)

Staff

 * Music By:
 * Michiharu Hasutani

Ports

 * Consoles :
 * Nintendo Famicom (1987)
 * Sega Master System (1988, "Solomon no Kagi")
 * Nintendo Famicom Disk ("Solomon no Kagi")
 * Sony PlayStation 2 (2004, "Tecmo Hit Parade")
 * Microsoft XBOX (2005, "Tecmo Classic Arcade")


 * Computers :
 * Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1987)
 * Commodore C64 (1987)
 * Amstrad CPC (1987)
 * PC [Booter] (1988)
 * PC [MS-DOS] (1988)
 * Atari ST