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

This page is a stub for arcade games that are part of the Lost In Translation series using information based on MAME (version 0.113u2).
For an example of preferred content and layout please refer to Out Run or The Ninja Warriors.

Solomon's Key Solomon no Kagi
Manufacturer	Tecmo
Released	1986
Control Method	8-way Joystick 2 Button(s)
Main CPU	Z80 (@ 4.000 MHz) Z80 (@ 3.072 MHz)
Sound CPU	Mono (3x) AY-3-8910A (@ 1.500 MHz)
Video Details	Raster (Horizontal) 256 x 224 pixels 60.00 Hz 256 Palette colours
Screens	1
ROM Info	12 ROMs 294,912 bytes (288.00 KiB)
MAME ID	solomon · solomonj

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'.

Scoring

Target	Points
Blue bag I	100
Blue bag II	200
Blue bag V	500
Red bag I	1,000
Red bag II	2,000
Red bag V	5,000
Green bag I	10,000
Green bag II	20,000
Blue gem	500
Red gem	5,000
Coin	1,000
Double coin	2,000
Star coin	10,000
Double star coin	20,000
Gold bar	100
Gold ruby	200
Green cross	50,000
Question mark	100,000 - 1,000,000

Tips and Tricks

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

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name	Catalogue No.	Released	Publisher	Comments
Tecmo Game Music	28XA-95	1986-09-25	Alfa Records	CD version.
Tecmo Game Music	ALC-22906	1986-09-25	Alfa Records	Cassette version.
Tecmo Game Music	ALR-22906	1986-09-25	Alfa Records	Vinyl version.
Solomon's Key & Mighty Bomb Jack	K13A-758	1986-09-05	King Records	Vinyl version.

External Links

• Sinclair ZX Spectrum version of Solomon's Key at the World of Spectrum

References

The contents of this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The sources used include MAME (version 0.113u2) and history.dat (revision 1.28 - 2008-10-18).
Please see http://www.arcade-history.com for credits.