Solomon's Key

The Good
Solomon's Key is an action puzzle platformer developed as an Arcade Machine by Tecmo. The gameplay is very simple. You control a young wizard, Dana, with the power of making blocks appear or disappear: and so, effectively creating platforms or holes to bring down or restrict a variety of enemies. The objective of each stage is to grasp a key that will open the exit door. Easily said than done. But to help your character you have some items: to wipe the screen of enemies, and give your character a fireball attack, extra time, extra lives, etc.

It was based on the multi-platform hit Lode Runner (1984, Douglas E. Smith) which in turn was made upon Space Panic (1980, Universal) a game designed by Kazutoshi Ueda, head of development at Tehkan (Tecmo's former name). And thus the man responsible for giving Solomon's Key a green light. He also demanded the game to be more of a puzzler.

But the key figure behind this game was Michitaka Tsuruta. He had some knowledge in animation and was the designer behind the characters (main and enemies) and levels. Infused the game with its mystic atmosphere: using the Zodiac constellation signs and some Greek Mythology elements (as well as the 1963 Jason and the Argonauts movie). He also came with the original concept of Dana's ability of creating blocks.

It has a total of 64 levels, 15 of which are secret. To actually get the true ending the player must access and beat all secret rooms getting the hidden Seals of Solomon, to finally encage back all demons with the help of the magic book: the Key of Solomon.

Some of the rooms are action oriented, where you need to quickly react to the enemy movements by jumping over them, create blocks or holes to obstruct their movement, or use the platforms to escape. Other rooms are strictly puzzles with a hidden path that you need to find. But the best rooms are the ones that combines both elements and demand from your character to use all its skills. At first Tsuruta wanted to make a pure action game where you had to deal with hordes and hordes of enemies. But thanks to Mr. Ueda's suggestion the game hit a strict balance between action, puzzles and platforming, making it a true classic.

The Bad
I can't really say anything bad about the game. Of course like most arcades of those days it is very difficult, frustrating at times.

The Bottom Line
Solomon's Key is a master piece of the Arcade era; showcasing the best of the simplistic gameplay elements from those days, but by 1986 complex enough to demand skillful timing and precision, as well as quick reaction and inventiveness from the players. Also allowing through better graphics and animation the perception of a self contained universe.