Solomon's Key
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Solomon's Key is a platform game with both action and strategy elements. On each level your goal is to retrieve a key which can then be used to unlock the exit. To help out, you have a magic wand which can be used to create and destroy blocks (though some blocks can't be destroyed). In order to reach the key you will need carefully to arrange the blocks on the screen so you can jump your way around safely. Wandering around each level are a variety of enemies which will cause you to lose a life if you're caught. Some creatures can be killed by destroying the block they are standing on, others must be dodged. Hidden bonuses and magic can be found on many of the levels, sometimes even hidden in blocks. Some treasures give you bonus points, others can form magic spells to help deal with the enemies. To make the game more difficult, each level has a time limit in which it must be completed.

Alternate Titles
"Solomon No Kagi" -- Japanese title

Trivia

 The magazine Commodore User published a cheat card (no. 4) that contained a 23-line program giving the player the choice of infinite lives, infinite time, or unlimited fireballs, or all three. The player had to type the program in and then follow the on screen prompt to load their game. 

Awards
Happy Computer 
Issue 01/1988 - Best Dexterity Game in 1987 
Power Play 
1987 - #2 Best CPC Game '87

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Review

Before Minecraft and... Steve, there was Solomon. He was the first, he was the one that came before all those who created and took away. Solomon is the patron deity of stages made up of blocks, and though you can't really build whatever you want in this game, you have the power to change the world around you as you see fit. 

I jest, of course, but Solomon's Key do have this rather oddball originality about it that you don't have to make do with what the stage provides. You can make your own path.... with some limitations, of course, but some of the stages are open enough to allow you to play around with it. 

Solomon's Key is, in essence, a bit of a single-screen platform puzzler. You are Solomon. You have to get a hold of that key and then exit through the now open door. Simple, right? If we're talking game complexity, sure. As an arcade conversion, though, it's spot on. The arcade version was released in 1986, and the Commodore version saw the light of day the very next year, threading the border where arcade conversions in general would take a sharp turn for the worse, mostly due to hardware limitations. 

While the graphics in this version aren't amazing, they're still rather nice. The blocks and enemies are all quite colorful, and the stages are splayed all over a brick wall with carvings on the sides. Despite your ability to alter the stages to your liking, the game never gets too busy for you to keep track of things. Some of the enemies can be a bit hard to make out, but their behavior patterns in general are still easily discerned. 

The sound, on the other hand, can get irksome fast. Mostly because of the music, which is more or less a direct conversion by David Whittaker, no less. Solomon's Key does have a distinct and not entirely unpleasant theme, so you'd think the game would sound good with someone like him behind the music, but said theme is short and extremely repetitive, and is bound to get on your nerves at some point. 

Where the game really wins is in the gameplay. The controls are simple enough, and it's just a matter of figuring out where to go and what to do. The game seemingly has a ton of items, and even now I'm not sure exactly what everything does. To make matters (a little bit) worse, the game is pretty tough. It's not completely relentless, but there is certainly no shortage of "do or die" moments where you have to figure out how to time it for maximum efficiency. Especially since the game itself runs on a timer on each stage. Be prepared for a challenge is what I'm saying. 

It helps that the controls for the game are responsive and simple, though it can often be hard to know where your block powers will influence the background, leaving you to sometimes erase a block instead of creating one, leading you to run off the edge if you're not careful. The game also feels a bit slow when you have to do a jump in one direction and then immediately in the other, especially if you just created the block you're jumping on. Had Solomon's Key been a solely meticulous kind of game, it probably would've made no difference, but as I said; in this game, timing is the key and often the thin border between life or death. It's not a game-breaking deal, but it can be frustrating to deal with since Solomon is a one-hit kind of a guy. 

Great difficulties aside, and have those not always been the measure of great men, Solomon's Key has proven to be a different beast to challenge, and one I encourage you all to try. If you find the small issues it has to be no big deal, I'm sure you'll have a great amount of fun here.


http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/solomons-key

http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/reviews/
