33 replies to this topic

[Jibbajaba]

Welcome to week 2 of the 7th season of the Atari Age NES High Score League!

Rounds will last two weeks this season, so the next round will begin on April 18, 2 weeks from today.

Twin Galaxies now requires people to create an account and log in if they wish to view high scores. I object to this, and as a result I will no longer be listing TG high scores with each round's game.

This week's game is going to be Solomon's Key

Title: Solomon's Key
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July, 1987 (US)



Current Standings:

Austin                            77,800         +9     9
SoulBlazer                     55,000         +6     6
Jibbajaba                       43,700         +3     3
HatefulGravey               33,000          +1     1
asponge                        32,200          +1     1
classicgamer_27330     25,500          +1     1
dustfilledhobo                24,100          +1     1

[SoulBlazer]

ACK! You went from one hard as nails game to a even WORSE game!

I don't even like this one that much.....

Oh well, time to fire up the emulator and see what I can do.

I do have the manual for this game -- I'll attach it to this post for everyone when I get home.

Edited by SoulBlazer, Mon Apr 4, 2011 12:38 PM.

[HatefulGravey]

I look forward to the manual for this one. I have never understood this game as well as I would like to. Looking forward to learning another game though.

[Austin]

I've never really given this one much of a shot either.. This should be interesting, I guess.

[Jibbajaba]

Do me a favor and give it a chance. It's a great action/puzzle game.

Chris

[SoulBlazer]

As promised, here's the manual.

Attached Files

•  Solomon\'s Key (U).pdf   836.64K   34 downloads

[SoulBlazer]

The speed run that you linked to is a very good tool to get going with the game.

Here's my first effort:

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[HatefulGravey]

119,880

I played one game, read the instructions, watched the video and played again, first game was 33,800. The video and manual help a ton here.

[asponge]

I've never played this game before, but I like it. This is my best so far after about 9 attempts. Things got a bit easier once I figured out how to change the direction of the fireballs. I should probably watch the video before I try again.

102,460

[classicgamer_27330]

44800

once again I ****ing suck at this game

[asponge]

I had a little time to try again this afternoon.

281,230


By the way, classicgamer, I just noticed the link in your signature, and I had to laugh. When I was a kid my best friend's older brother used to call us Nintendo nerds because we were playing all the time. I don't remember if that name was common back then, but it brought back some memories.

Edited by asponge, Tue Apr 5, 2011 2:14 PM.

[HatefulGravey]

133,310

The only game I got in last night. The game is getting to be more fun.

[roadrunner]

44,480

I'm not too good at this one.

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[SoulBlazer]

I have to admit, this game is growing on me. It's still not a fav of mine, but it's fun and does have it's charm. And I fully understand one of the purposes of this is to be exposed to games you might not be otherwise.

But man, I can not see ANYONE beating this back in the day! No save states, no password, no battery -- and 50 ROOMS to get to the end of the game! Not even a hidden stage select to let you skip past finished rooms! Or a continue function!

Anyway, been hacking away at it for about a hour each day. Lot of trial and error in the two bonus rooms I've gotten to so far, trying to learn where everything is so I can go straight for that.

Tonight I finally figured out how to get past Room 10 -- only to promptly bang my head aganist the wall in Room 11! Not sure how to finish that one yet....it defentily looks like a toughie.

Here's my (current) high score, though: 312,980

BTW, I'll give a tip to people who have not figured this out yet --

When you have a Gem, don't take it! Strike it with your wand, and it will change into a item. Each time you strike it it will change again. Take the item that is most helpfull to you. The order goes Gem-Fireball-Coins-Crystal-Gem.

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Edited by SoulBlazer, Sat Apr 9, 2011 1:05 PM.

[Frostbite76]

This game is alot more fun than ghosts n goblins. I'll give this one a try since I rolled Worm War 1.

[classicgamer_27330]

61140

[HatefulGravey]

Finally got my NES hooked up so I can play without having to emulate this one. I play better with the real stuff I swear.

New score is 185,050.

Level 7 is my bane. I can clear it, but its never easy for me. Level 8 I have only seen a few times now, and level 9 was a freaking trip that I've seen but once. More playing over the weekend is the only solution to this problem.

[classicgamer_27330]

[asponge]

339,180

[classicgamer_27330]

240,180

[HatefulGravey]

SoulBlazer, on Fri Apr 8, 2011 6:50 PM, said:

But man, I can not see ANYONE beating this back in the day! No save states, no password, no battery -- and 50 ROOMS to get to the end of the game! Not even a hidden stage select to let you skip past finished rooms! Or a continue function!

According to The Game Counsellor's Answer Book for Nintendo Game Players, which is a super cool book I got from a friend as a child, there is a continue code and a level warp actually. There are more then few things the book mentions about this game that I had no idea about. We still have some time to play this one, so I'll share them now. Continues are of coarse a no-no in the HSC. Here is what I learned from reading this book.

• To continue the game press up, A and B on the player one controller.
  
• There are extra men in rooms 3,14,19,27,30,35,40, and 47. I haven't been to level 14 yet, but I haven't found an extra man in level 3 either.
  
• There are 12 hidden rooms in the games, the first on level 4 and then one every 4 levels.
  
• There are gold wings in the game that will warp you ahead 6 rooms, they are in rooms 7,15,23,31 and 39.
  
• I can some a lot of the tips in the book up by saying there are a bunch of items past level 19 that are worth up to 1,000,000 points each.

There is more info in the book but it doesn't seem to really give much away. It does make you want to play the game more and more to find out just what these "tips" really mean though, and I guess that is what the book was really all about .

If people are interested I guess I can upload a good high quality picture of these pages in the book so you can read everything as it is in the book.

[SoulBlazer]

Doh! That's what I get for not looking on GameFAQ's before I shot my mouth off.

Yes, if you could upload the book, I'd be very interested in reading all of it. It sounds like a damn good book.

[HatefulGravey]

The cover of the book, and the two pages that are about Solomon's Key are attached. They are large pictures so that you can open and read them. You have been warned.

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[Jibbajaba]

Thanks a lot for posting that. Many copies of that book are available on Amazon for less than $1 before shipping, so I grabbed one. Looks cool!

Chris

[HatefulGravey]

Jibbajaba, on Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:00 PM, said:

Thanks a lot for posting that. Many copies of that book are available on Amazon for less than $1 before shipping, so I grabbed one. Looks cool!

Chris

Sweet, I never thought to look for it on Amazon and I have friends that want a copy as well. I'll have to order a copy or two for gifts. It really is a pretty neat book and has a pile of stuff in there that I never knew. I enjoy looking things up in these books over the internet for the most part, makes it feel more like it was when I was a child.