2026-09-01 · retro-review
Solomon's Key (1986) — The Year Its Own Maker Let Go of the Magic to Create
In July 1986, Tecmo (then Tehkan) released Solomon's Key, an unusual arcade action-puzzle game that let its hero both create and destroy blocks. Its own creator, Michitaka Tsuruta, abandoned that invention in the 1992 sequel, Solomon's Key 2 (Fire 'n Ice), replacing it with a single pushable ice cube. This column traces that shift, in the designer's own words, back to the "pushing" grammar it has followed since Sokoban.
