Athena (video game)

Athena (アテナ) is a 1986 platform arcade video game developed and published by SNK. Conversions were later released for the NES console and ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers.

The game's protagonist, Princess Athena, has gone on to appear in later fighting games by SNK as a secret character or assistant to her descendant Athena Asamiya, a frequent main character in these games.

Plot
Athena was the young, headstrong princess of the heavenly Kingdom of Victory. She was bored of the monotonous daily life in the palace and desired exciting adventures. One day, she opened the "Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened" in the basement of Castle Victory, said to lead to a savage and deadly place. As she dared cross the doorway, it caused her to fall from the skies and to another realm called Fantasy World, which was dominated by the evil Emperor Dante. After her flowing dress was lost while catching the wind for her fall, the perilous adventures of Princess Athena began as she landed in a wilderness overrun by beast-like warriors and more dangers than she could ever wish for. She readied to fight for her life and arm herself, with no other choice than to face the ruthless Dante and every obstacle on her way, to free this kingdom and make it back alive to her own.

After Athena defeats Dante, it all begins anew in the sequel, Athena: Full Throttle, in which the princess, again bored, opens the "Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened B", disregarding her loyal maid Helene's advice, and they both fall to Elysium World, where they face off against other villains.

Many of the game's elements are inspired by Greek mythology or ancient Roman culture such as weapons, equipment, items and enemy designs, while Princess Athena herself is named after the Greek goddess Athena.

Gameplay
Upon landing, unarmed and nearly nude, the princess only has her kicks to fend off the approaching monsters, but she may collect the dead enemies's various weapons and also has the chance to find shields, headgear and armor to cover her body, although these will be lost after withstanding some attacks. Her journey requires leaping and climbing as well as fighting through the land's eight hazardous worlds, each leading up to an oversized enemy that must be dealt with before proceeding to the next area. The use of certain weapons such as a hammer allows Athena to break through stone blocks, sometimes revealing not only armor but magic items such as Mercury's sandals that, when worn, allow her to make great leaps.

The game features certain role-playing video game elements to complement the platform action. Princess Athena has to defeat enemies such as the final boss by using various mythological weapons, items and equipment. Without some items, she cannot make it through the adventure.

Ports
Athena was later converted for the NES by Micronics. Conversions were also done for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1987 by Ocean Software and released under their Imagine label.

The NES version was only released for North American homes until the PlayStation Network saw a release of the arcade original in 2011. Both the arcade and NES versions of Athena are eventually included in SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, released for the Nintendo Switch in 2018, and then in 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

The game was released on the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on December 13, 2018, by Hamster Corporation as part of their Arcade Archives series, and also on the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network on December 19 as part of the same series.

Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Athena on their September 1, 1986, issue as being the ninth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Analysis
The game has been described as one of the first cases where a video game received a playable female character.

Sequels
A sequel, Psycho Soldier, was released in the arcades in 1987. Another sequel, Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life, was released for the PlayStation in 1999. Two mobile games were released in 2006: Athena: Full Throttle and Athena On Stage.