Athena (video game)

Lore & Background

Princess Athena, ruler of the heavenly Kingdom of Victory, grew bored with palace life and opened the forbidden 'Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened,' falling into the Fantasy World ruled by Emperor Dante. Stripped of her dress during the fall, she landed in a wilderness overrun by beast-like warriors and had to fight for her life using kicks and collected weapons. After defeating Dante, the story continued in the 1987 sequel Psycho Soldier, which introduced a new protagonist, Athena Asamiya, and a different setting, not a direct continuation of the original Athena's story.

Reader's Guide

Athena is significant as one of the earliest video games to feature a playable female protagonist, Princess Athena. The game combined platform action with role-playing elements, requiring players to collect weapons, shields, armor, and magic items like Mercury's sandals to progress through eight worlds. Its protagonist later appeared in SNK fighting games as a secret character or assistant to her descendant Athena Asamiya. The game was ported to NES, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64, and was included in the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. Its legacy includes sequels such as Psycho Soldier (1987) and Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life (1999), as well as mobile games. The game's design drew inspiration from Greek mythology and Roman culture.

Did You Know?

• Athena was one of the first video games to feature a playable female character.
• The protagonist Princess Athena is named after the Greek goddess Athena.
• The game's sequel, Psycho Soldier, was released in arcades in 1987.
• The arcade original was not released on PlayStation Network; however, Psycho Soldier was released on PSN in 2011.

The Story of Princess Athena

Princess Athena, the bored young ruler of the heavenly Kingdom of Victory, grows restless with the repetitive rhythms of palace existence and craves something thrilling. Her curiosity leads her to the basement of Castle Victory, where she forces open a passage known as the 'Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened,' a threshold said to lead to a savage, deadly place. The act of crossing it sends her tumbling from the heavens into the Fantasy World, a realm under the iron grip of the tyrannical Emperor Dante. Mid-fall, the wind strips away her flowing dress, and she crashes into a wilderness teeming with beast-like warriors and untold perils. With nothing but her wits and her kicks, she sets out to slay Dante and restore life to the broken kingdom. The narrative draws heavily on Greek mythology and ancient Roman culture in its weapons, enemy designs, and equipment, and the princess herself bears the name of the Greek goddess of wisdom. In the sequel, Athena: Full Throttle, her boredom strikes again: she ignores her loyal maid Helene's warnings, opens 'Door Which Shouldn't Be Opened B,' and both women plummet into Elysium World to face fresh antagonists.

Gameplay and Mythological Design

Athena's platforming experience blends action with role-playing mechanics in a way that was distinctive for its era. The princess arrives in the Fantasy World essentially defenseless, stripped of her garments by the wind, and must rely on her kicks to repel the first waves of approaching monsters. As she progresses, she can scavenge weapons from fallen foes and stumble upon shields, headgear, and full armor to clothe her body, though these protections degrade and are lost after absorbing a certain number of hits. The adventure spans eight hazardous worlds, each culminating in a confrontation with an oversized boss that must be defeated before the next area unlocks. Certain tools, like a hammer, let her smash through stone blocks to reveal hidden armor or magical items such as Mercury's sandals, which grant her extraordinary leaping ability. The game weaves in role-playing elements: specific mythological weapons, items, and equipment are required to overcome particular enemies, and without acquiring the right gear, the player simply cannot push forward through the adventure.

Ports and Distribution

Originally launched in 1986 as an arcade title developed and published by SNK, Athena found its way into living rooms through a series of home conversions. Micronics handled the NES port, which was distributed exclusively for North American households. In 1987, Ocean Software produced versions for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, releasing them under their Imagine label. For nearly two and a half decades, the arcade original remained largely inaccessible to console players outside of Japan. That changed in 2011 when the arcade version finally arrived on the PlayStation Network. The game's modern availability expanded further when both the arcade and NES editions were bundled into the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, debuting on Nintendo Switch in 2018 and expanding to PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One the following year. Separately, Hamster Corporation included the title in their Arcade Archives series for Switch and PS4, also in 2018, ensuring that a new generation of players could experience the original cabinet experience at home.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

Athena occupies a notable place in gaming history for its pioneering approach to female protagonists. It has been described as one of the earliest instances of a video game featuring a playable female character, a distinction that set it apart in the mid-1980s arcade landscape. In Japan, the title enjoyed commercial success, with Game Machine listing it as the ninth most-successful table arcade unit for September 1986. The character's influence extended well beyond the original platformer. Princess Athena went on to appear in later SNK fighting games, surfacing as a secret character or serving as an assistant to Athena Asamiya, one of the studio's most prominent and enduring figures. The franchise itself continued to evolve: Psycho Soldier followed in the arcades in 1987, Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life arrived for the PlayStation in 1999, and two mobile titles, Athena: Full Throttle and Athena On Stage, launched in 2006. The character also crossed over into the SNK vs. Capcom series, cementing her place in the broader fighting-game canon.