Software:Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life

From HandWiki
Short description: 1999 video game
Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
Developer(s)Yumekobo
Publisher(s)SNK
SeriesAthena
Psycho Soldier
Platform(s)Sony PlayStation
Release
  • JP: 4 March 1999
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life is a 1999 adventure game developed by Yumekobo and published by SNK for the Sony PlayStation. The game stars SNK character Athena Asamiya, a normal Japanese high school student who suddenly learns psychic powers which she uses to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. The game was never released outside of Japan. The game's plot was adapted into a 12-episode television series, titled Athena, in 1998.

Story

The game stars Athena Asamiya, and is set in the year 2018.[1] She is a 16-year-old high school student who one day discovers she has psychic powers.[2][3]

Another SNK character named Sie Kensou also appears, and he is in love with Athena.[1][3]

Gameplay

Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life is an adventure game using three-dimensional graphics.[4] While the full-motion video opening cutscene contains voice acting,[5] the gameplay contains no voice acting and instead the dialogue is displayed via text.[6] The gameplay resembles both Clock Tower and Resident Evil,[1][3] but while the presentation resembles Resident Evil, there is less focus on action.[3][6] Instead, focus on the game is on puzzle solving and computer generated movies.[4]

Athena can learn psychic powers to advance in the game. There are a total of ten psychic powers in the game, including telepathy, clairvoyance, teleportation, psychometry, and psychography.[6][7] These powers in the game are used to find items, and clear obstacles in the game. To use the powers in game, a box at the top left of the screen displays a green line, and shows buttons that must be pressed at certain time intervals.[6] The mechanism to use the powers resembles rhythm games such as PaRappa the Rapper.[1]

Development

The game was developed by Japanese game developer Yumekobo, who also developed The King of Fighters: Kyo,[1] a spin-off of The King of Fighters series which is a visual novel with strategy game elements focusing on the character Kyo Kusanagi.[8]

The game stars Athena Asamiya. She appeared originally in Psycho Soldier and then later in the fighting game series The King of Fighters.[1] The game is not a sequel to any previous game, including The King of Fighters series, and has no continuity with previous titles featuring Athena.[1] This game marked the first time she appeared fully in a sailor fuku (Japanese school uniform). During her appearance in The King of Fighters games, she would very briefly appear in a sailor fuku. This game would be the first game where she wears a sailor fuku for the entire game. She would later wear a sailor fuku in The King of Fighters XI, The King of Fighters XII, The King of Fighters XIII and Days of Memories.[9]

Release

The game was released on 4 March 1999 for the Sony PlayStation home console, and was published by SNK.[10] The game was tied in with a 12 episode live action television series, simply titled as Athena which follows the plot of the game. It starred Kei Ishibashi in the title role.[11]

The game was released for the PlayStation Network Game Archives for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable on August 30, 2007.[12] It was also later released on the PlayStation Vita in 2012.[7]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu28/40
Video Games50%
Consoles +90/100[13]

Famitsu magazine gave the game a score of 28 out of 40. Reviewers praised the high-quality graphics and videos, and highlighted the dinosaurs as looking very good. Others praised the science fiction storyline, camera angles, and expressive characters.[7]

Ralph Karels writing in the German gaming magazine Video Games gave it a 50% score. He noted that the game is very text-heavy and requires a lot of proficiency in the Japanese language. He also questioned why the game had no voice acting and complained about the short length of the game. Even with three compact discs, he had gotten to disc two after only 40 minutes of gameplay. He also praised the game's various CGI movies as top quality.[6]

Loading praised the game calling it a forgotten title.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Doc (July 1999). "Made in Japan" (in ES). Superjuegos (87): 34. 
  2. ↑ "Frontline News". Gamers' Republic (Millennium Publishing) 1 (12): 10. May 1999. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Pre-Estreia" (in PT). Super GamePower (Nova Cultural) (60): 14. March 1999. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "New Software". Dengeki G's Magazine (21): 87. April 1999. 
  5. ↑ Kalata, Kurt (September 21, 2008). "Athena: Awakening from an Ordinary Life". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/athena-awakening-from-an-ordinary-life/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Karels, Ralph (May 1999). "Import: Athena" (in DE). Video Games: 75. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "ATHENA 〜Awakening from the ordinary life〜 [PS / ファミ通.com"]. http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=11824. 
  8. ↑ "ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ 京 | ソフトウェアカタログ | プレイステーション® オフィシャルサイト". https://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/jp0576npjj00059_000000000000000001.html. 
  9. ↑ 電撃オンライン. "SNK唯一のサイキックアイドル麻宮アテナを大特集！ そのアテナは本当に麻宮さん？【電撃PS】" (in ja). http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/817/1817586/. 
  10. ↑ "ATHENA | ソフトウェアカタログ | プレイステーション® オフィシャルサイト". https://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/slpm86185.html. 
  11. ↑ "ＡＴＨＥＮＡ アテナ(1998)". http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=87967. 
  12. ↑ "SCEJ 「ゲームアーカイブス」に14タイトル追加「ATHENA」、「ワイプアウト」など". 20 February 2008. http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20070830/pss.htm. 
  13. ↑ "Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary life". Consoles + (89). May 1999. 
  14. ↑ Mangafan (December 1999). "El Olvidado- Athena Wakening from the Ordinary life" (in ES). Loading (Spain: Ares Informática) (5): 72–73. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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