Software:Athena (video game)

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Athena
Game flyer
Developer(s)SNK
Micronics (FC/NES)
Publisher(s)SNK
Designer(s)Koji Obata
Artist(s)Rampty
Platform(s)Arcade, Commodore 64, NES, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Network, ZX Spectrum[1]
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Athena (アテナ, Atena) is a 1986 platform arcade video game developed and published by SNK. Conversions were later released for the NES console and ZX Spectrum[6] and Commodore 64[7] 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[6] and Commodore 64[7] 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.[8]

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,[9] and also on the PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network on December 19, 2018 as part of the same series.[10]

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.[11]

Analysis

The game has been described as one of the first cases where a video game received a playable female character.[12]

Legacy

Sequels

A sequel, Psycho Soldier, was released in the arcades in 1987. Another sequel, Athena, was released for the PlayStation in 1999. Two mobile games were released in 2006: Athena: Full Throttle and Athena On Stage.[13]

See also

  • List of Famicom games
  • List of Nintendo Entertainment System games
  • SNK vs. Capcom (series)

References

  1. ↑ "Classic Game Room video game review show and website". classicgameroom.com. http://classicgameroom.com/vaultpages/vaultpage/athena-playstation-3/. Retrieved January 3, 2017. 
  2. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006) (in ja). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 18–9, 133–4. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n19/mode/2up. 
  3. ↑ "ATHENA". Agency for Cultural Affairs. https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M727639. 
  4. ↑ "Arcade Archives ATHENA". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/arcade-archives-athena-switch/. 
  5. ↑ "Arcade Archives ATHENA". https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0571-CUSA14214_00-HAMPRDC000000001. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "General info for: Athena". Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024150430/https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=307. "Release Year: 1987, Original Publisher: Imagine Software Ltd (UK)" 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Athena [review"]. Zzap 64: 17. November 1987. https://archive.org/details/zzap64-magazine-031/page/n15/mode/2up. "[from] Imagine". 
  8. ↑ "SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Review - It Belongs In A Museum". GameSpot. November 6, 2018. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-review-it-belongs-/1900-6417028/. 
  9. ↑ Lane, Gavin (March 13, 2020). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks" (in en-GB). http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/03/guide_every_arcade_archives_game_on_nintendo_switch_plus_our_top_picks. 
  10. ↑ "Arcade Archives | HAMSTER Corporation". http://www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/title_list_aa.htm. 
  11. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (291): 23. September 1, 1986. 
  12. ↑ Love, Dunstan (August 11, 2022). "Playable Girls in Ancient Worlds: Athena (1986) Opens the Door". in Draycott, Jane (in en). Women in Classical Video Games. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-1-350-24193-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=36ZxEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Athena%22+%22Saint+Seiya%29%22&pg=PA15. 
  13. ↑ Kalata, Kurt (20 January 2007). "Athena". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/athena/athena.htm. 
  • Athena at the Killer List of Videogames
  • 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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