Athena is a side-scrolling action-platformer originally released by SNK in arcades in 1986, with this NES port — developed by Micronics — following in 1987. Princess Athena of the Kingdom of Victory, bored with palace life, opens a forbidden door beneath her castle and falls into the Fantasy World, a realm ruled by the evil Emperor Dante. Losing her dress in the fall, she has to fight her way across eight worlds, gathering weapons and armor along the way, to defeat Dante and get home.
How to Play
Athena starts each life with nothing but her bare hands and feet, so finding a weapon fast matters. Defeating enemies and breaking open certain blocks (some need a hammer) reveals armor, shields, headgear and magic items that change how she moves and fights — Mercury’s winged sandals let her jump much higher, while heavier armor and shields improve her defense but wear out and are eventually lost after absorbing enough hits. Getting hit while unequipped costs a life, and dying strips away everything she’s carrying unless she’s holding a K item to protect one piece of gear.
- Arrow keys — move and climb
- Z — jump
- X — attack with the equipped weapon
- Enter — start / pause
Tips
- Grab a weapon as soon as you can — Athena’s bare-handed kick is weak, and pushing forward without one makes early enemies far more dangerous than they need to be.
- Weigh mobility against defense when choosing gear: something like the winged sandals is worth more than heavy armor right before a jump-heavy stretch.
- If you pick up a K item, hold onto it — it saves your equipment the next time you get hit instead of losing everything you’ve collected.
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