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Athena is a rather obscure 1986 arcade platform game
that was known by few (and played by even fewer) until her grand return in The King of Fighters '94 (1994).
As such most of Athena's fame has come retrospectively -
for being the game that introduced the character of
Athena Asamiya, now one of SNK's most valuable chunks of IP.
Back in 1986 though, it was Athena's tough
gameplay and baffling power-up system that made it stand
out. To this day, most still don't know what
half the items do.
Starting off wearing nothing more than
a scant bikini, Athena can rapidly get hold of a whole
range of medieval paraphernalia: armour, helmets, boots,
swords, hammers and magic wands all litter the scenery, but be careful: most of these should NOT be picked up.
Once the initial gameplay adjustment is over, it's the 'weapon management' side of Athena that
becomes the most intrinsic part of the gameplay. By collecting the correct equipment, end-of-level
bosses can be defeated in a flash.
This
complex item system added to a ruthless difficulty level attracted a special
kind of public, those to whom a coarse challenge is
deemed a bonus.
And the world is choke full of them... As a result the game retains a huge cult following
to this day, while Athena herself remains a hugely popular SNK character - 'Mint condition' copies of the 1987 Famicom
version now sell for a small fortune (especially if it still
has the special limited edition sing-a-long Psycho
Soldier audio tape with it. Seriously.)
Obscure yes, but bizarrely still fun to play.
Rating:   |
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DETAILS
| Format |
Famicom |
| Released |
5
June 1987 |
| Publisher |
SNK |
| Product
ID |
SFX-AT |
| Size
(cm) |
15
x 17 x 2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.19 |
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Complete
in good condition, the FC Athena is
one of the most prized pieces
of SNK memorabilia.
Comes bundled with an
audio tape featuring the theme
song from sequel Psycho
Soldier (1987)
[image]
Please contact
us if you just want the loose cartridge, it's much cheaper!
Large cardboard packaging
(twice the size of a standard
FC box), 1Mbit cartridge,
audio tape, manual. |
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Athena
The Music
アテナ・ザ・ミュージック
SOUNDTRACK |
DETAILS
| Format |
Audio
CD |
| Released |
6
Dec 2006 |
| Publisher |
Scitron |
| Product
ID |
SCDC-00567 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.11 |
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20th
Anniversary soundtrack
featuring a selection
of tracks from:
- The King of Fighters XI
[PS2]
- Athena Full Throttle [iMode]
- Athena On Stage [iMode]
- Athena [Famicom]
- Athena [Arcade]
- Psycho Soldier [Arcade]
CD
case, 41-track music CD,
colour booklet. |
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Athena (Minori Bunko)
アテナ (みのり文庫)
NOVEL |
DETAILS
| Format |
Novel |
| Released |
20 Aug 2009 |
| Publisher |
Harvest Shuppan |
| ISBN-10 |
4434134000 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.6 x 10.6 x 1.6 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.13 |
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'Pocket Library' Athena novel.
238 pages, japanese text only. |
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'Athena' and 'SNK' are
registered trademarks of SNK Playmore
'Famicom' and 'Nintendo' are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co.,
Ltd.
Athena TM & © 1986 SNK All Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2012 Arcade Gear |
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