Athena

1986 · Platform · Arcade

Overview

Athena (1986) is SNK's platformer about a princess who falls into Emperor Dante's world with nothing, described as one of the first games with a playable female lead.

Deep Dive

Athena starts without weapons or armour and takes them from defeated enemies; tools such as a hammer break stone blocks to reveal hidden gear. Eight worlds each end with an oversized boss, and the game has light role-playing elements.

Developer Story

Koji Obata designed it, and SNK released it in Japanese arcades in July 1986. Micronics made the 1987 Famicom/NES version, and Ocean released Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions under its Imagine label.

Did You Know?

Athena later appears in SNK fighting games, as a secret character or helping her descendant Athena Asamiya.
Your Sinclair gave the Spectrum version a Megagame award.