The Battle of Olympus

About The Battle of Olympus

The Battle of Olympus (1988) is Infinity's Zelda II-inspired action RPG retelling the myth of Orpheus, who wins the favour of the gods to rescue his beloved from Hades.

The Battle of Olympus in Depth

Ancient Greece is terrorised by Hades, ruler of the underworld, who has kidnapped Helene, the lover of Orpheus. A top-down map of Greece links dungeons and city-states across eight regions, from the starting area of Arcadia to Argolis, Attica, Crete, Laconia, Peloponnes, Phrygia and Phthia. Orpheus must meet the gods and earn their favour, beginning with Zeus, who encourages the others to grant him weapons, a shield and special equipment, including a harp that summons Pegasus to fly him to distant places. Along the way he gathers the Harp of Apollo, the Sword of Hephaestus, the Staff of Prometheus and the Sandals of Hermes, plus three fragments of love that remind him of Helene.

Mostly a side-scroller with light platforming, it starts Orpheus with a wooden club and later gives him the fireball-throwing Staff of Fennel, the Nymph's Sword and the lightning-casting Divine Sword. Upgrades raise health, protection and speed. Compared with Zelda II, there is no downward stab or full-health sword beam, though one late sword fires beams at the cost of health unless a certain item is found. The game is somewhat non-linear, with optional side quests that earn secret items or powers from the gods. Foes include the Lamia, cyclops, centaurs, Talos, the Minotaur, the Graeae, Cerberus, the Stymphalian birds and the Nemean lion, and the final battle in the Temple of Hades begins against a shadow before Hades himself appears.

Making The Battle of Olympus

Horimoto and Oshida, who were dating, "wanted to make our game together" and chose Greek myths because Horimoto loved them. He openly drew on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, saying the attacking, ducking and jumping motions were all influenced by The Legend of Zelda, and it became one of several NES games inspired by Zelda II. Imagineer released it in Japan as Olympus no Tatakai on 28 March 1988, and Radical Entertainment later ported it to the Game Boy for Europe. Famitsu scored it 28 out of 40 and reviewers noted the Zelda II likeness. Retrospectives were positive, with praise from Eurogamer in 2011 and Ars Technica in 2013, and in 2026 Polygon named it one of the ten best NES games missing from the Switch.