Athena (USA)

Athena stands as one of the most influential yet challenging action platformers of the early gaming era, offering an ambitious adventure that pushed hardware limitations of its time. Originally released as an arcade game by SNK in 1986 before being ported to the NES, Athena follows the journey of the Greek goddess Athena who, bored with life on Mount Olympus, leaps into a hole leading to the Fantasy World. What makes Athena particularly noteworthy is its innovative equipment system that allows the protagonist to find and equip various weapons, armor, and items throughout her journey. This mechanic predated many action RPGs and influenced countless games that followed. With its multiple worlds spanning diverse environments, challenging enemies, and hidden secrets, Athena delivered an expansive experience that was remarkable for its era. Though infamous for its high difficulty, Athena has earned recognition among retro games enthusiasts as a groundbreaking title that helped establish conventions for action platformers and metroidvanias decades before these genres were fully defined.

Athena was developed by SNK and first released in arcades in 1986 before receiving its notable NES port in 1987. The game was designed by Michinori Ozawa, who created a female protagonist at a time when male heroes dominated arcade games. Despite its innovative features, the NES version of Athena became infamous for its punishing difficulty and some technical limitations in the conversion from arcade to console. These challenges have made Athena something of a cult classic among retro games enthusiasts who appreciate its ambition and historical significance. The character of Athena later appeared in SNK's fighting game series The King of Fighters, bringing renewed attention to her original adventure. While not as widely recognized as some contemporaries, Athena's equipment system and non-linear level design pioneered concepts that would become standard in later action-adventure games. Modern retro gaming enthusiasts have reevaluated Athena, acknowledging how its mechanics were revolutionary for 1986, predating similar systems in games like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. For collectors of challenging retro games, completing Athena remains a badge of honor, representing mastery of one of the NES library's most demanding titles.