The Battle of Olympus
The Battle of Olympus | |
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NES cover art
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Developer(s) | Infinity Radical Entertainment (Game Boy) |
Publisher(s) |
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Designer(s) | Yukio Horimoto[1] |
Programmer(s) | Yukio Horimoto[1] |
Artist(s) | Reiko Oshida[1] |
Writer(s) | Reiko Oshida[1] |
Composer(s) | Kazuo Sawa[1] |
Platforms | NES, Game Boy |
Release date(s) | NES:
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Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Battle of Olympus, originally released in Japan as Olympus no Tatakai (オリュンポスの戦い?),[lower-alpha 1] is a 1988 side-scrolling historical action-adventure video game developed by Infinity and published by Imagineer for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
There's also a 1993 Game Boy port of the same game that was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Imagineer exclusively in Europe.
Contents
Summary
In many ways similar to the earlier Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Battle of Olympus takes place in an ancient Greece which is being terrorized by Hades, the dark ruler of the underworld.[2]
Helene, the girlfriend of Orpheus, is kidnapped by Hades who is holding her captive.[2] A top-down map of Greece shows various dungeons and ancient Greek city-states for the player to visit on his journey.[2] Swords, shields, and crystals help to provide offensive power and defensive strength for the player.[2] Three fragments of love are there to remind Orpheus of his girlfriend Helene.[2] Hades rules his dominion in Tartarus, where his strongest minions live alongside him.[2]
During his adventure, Orpheus needs to meet the Greek gods and gain their favor, starting with Zeus, the leader of the Olympian gods, who encourages the other gods to grant Orpheus powers. These powers are in the form of a weapon, a shield, and other special equipment, among them a harp, which summons Pegasus to carry Orpheus to far locations. As the game progresses, players are exposed to various forms of upgraded weaponry. The player starts off with a basic wooden club. The player later obtains items such as the Staff of Fennel (also known as a thyrsus, which is able to project a fireball), Nymph's Sword, and the Divine Sword (able to project a lightning bolt).
The game features encounters with mythological creatures such as the Taurus, Lamia, Cyclops, Centaur, Talos, Minotaur, Medusa, Cerberus, Stymphalian Birds, Nemean Lion, and also a Siren. Players must fight their way deep into the underworld, fight and defeat Hades, and finally save Helene. Several items depicted in the Greek mythology are acquired, such as the Harp of Apollo, the Sword of Hephaestus, the Staff of Prometheus, and the Sandals of Hermes.
Olympian Gods which appear in the game
- Zeus - Master of the Gods
- Poseidon - God of the Sea
- Ares - God of War
- Hephestus - God of the Blacksmiths and Fire
- Aphrodite - Goddess of Love and Beauty
- Athena - Goddess of Wisdom, Victory, Art and Justice
- Hermes - God of Wealth and Good Fortune
- Apollo - God of the Sun and the Light
- Artemis - Goddess of the Moon
- Hades - God of the Underworld
Characters & creatures which appear in the game
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Weapons & items
Weapon / Item | Origin | Use |
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Wooden Club | Beginning of the game | Minimal injury to enemies |
Sandals | Gift from the God Hermes | High jumping and walking on the ceiling |
Shield | Gift from the Goddess Athena | Protection from arrows |
Staff of Fennel | Given by a mysterious woman after returning her child. Fire later acquired by meeting up with Prometheus. |
Throwing fire, battling enemies, burning spider webs and thorn bushes in Peloponnese |
Harp | Gift from the God Apollo | Calling on Pegasus at Alters of the Sun, which are scattered throughout the game, in order to cut short the journey from place to place |
Sword | Given by a Nymph after defeating the Hydra | Essential in defeating the Cyclops |
Ocarina | Given by the God Poseidon after payment | Calling on dolphins in order to cross the sea and waking Gaia to access Phthia |
Eye of the Graeae | Received after defeating the Graeae | Discovering hidden caves |
Divine Sword | Given by Hephestus after payment | Throwing lightning |
Trojan Pitcher | Found in Laconia | Storing Nectar in order to fill up power |
Moon Crystal | Gift from the Goddess Artemis | Calling the moon, in the final battle against Hades, in order to see his shadow |
Salamander Shield | Given by Circe for payment and salamander skins | Protection from fire |
Bracelet of Power | Given by the God Ares for payment | Doubling attack strength |
Key | Given by a man named Kelos | Opening a secret door |
Ambrosia | Acquired by defeating enemies, by payment or secret places | Increase power max value |
Bay leaf | Acquired by defeating enemies | Recover some power |
Fragments of Love | Heart-shaped objects given by the Nymphs | Receiving messages from Helene |
Golden Apple | Acquired after defeating Ladon | Reducing the amount of damage received from enemies |
Olive | Acquired after defeating enemies | Payment in exchange for weapons and items |
Salamander skins | Acquired after defeating salamanders | Payment to Circe in exchange for Salamander Shield |
Reception
The game was a commercial failure, and consequently it was Infinity's last game based on an original property.[1]
Notes
References
External links
- The Battle of Olympus at MobyGames
- Battle of Olympus guide at StrategyWiki
- RPG Classics shrine
- Mike's RPG Center
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Pages using vgrelease with named parameters
- Pages using div col with unknown parameters
- 1988 video games
- Brøderbund games
- Game Boy games
- Imagineer games
- Mythology-based video games
- Nintendo Entertainment System games
- Orpheus
- Platform games
- Radical Entertainment games
- Side-scrolling role-playing video games
- Video games based on Greek mythology
- Video games developed in Canada
- Video games developed in Japan