The Battle of Olympus
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| The Battle of Olympus | |
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| Developer(s) | Infinity |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund |
| Release date(s) | Mar 28, 1988 (JP) 1990 (NA) Sep 26, 1991 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | NES, Famicom |
| Media | 1-megabit cartridge |
The Battle of Olympus is a side scrolling, action-adventure game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Infinity. It was published by Imagineer in Japan, by Brøderbund in America and by Nintendo in Europe. It was released for the Famicom on March 28, 1988 in Japan and was titled Olympus no Tatakai. The North American and European versions were released for the NES and were titled The Battle of Olympus. The North American version was released in 1988 and the European one in 1991.
This game is about a Greek named Orpheus, in Ancient Greece. His love, Helene, was poisoned by a snake and died. Later Orpheus learns that Helene was actually taken by Hades, god of the underworld, to become his bride. Upon hearing this, Orpheus begins his journey to save Helene.
There are several locations in Greece that can be visited;
During this adventure, Orpheus will need 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.
Orpheus will also encounter mythological creatures such as the: Taurus, Lamia, Cyclops, Centaur, Talos, Minotaur, Cerberus, Stymphalian Birds, Nemean Lion and also a Harpy. He will fight his way deep into the underworld, fight and defeat Hades, and finally save Helene. He will acquire several items depicted in the Greek mythology, such as the Harp of Apollo, the Sword of Hephaestus, the Staff of Prometheus and the Sandals of Hermes.
[edit] Influences
The pretext of Orpheus's quest is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Elements of the quest are drawn from the stories of Heracles and Perseus. Many characters, enemies, locations, and items are also based on Greek mythology. The gameplay and graphics seem to be strongly influenced by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released in 1987. This is also evident by the fact that both games share a very similliar glitch where the character moves extremely fast by pressing left and right simultaneously, something that's not possible without using a modified controller or playing the game on an emulator with a keyboard.
