The Battle of Olympus

The Battle of Olympus is a game for the NES released in 1989 by Broderbund. A Game Boy version was released by Radical Entertainment and Imaingeer in 1993. This game helped me to appreciate Greek Mythology. So you can imagine this game has helped me to become a fan of Greek Mythology. Maybe more people today may get their fix of Greek goodness from the God of War series, but WELL before that game series, there was "The Battle of Olympus." This blog post is a look at this classic game.

--- The Battle of Olympus ---

^ from: timewarpgamer.com - The box to "The Battle of Olympus."


Here is the text from the box of this game:

"This is an ancient story- a time when men and gods lived together. The peaceful village of Elis was the home of the fairest maiden and a gentle yet brave young man named Orpheus. Helene and Orpheus swore eternal love to each other. But alas, one day, Helene fell victim to the fangs of a venomous serpent and was turned into stone.

"Your adventure will take you through ancient Greece on a classic mythological quest. It may be easy to defeat the snakes and centaurs that inhabit most of the cities but how will you defeat Hydra? Or the terrible three-headed dog, Cerberus? You'll need to use all of your adventuring skills to find the magic items that will allow you to rescue your beloved Helene."

-text from the box of the game

The Story and General Information.

You play as Orpheus as you try to save your girlfriend, Helene, through the clutches of Hades. Your girlfriend was cast into stone, and three hearts will help restore her. A vicious journey awaits you as you battle through a monster-ridden Greece. Can you save your girlfriend and Greece from the wrath of Hades?

You will have to rely on bay leaves to help you recover health, and you will need olives (a maximum of 99) to purchase items. You start off with a mere club. Three more weapons can be obtained. Five different items and five equipment items will help make your quest easier. Talking to gods and goddesses in their temples will help you to track your progress. They will even lend you their powers to help you complete your quest. You need to remember these passwords to access your game progress in future plays.

A number of real Greek mythological beasts and monsters await you, ranging from various smaller enemies to larger bosses such as the Lamia, Minotaur, the Centaur, and Cerberus among others. You are in for the fight of your life in your journey to rescue your girlfriend.

The Areas.

Let's look at the areas you can visit:

• Arcadia - a simple and easy realm. Visit Zeus as you start out.

• Attica - a major city. Goddess Athena resides here, and two different areas can be accessed through Attica.

• Argolis - an underworld area dominated by two caves. In one of the caves, however, there is a secret area if you have (a certain item). Apollo can be found here.

• Peloponnesus - a maze set in a dense forest. Many perils exist here including thorns and spider webs.

• Laconia - a coastal area with many tall pillars. Poseidon resides here, and if you have enough olives, he'll lend you his strength. It is important you get [this item] here because you will need it to enter Tartarus.

• Phythia - an area high into the mountains. This is one of the most difficult areas of the game, and you will need a good amount of olives to acquire the game's most powerful weapon. A lot of careful jumping and intense fighting awaits you here.

• Crete - on this island lies a maze guarded by knights and soldiers. This is also where you need a lot of olives to purchase two different items. You need to have enough of *something• in Argolis before getting one of the items.

• Phygria - an area featuring a large castle that you can enter. This is a difficult stage with hazards both inside the castle and outside the castle. Goddess Artemis awaits you if you are able to reach her temple here.


Once you have everything and been everywhere, only one more challenge awaits:

• Tartarus - the road to Hades and your love takes you through here. Tartarus has a few different realms for you to access before actually accessing Hades' temple. Once you arrive in Hades' temple, you will need to use all of your skill and might to get through to fight Hades himself.

--- Overall Review ---

The Battle of Olympus is an intense game. Some of the battles can be fairly monotonous and frustrating at times, but it is otherwise a very good game. You will especially be feeling frustrated when you reach Phythia and Phygria. The game is a very nice way to get exposed to some of the many figures and creatures of Greek mythology. It helped me to appreciate The Odyssey when I had to read it in my 9th Grade days. I have beaten this game multiple times.

Video Preview.

So do you want to see the game in action? I invite you to see this game on YouTube. This is courtesy of "NESGuide": "The Battle of Olympus - NES Gameplay" - YouTube.





Do you have a Nintendo Entertainment System? If you want to get this game online, have a look here:



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