Is Athena on the nes really that bad?

pixelsmash

A while back I bought the Athena on Commodore 64, but it stopped working 10 minutes after I started playing it. I actually thought the game looked pretty neat, and I didn't mind the level design, controls, music and graphics.



What are your thoughts on this game. Is it really bad as its reputation?

NostalgicMachine

I've honestly never really cared for it.



I remember getting it back in the day during a bulk run at FuncoLand, and it never really made it into my "now playing" pile very often.

Tulpa

It's a pretty run of the mill platformer to me. Don't know how the C64 version is, but the NES to me had weird jumping controls and fighting enemies was a bit hit or miss. Sometimes they'd sneak hits on you if you didn't get the timing down.

Webhead123

I haven't spent much time with it at all...but what little I have has not been a very positive experience. I find the graphics and animations of the NES version to be largely unappealing and the controls and hit-detection seem clumsy. I'll have to give it a more proper attempt before I pass final judgement but my current opinion is: great label art, terrible game.

bronzeshield

It's pretty terrible, and one of the few licensed NES games I would post on a personal "worst" list without hesitation. The pathetic non-ending doesn't help, but I didn't like the original arcade game either.



That said, even Athena has a few defenders.

Bea_Iank

I am a sucker for terrible Micronics ports, so of course I like it.

gutsman004

Originally posted by: bronzeshield



It's pretty terrible, and one of the few licensed NES games I would post on a personal "worst" list without hesitation. The pathetic non-ending doesn't help, but I didn't like the original arcade game either.



That said, even Athena has a few defenders.

I guess I'll be one of those defenders. Athena is not a good game. There are many things wrong with it. But there's juuust enough there to keep me playing it. 



The arcade game is better aesthetically  and the music is pretty nice,but either version you pick has the wonky controls and jump mechanics...and difficulty.



I guess what really draws me in (other than the box art) is the whimsical world of the game. If the controls and mechanics were just 50% better it wouldn't be on a majority of hate lists.

Of course the afore mentioned difficultly doesn't do it any favors either.



Pair that with the shoddy controls and it's easy to see how it ends up in peoples' refuse piles. 



I still like it though.

kingjohn3

I think anything for '85-'88 gets a pass from me. There are some stinkers in there but that era is what I have the fondest gaming memories of so I can't even give it a bad review.

MuNKeY

Eh... played worse.

NESJohnny

It's one of those "bad" games I always really liked. I think every NES player has a couple of those. Gutsman really hits it on the head - it's whimsical, and it really has a good feel going for it. I've played it quite a bit, but the controls and game are just too glitchy and broken. If a really talented hacker were to "clean up" the game and release it as a hack, I would be so all over it.

BreaKBeatZ

Originally posted by: NESJohnny



It's one of those "bad" games I always really liked. I think every NES player has a couple of those. Gutsman really hits it on the head - it's whimsical, and it really has a good feel going for it. I've played it quite a bit, but the controls and game are just too glitchy and broken. If a really talented hacker were to "clean up" the game and release it as a hack, I would be so all over it.

My thoughts as well  

 

Ozzy_98

Athena in the arcade has a bit of a rastan feel to it for me. But it kind of depends on your powerups\armor too.

xcing1030

This game falls in the deadly towers category for, kinda a bad game but can be enjoyable if you stick to it. I love how athena uses the same SNK slimes in crystalis