Line #31 VideoGame/TheBattleOfOlympus


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/399_the_battle_of_olympus.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:A cover art so awesome that the game ''will'' inevitably be a letdown.]]
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4	''The Battle of Olympus'' is a video game developed by Infinity and published by Creator/BroderbundSoftware, released in the US in 1990 for the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem and on Platform/GameBoy in Europe. It's a side-scrolling adventure game based on the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice]]; the heroine in the game is referred to as [[AdaptationalNameChange Helene instead]].
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6	The [[SaveThePrincess story]] is that Helene has fallen victim to the bite of a poisonous snake and has been taken to Hades. Orpheus rushes to her rescue upon hearing of this. The game combines many different Greek legends, culminating in monsters and items that are found throughout Greek mythology.
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8	!!''The Battle of Olympus'' contains examples of:
9	* ActionizedAdaptation: The myth had Orpheus's journey be pacifistic, while the game has Orpheus traveling the world and Underworld to rescue his love from Hades with powerful artifacts and weapons at his disposal, ending by slaying Hades himself.
10	* AdaptationNameChange: Eurydice's name was changed to Helene, perhaps either because it was a shorter name to fit with the 6-letter limit or because it was a simpler name for a Japanese audience to pronounce.
11	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragedy where he fails to save her from the Underworld, but in the game he frees her successfully and they watch the sun rise together.
12	* AdaptationalHeroism: Circe. As opposed to her initial depiction in ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' as a [[TheVamp vamp]] who turned sailors into animals, this game turns her into a helpful witch who will sell Orpheus the Salamander Shield.
13	* AdaptationalUgliness: Circe looks like the other old women in the game rather than the beautiful [[TheVamp vamp]] of ''Literature/TheOdyssey''.
14	* AllThereInTheManual: The game makes no mention of Orpheus and Helene. The game allows the player to write the character's names with no default.
15	* AmbidextrousSprite: Orpheus.
16	* {{Arcadia}}: You start out in the literal Arcadia. As expected, it's idyllic-looking and probably the least dangerous area in the game.
17	* AwesomeButImpractical: The Divine Sword's special ability, the Power of Argus, which shaves off a little {{H\|itPoints}}P with each use, until the Bracelet of Ares is obtained.
18	* AWinnerIsYou: You rescue Helene from Hades and you get a final shot of Orpheus and Helene staring into the sunrise and that's all you get. At least the music is nice.
19	* BagOfSpilling: The player's death results in the loss of half of the carried wealth (Olives). With a max of 99 Olives and a few items costing not too far less than that, add in the ease of death, and it becomes [[FakeDifficulty hard to obtain those items]].
20	* ChekhovsGun: The Moon Orb, which only has a use in the final battle.
21	* ContinuingIsPainful: You have unlimited continues, but dying slashes your current olive amount in half, which means more grinding.
22	* CueTheSun: At the end of the game. You can even ''recue'' the sun after the credit roll.
23	* DamselInDistress: A rare case of the damsel having already ''[[NeverSayDie been taken to Hades]]'' (died) when the story begins.
24	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Hades goes down surprisingly quickly for a god.
25	* EverybodyHatesHades: In the myth, Hades had Eurydice because, you know, she died, and he can't just let dead people come back to life. In this game, he orchestrated Helene's death and intends to marry her. Or keep her as a statue. One of the two.
26	* FaunsAndSatyrs: A very low-level enemy in Attica.
27	* FetchQuest: Obtaining 20 Salamander Skins to trade for the Salamander Shield.
28	* FinalBoss: Hades, wearing his trademark Helm of Invisibility. Orpheus must use the otherwise useless Moon Orb to reveal only his shadow. After a certain amount of damage, the helm's magic ends and Hades is revealed (though his tactics remain the same).
29	* GuideDangIt: If the games' enemies and bosses don't murder you, you'll at the very least be wandering trying to figure out what to do next.
30	* HeartContainer: Ambrosia, the mythological food of the Gods, increases the player's Max HP.
31	* HelloInsertNameHere: Both the NES game and the Game Boy game allow you to name the hero and heroine.
32	* InASingleBound: The Sandals of Hermes increase overall jumping ability to a tolerable level and allow the character to invert personal gravity and walk on the ceiling. No, they won't activate unless there's a ceiling to "fall" up to.
33	* KillItWithFire: The Staff of Fennel's fire ability, while nearly necessary to attack floor-crawling foes, is required to burn down red thorny hedges.
34	* LeapOfFaith: To find the salamanders (and the Ambrosia sold near them), you must jump into the correct {{Bottomless Pit\|s}}. Out of all the bottomless pits in the game, there are a total of two (which are unmarked) that are not of the instant-death variety.
35	* MagicalMysteryDoors: Most of the mazes are like this.
36	* MagicSkirt: The hero's tunic doesn't obey the laws of gravity when inverting with the Sandals of Hermes.
37	* MalevolentArchitecture: Many of the late-game areas are geared to give monsters a much greater advantage, and several jumps require absolute precision.
38	* NoHeroDiscount: You may be on an epic quest to save your lady-love from the pits of the underworld, but the gods are still going to demand that you fork over a ton of [[WeirdCurrency olives]] before bestowing their blessings on you. Justified in that the Greek gods [[JerkassGods weren't particularly altruistic]], but still, in the myths their divine favour wasn't quite this... negotiable.
39	* PasswordSave: Speaking with Zeus or other gods will have them give out passwords to save and load your game.
40	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The Game Boy version has "Toccata and Fugue" play in the Underworld stages, while the NES game uses it in the gods' temples and password save rooms.
41	* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: The whole game is about Orpheus gathering the weapons and tools needed to take the fight to Hades and rescue his love.
42	* SadlyMythtaken: Consider Eurydice being renamed Helene to be the first of many examples.
43	* ShopliftAndDie: Do ''not'' try to buy from Ares when carrying insufficient olives. You will ''lose your shoes''.
44	* SnakesAreSinister: Snakes and salamanders (which are portrayed as snake-like in this game) are one type of enemy. Once you get to Phrygia, you'll meet giant snakes as well. There is also the Lamia, a boss who is half snake, half woman.
45	* SuperDrowningSkills: Falling into any body of water kills you.
46	* SwordBeam: The Divine Sword emits small, short-range lightning bolts that drain the life from the player, unless you have the Bracelet of Ares. Also, the player can unlock the ability to throw fire from the Staff of Fennel.
47	* TakenForGranite: After the player defeats Hades, he encounters [[spoiler: a petrified Helene. The power of love (literally) quickly reverses this]].
48	* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Unlike the mythological Orpheus, who quelled threats with the beauty of his music, this one grabs power-ups to fight Hades one-on-one.
49	* WeirdCurrency: Apparently ancient Greece is on the olive standard.

Context VideoGame / TheBattleOfOlympus