Athena Asamiya
Encyclopedia
- This article is for the KOF character. For the SNK goddess, see Princess Athena.
is a character originally from the former SNK
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
's video game Psycho Soldier
Psycho Soldier
is an action arcade game developed by Japanese software company SNK that was originally released in 1986 and internationally in 1987. It is somewhat of a sequel to Athena released a year earlier, Psycho Soldier continues the adventures of Athena, and is noteworthy for being the first video game...
and a descendant of Princess Athena in its Athena
Athena (video game)
is a platform arcade game, produced and published in 1986 by SNK. It was later ported to the NES, developed by Micronics. The NES version was the only one released in North America. Conversions were done also for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987 by Ocean Software under their...
. She later appears in The King of Fighters series of fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s as a female fighter character and has appeared in each of its thirteen editions. She was also given her own RPG game Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life in 1999 released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
.
Character design
In her first appearance in Psycho SoldierPsycho Soldier
is an action arcade game developed by Japanese software company SNK that was originally released in 1986 and internationally in 1987. It is somewhat of a sequel to Athena released a year earlier, Psycho Soldier continues the adventures of Athena, and is noteworthy for being the first video game...
Athena has long pink hair and wears a black Japanese school uniform
Japanese school uniform
Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the Japanese public and private school systems. The Japanese word for this type of uniform is .-Usage:...
. In The King of Fighters series, Athena wears new outfits in every game, some with little changes. Her hair, however, is purple and becomes short from The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...
to The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the Korean-based company Eolith and developed by...
. The staff from the series has been requested by fans to return her Japanese school uniform in several games, but they only made her wear it only in her introductions as they thought it would not be well received by gamers from other countries. However, by The King of Fighters XI
The King of Fighters XI
The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...
, Athena appears with a white school uniform and in The King of Fighters XII
The King of Fighters XII
is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...
she returns to her original Psycho Soldier outfit as the members from SNK wanted to return The King of Fighters series to its "original concept." In The King of Fighters XIII
The King of Fighters XIII
is the latest installment of The King of Fighters fighting game series developed and published by SNK Playmore. The game is set after the events from The King of Fighters XI and is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003...
, Athena returns wearing the same clothes but with a color alteration (white shirt and blue skirt; more in line with her attire from The King of Fighters XI).
Athena has been voiced by several voice actresses since her debut in Psycho Soldier in which she was played by Rushina in the game and Kaori Shimizu
Kaori Shimizu (idol)
is a Japanese idol notable for doing the voice and theme song to the video game Psycho Soldier, the first video game with a vocal soundtrack. In 1991 she retired from show business to marry baseball player Kazuhiro Sasaki. They had a son and daughter together...
for her image songs. For The King of Fighters series, Athena has been played by several actresses. Reiko Fukui voiced her in The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the inaugural game in The King of Fighters series by the same company. The game was originally ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD following its original arcade release...
, Moe Nagasaki in The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '95
The King of Fighters '95 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the sequel to The King of Fighters '94 and the second game in The King of Fighters series...
, Tamao Satō
Tamao Sato
is a Japanese actress, voice actress, television personality and model from Funabashi, Chiba, perhaps best known for her role as Momo Maruo in the 1995 Super Sentai series Chōriki Sentai Ohranger, as well as co-hosting O-Sama Brunch, a Tokyo Broadcasting System Saturday morning show.-Voice roles:*...
in The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '96 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn...
and Yukina Kurisu The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
and The King of Fighters: Kyo. Since The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...
, Athena has been voiced by Haruna Ikezawa
Haruna Ikezawa
is a voice actress born in Athens, Greece, but raised in Kanagawa Prefecture. She was formerly affiliated with 81 Produce, but as of 2002, she is affiliated with Oscar Promotion...
in each game she is featured as well as the anime The King of Fighters Another Day. For the English version from KOF: Maximum Impact
KOF: Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...
, Robyn Gryphe provides Athena's voice and Lily Kong plays Athena in the sequel
KOF: Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...
, while in the English version of the King of Fighters XII, Athena is voiced by Miwa Gardner.
Attributes
Athena is a modern day high school girl in Japan. Her psycho power is a legacy from her ancestor Princess Athena through her mother and it seems no other one in her family possesses the same power. She is a typical protagonist of Japanese animation culture with strong sense of justice and will to fight evil, help the weak and exercise hard for self-progress. Objectively, she also has gained lots of popularity to make her an idol because of her physical charms and warm soul, both inside and outside fictions.In video games
Athena first appears in the video game Psycho SoldierPsycho Soldier
is an action arcade game developed by Japanese software company SNK that was originally released in 1986 and internationally in 1987. It is somewhat of a sequel to Athena released a year earlier, Psycho Soldier continues the adventures of Athena, and is noteworthy for being the first video game...
, fighting against several creatures attacking Earth along with her friend Sie Kensou. She would also appear in the crossover fighting game series The King of Fighters as part of the Psycho Soldier Team. The Psycho Soldier Team is initially composed of Kensou and Athena's teacher, Chin Gentsai. The team would be present in most King of Fighters tournament as Chin wanted to train more Kensou and Athena as well as searching for evil forces such as the demon Orochi. The team has little changes within tournaments with the only new member joining them being Bao from The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...
until The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001
The King of Fighters 2001 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith for the Neo Geo. It is the eighth game in The King of Fighters series and the first game produced following the closure of the original SNK. The game was produced by the Korean-based company Eolith and developed by...
. The King of Fighters '99: Evolution also contains a Striker version from Athena with her school uniform. By The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the first KOF game to become a tag tournament as well as the first one to be published by SNK Playmore...
the Psycho Soldier Team retires from competition as Kensou and Bao needed to train their new powers. As such, Athena creates the High School Girls Team along with the Sumo fighter Hinako Shijo and a mysterious girl named Malin. The Psycho Soldier Team returns in The King of Fighters XI
The King of Fighters XI
The King of Fighters XI is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game for the Atomiswave platform...
with Athena, Kensou and a Momoko, a young girl able to use Psycho powers. In the latest title The King of Fighters XII
The King of Fighters XII
is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...
, Athena is playable, but like each character, she has no official teams. In the sequel
The King of Fighters XIII
is the latest installment of The King of Fighters fighting game series developed and published by SNK Playmore. The game is set after the events from The King of Fighters XI and is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003...
, she is back with Kensou and Chin representing the Psycho Soldiers. She is also featured in the spin-off games The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and originally released as a coin operated arcade game for Sammys Atomiswave hardware. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave...
and KOF: Maximum Impact 1
KOF: Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...
and 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...
. In the Maximum Impact series, Athena has a self-proclaimed rival named Mignon Beart whom she does not acknowledge or know her.
In the role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life, Athena has to find answers about strange things that happened in her school, and later in various parts of Japan. She was also added to the crossover series SNK vs. Capcom, being playable in SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
is a fighting game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It features a total of 26 characters from SNK and Capcom, eight of which are hidden. Play options includes 2-fighter tag teams, 3-fighter queue teams, and of course, one-on-one...
and Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
. Her character also appears in SNK Gals' Fighters
SNK Gals' Fighters
SNK Gals' Fighters is a 2-dimensional 1-on-1 versus fighting game which appeared on the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 2000. It featured female characters from various SNK franchises, where the characters compete in the aptly named The Queen of Fighters tournament, organized by a mysterious "Miss X", with...
as a playable character, with Athena wanting to win the Gals' tournament to recover her long hair.
Athena appears also portable video game series Day of Memories, in which each game is presented with different personalities (and even with different ages).
In other media
Athena also appears in several comic adaptations from The King of Fighters series which retell the story from various video games. In the Masato Natsumoto's mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
The King of Fighters: Kyo, Athena has a crush on Kyo Kusanagi, being also interested in his abilities. She appears in several chapters from the series along with Kensou as they investigate the powers from Iori Yagami
Iori Yagami
is a character from the SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series that first appeared in The King of Fighters '95 as the leader of the Rivals Team. He is an iconic character of the series, and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. Iori is a central character to the...
. In the manga from Ryo Takamisaki, The King of Fighters G, Athena is featured as one of the lead characters participating in The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '96
The King of Fighters '96 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn...
tournament along with Kyo and Vice, a servant from the demon Orochi. She also makes a short appearance in the 2006 original net animation
Original Net Animation
An original net animation is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animation, a term that has been used in the anime industry for straight-to-video...
The King of Fighters Another Day helping citizens from Southtown in a fire. In the live-action drama entitled Athena, her character is portrayed by Kei Ishibashi, while the story is based on the video game Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life. Athena also has her own CD soundtrack named as part of the 20th anniversary from the video games of Athena. The CD was published by Happinet and contains various tracks based on Athena's character.
Athena was the featured character on a 'Neoprint' photo printing machine for a while.
Reception
The character of Athena has been very popular within gamers; In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, she was voted as the tenth favorite character with a total of 1,020 votes. On January 30, 1995 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Athena ranked at No. 3 in the list of Top 50 Characters of 1994. Her character is also featured in various types of merchandising such as figurines from KOF: Maximum ImpactKOF: Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...
and SNK Beach Volley. Athena was also featured along with Mai Shiranui
Mai Shiranui
is a player character in both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games by SNK and in related media, also appearing in a large number of other games...
as a part of a set of two action-figures with both her character being chibi
Chibi
is a Japanese slang word meaning "short person" or "small child". The word has gained currency amongst fans of manga and anime. Its meaning is of someone or some animal that is small. It can be translated as "little", but is not used the same way as chiisana [小さな] but rather cute...
. A key-chain from her character was also released by SNK.
Various video games publications have commented on Athena's character, which has received mixed responses. The IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
staff commented that Athena's introductions in the first The King of Fighters seemed a parody of Chun-Li
Chun-Li
is a video game character produced by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II, she has since appeared as a player character in nearly all subsequent games....
from the Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
series as she wears a similar school outfit. Her new appearance in The King of Fighters XII
The King of Fighters XII
is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...
has been noted to be one of the biggest changes from the series by Todd Ciolek from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
who commented that "Athena looks to have been de-aged five or six years." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
writer Hirohiko Niizumi commented that several fans complained on this new design as it looked "chubby"; However, Niizumi mentioned Athena looked normal-size in comparison to other characters from the game. Ryan King from the Official Xbox 360 Magazine noted that her new appearance makes her look "more pop star-esque than ever." In another review, the writers from IGN noted Athena's skill as an assistant character (named "Striker") to heal characters during fights in The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...
to be one of the best of the game although it has to be used carefully as it is limited. When she was announced to appear in Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
, David Smith from IGN praised her addition to the game but was confused about from what game Athena was going to be based as she has several outfits.