A classic NES adventure is coming back and in a very interesting way, as The Battle of Olympus is being remade by the same husband-and-wife team that created the original game back in 1988. Developed by Yukio Horimoto and Reiko Oshida, with Horimoto handling the programming and Oshida working on the story and graphics, the pair are now using their studio, INFINITY Co., Ltd., to remake the game for modern players.
This remake has been announced for Steam and is planned to launch in Early Access early next year, and Horimoto and Oshida are personally overseeing the project, with the duo promising to preserve what made the original adventure distinctive while updating its presentation and options. That includes recreating the code, redrawing the pixel art, and refining the game for modern PCs while retaining the original’s atmosphere, challenge, and overall spirit.
The original Battle of Olympus was heavily inspired by Horimoto’s interest in Greek mythology and the success of The Legend of Zelda, with, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link having major influence on how the game players, including the jumping and movement systems., as well as attacks, ducking, and jumping animations. Interestingly, Hoimoto also noted in an interview with Jeremy Parish, that he and and Oshida spent considerable time discussing the concept before deciding to build their game around Greek myths and legends, and this working relationship ended up leading to a romantic one as well.
For the remake, INFINITY plans to go considerably further than simply increasing the resolution. The full version is expected to feature completely redrawn graphics, improved visuals and animations, and new visual effects. Players will also be able to choose between Easy and Normal difficulty options, while speedrun-focused features are planned for those looking to tackle the adventure as quickly as possible.
The developers are also taking a relatively careful approach to Early Access, too. The initial version is planned to include all of the stages from the original 8-bit game and allow players to reach its ending, with the original game balance being maintained. Infinity is currently rebuilding the core systems, recreating the pixel art, and preparing the gameplay structure for that Early Access release, and while there is no set date yet, this is already one to keep an eye on,