Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life

Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life is a three disc RPG game developed by Yumekobo that was released in March 1999 for the Playstation console. It was released again as downloadable content for the Playstation 3 and PSP on August 28, 2007. The game's image song, "wannabe /Misty Eyes", was performed by RUMI. The game's story is notorious for being much darker than other Athena related titles.

Plot Outline
The year is 2018 and science has progressed at an alarming rate under the Tantalos system. Dinosaurs, clones, and mecha are no longer figments of fantasy and can be constructed into reality. They regulate society to the finest detail, creating automated and technologically advanced cities on land and in sea. Yet through this government agency lies a dark conspiracy, one which mysteriously surrounds the brain waves of the school girl, Athena Asamiya. Although she believes herself to be a normal girl, her life changes dramatically once her Psycho Powers awaken. Now, it is up to her to find the truth behind her powers as well as the secrets behind Tantalos.

Overview
The game itself is a 3D title that is best described as an adventure game. The player directs Athena to talk to people to resolve conflicts at hand. A majority of the game's story is presented through lengthy FMV sequences with acting that commonly resembles modern Japanese drama. At key points of the game, players need to use Athena's Psycho Powers -such as teleporting, mind-reading, ect.- to progress the story's plot. In order to perform a psycho move, players will have to successfully complete a unique button-sequence for their select psychic power. Failing to complete a sequence will decrease Athena's lifebar, promoting players to practice quick reflexes and patience. Players can collect various healing items throughout the game to recover health.

The museum stage in The King of Fighters '99 makes an allusion to this game by mirroring the same area where Athena battled a T-rex. A skeleton model of the dinosaur is featured for its 2D counterpart.

Characters

 * Athena Asamiya - protagonist; a normal schoolgirl who is slowly adapting to her Psycho Powers
 * Sie Kensou - Athena's friend who has a crush on her; helps her out in anyway that he can
 * Rika Kashiwazaki - Athena's friend at school who tries to cheer her friend up. Once she witnesses her friend's powers, she begins to fear and distance herself from Athena.
 * Masato Kurihara - a soft-spoken child who enjoys Athena's company. He meets with her at various times of the game as he seems to know the truth behind her powers and Tantalos.
 * Masaru Kaidou - a member of the protective services who tracks Athena. His job is to protect her from being captured by Astlaois.
 * Astlaios - a masked jester who has similar psychic abilities as Athena. He frequently antagonizes her once her powers awaken.
 * Kiyono Takaoki - a scientist who was a part of the research team that discovered a strange anomaly before the game takes place.
 * Yoshihiro Sannomiya - a curt, by-the-book man who is Athena's teacher at school. He is the first person to witness her powers.

Related Products
The game also spawned a live-action 13 episode drama series, simply titled as "Athena", which starred Kei Ishibashi as Athena. As with most games, SNK also released a soundtrack and a drama CD for the game. The drama CD has an original story that reenacts some of the game's original events. A two-part novel series written by Jyumon Yayoi was also made.