SNK is teaming up with the Japanese retro video game retailer Beep to rerelease some classic merchandise based on its old arcade titles Athena and Psycho Soldier (thanks Famitsu).
The new merch is available now to order from Beep's online store and includes reprints and rereleases of various pieces of video game ephemera, that originally debuted in the 80s back when the games were originally released, such as stickers, instruction sheets, and posters.
Here's what's included:
- The "SNK×BEEP Athena Goods" Collection Retro Glass (3,300 yen)
- The "SNK×BEEP Athena Goods" Collection Arcade Instruction Set (5,500 yen) - includes A1 Poster and sticker sheet
- The "SNK×BEEP Athena Goods" Collection Psycho Soldier Sticker (1,100 yen)
- The "SNK×BEEP Athena Goods" Collection Athena Sticker Sheet (1,100 yen)
- The "SNK×BEEP Athena Goods" Collection Athena Sticker Sheet (2,200 yen)
In case you've never heard of it, Athena debuted in the arcades back in 1986 in Japan and was an action platformer putting players in the role of the Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, who appears as a bikini-clad warrior. One day, after opening a forbidden door, she finds herself transported to a fantasy land ruled by an evil emperor named Dante and must embark on a quest to free the world of his tyranny and discover a way home.
It was later ported to various other platforms, including the NES/Famicom and home computers like the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It has also been reissued on various occasions, including on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of Arcade Archives.
Psycho Soldier, meanwhile, is considered a distant sequel to Athena and features Athena's ancestor Athena Asamiya. It was released in 1987, initially for arcades, and was later given conversions for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64. Similar to Athena, it is also available as part of Arcade Archives.
Both characters have since appeared in the SNK series, with Princess Athena appearing as Athena Asamiya's "Striker" in King of Fighters 2000.