The Battle of Olympus

Welcome to Arcadia.

As a speedrunner, this theme will be drilled into your head. Violently. So violently, that the first thing that seems relevant to speak of is death.

Death in The Battle of Olympus

When you die, you get two options. If you continue, you lose half your olives, but keep ALL progress and items. This includes the state of your flask - if it was full when you died, you will respawn with a full flask. If it was empty, you'll wind up with an empty one. This option brings you back to the last entrance to the area you entered.

If you instead choose retry, you will rewind your state to the last god you received a password from. Often times it is wise to speak to a god for a password to save yourself from losing olives.

Tricks

Farming in Arcadia

1. Find the screen in Arcadia with full treetops and six slimes.
2. Kill all six slimes while moving to the right.
3. Slowly nudge your screen back to the left - you should see the slimes spawning in the top right of the screen. Try to make sure they're spawning on top of each other.
4. When you feel that you've gotten all of the slimes to spawn, turn around and let them fall.
5. Smack them on their way down. This timing takes practice. If you miss it, try to kill the stray slimes where the first slimes died. This makes them spawn closer together.
6. Nudge back to the right. It's harder to see them spawn on the top left, but they are visible. Smack 'em!

Continue going back and forth and smacking the stacks. Once they're clumped enough, this should be a relatively fast farm.

This trick also works starting from the right, just reverse the directions.

Crouching projectiles

This works with both the staff of fennel's fire and the divine sword. To shoot a projectile from a crouching position, hold down, attack, and then immediately press up. It takes a little practice to get consistent, but is very useful in both any% and 100%.

Gravity swap and jump height

Not a trick, per se, but something worth noting. When you jump, the length that you hold A has nothing to do with how high you jump. Your jump height depends completely on your momentum. Tapping A will get you just as high as holding it. This is important for when you have Hermes' sandals, since holding A will send you flying to the ceiling if it's possible.

Any% Route

1. Farm up 45 olives using the Arcadia slime method noted above. Once you have these, talk to Zeus, who is in the white house two screens to the right.
2. On your way to Zeus, you'll have to jump over a bull. There is a line on the floor in front of the bull that you can use as your reference point for where to start the jump.
3. You can talk to Zeus again to receive a password. This is advisable if you are not familiar with Argolis.
4. Your next step is to take the tree trunk through to Argolis.
5. Once in Argolis, take the far right door. Charge through the bats and snakes until you reach Hermes' temple, where you will be told to buzz off.
6. [TODO: PICTURES OF BAT PATHS AND WHERE TO JUMP]
7. Drop into the pit just to the left of the temple. You do not have to jump over the snake, simply hold left. Head to the far right to exit the pit, and then go back to Arcadia.
8. Your next stop is Zeus' temple, where Hermes' was summoned to. On the way, farm up another 45 olives. You want around 90 olives so you don't have to farm too much later.
9. After speaking to Hermes, you will have the sandals. Talk to Hermes again if you wish to save.
10. Head to the right of Arcadia for Peloponnesus. Head into the far right door and through the extra room to reach the maze section of the forest.
11. Head to the far right door in the first room.
12. In the second area, jump over the web and take the first door to the left. This is where you will find the hydra, but first you need to damage boost through the brown bushes. To do this, jump high into them, and turn right before you hit them so you get damaged to the left.
13. For the hydra, get it in a loop. Kill it for the sword.
14. [TODO: PICTURES OF HYDRA TACTICS]
15. Sometimes the hydra can troll a bit and break the loop.
16. After you get the sword and get back out of the maze section, go left one door. Then, go left once more. You will end up in a temple. Get the harp, and talk to the god once more if you need a password.
17. Now go one door right and two doors left for the cyclops.
18. Strike the ambrosia from the tree and consume it for a health refill.
19. Kill the cyclops with four quick jabs to the eye, you can keep it stunlocked if you're quick enough. Head through the door on the left to go to Laconia.
20. Once in Laconia, head right one screen and strike the third pillar at the ground to reveal the passageway to Poseiden's temple. THERE IS A DARK HALLWAY HERE. DO NOT PANIC, IT IS A SIMPLE HALLWAY.
21. [TODO: PICTURE TO SHOW THE LAYOUT OF THE SIMPLE HALLWAY IN CASE SOMEONE GETS STUCK LIKE I DID MY FIRST TIME THROUGH LOLOL]
22. Buy the ocarina from him for 60 olives, and grab the password if you need it. Exit, and go back up the stairs.
23. Heading right, grab the flask by striking the pillar right after the sun pillar. You won't be able to fill it up for a while, but you need it. Keep heading right over the sea with the ocarina until you reach the harpy.
24. Switch to the harp for the harpy (hah). Stab her in the face three times to gain entrance to hell.
25. This cave is a bit tricky. There's only one pit you have to jump over, but unlike Zelda 2, you can't see the terrain in dark rooms. Kill the [wizards, todo: get real name] for the orb, and jump back out.
26. Head right to the sun pillar and play the harp at it to go back to Arcadia.
27. Farm up olives until you have 70 of them, then head left to Argolis.
28. Instead of taking the far right door in Argolis this time, take the one right before it.
29. Use the orb right when you're near the snake and the bat to reveal a hidden door. Go in it and head to the top left for your first love fragment.
30. Head back out to the sun pillar, and use the harp to get to Attica.
31. First, fill up your flask by kneeling at the fountain. If you're short of 70 olives, farm the rest now.
32. (If you're not confident, head right and talk to Athena twice. Once for the shield, once more for the password.)
33. Head left and visit the first house on the way back to get the key from the old man.
34. Keep heading left until you get out to the rocky section and then turn right.
35. Play the ocarina next to the stone golem, and kill him to gain entrance to Phthia.
36. [TODO: video of sexy fight]
37. In Phthia, head left for the divine sword first.
38. After the divine sword, go right to get the ambrosia for a nice health refill and some nice insurance health. DO NOT FEAR USING YOUR FLASK. YOU CAN REFILL IT SOON.
39. Finally, head right and take the top path in the waterfall to get the second fragment of love.
40. Head back to the sun pillar and play there to get back to Laconia.
41. [TODO: PICTURES OF STUPID MONKEYS AND BIRDS AND SCREEN-BY-SCREEN TIPS]
42. From Laconia, head right over the water with the ocarina. Keep going right to get to Crete.
43. Jump over the armor's head and go through the small room to get into the maze portion.
44. Once you're in the maze portion, go right three doors.
45. Next, go two doors to the left to get to the minotaur's room. If you need it, there is a fountain one door to the left of the minotaur's room.
46. Kill the minotaur to get the last love fragment. You can stunlock this boss very easily with a little bit of practice.
47. [TODO: POST VIDEO]
48. If your minotaur fight was off, you can fill up your flask in the room to the left.
49. Otherwise, from the minotaur's room, head three doors to the right.
50. In the green room, head to the left door to get to the exit, where the entrance to Tartarus will have appeared.
51. Enter Tartarus floating above the sea.
52. Left, left, right, left doors.
53. Kill cerberus.
54. The first door has a nymph with a full health heal. Take it if you need it. Head into the next door after that.
55. In the next room, head to the far right door.
56. The next two rooms are very trolly, but there is a checkpoint right at the beginning of them. Use the damage passthrough technique to get through the large snake, and take the top door.
57. Kill the ghosts, and take the top right door.
58. Take left doors until you reach Hades' palace.
59. Use the damage passthrough technique to pass Lamia and get to the second screen.
60. Kill both demons, and lead the snakes around to not be a nuisance as you climb the stairs.
61. Jump over the snakes in the next room and climb the stairs.
62. Immediately jump and do a damage passthrough of both the demon and the snake, and then kill all three demons. Head right, staying high.
63. You can jump over all the enemies and gaps until the final staircase, or you can choose to kill the demons if you want a chance at a health drop. Take the second staircase up.
64. Jump slightly to the right, and swing at the demon. Duck under it, then hug the right wall. Kill both demons. Head down the right staircase.
65. Take an intentional hit on the snake that spawns in the next room and drop manually to bottom of the stairs. Climb down.
66. Wait on the third step for the demon to pass, then go farther down to swing at the demon. Alternatively, you can try to charge through it by jumping the second you hit the bottom of the staircase. This is faster, but you risk taking a hit.
67. In Hades room, use crouching lightning to save the day and rescue your beloved heroine.

Credits

The Battle of Olympus information by Brian 'Boxfat' Ringeisen. Orpheus Pony by CosmoNaught.