Ahh.... Athena. I'm still waiting for the AVGN to review this one. This was the very first NES game that I bought since I couldn't afford Kid Icarus or Metroid at the time as they were 10 dollars more than what Athena was going for.
I was impatient and sick to death of Mario and Duck Hunt so rather than wait another week and cut a few more lawns, I broke down and bought Athena. 
Boy did I feel robbed! It took me cutting another six lawns before I could afford to buy a decent game back then......and I hated pushing that damn lawn mower.
Ha Ha... I know the feeling. Same thing happened to me with City Connection. It really was hard to choose good games back then. Especially if the game wasnt picked for review by one of the big game mags. Kids don't know how spoiled they are with the internet.
I liked City Connection a lot more than Athena!!!!
I never played Athena.
However, my story with City Connection. Someone gave me the game, during NES days. Either that or I paid something non-memorable for it, like $5. I traded it for Shadowgate. Shadowgate I enjoyed more.
However, City Connection I later reacquired. It's a good arcade type game. Though, years ago, Shadowgate, without a guide, I put more hours into!
