Archon - NES
(C) 1983, 1984 Free-Fall Associates and Electronic Arts
(C) 1989 Activision and Bullet-Proof Software (BPS)
Strategy Guide by SiliconHero
08.02.01
Objective: to defeat the opposing side by killing his/her pieces,
or capturing the five Power Points on the board.
Light Side Pieces
- Knight
This piece resembles the "pawn" in a regular game of chess. His weapon
is the sword. It is very ineffective against enemies with long-range
weapons, since most of them will kill this piece outright due to his
low vitality.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Archer
The Archer carries a bow and arrow. While it fires slowly and does only
moderate damage, it will do well against some enemies.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Valkyrie
The Valkyrie wields a spear, and has the ability to fly over its own
pieces.
Movement: Fly 3 spaces
- Golem
The Golem throws strong boulders at its opponents, but it moves rather
slowly.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Unicorn
The legendary horned horse can shoot beams of light from its horn.
Movement: Walk 4 spaces
- Djinni
A floating spirit of the air, the Djinni attacks its foes with the
power of its whirlwinds.
Movement: Fly 4 spaces
- Phoenix
This bird of fire attacks its foes by burning them in its own flames.
This attack can be used to shield the Phoenix from its enemies'
projectile weapons.
Movement: Fly 5 spaces
- Wizard
The Wizard is the main piece of the Light Side's army. He can
teleport and cast spells. His attack is a powerful ball of
lightning that shoots from his staff.
Movement: Teleport 3 spaces.
Dark Side Pieces
- Goblin
The Goblins wield clubs of stone to use for bashing foes. However,
like the Knights, they are weak and defeated rather easily.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Manticore
The Manticore attacks with its tail spikes. It flies slowly and
does moderate damage.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Banshee
Banshees, the spirits of the dead, subdue their foes with high-pitched
screams. The Banshee is the only piece that can move while attacking.
Movement: Fly 3 spaces
- Troll
Trolls are nearly identical to Golems in every way. They throw small
boulders at their opponents.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Basilisk
A Basilisk can wipe out the enemy with its powerful eyebeam.
Movement: Walk 3 spaces
- Dragon
The Dragon, considered the power piece of the Dark Army, can burn
its enemies to a crisp with fireballs. It has a very long life meter,
even when placed on a Light square.
Movement: Fly 4 spaces
- Shapeshifter
The Shapeshifter assumes the attacks and physical characteristics of
the opponents it faces. Strategy against opponents varies when using
this character.
Movement: Fly 5 spaces
- Sorceress
The Sorceress commands the Dark Side's army. She knows all the same
spells as a Wizard, but uses less powerful, but faster lightning bolts
as her weapon.
Movement: Teleport 3 spaces
Spells
- Teleport
This spell allows one character to teleport to any square on the board.
You can only teleport your own pieces.
- Heal
Restores one character to full health.
- Shift Time
Reverses the flow of time. If the time squares are becoming
lighter, then they will turn darker, and vice versa. Effective at the
end of the turn.
- Exchange
Exchanges one character's piece with another.
- Summon Elemental
Allows the spellcaster to summon an elemental spirit to attack the
enemy. The elemental spirit cannot claim a space on the board, but
nothing will be lost if the elemental loses the battle.
- Revive
Resurrects a character that was killed in battle. You have to
place the revived piece on a square near the spellcaster.
- Imprison
Traps an enemy's piece, preventing them from moving until the flow of
time comes to that piece's color.
Strategies
- When you start out the game, you have a choice of choosing whether
or not you want to go first. If you choose to go first, however, you
may be at a disadvantage, because the time always flows in the opposite
color of the side that starts the game. Most of the squares on the board
(I'll call them "time squares") change after each turn, in five
shades of blue, as follows:
To keep your pieces at an advantage, move your pieces to the
color that matches their side. This will give them maximum vitality when
they are challenged to a battle. On the flip side, if you put your
piece on a square of your opponent's color, you will have minimum
vitality when fighting.
- The Power Points are safe zones on the board. When a piece is on a
Point, it cannot be affected by any magic spell. There are five Power
Points on the Board, on the West (Light) side, the East (Dark) side, the
North and South sides, and in the center of the board.
- Your opponent will try to occupy the center Power Points quickly when
the time squares become neutral, flowing to their color. Let them occupy
the squares for a while, and then when the time squares become neutral
again, attack with a strong piece, such as a Djinni or a Dragon.
- Don't move your Wizard/Sorceress from their initial Power Point Square
unless there are only a few pieces left on the board for both sides. You'll
need them to protect that spot if you want to take control of the board.
- Pieces with long-range weapons have a distinct advantage over pieces
with short-range weapons. Obviously, challenging the Dragon with a Knight
is foolish.
- Each of the seven spells can only be cast once per game. Every time
your Wizard or Sorceress casts a spell, he/she will lose some life
force when battling. If you want to have the upper hand during a
Wizard/Sorceress battle, try to cast as little magic as possible.
- If the game goes on too long without a winner, the game will end in
a stalemate. You will then have 12 turns to initiate combat with your
enemy. If you want to keep the battle going, use this time to defeat
your opponent instead of capturing the Power Points on the board.
*** END OF STRATEGY GUIDE ***
That's the end of my Archon strategy guide. If you have any questions or additions
regarding it, you can send them to waltos_1999@yahoo.com, or at
siliconhero@skytowergames.net.
