-- == ARCHON ULTRA == --
FAQ/guide version 1.5
This game is REALLY REALLY HARD to track down nowadays, and generally, if
you find it, it's not going to have any instructions with it. This being
the case, I thought it might be a good idea to submit my trusty little FAQ
file to GameFAQs -- so I've added a little to it ("slapped on a few
bumperstickers", if you will) to make it a little more thorough, and there
you have it! It's not much, but it should be all you need. So, without
further ado... enjoy!!
Quick note: I wrote the original version of this FAQ many years ago, and
sent it to many people, and I've now been informed that some questionably-legal
ZIP distributions of the game actually include it as ARCHON.DOC. If you happen
to have ARCHON.DOC included with your game (shame, shame!), please be aware that
I WROTE IT, and THIS VERSION IS BETTER. (: I wouldn't even bother mentioning
this normally, but all of those plagiarism warnings on the GameFAQs submission
page have me scared, and I want to make sure that there are NO misunderstandings
here. (:
COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
First and foremost, please be aware that Archon Ultra requires the presence
of DOS4GW.EXE (which can be downloaded from any number of websites), and it
uses DOS4GW to its fullest. What this means, of course, is that it has some
compatibility issues with Windows. If you're running Windows 95 or lower,
everything is A-OK. If you're running Windows 98, you'll have to run Archon
Ultra is DOS mode, but everything will still be A-OK -- you'll just have to
go through a reboot when you're done playing. But if you have ANY VERSION OF
WINDOWS LATER THAN 98, you *CANNOT* play Archon Ultra. Period. So before you
go hunting around trying to find this game, please keep this in mind!
CONTROLS (keyboard only)
Do not attempt to make sense of the following controls yet. They will be
explained further later on. (:
UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT LBUTTON RBUTTON
+-----------------------------------------------------
LIGHT : E D S F [space] B
DARK : up down left right [ins] [del]
From this point on, I will refer to the controls for the game as UP, DOWN,
LEFT, RIGHT, LBUTTON, and RBUTTON. Depending upon which side you choose to
play (light or dark), substitute in the appropriate key.
I believe you CAN use a joystick with this game, and maybe even a mouse --
but I don't own any joysticks, and I dunno WHY you'd EVER choose to use a
MOUSE to play this game. (: I'd double-check whether or not you can use
a joystick or a mouse, but of course, I'm currently running Windows ME like
an idiot (and here's a quick word of advice: DON'T EVER use Windows ME!),
so I can't even get the game running anymore!! ARGH!!!! Looks like it's back
to Win98 for me, as soon as I get my hard drive's various and sundry contents
backed up on CD. (:
THE BASIC PREMISE
To win Archon, the goal is to place one piece of your color on each of the
five power squares, which are spread across the board in a + pattern. You
can also win by destroying all of your opponent's pieces or by causing a
stalemate where your opponent cannot make his/her move. If both sides have
less than 5 pieces left, the game will end in a tie if no battle ensues
within a certain number of turns (12, I think).
THE BOARD
Unlike Chess, the color of the square is very important in Archon. If a light
piece is on a light square, that piece will have more life and the attacking
piece will have less life. If a light piece is on a dark square, that piece
will have less life and the attacking piece will have more life. Likewise,
a dark piece has the advantage on a dark square and the disadvantage on a
light square. As the game progresses, the squares across the board in a kite
pattern (diamond and +) will change from one color to another gradually,
changing from white to off-white to gray to dark gray to dark, then slowly
going back to white again (dark gray, gray, off-white, white). Three of the
five power squares are located in this "kite", making them the main focus
of the game. If you manage to secure all three power squares and your wizard
or sorceress is still alive and occupying the fourth square, you will end up
being pitted against the opposing player's magic-user to win the game.
MOVEMENT
Use the LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN keys to move around on the board. Use the
LBUTTON to pick up a piece, and use the LBUTTON again to choose its
destination. Once you pick up a piece, that piece's name, method of
transportation, and range will appear. If the creature is "(ground 3)", for
example, that means you can move it to any space within 3 spaces of its
current location (that includes diagonals), but you can't move it through
another piece. If the creature is "(fly 3)" or "(teleport 3)", you can move
it within 3 spaces and you CAN move it through other pieces. If one of your
pieces lands on a square which is occupied by a piece of the opposing color,
battle ensues (see BATTLE). If you decide that you don't want to move the
current piece, just go back to its original location and hit LBUTTON again.
CASTING SPELLS
To cast a spell, go to the wizard or sorceress and press LBUTTON to pick it
up. Then press LBUTTON again without moving the cursor, and a list of spells
will appear. Use UP and DOWN to sort through them, then press LBUTTON to
cast it (and LBUTTON to choose a target if the spell requires one). Here is
a list of the available spells:
Heal - Fully heals a wounded piece (pieces will recover
on their own after a period of time).
Shift Time - Changes the flow of time, so that if before the
"kite" squares were going light --> dark, they
will now be going dark --> light. If the "kite"
squares are fully light or dark when this spell
is cast, they will be immediately reversed.
Revive - Bring a destroyed piece back to life. You can
only place the revived piece within one square
of the wizard or sorceress.
Imprison - Keep a piece of the opposing color from moving.
Effect lasts until the "kite" squares change back
to the piece's color (full light or full dark).
Summon Elemental - Summons a random elemental to attack any piece
of your choosing EXCEPT THOSE PIECES LOCATED ON
POWER SQUARES.
Teleport - Send one piece of your color to any other open
spot on the board.
Exchange - Exchange one light piece with one dark piece.
Cease Conjuring - Cancel spellcasting and restart your turn.
BATTLE
When battle ensues, you can move around using UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT.
You also get two "attacks" which you can use against your enemy. These attacks
can be executed with the LBUTTON and RBUTTON. Once an attack is executed,
you cannot use it again until it "refills". When it does, the corresponding
circle at the bottom of the screen will turn into an icon representing the
attack, and you will hear a short beep (if you have a sound card... dunno
about the PC speaker!). There are also life bars for both pieces, light on
the left, dark on the right. The amount of life each attack takes off depends
on what the attack is. Some attacks do more damage than others. In the
battlefield, there are a few obstacles that you should know about:
Water - Slows you down a bit.
Lava - Slowly drains away your life.
Trees - Block your attacks. 2 hits will destroy a tree.
Mushrooms - Same as trees.
Rocks - Block your attacks. Rocks cannot be destroyed.
Healing pool - On power squares ONLY. They will flash for a few
seconds before and after they start to ripple, and
when they start to ripple, attackers standing on
or flying above them will slowly regain life.
THE PIECES
--> LIGHT SIDE
Wizard (Teleport 3)
LWEAPON: Expanding powerballs.
RWEAPON: Teleportation (to a random location).
SPEED: Moderate.
POWER: High.
The Wizard is an all-around good fighter, but is best at attacking from a
distance (his powerballs expand to rather unavoidable sizes as you keep holding
the LBUTTON). As such, his greatest threat is the Dragon, who's quite safe when
flying directly above him, and needs to only predict which way the Wizard will
be going next in order to use his gas cloud weapon effectively against him.
The Wizard CAN teleport, but it takes a moment to rematerialize, and tends to
leave him vulnerable for a short period of time.
Djinni (Fly 4)
LWEAPON: Powerballs.
RWEAPON: Shrinking (hold down RBUTTON).
SPEED: Moderate/Fast(when shrunken)
POWER: Above average.
The Djinni's powerballs are actually slightly guidable by holding the LBUTTON
and using the arrows to move them back and forth. The Djinni is very strong,
but tends to be somewhat slow-paced. However, if you hold down the RBUTTON,
he can shrink down to half his size, which also effectively doubles his speed.
He needs to unshrink himself in order to attack, though, which gives the
Goblin the perfect opportunity to rush in and take him out.
Phoenix (Fly 5)
LWEAPON: Fireburst (burst into flames, both offense and defense, cannot move).
RWEAPON: Feather (slow guided attack, like a heat-seeking missle).
SPEED: Above average.
POWER: Above average.
Not quite as powerful as his original Archon counterpart, the Phoenix is still
one of the Light Side's best pieces. Its fireburst attack has a short range,
but if it happens to catch its opponent just right, it's basically an instant
kill. And, best of all, when the Phoenix is down on the ground in flames, it's
completely invulnerable to attacks! And for those pesky opponents that are faster
than you, dropping a flurry of guided feathers and being patient is an effective
(albeit rather cheap) road to victory. The Phoenix's biggest threat comes from
any opponents who are faster than it and have reasonably long-range attacks,
though a well-played Goblin actually has a chance of success as well.
Unicorn (Ground 4)
LWEAPON: Rapidfire (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Jump.
SPEED: High.
POWER: Moderate.
The Unicorn is fast, and has this unusual habit of speeding up as it continues
to run. Go figure. If you hold down the LBUTTON, you can send off machine-gun-
like rapid-fire pellets (though I can't figure out exactly what they're supposed
to be!), which are generally a wonderful weapon against any ground creature, and
a fairly decent weapon against flying creatures as well (though you need to be a
fairly good distance away in order to actually do damage). The Unicorn's RBUTTON
maneuver allows it to make short leaps over water or lava, which only occasionally
comes in handy, but is kinda fun to just play around with sometimes. (: A well-played
Unicorn could actually be used to take out the Sorceress, though the Unicorn is
fairly weak against any quick flying creatures, as well as its Dark Side equivalent,
the Basilisk.
Golem (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Shattering rocks (hold down LBUTTON, release to shatter).
RWEAPON: Petrify (defense, hold down RBUTTON).
SPEED: Low.
POWER: High.
The Golem's low speed is its biggest weakness, but even against the fastest of
creatures, it can sometimes emerge victorious because of its HUUUUUGE health bar
and its EXTREMELY high attack power, as well as its fairly high range (when those
rocks shatter, they spread out for quite a distance!). A heavy-hitter that's almost
guaranteed to win its first battle or two, but so slow that it WILL take a lot
of damage, and if attacked enough, will inevitably be defeated.
Valkyrie (Fly 3)
LWEAPON: Spear toss (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Lightning strike.
SPEED: High.
POWER: Low.
The Valkyrie is definitely an acquired taste, with a fairly difficult LWEAPON to
work with. But with enough practice, she could become quite a threat to her
opponents. Her spears are very slow, but if you hold the LBUTTON, you can use the
arrows to guide them, resulting in a fairly unavoidable attack -- if you have the
skills to pull it off. Her RWEAPON is probably her greatest charm, though, as it
creates a localized thunderstorm right in front of her, immediately damaging
anyone who happens to be caught within it. Close-range, yes, but when you're as
fast as the Valkyrie, you can get out of harm's way in no time. Still, the Valkyrie
is a very hard piece to use, and can easily be defeated by any heavy-hitter that's
fast enough to stay out of harm's way.
Archer (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Arrow.
RWEAPON: Weaving arrow (somewhat guided).
SPEED: Moderate.
POWER: Moderate.
Perhaps the most average piece in the game, the Archer has the distinct advantage
of having an RWEAPON that is, for all intents and purposes, the same as her LWEAPON.
What this means, of course, is that you can pull off TWO ATTACKS AT ONCE, if you're
good. The only real difference between her LWEAPON and RWEAPON is that her RWEAPON
is ever-so-slightly heat-seeking, and will veer a very tiny bit in the direction of
the opponent. The Archer isn't the most threatening of pieces, but it can hold its
own fairly nicely nonetheless.
Knight (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Sword slash.
RWEAPON: Shield defense.
SPEED: High.
POWER: Very low.
The pawns of Archon (Light Side version). The Knight's shield is a nice touch, but
you have to have reflexes of steel if you want to effectively use it. And the sword
slash... well, let's just say that an attack with a range shorter than the Knight
himself isn't exactly the most effective way to take out an enemy, nor the safest.
Knights can be slaughtered brutally by almost anyone, though they're occasionally
good for getting in a hit or two before this happens. The only real use a Knight has
is, quite strangely (and fittingly), to kill the Dragon. If you can get underneath
the Dragon without dying, that Dragon is as good as dead, because it CAN'T hit you
from that angle, but you CAN hit IT. And if you manage to catch the Shapeshifter
off-guard on a lighter-colored square, the Knight stands a high chance of victory
there as well.
--> DARK SIDE
Sorceress (Teleport 3)
LWEAPON: Lightning burst (hold down LBUTTON, use arrows for guidance).
RWEAPON: Teleportation (to a random location).
SPEED: High.
POWER: Moderate.
Faster than the Wizard, but with a shorter range, the Sorceress is another well-
balanced fighter who's by no means an easy target. Her lightning bolts can be
twisted back and forth with the arrow keys, meaning that any attemps at close-
range combat will inevitably result in failure for the Light Side (although she's
quite vulnerable from behind while shooting her lightning bolts!). But once
again, her teleportation, while occasionally VERY helpful, also leaves her
vulnerable for a second or two. And since the Sorceress lives on a dark square,
there's also the threat of rematerializing in a pool of lava when teleporting,
which can do some serious damage. The Sorceress's biggest threats are the Djinni
and, if well-played, the Unicorn.
Shapeshifter (Fly 5)
LWEAPON: Varies.
RWEAPON: Varies.
SPEED: Varies.
POWER: Varies.
Seems like a wonderful fighter, but don't be fooled: the Shapeshifter is the
master of nearly-fair fights! Not a character to be relied upon too much, the
Shapeshifter takes on the form of whatever it encounters, and its only real hope
for success comes from taking on Light Side opponents who happen to be standing
on darker-colored squares, because then it gets a health advantage. But, if you're
more skilled at battle than your opponent, even a "fair fight" in the opponent's
favor can be won by the Shapeshifter. More than any other character in the game,
the Shapeshifter will test your fighting skills to their utmost, turning any battle
into a close match. Just try to avoid Phoenix-Phoenix battles whenever you can, as
these can get very annoying and drawn-out. (:
Dragon (Fly 4)
LWEAPON: Fire breath (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Gas cloud (short range burst of power).
SPEED: Below average.
POWER: High.
Quite possibly my favorite piece in the game, the dragon's firey breath and
poisonous gas cloud are both highly effective attacks that can potentially take
out enemies in one hit, and the dragon tends to accelerate when flying diagonally
for some reason, which makes it a fairly good escape artist as well. It's
definitely a flawed piece, though, as it cannot effectively hit any creature
underneath its body. As such, the Knight, ironically, is the best piece to use
if you want to kill the Dragon.
Basilisk (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Quick shot.
RWEAPON: Gas cloud (mid-range burst of power).
SPEED: High.
POWER: Moderate.
Roughly the same speed as the Unicorn, and with a weapon equally as fast (though
not rapid-fire, unfortunately, but the Basilisk also gets the same poison gas
attack as the Dragon!), the Basilisk is also the Unicorn's greatest threat, and
the Unicorn is the Basilisk's. I've found that a good first move in Archon (Ultra
or otherwise) is to cast "Teleport" and immediately engage in battle with your
opponent's Unicorn, since Unicorns start on dark squares. Consequently, though,
Basilisks start on light squares, so the same technique can be used by the Light
Side.
Troll (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Rock toss.
RWEAPON: Toss (can be used to throw your opponent backwards a bit, I think).
SPEED: Low.
POWER: High.
As powerful as the Golem, the Troll is also rather skilled at short-range combat
because of its ability to toss its opponent back a few steps, then toss a rock in
its face. (: Not really much else to say about the Troll, except that, as with the
Golem, it's an all-around great fighter that is eventually doomed to being defeated
due to its slow speed alone -- though, admittedly, it's a wee bit faster than the
Golem, so it might take a little longer.
Banshee (Fly 3)
LWEAPON: Sonic wave (surrounding Banshee, not defensive, can move).
RWEAPON: Rolling skull (slow guided attack, slows the enemy on contact).
SPEED: Low.
POWER: Above average.
Nowhere NEAR as powerful as its original Archon counterpart, the Banshee is like
a weaker version of the Phoenix -- only, you get TWO of 'em! (: The Banshee's sonic
wave has about the same range as the Phoenix's fireburst, but isn't QUITE as
powerful. However, unlike the fireburst, the Banshee can move while the sonic wave
is engaged, which is a definite advantage. This is, however, countered by the fact
that the sonic wave offers no defensive power whatsoever. Also like the Phoenix,
the Banshee has a guided secondary attack, this time in the form of a skull that
slows the enemy on contact. After 2 or 3 skulls have attached themselves to your
opponents, they'll barely be able to move at all, making them sitting ducks. However,
the skulls are ground-based objects, which means they'll be destroyed if they happen
to roll into water or lava. Your opponent can use this fact to his/her advantage.
Manticore (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Tail spike shot.
RWEAPON: Evil scream (affects enemy in front of you within a short range).
SPEED: Moderate.
POWER: Moderate.
Basically the Dark Side's answer to the Valkyrie, but with a slower stride and a
much more straightforward LWEAPON attack (not to mention a much faster one). The
Manticore's scream affects an area similar to the Valkyrie's lightning strike, but
it also has the distinct advantage of knocking your opponent backwards quite a
distance, which can be especially useful against pesky Knights and such.
Goblin (Ground 3)
LWEAPON: Club swing.
RWEAPON: Ducking defense.
SPEED: High.
POWER: Very low.
The pawns of Archon (Dark Side version). A little more useful than the Knights
because of their ability to duck (effectively avoiding ANY projectile attack), but
still mostly useless. However, there's no better way to take out a Djinni than
with a Goblin. Just duck under the Djinni's powerball, then quickly run up and
club it in the face before it has a chance to shrink again. Presto, dead Djinni!!
--> SUMMONED ELEMENTALS
When "Summon Elemental" is cast, one of the following four elementals will appear
(at random), which can then be sent into battle against any opponent that's not
standing on a power square. The Fire, Water, and Air Elementals are roughly the
same, and can either throw themselves at the enemy or self-destruct (which does
a LOT of damage to your opponent's creature, usually resulting in death, though
the Golem/Troll survives this more often than not), but only if you happen to be
DIRECTLY TOUCHING it at the time. The Earth Elemental is really the odd man out,
though, so to speak. It's drastically more powerful than any of the other three
Elementals, but it's also also MUCH MUCH slower, and its main attack consists of
rolling along the ground bowling-ball style, which is completely ineffective
against the Dragon and the Phoenix. Occasionally a curse, occasionally a blessing,
getting an Earth Elemental versus any of the others is pure luck of the draw.
Earth Elemental
LWEAPON: Roll (hold down LBUTTON, ineffective against Dragon and Phoenix).
RWEAPON: Self-destruct.
SPEED: Low.
POWER: High.
Fire Elemental
LWEAPON: Self-toss (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Self-destruct.
SPEED: High.
POWER: Moderate.
Water Elemental
LWEAPON: Twister (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Self-destruct.
SPEED: Above average.
POWER: Moderate.
Air Elemental
LWEAPON: Twister (hold down LBUTTON).
RWEAPON: Self-destruct.
SPEED: Above average.
POWER: Moderate.
OTHER STUFF
Press RBUTTON on the game board to bring up the menus.
Press F1 to pause.
Press ESC twice in battle to restart the game.
Press ESC followed by F9 on the game board to quit,
or choose Quit from the menu after pressing RBUTTON.
MODEM PLAY
There's a README.TXT file included with Archon Ultra that explains the intricacies
of modem play rather thoroughly, but in reality, Archon Ultra's modem support is
absolutely HIDEOUS, and your chances of actually establishing a stable connection,
much less being able to effectively play the game, are slim to none. Don't even
bother with modem play. Just use one computer for 2 players.
That's all for now. I hope this was somewhat helpful!! (: If you have any comments
or questions, or if you noticed a mistake or need clarification, please email me
at
[email protected]. Yoroshiku, baby, desu no! (:
-Tom
