1. Introduction(#intro)

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|****************************************************************************|
|***************************Archon FAQ/Piece Guide***************************|
|****************************************************************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|*******************FAQ Release Date 07/13/07 / Version 2.0******************|
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/----------------\
|****Contents****|
\----------------/

1. Introduction(#intro)

2. Controls(#controls)

3. Piece/Creature list(#piece)

4. Spells(#spells)

5. The Board(#board)

6. The Battlefield(#battle)

7. Hints and Tips(#hints)

8. FAQ History(#history)

9. Credits(#credits)

10. Copyrights

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************ 1. Introduction(#intro) ***************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

Light and Dark are waging an eternal war. Your job is to take control of
either side of the battle and finish it! You have various pieces under your
control. When one piece lands on another, it is not removed. Instead, the two
pieces become alive and battle for the square! The loser is removed from the
board. But don't believe that every move is guaranteed. Each side has a set
of spells that can change the tide of the fight in an instant!

Your move now.....Prepare for battle!

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************ 2. Controls(#controls) ****************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

The controls are the same for every creature, but the results will vary.
Here's the general controls for both modes(Board and Battlefield):

Board Controls :

***Joystick Direction*** : Moves the box/cursor or the selected
creature. Also, push up or down to navigate the
spell menu(see below in Spells).

***Fire Button*** : Press to select a creature or to confirm your
move/spell choice.

/--------------------------\
|***Battlefield Controls***| :
\--------------------------/

***Joystick Direction*** : Moves your creature around the battlefield.

***Fire Button + Joystick Direction*** : Fires your creature's attack in
the direction moved.

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|********************* 3. Piece/Creature list(#piece) ***********************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

You have a wide variety of creatures to select from, each with their own
strengths and weaknesses. They even have their own movement methods and
weapons. So I'll give you a list of all the monsters and their traits to help
you keep them straight.

Before we begin, let me describe what those little extras under each name
mean :

(# Piece/s) is the number of that creature THAT Side starts with.

(# Spaces) is how far in Board mode one piece can move per turn.

(Ground) means the piece uses ground-based Board movement, in that one tile
counts as one space when the piece is moved. Ground pieces cannot move
diagonally, either. It also cannot move through other pieces(for either side).

(Flying) means air-based Board movement, in that the piece may move within
that many squares of a radius of that piece's current position(i.e., a piece
that has a Flying limit of three spaces may move as far as three spaces in a
diagonal direction from its current place or anywhere in-between). It may
also move over other pieces from either side without being stopped.

(Teleport) means basically the same as (Flying), except for the graphical
effect it adds.

/-------------------------\
|****Light Side Pieces****|
\-------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
|The Knight stands for justice.....just before this wimp is |
/------\ |slaughtered. With EXTREME skill, you might be able to stand |
|Knight| |up to some of the more moderate monsters. He uses a close- |
\------/-----|range sword for some decent damage, but it may not mean much |
(7 Pieces) |on the battlefield with enemies launching various attacks at |
(3 Spaces) |this guy. The good news is you have a lot of themand they |
(Ground) |reload their weapons faster than any other Light troop. More |
|bad news, though, is their health bar is rather small.... |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/------\ |The Archer is your first shooter. He uses a bow and arrow, |
|Archer| |but not well. The arrows barely do any damage, but at least |
\------/ |they are ranged. Unfortunately, the Archer is also a little |
(2 Pieces)----|slow, meaning it may be hard to stay out of range for long. |
(3 Spaces) |Also, his shots move very slow, so it may be hard to hit |
(Ground) |those distant foes. |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/--------\ |Now we're starting to get serious. These girls have only |
|Valkyrie| |slightly better health and shot power than Archers, but |
\--------/----|their shots move a lot faster. Also, they have the advantage |
(2 Pieces) |of Flying movement in the Board mode. While far from the |
(3 Spaces) |best, they can put up a decent fight no matter what. |
(Flying) \-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/-----\ |These things are SERIOUSLY slow. They move like they are in |
|Golem| |molasses and their shot speed isn't much better. Their reload|
\-----/ |rate is enormous. However, their health bar is one of the |
(2 Pieces)----|highest in the game. Also, when they do connect with those |
(3 Spaces) |large boulders they throw, they can take a giant amount out |
(Ground) |of the opponent's health. They can kill even the mightiest |
|creatures with merely three hits! |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Unicorn| |Unicorns have a fast reload rate, fast movement on both the |
\-------/ |board and the battlefield, a fast shot speed.....did I |
(2 Pieces)----|mention they were fast? Their light beam shots are also very |
(4 Spaces) |strong, as is their health. A power point guarded by a |
(Ground) |Unicorn can be extremely tough to dislodge. |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/-----\ |Nasty. This guy is meant to deal with problems for the Light |
|Djinn| |Side. You only get one, but this guy has a fast shot speed, a|
\-----/------|large health bar(and I mean LARGE), fast movement, flying |
(1 Piece) |ability for theboard. Take good care of him and he'll keep |
(4 Spaces) |you alive for quite a while. |
(Flying) \-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
|After the Djinn, this piece seems to fall short. It can only |
/-------\ |affect enemies at close range, has a long reload rate, and is|
|Phoenix| |very vulnerable when coming out of an attack. Though it can |
\-------/ |move quickly on the board, it can only move as fast as the |
(1 Piece)-----|other pieces(save trolls, golems and Earth elementals) in |
(5 Spaces) |battle. This can quickly turns the bird into ashes if you |
(Flying) |you aren't careful. Just remember you can't end its explosion|
|early. Once you press the button, you're stuck until it ends.|
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/------\ |THE best piece on the board. He sports a massive health bar, |
|Wizard| |an above-average shot speed and reload rate. Also, his |
\------/ |fireball shots put the Unicorns' and Djinn's shot strength to|
(1 Piece)-----|shame. While he seems like the perfect candidate to place in |
(3 Spaces) |battle, he is the only piece that can cast spells. That being|
(Teleport) |said, you should leave on the power point he starts to not |
|only protect the point, but himself as well. |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/------------------------\
|****Dark Side Pieces****|
\------------------------/

/------\ /------------------------------------------------------------\
|Goblin| |Basically the same as Knights, these are the weakest troops |
\------/-----|The Dark Side owns. He has a war club for close-up brawling,|
(7 Pieces) |but his low health will do him in. |
(3 Spaces) \------------------------------------------------------------/
(Ground)

/---------\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Manticore| |Once again a copy, but these two mimic the Archers. Slow shot|
\---------/---|speed and low health....well, at least they CAN shoot. Still,|
(2 Pieces) |don't depend on them for too much. They fling quills from |
(3 Spaces) |their tails, in case you wanted to know what that attack was.|
(Ground) \-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
/-------\ |Finally, a unique creature. When they fire, they release a |
|Banshee| |shriek that damages an opponent in its proximity. Though |
\-------/----|similar to a Phoenix in attack, a Banshee can move while its |
(2 Pieces) |attack is in effect. They have one weakness, however. Their |
(3 Spaces) |health bar is very low, so staying in range can quickly |
(Flying) |cause these spirits to dissipate. |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/-----\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Troll| |Yet another copy, these two for the Golems. Once again, slow |
\-----/------|movement, shot and reload speed. But, their boulders do pack |
(2 Pieces) |one heck of a punch if they connect, so don't give up. |
(3 Spaces) \-------------------------------------------------------------/
(Ground)

/---------\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Basilisks| |This shadowy lizard mimics the Unicorns. They use deadly eye |
\---------/---|beams to fight, and just like the Unicorns, their shots are |
(2 Pieces) |as quick and lethal as their counterparts. |
(4 Spaces) \-------------------------------------------------------------/
(Ground)

/-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Now this guy is unique...or is he the same? When you go into |
/------------\ |combat, this guy will transform into a duplicate of whatever |
|Shapeshifter| |you are up against. One round, you could be fighting Djinn |
\------------/ |vs. Djinn. Next round, you could be battling as a twin of |
(1 Piece) |another Unicorn. This guy even copies the elementals summoned|
(5 Spaces)---|via spells! The bad news is that he does not copy health |
(Flying) |levels as well. Meaning if you fight a Knight on a white |
|square, the Knight will have more health no matter what, |
|leaving you fighting with aweakened Knight.....not pretty. |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/------\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Dragon| |This guy seems like a copy of the Djinn, but also is much |
\------/ |deadlier for some reason. His fire-breath can kill the weaker|
(1 Piece)----|troops in one shot, something even the Djinn cannot do! His |
(4 Spaces) |reload time also seems a little faster...Perhaps that's just |
(Flying) |my imagination, though... |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/---------\ /-------------------------------------------------------------\
|Sorceress| |The answer for the Light Side's Wizard. This girl can utterly|
\---------/ |destroy anything with her lightning bolts. Again, she is the |
(1 Piece)----|only piece who can cast spells for her side, so keep her on |
(3 Spaces) |the power point for safety's sake(or until you need her to be|
(Teleport) |moved to another location). |
\-------------------------------------------------------------/

/------------------\
|****Elementals****|
\------------------/

***** Elementals only appear when the Summon Elemental spell is cast *****

/------------------------------------------------------\
/----------------\ |These act like Golems/Trolls. However, they have a |
|Earth Elementals|---|slightly better health bar than the others. |
\----------------/ \------------------------------------------------------/

/------------------------------------------------------\
/----------------\ |These move and fire like the Djinn/Dragon. Their shots|
|Water Elementals|---|are a little more damaging, though. |
\----------------/ \------------------------------------------------------/

/------------------------------------------------------\
/--------------\ |Same as Djinn and Dragon again, but these sport a |
|Air Elementals|-----|better reload rate instead. |
\--------------/ \------------------------------------------------------/

/------------------------------------------------------\
/---------------\ |Yep....copies of the Djinn and Dragon again. I haven't|
|Fire Elementals|----|noticed any major difference for these guys, though. |
\---------------/ \------------------------------------------------------/

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************** 4. Spells(#spells) ******************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

The spells...The true "ace in the hole" for both sides. To cast a spell, just
press the button twice on the Wizard or Sorceress and select the spell of your
choice. Here's a list of what they are and what they do. Remember, you only
get one casting of each spell per game. Furthermore, you cannot affect a piece
(either side's) that is on a Power Point(see The Board for details) :

/---------------------------------------------------------\
/--------\ |Moves one of the pieces to any place on the board(except |
|Teleport|-----|the Power Points). You can Teleport one piece onto an |
\--------/ |opposing piece, which will send both to the battlefield. |
\---------------------------------------------------------/

/---------------------------------------------------------\
|Completely restores a piece's health to its maximum. |
/----\ |Useful if your Djinn or Dragon is looking rather ill. |
|Heal|--------|Note that it will not heal them beyond the square's |
\----/ |"Health limit", so a Knight will still be weaker than a |
|Goblin while on a darker square. |
\---------------------------------------------------------/

/---------------------------------------------------------\
/----------\ |Reverses the order the tiles were changing color towards.|
|Shift Time|----|If they were headed towards White, they will now be |
\----------/ |headed towards Black instead and vice versa. |
\---------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------\
|Summons a random Elemental from the piece list to the |
/----------------\ |board. You then choose a target creature for this |
|Summon Elemental|--|elemental to fight. Board colors do not affect the |
\----------------/ |Elemental's health(but they still affect the target you |
|choose to fight). Whether you win or lose the fight, |
|the elemental vanishes after combat. |
\--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------\
|Use this spell to return any piece of yours that was |
/------\ |defeated(except for Elementals) to the board. You must |
|Revive|------|then place it in one of the five spaces next to your |
\------/ |spell-caster's starting point. Should all five spaces be|
|occupied, you cannot cast this spell. |
\--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------\
|Prevents a creature from moving until that side's color |
|comes around again(White for the Light Side, Black for |
|the Dark Side). This spell cannot be cast while the |
/--------\ |opposing side's board color is active(for reasons that |
|Imprison|-----|should fairly obvious). Also, if you Imprison the Wizard|
\--------/ |or Sorceress, that piece cannot cast spells while |
|Imprisoned. Lastly, if you Imprison the last remaining |
|piece on your opponent's side, you will win the game |
|immediately(but be prepared to hear some rather nasty |
|comments come from your opponent). |
\--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------\
/--------\ |Exchanges the place of two pieces of your choosing on |
|Exchange|-----|the Board, regardless of who owns them. This can quickly|
\--------/ |move an weakened piece out of danger or trap an |
|opponent's piece on an unfavorable square. |
\--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------\
/---------------\ |Not a spell, per se. But if you decide not to cast a |
|Cease Conjuring|--|spell, use this command to cancel the spell-casting |
\---------------/ |process. |
\--------------------------------------------------------/

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************* 5. The Board(#board) *****************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

The Board is a simple 9X9 grid, with the Light Side's pieces occupying the
two left-most columns at the start, while the Dark Side occupies the two
right-most columns.

The player's whose turn is up is signified by the border. A Yellow border
means it is the Light Side's turn, while a Blue one is used for the Dark
Side. After both players take a turn, the board will shift colors. It will
continue to slowly shift into Black, then slowly back to White again, and so
forth. Depending on the color of the square, the pieces on it will have
slightly more health if the color is favorable to them, less health if its
against them. The color order is(from most helpful to the Light Side to most
helpful for the Dark Side) : White, Cyan, Green, Purple, Dark Blue, Black.

Some squares on the board are permanently White or Black. Use these as "safe
spots" for your troops, until you are ready for them to attack. Also, there
are five power points(they look like flashing circles). These power points
are immune to spell effects(both yours and your opponent's), preventing your
enemy from Summoning an Elemental to your spell-caster at the start or vice
versa. Plus, any player that occupies all five power points at once
immediately wins the game.

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|********************* 6. The Battlefield(#battle) **************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

The Battlefield is where two pieces are sent when they land on top of one
another. The two pieces will then duel it out for the square. You'll see a
bar on each side of the screen, a Yellow for the Light Side piece and a Blue
bar for the Dark Side piece. When one bar runs out, that piece is defeated
and the other piece is given the square. If both happen to kill the other at
the same time, neither piece returns to the board.

During combat, you hear high and low tones. Those indicate when a player can
fire again after a shot. A high tone sounds for Light, a low tone sounds for
Dark. Also, you'll notice various obstacles in your way. These appear and
disappear at random. When you see a "faded" version of an obstacle, you can
move through it(at a slower pace) but a true obstacle will appear there soon.
You cannot move nor shoot through an obstacle, making them your only
"shields" from your opponents shots.

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|********************** 7. Hints and Tips(#hints) ***************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

/-\ Imprison is the ultimate set-up spell. Use it to trap a creature on an
|*| unfavorable square, then cast Summon Elemental to send a tough fight
\-/ its way. Or send your own strong creatures to deal with it.

/-\ If you cast Shift Time just before an Imprisoned creature's "favored"
|*| color appears, it will increase the time it takes before the creature
\-/ is "freed".

Early on, try Teleporting one of your best creatures onto a square of
your color occupied by a strong creature of theirs. You may be able to
/-\ take down a big threat before they are ready for it. Or try Exchanging
|*| one of their early "trapped" Ground troops on a square of your color(one
\-/ surrounded by other pieces) for one of your Flying pieces on the same
color square. This can mean an early upset by your Flying troop "picking
off" several on your color squares.

/-\ Move your Knights and Goblins out onto their color squares as soon as
|*| you can. Not only will it free up room for your Ground troops, but they
\-/ can be sitting ducks on the squares of the opposite color.

/-\ Keep your spell-caster on his/her square until later! It's no fun seeing
|*| your spell-caster Imprisoned or moved to a place with unfavorable odds.
\-/

/-\ Choose your targets early on. Though taking down Knights/Goblins can
|*| lead to fewer pieces to take power points, it leaves the more powerful
\-/ pieces to wreak havoc.

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************ 8. FAQ History(#history) **************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

FAQ Version 1.0, 12/04/02 : Original Version of the FAQ.

FAQ Version 1.4, 10/18/03 : Nearly a year later, I get around to updating this
old relic. I fixed a ton of errors grammatically and just plain wrong(Banshee
should have been noted for low health, not high; etc.).

FAQ Version 2.0, 07/13/07 : Added Bookmarks that I should have placed long
ago, as well as updating the table of contents and corrected other errors(I
actually left a couple of the movements as "Air"...Ugh). Also dressed up the
FAQ so it looks a lot less ugly...

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************** 9. Credits(#credits) ****************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

I'd like to thank Electronic Arts for making such a simple yet fun game.

I'd also like to thank the few who challenged me to several games(you died
noble deaths).

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------\
|************************* 10. Copyrights(#rights)***************************|
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

I am here as your warning. I wielded these magics for many a moon....nor
mortal shall steal credit for doing so, lest he risk himself and many
portraits of a man known as "Franklin". In the words of ancient text :

"This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright."

If you wish to use this FAQ on your site, E-Mail me and we can talk about it.
If you just want to download and butcher it....well, that's your preference.
Just don't upload somewhere and say it was you that did that....well, you did
the butchering....Oh, you know what I meant....

These have been the words of Cobra1, who last updated this document on
07/13/2007.

E-Mail : [email protected]