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Conference rusure::nintendo

Title:	Nintendo Game Systems
Notice:	Please enter Super NES notes in Yuppy::Super_NES.
Moderator:	RUSURE::EDP

Created:	Tue Oct 20 1987
Last Modified:	Mon Feb 03 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	847
Total number of notes:	11602

453.0. "Archon" by LILAC::HITCHCOCK () Fri Apr 27 1990 12:53

I picked up this game last week with only the box description as my 
guide. However, I was greatly rewarded. This is a strategy game that 
starts off with a chess-board-like setup, with one side Light and 
the other, Dark. Each side has its own set of beasts, the Dark has a 
shape-shifter, sourceress, and other beasts that either fly or walk. 
The Light side uses a wizard, unicorn, and so on. Each piece has its 
own strengths and capabilities. When you select it, it gets up can 
either walks or flys to the square you're moving it to.

The goal of the game is to occupy the five power points. Two are 
already occupied, one by the wizard and the other by the sourceress. 
You can also win by killing off the other side's pieces. Whenever 
you move onto a square held by your opponent, they step into a 
fighting arena and that's where the ol' eye/hand coordination comes 
in.

Now, if that were all, the game would be pretty simplistic. Several 
features make this a *very* interesting strategy game. First, there 
are squares that are neither black (for the dark side) or white (for 
the light side), but cycle through a series of colors, peaking at 
white and then at black. When you're challenging a piece, you have 
the advantage if you're challenging on your own color. So, when the 
"lumina" squares peak to your color, the board is in your favor. 
This makes a big difference when you do battle.

Second, the wizard and sourceress both have magical powers, so they 
can cast spells like "summon an elemental," "reverse the flow of 
time," (this moves the lumina squares back to your advantage), and 
"imprison." They can also teleport pieces around the board.

If you're playing against another person, the game is really 
interesting, because there's different strategies to use, depending 
on who you're playing against!  There's no time limit, either, so 
you can really think about what you want to do (there's also no time 
limit when doing battle).

There's probably not a lot people will ask about regarding this 
game, because the fun is in learning how to best use each piece's 
powers (they really are interesting) and gaining skill in doing 
battle. Beyond that there's just the fun of trying out new 
strategies.

Definitely worth it, especially for couples (playing against the 
computer is fun too). I think I paid about $45 plus tax.
/chuck

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
453.1	WHERE ?	BOOKS::ANGELONE	Lean, green, and on the screen !	`Fri Apr 27 1990 13:03`	6
	Where can this game be found ? I am in the Boston more Worcester MASS area. Seems like a good game even at $45. Rick A
453.2		HYSTER::HITCHCOCK		`Fri Apr 27 1990 20:57`	2
	I got it at the Chelmsford Child World, on route 110. /chuck
453.3		CIARAN::FORTEN	Don't just stand there, let's get to it...	`Mon Apr 30 1990 11:33`	14
	My brother-in-law had this for his AMIGA and it was an awesome game!! It sounds like the Nintendo version is true to it also. The game is a lot like chess only you literally have to do battle instead of landing on and capturing the opponent's piece. My favorite piece is the sorceress and the dragon (I love the way the sorceress' hair flys back when she running, its hysterical) I plan on getting this game when I get some extra money Scott
453.4	Sounds good!	STRAIT::WALTON	kerjillions of stars. . .	`Mon Apr 30 1990 17:24`	13
	A few questions. . . How long, on average, does a game take? Are there various levels of difficulty? (there usually are) Is the computer a worthy opponent? Or does it tend to get predictable once you're used to it? The game's concept certainly sounds intriguing. - Dave
453.5		LILAC::HITCHCOCK		`Tue May 01 1990 12:03`	22
	> How long, on average, does a game take? Playing against a near-equal human competitor can take up to an hours and a half, mostly because each person is doing a lot of thinking about what to do next. Against the computer, which I've only played a couple of time, it's much shorter because the game is much better in battle (so far, anyway!). > Are there various levels of difficulty? (there usually are) No. > Is the computer a worthy opponent? Or does it tend to get predictable once you're used to it? The couple of times I've played against the game, I've been surprised at how differently it's played each time. Can't speak to whether it's preditable over the long haul. One other point: playing against the computer does teach some good strategy, which you can then use to pulverize your human opponent. /chuck
453.6	Much better for two...	DSKRUS::ALLEMANG		`Wed May 02 1990 19:06`	14
	In my (humble) opinion, this game is a much better buy if you will be playing against a human most of the time. It is a very good game to rent first... I rented it 5 times, the first 4 times I never beat the computer (it isn't hard to obtain a draw, but where's the fun in that?), the 5th time I won 5 games straight and haven't touched it since. Still, I was hooked by the strategy, variations of the weaponry used by each piece, and visual/sound effects. I found that I really wished I had the Advantage with this game as the computer can shoot from 45 degrees with noooo problem while I fumbled with the basic controller. Greg
453.7	Tips?	NYEM1::MCGOWAN		`Wed May 09 1990 11:31`	9
	RE:-1 I had trouble in the battles. The computer seems to be a much better shooter/fighter. And even his "pawns" seem to fight better. Any help you can give me on beating the computer during the battles? James
453.8	Good concept, but fighting was too tough!	BRAT::SMITH	Never say never, I always say.	`Wed May 09 1990 12:21`	16
	re: -.1 Yeah, I was usually hammered by the computer, too. Occasionally my Michelin Man (I forget his actual name, I only played it for a short while), the guy that had a strong defensive level, would beat one of the punier opponents when I was on the shade that was advantageous to my strength. Otherwise, I was always creamed! In my case, the computer was definitely a much better shooter/ fighter. It rarely missed, and it always seemed to be able to shoot more often than I could (but maybe that was just because of the respective pieces we were fighting with). I really liked the concept of the game, but didn't like the game overall because the fighting was too one-sided. It never took more than 2 shoots for the computer to kill me. Maybe I just needed to practice more... Mike
453.9	bob and weave	DSKRUS::ALLEMANG		`Wed May 09 1990 13:23`	44
	Re: -.2 I don't know how much I can help, but here is my basic strategy... (I don't think this counts as a spoiler) First off, I know exactly what you mean about the computer being a tough foe in battle! It can get shots off much quicker than us and in 8 directions equally well -- I had trouble with the angle shots. When I faced 'shooting' opponents, I tried to keep myself between the 45� and 90� lines then I would step into the line of fire, get a shot off, and move back to safety. The trick is doing this while you are evading the bad guy and getting shots off quickly before he closes in. Next, after losing several games I began to get a feel for which of my pieces I liked the most and how they matched up against the dark-side (I always played with the light). Personally, I liked the Unicorns for their quick and fairly strong shot as well as their agility in battle. Whatever piece you like the best use them wisely lest you lose them early! The computer seems to favor the Shape-Shifter for doing a lot of it's dirty work. I would try to kill it as early as possible. Semi-spoiler maybe... Since the Shape-Shifter takes the form of the piece it is fighting, I avoided attacking it with anything that shoots or moves quickly... the computer almost always won. I found the Knight, Archer and Valkyrie to be the best for defeating it. If possible, I would sacrifice a Knight and try to get at least one blow in to weaken it. Then attack again with the Valkyrie or Archer. These 'slow' shots were easier for me to dodge and often I could 'lead' my shots and he would move into them. Beware though... the computer seems to really like this piece and will usually REVIVE him, so you have to get him twice! Hopefully this helps a little... next comes positioning your players to capture those power squares! Greg
453.10	Re .7	LILAC::HITCHCOCK	I'm virtually everywhere.	`Wed May 09 1990 13:29`	22
	> I had trouble in the battles. The computer seems to be a much better > shooter/fighter. And even his "pawns" seem to fight better. Here's some tips, although like .8 I haven't won against the computer either: First and foremost, make sure you attack on your own square. If you're dark, attack only light pieces only when they're on dark squares. The computer's strategy is usually to get its pieces off the wrong squares early on, which should be yours, as well. Second, when the computer is on the lumina squares, attack when the board is in your favor (do you know what's meant by that?). Third, remember that whenever a particular piece has been in battle, its lifeforce is lessened, perhaps just a little, but it's down, nonetheless. Hence, the principle of, If at first you don't succeed... applies here. You may have gotten killed, but you can send in another piece to try again. (Try weakening with less powerful pieces at first, then move in with more powerful ones.) /chuck
453.11	spoilor	MCIS2::DEW		`Wed May 16 1990 16:36`	5
	If you are white let him go first and on your second turn use our elimental against HIS DRAGON and on the next turn telaport a guy to the shiftshapers spot and then go for his wizard. If your black I don't know what I would do.
453.12	Tons o' fun	STRAIT::WALTON	kerjillions of stars. . .	`Wed May 30 1990 18:13`	12
	After reading the reviews in the previous notes I talked myself into buying Archon, and I agree, it's GREAT. The lumina squares add a lot the strategy by making the timing of your attacks critical. At first I thought it might be too easy since on my third try I got down to where I had 4 pieces and the computer had only 3. But then I made a stupid move and eventually lost. End games were never my stong point! But since then I haven't gotten close to winning. Anyway I'd give this game a strong recommendation, strategy and slug it out fighting in one game!
453.13		ROLL::KRAKAUER	I'm picking out a thermos for you...	`Thu May 31 1990 12:08`	17
	Based on suggestions I rented Archon, and I have to agree with everyone: it's an excellent game. I've been looking for good two player games and this one fits the bill. It is a great combination of strategy and dexterity. The computer is, unfortunately, not great at strategy. It moves to the Power Points and sits on them until the lumina squares go away. That would seem to make the computer easy to defeat, but it is much better at combat. I found no way to kill the Wizard/Sorceress so I had to kill off all the other pieces to make the W/S move. That was not an easy feat is not likely to happen often. Does anyone have any strategies for playing against the computer and/or friends? ---krak
453.14	Close-out	AKOV14::SALLOWAY	You'll See Perpetual Change	`Mon Aug 13 1990 12:30`	3
	ARCHON� is available from Kay-Bee toys for $20. -Brian