Archon

Developer: Free Fall Associates    Publisher: Activision    Released: 1989    Genre: Action/Strategy

Growing up everyone in my immediate circle loved Chess. I learned the rules but was never a fan; Checkers was more my speed. I liked the rapid fire pace of eating pieces at nearly every turn rather than strategically planning to trap a queen. And even though I am a middle aged man that still hasn’t changed. Who would have thought adding a battle element to Chess would be enough to somewhat capture my interest? Archon isn’t exactly that but is close enough and is only let down by its lack of content.

Archon isn’t Chess but is very similar. The Light side and Dark side battle on a 9 x 9 grid. The board is simple in its layout with five power squares being its only odd feature. Both sides have eighteen pieces, arranged similarly to a Chess board. Unlike that classic game units can move a certain number of steps rather than in a specific radius or pattern.  Winning a match in Archon is done in one of three ways: defeating all enemy units, occupying all five power squares, or imprisoning the last unit on the opposing side.

The best part of Archon is its units. Forget knights, and bishops, and horses and shit.  Each side has mythological creatures in its roster. Both the Light and Dark have unique monsters that have equivalents on both sides. The Light has its stereotypical units like knights and archers but gets interesting with a phoenix, unicorns, Valkyrie, and a wizard. The Dark side has the cool factor with goblins, trolls, basilisks, banshee, and a shapeshifter. The unique hook of Archon comes into play when two units meet.

Archon does not follow a hierarchy when it comes to which units destroy what. Once two units meet you fight in a random arena. Every unit differs in terms of health, movement speed, and form of attack. Knowing your capabilities is paramount to success and can lead to an upset. The environment can help or hinder depending on the class as well. Speaking of environment, the map switches between light and dark regularly and depending on the square can grant a bonus to a given side.

The match ups that occur are half the fun of Archon. The differences between both sides can be stark as well.  Just like chess knights/pawns are practically useless. On the opposing side goblins fare better due to a longer and wider range.  A dragon will more than likely kill a knight but with skill the tables can turn. Golems and Djinns can easily decimate half of your opponents alone. Possibly the most important unit on each side are the wizard and sorceress. These would be the equivalent of the Queen, although their defeat isn’t an automatic victory. They have access to a long list of spells you can use once per match. You can revive a unit, teleport units, heal, and even summon an elemental as an extra piece. A well timed spell can be a game changer.

For all of the excitement of battling monsters Archon is a simple game. The AI is pretty dumb and makes plenty of bonehead mistakes. On the board the computer will aggressively attack all of your units. They ignore the power points and don’t make strategic plays like taking out your wizard/sorcerer. After a while you will notice they make the same moves every time which hurts the game’s replay value.  As cool as the battles are initially they lack depth. You have one attack that has a recovery time but even so battles are basically free for alls. The only strategy comes from using environmental objects for cover. The novelty wears off pretty quickly.

The loss of the strategic depth of Chess is felt by the game’s lacking content. Chess is a complex game with so many strategies that no two games are ever the same. Archon doesn’t have a fraction of that, and your only options are to play against the computer or a friend. This makes for a much better multiplayer game than solo but the lack of modes or anything else gives it a short shelf life.

In Conclusion

The NES version of Archon is a solid port, improving on the original computer version’s visuals but little else. With more modes or options Archon could have been great. But as is it is not a title you will return to over and over. Especially as the PC original has been remade numerous times, and for free. It did provide a blueprint for future games in the same style such as the Unholy War and Wrath Unleashed. Those might be a better for that like action with their strategy.