It was to my surprise that they released Archon in Japan. It made four platforms that I'm aware of: X1, FM-7, MZ-2500, and this one - the PC-8801. I can't speak to the other platforms at the moment, but the PC-8801 version must surely be classified as a premium release. It might look unsuspecting from the outside, but the disk itself is on another level. I've heard this referred to as a Chromadisk, and it's not the only one I have, but it's quite unusual, in any event.

The opening screen has what I believe to be the Phoenix fighting against the Dragon to a rockin' version of the opening song. The game itself is certainly recognizably Archon, the layout and mechanics of the game being identical to the western version. The music is almost non-existent, as it was on the Commodore 64 (not sure about the rest of the ports), but graphics are solid, if dark.

The arena is familiar in terms of both appearance and gameplay. Run around, dodge projectile and melee attacks, hide behind slowly disappearing barricades, as you face the opposing side's army, each type with its own attack, speed, and initial health meter.

Back on the board, you can cast a variety of spells, such as reviving a piece previously defeated or summoning a one-time use elemental creature. Win the overall game by eliminating the entire opposing army, or if you can manage it, put one of your pieces on each of the magic squares.

Some of my favorite battles involve the wraith and the phoenix. It's not projectile combat, but it's definitely a different dynamic from melee. Get your enemy with your aura!

One element of the game that I forgot about is if 12 moves pass without a battle, the game ends in a draw. Toward the end of this game, light had a big numbers advantage, but dark managed to whittle away their numbers and force this draw circumstance.