How to complete "Joan of Arc" in a few hours!

Sent in by Bill Wernham

At the start of the game, select START A CAMPAIGN from the main
menu, then select DISPLACEMENT from the 2nd menu. This will
enable you to move your army into another province. Move your
army into the province of ORLEANAIS. You will meet enemy armies
here and will enter the "BATTLE IN OPEN COUNTRY" arcade game.
(See HOW TO WIN ARCADE GAMES below)

When you have defeated the enemy in the field, select OFFENSIVE
from START A CAMPAIGN menu, then select ORLEANS. You will then
enter "ENTRY INTO TOWN" and "TAKING OF THE WALL" arcade games.
(see HOW TO WIN ARCADE GAMES below). ORLEANS must be taken before
you can go to RHEIMS to crown the king.  Once you have taken
ORLEANS, move your army to the province of CHAMPAGNE and take the
town of RHEIMS. There the king will be crowned and you can start
your war in earnest. Take the rest of the towns in the CHAMPAGNE
province.

Move your army north and attack each province in turn, taking all
towns and fortresses in each province before moving on to your
next target. Work your army from north to south once you have
taken the northernmost province. You will not meet many enemy
armies in the field, most of the action will be "ENTRY INTO
TOWN" and "TAKING THE WALL" arcade games.

As for the money to pay your armies, use your hostages for
this. From the DIPLOMACY menu select LIBERATION, deal with HENRY
VI only. Use TREMOILLE and REGNAULT OF CHARTRES as your
ambassadors and use the following list as a guide to the amount
of ransom to demand.
DUKE OF BEDFORD...£4.000000
DUKE OF WARWICK..DUKE OF GLOUCESTER...£2.OOOOOO
CAPTAIN FALSTAFF..COUNT OF SUFFOLK...JOHN TALBOT..CARDINAL OF
WINCHESTER..£1.00000.

Ransom these characters only. If you capture any of the others
then execute them by accessing the ROYAL JUSTICE menu. If the
ransom is not paid for the amounts asked for from above, then
execute the hostage. The graphics in the BEHEADING scene are
worth watching.

Should you not have any hostages in your prison at the time you
need money to pay for your armies, then select HELPING HAND menu
and kidnap one, but do not try for the DUKE OF BEDFORD as this is
the most likely not to succeed. Make sure you pay your HELPING
HAND well.

As for your army, you will not need a large one to succeed; 2000
archers and 3000 troops are enough, mortars if you can get them,
if not then do not worry, they are just a luxury. But do not
waste your money on knights, they are expensive and are NOT
needed and if you follow these guidelines you will not meet an
enemy army strong enough to defeat you.

Do not waste time on taxes, collect only the TITHE TAX when it is
due to you in september. You will not get enough from taxes to
pay for your army, but take it anyway, but be careful as there is
a bug in the program and the TITHE TAX and HEARTH TAX are mixed
up. You should only have time to collect the TITHE TAX once.

On a cautionary note, save the game each time you take a complete
province, and should you meet an enemy army when you move into
the next province, and things do go wrong, then just reload and
adjust your army accordingly (in the 3 times that I have 
completed the game, I have not needed to do this). Also watch 
out for JOAN OF ARC, she will get captured no matter what you
do, and if she is still leading your army, then you will lose 
your army too.

                   HOW TO WIN THE ARCADE GAMES

"ENTRY INTO TOWN"

After this has loaded in and before the screen changes, push the
joystick to the right - that will get your man off to a running
start. When you get to combat range, press the fire button. Keep
the button pressed till you kill the enemy, then release it. Your
man will run forward again till the next enemy is in combat
range. Repeat this process till you enter the town. Remember
always keep the joystick pushed to the right even during combat.

"TAKING OF THE WALL"

As with "ENTRY INTO TOWN" start your man off before the screen
changes, but this time push the joystick forward. You should be
halfway up the ladder before the first stone comes down on you.
Press the fire button and your shield will protect you.  Keep
your joystick pushed forward and press the fire button when you
need to.

"DEFENCE OF THE WALL"

This is the one you need to master,as you will destroy more enemy
this way than any other. Push the joystick forward and press the
fire button before the screen changes. This way you will have a
couple of rocks on the way down before the enemy has got its foot
on the ladder. Use rocks when there is time; if time is short
then use oil. The instructions say that the oil is limited but I
have used it up to six times. I do not know if you will get more
than that, as six times is the most that I have ever needed to
use it. If you have time when you move from the left ladder to
the right one, then drop a rock over the centre one, it will save
time later.

"BATTLE IN OPEN COUNTRY"

First thing to do is to raise your mortars (if you have them)
then fire your arrows. Bombard the enemy with mortar and arrows,
and adjust your mortar to suite the range of the oncoming enemy
(you cannot adjust archers). Let the enemy come to you, do not go
to them, as you will enter the range of their arrows and mortars.
When they are almost upon you, send your troops forward to engage
the enemy and protect your archers. If they retreat do not chase
them, bombard them instead. You may find that there is a time
when they have held back their cavalry. Move your archers
forward, only enough till they are in range, do not move closer

as you will then be in range of the enemies' mortar fire. Use
knights at any time if you have them.

"MAN TO MAN COMBAT"

Move your horse to the right hand side of the screen, and turn
facing left. Push the joystick forward and keep it there then
press the fire button and hold it down. You will be hit in the
initial movement and during the fight, but do not move nor move
the joystick or release the button and you will win the fight.
You will hit your opponent on a ratio of two to one.

If you follow these guidelines you will complete the game before
JOAN OF ARC gets burnt, which is a pity as the "burning scene" is
pretty to watch. Also no matter what you do you cannot stop her
from being captured. Even if you behead JEAN OF LUXEMBOURG, he
will come along later in the game and capture JOAN. Use RICHEMONT
to lead your army after you have lost JOAN.

Note : Bugs in the game!

1) In the instructions it tells you that the TITHE TAX is a
common tax, a HEARTH TAX is one imposed on one province. THE
GAME WILL NOT LET YOU IMPOSE A HEARTH TAX. The caption comes up
"HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS SHOULD KNOW THAT THE TITHE TAX IS ONLY
COLLECTED IN SEPTEMBER....."

2) When you load a saved game, the caption reads the same as if
you were saving it, therefore you are never too sure as to which
icon you have pressed.

3) In the instructions it says that in the DIPLOMACY part of the
game you can rectify a message before you put your seal on it,
but THE GAME WILL NOT LET YOU DO THIS.

4) In the arcade game called "MAN TO MAN COMBAT" the instructions
say that if the fire button is pressed and maintained, the man is
supposed to charge with a pointed sword. THE GAME DOES NOT LET
YOU DO THIS.

5) If you press a wrong menu by mistake, the game does not let
you escape from that menu.

6) There are characters listed in the instructions that do not
appear in the game. Also there are characters in the game that
are not in the instructions.

7) If you behead JEAN OF LUXEMBOURG before she captures JOAN OF
ARC, she still appears later in the game and captures JOAN. Also
PIERRE CAUCHON will be in charge of the inquisition EVEN THOUGH
YOU KILL HIM.

8) If you choose DUOIS to lead your army, when his name marker
comes up on the screen during a movement or a modification to the
army, the name marker comes up blank and wraps around the screen.