Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Miner 2049er]

Saying IX is fine, is stretching it too far. Come on, not a single word about the worst looking game of all times ?

LithTech engine...ehh...
Add gamebreaking bugs and retarded game design choices, like cloned NPC moving all around.

Still I can see how to enjoy even this turd. It was a new M&M during the drought and building your party still fun. The dungeons were okay. With the old engine and a longer development time this could have become a worthy addition to the franchise.
In its current state it's the worst entry. "Nothing a mod can't fix." Yeah....lol.

 

[Desiderius]

Saying IX is fine, is stretching it too far. Come on, not a single word about the worst looking game of all times ?

LithTech engine...ehh...
Add gamebreaking bugs and retarded game design choices, like cloned NPC moving all around.

Still I can see how to enjoy even this turd. It was a new M&M during the drought and building your party still fun. The dungeons were okay. With the old engine and a longer development time this could have become a worthy addition to the franchise.
In its current state it's the worst entry. "Nothing a mod can't fix." Yeah....lol.

That dungeon was one of the best of all time. Stepping out into that unexpected vista of some hidden ancient chasm was breathtaking. Hidden deadly foes haunting your every footstep...

Obviously unfinished game was unfinished. There are some games you replay after 20 yrs and you’re not even sure you played the thing. I got deja vu playing IX almost constantly. Very memorable.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Day of the Destroyer, the general setup of the game was very cool and being able to create one character wasn't really a problem. You get most classes in a pre-generated character pretty quickly, and the ones you don't were either not very useful or too OP.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

WoX, no question.

As OP didn't specify mainline, I should add that Dark Messiah is a close second.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I only ever played might and magic III when I was really young, but I always thought bard's tale was cooler. that game had animated monster portraits

And the monks chanting at the temples.
Yeah, BT1 was an audiovisual feast, on the Amiga at least.

Indeed.

Spoiler

 

[curds]

Nobody gonna mention that the OP from this thread is literally copy pasted from the OP of the other M&M thread? Lol

 

[Ismaul]

Nobody gonna mention that the OP from this thread is literally copy pasted from the OP of the other M&M thread? Lol

The little shit!

Tricking us into discussing RPGs on an RPG forum. Who'd do that?

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I only ever completed exactly one M&M game, and that was VI. It was actually one of the most satisfying RPGs I ever played due to its brilliant and fun loot design (but deeply flawed in terms of balance) . The followup (VII) corrected this issue and was better balanced and probably the better game but I was bored half-way through and quit due to OWBO (Open World Burn-Out). The loot design system of VI seemed carefully constructed to keep you playing and slightly powergaming, wondering what wonderful new and varied overpowered item you'd get next, even in trash mobs & sub-bosses.

I had attempted to play M&M II on my C64 circa 1990 but was baffled by its unforgiving open world design - though I had just before played Dragon Wars, which was also open world but at least in that game you always felt safe and that no matter what cluster fuck you wandered into, you'd persevere... which I did - where you could easily leave the starter dungeon in MMII and stumble into the wrong direction and find yourself facing in a single encounter at early levels 100 orcs, 50 hobgoblins, and 25 devil-partridges in a pear tree (okay, strike that last one). But M&M VI was a blast.

 

[Invictus]

One thing is saying which is the best game and another our personal favorite game... in this case Might and Magic 3 Isles of Terra feels the most balanced and well rounded entry and is easily my favorite although “more of the same but better” Xeen is pretty good too
But I would have to agree that Mandate is probably the best game overall

 

[minakami]

Heroes 3

 

[laclongquan]

8 is better than 7 or 6.

Really? I have avoided playing it because of all the bad reviews. Isn’t it also true that you can only create one character?

8 present party character creation a situation that single is better than 4 or 6: Changeable members.

If you create all party from start, you will tire of the portraits, voices, and abilities after a while.

But with 8, you can replace old member with newer, more powerful characters. Like an ancient druidess you just cure the petrification. Or an dragon you meet deep in a wyrm cave. Meanwhile you can concentrate consumables on your main char (horseshoe, apple, skill books). Older characters can still be of use once in a while if you concentrate on certain skills of them (level skill to useable threshold, do their things, throw them back onto the Inn, get them out when need skills) Like smith to craft weapons, embue them, create potions etc...

This aspect is essential for long games with broad class and broad skills.

 

[Contagium]

https://youtu.be/LrNArXxO59U

VI.

In no small part due to the best opening theme of any game ever.

 

[Mortmal]

They are all dated and primitive rpgs now, even at release they were not the best turn based blobbers. Last ubisoft one is ok but lackluster with a very railroaded level design .There's a lot better now , more character building and tactical depth in the fallout & clones (underrail, atom rpg, AOD etc..) . Larian doing better too now, i am not missing that era, it was fun in its time, not anymore.

 

[octavius]

8 is better than 7 or 6.

Really? I have avoided playing it because of all the bad reviews. Isn’t it also true that you can only create one character?

8 present party character creation a situation that single is better than 4 or 6: Changeable members.

If you create all party from start, you will tire of the portraits, voices, and abilities after a while.

But with 8, you can replace old member with newer, more powerful characters. Like an ancient druidess you just cure the petrification. Or an dragon you meet deep in a wyrm cave. Meanwhile you can concentrate consumables on your main char (horseshoe, apple, skill books). Older characters can still be of use once in a while if you concentrate on certain skills of them (level skill to useable threshold, do their things, throw them back onto the Inn, get them out when need skills) Like smith to craft weapons, embue them, create potions etc...

This aspect is essential for long games with broad class and broad skills.

Good point.
It's also a natural thing to do when devs try to do something different so the game is not totally a watered down MM7 clone.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Either Xeen or 8.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Crusaders of Might & Magic of course. Best Soulslike 13 years before Souls!

 

[xuerebx]

I played and finished Isles of Terra and World of Xeen last year and they were enjoyable - the exploration rather than the combat (since as someone mentioned the combat is very simplified - you just hold ENTER and mow through everyone most of the time). I also started playing MM VI which looks totally different from the previous games but it was fun too. Didn't finish it (yet) but many suggest it as a good starting point to the MM series.

 

[Nikanuur]

If Dark Messiah counts, then Dark Messiah. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there were games like this except for System Shocks back then. It's was a revelation of a game. Yeah you could say Cybermage or Strife - cool games, but nothing that has emphasized the RPG driven combat that much. Bioshock came a year later and that's no all that much of an RPG either. Heck, we don't have games like this in abundance even today.

 

[Kliwer]

Fans of the series are generally divided into two types. The first type believe that M&M 6 is the best part of the series. The latter believe that World of Xeen is the most brilliant game of this style. It all depends on what is valued in this type of role-playing games.

For me, the order is this:

- 3: Isles of Terra. The prettiest art style, the best exploration and the most interesting puzzles in the series.

- World of Xeen. Similar to M&M: 3, bigger game, better in many ways. But I still miss something in it. I believe that M&M: 3 is better and more consistently designed.

- 10: Legacy. The only game in the series really similar to Isles of Terra and World of Xeen. Although smaller and less polished, it offers a "modern" engine, which is a plus. In terms of the battle system - this is the best part of M&M franchise for me. Despite many changes, it retains the spirit of older M&M games. In my opinion, it is also one of the best "modern" role-playing games.

- 7: For Blood and Honor. The only game I like in the 6-8 trilogy. But this is (for me) a lower league than the three above. The character system is good. The choice between a good and evil campaign is interesting. But the dungeons are small and uninteresting.

I don't really like the other parts of this series. M&M: 1 is too archaic for me. M&M: 2 is brilliant, but also too archaic and too clunky to enjoy. M&M: 6 is a complete disaster for me: boring, badly balanced, forcing us to wade through monotonous corridors filled with insane hordes of enemies. In general, the 6-8 game engine is a failure for me. M&M: 8 has the relatively best dungeons in the 6-8 trilogy, but otherwise it's too easy and too short. M&M: 9 has a bad reputation - and I played too little to verify it (I know I liked some dungeons, but the graphics are quite disgusting and the engine is not very successful).

 

[Grunker]

VII *braces for accusations of heresy*

Second for me is Isles, and third is World. I also tend to like Legacy more than most around here.

 

[Grunker]

M&M: 6 is a complete disaster for me: boring, badly balanced, forcing us to wade through monotonous corridors filled with insane hordes of enemies.

Amen, brother. My first contact with the series was 6, and it made me not touch it for years. Then played Xeen, then 7 and realized what I'd missed.

 

[xuerebx]

M&M: 6 is a complete disaster for me: boring, badly balanced, forcing us to wade through monotonous corridors filled with insane hordes of enemies.

Amen, brother. My first contact with the series was 6, and it made me not touch it for years. Then played Xeen, then 7 and realized what I'd missed.

I was getting bored of the hordes of relentless enemies in VI (hence why I stopped playing). Maybe I should move on to VII...

 

[Terenty]

I would say that even m&m 9 is worth playing if you're a fan.

Yeah it's ugly and clearly rushed, but i thought it had more interesting quests compared to the previous parts and there was a nice twist in the story.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I'm starting to wonder if the love for Xeen (which I don't share) is a Codex thing. It certainly doesn't get much love on CRPG Addict's blog. But I can't help wondering if the comments would have been different if the Addict had shown more enthusiasm for the game.

There was a poll at celestial heavens or another M&M fansite with 1K+ votes for ... Isles of Terra whom landed first.

8 present party character creation a situation that single is better than 4 or 6: Changeable members.

If you create all party from start, you will tire of the portraits, voices, and abilities after a while.

But with 8, you can replace old member with newer, more powerful characters. Like an ancient druidess you just cure the petrification. Or an dragon you meet deep in a wyrm cave. Meanwhile you can concentrate consumables on your main char (horseshoe, apple, skill books). Older characters can still be of use once in a while if you concentrate on certain skills of them (level skill to useable threshold, do their things, throw them back onto the Inn, get them out when need skills) Like smith to craft weapons, embue them, create potions etc...

This aspect is essential for long games with broad class and broad skills.

VIII does a lot of things right, it's a bit too short and the elemental planes are just a nuisance though but with some more polish, it could have supplanted VII.
Still, VI offers more freedom, if not diversity and it's important, along with having way more content than any Might & Magic released after him.

Fans of the series are generally divided into two types. The first type believe that M&M 6 is the best part of the series. The latter believe that World of Xeen is the most brilliant game of this style. It all depends on what is valued in this type of role-playing games.

For me, the order is this:

- 3: Isles of Terra. The prettiest art style, the best exploration and the most interesting puzzles in the series.

- World of Xeen. Similar to M&M: 3, bigger game, better in many ways. But I still miss something in it. I believe that M&M: 3 is better and more consistently designed.

[Censored]

- 7: For Blood and Honor. The only game I like in the 6-8 trilogy. But this is (for me) a lower league than the three above. The character system is good. The choice between a good and evil campaign is interesting. But the dungeons are small and uninteresting.

I don't really like the other parts of this series. M&M: 1 is too archaic for me. M&M: 2 is brilliant, but also too archaic and too clunky to enjoy. M&M: 6 is a complete disaster for me: boring, badly balanced, forcing us to wade through monotonous corridors filled with insane hordes of enemies. In general, the 6-8 game engine is a failure for me. M&M: 8 has the relatively best dungeons in the 6-8 trilogy, but otherwise it's too easy and too short. M&M: 9 has a bad reputation - and I played too little to verify it (I know I liked some dungeons, but the graphics are quite disgusting and the engine is not very successful).

For the safety of our youngest members, i censored the part about X, it was disgusting!
Aside for that, i agree with Kilwer, almost perfect analysis combined with Laclogan's VIII analysis and everyone's disgust for X.

To me Isles of Terra is first, it'd be better with QoL features from Xeen but it's still a better game without it.

Then, comes VI, character development was improved, the world is vast and there's a lot of freedom in character development, it's also slightly faster to get to masters.

Then Xeen, VI and VIII, all of them do some thing right, Xeen Art-style and QoL are great, some puzzles too (III also has great ones).
VII introduced Arcomage and new class system which has pros and cons, like masteries limitations, going a bit too far.
VIII has smaller dungeons of the bunch but they're good anyway, also pushing the class and races system further in a good way even if there's still too many restrictions for my liking, cities in VIII are way better and the plot is tighter than in VI or VII.
Late game in underwhelming though.

As for X, i think i've said enough about it on multiple occasion on the Main thread, easy to find, last one probably in the last 5 pages.

 

[Force]

Xeen.

I'm starting to wonder if the love for Xeen (which I don't share) is a Codex thing. It certainly doesn't get much love on CRPG Addict's blog. But I can't help wondering if the comments would have been different if the Addict had shown more enthusiasm for the game.

I would put Darkside near the top of a list but consider Clouds to be the worst game of the first 8. Unfortunately WoX to me feels like it messes with the progression of Darkside and/or Clouds and the whole suffers.
From worst to best; IV, VIII, III, II, VI, I, V, VII is about how I would place them but it barely matters because they are all at least 7-9s out of 10 games.