Memory Banks: Marching with Heroes again, revisiting Heroes of Might and Magic
One of the biggest RPG series on the PC in the eighties and nineties was Might and Magic. Created by New World Computing, each game in the series featured a large open world to explore, numerous side quests, and odd plot twists that one would not expect in a fantasy game. While the story revolves around a team of adventurers trying to stop an immortal wizard from sending planets into the sun, it was the large worlds and interesting creatures that kept players coming back. The first saga in the Might and Magic series continued five games that revolutionize RPGs on the PC.
After the completion of the first saga, New World Computing took a chance by creating a spin-off game called Heroes of Might and Magic. This time the player would be battling other kingdoms in a tactical setting. This series was designed around using hero characters with armies made up of monsters and traveling around a map hoping to conquer all other towns and heroes. This game also introduces the Ironfist dynasty a series of Kings and Queens who would control the fate of the lands. The world created in this game would be the basis for the new saga in the main RPG games. In addition, all the Heroes sequels made by New World Computing would fall into the same world. While it is not necessary to play both series to understand the story, the Heroes series filled in back story and developed the lords more so than the RPG series.
While Heroes IV and Might and Magic IX would involve characters from these series, they would be criticized for changes to the series that many fans of the previous games would not agree with. While New World Computing would not have much chance to redeem themselves before their parent company 3DO went bankrupt, the legacy of their games lives on. Many argue over which Might and Magic game was best, but Heroes of Might and Magic III is often considered the best of the tactical series. It contained a long campaign, two expansions each with longer campaigns, and some of the most difficult tactical gaming ever.
Recently, I decided to dig out an old copy of Heroes of Might and Magic III. While I have been playing more modern tactical games like Agarest War, Frozen Synapse, and Fire Emblem I have been drawn back into the world of Erathia due to nostalgia. I first played the game when it came out and I found it difficult but rewarding. I remember being very annoyed that the computer usually had an overwhelming advantage and that I never seemed to have enough resources. However, completing a mission did feel like a major accomplishment and I spent many hours fighting through the story and finding ways of dealing with the almost always cheating computer characters. After a couple months the struggle became less rewarding and more tedious. By the final campaign I was so frustrated with the game that I used cheat codes to beat the last two missions of the story in order to watch the ending. Since I never completed the game properly I never picked up the expansions. I eventually moved on from the series and dropped all of Might and Magic for other titles and less aggravating games.
I was reminded of this series by Good Old Games when they put the franchise on sale a short time ago. Wanting to relive the series I gave Heroes of Might and Magic III a second try. Even if I found it too difficult at least I could try the expansions that I never played before. In the beginning the game felt much easier than I remembered. I flew through the majority of the original campaign. Even the final mission was not nearly as hard as I remember. I was quite happy with myself being able to breeze through the majority of the main game. With my new found confidence I moved on to the first expansion Armageddon’s Blade. The first campaign was very difficult and required me to restart missions and change my strategy several times. However, after many hours I found that I had saved Erathia once again. I then moved on to one of the side story campaigns from Armageddon’s Blade with the odds stacked against me to an insane degree I was able to pull through and beat “Dragon’s Blood” a campaign that is considered by many to be unbeatable due to the very difficult third mission. However, while playing I could feel my patience for this game once again wearing thin.
HoMaM - The Shadow of Death
Realizing that I was starting to get annoyed with the game once again I shifted my focus to the second expansion The Shadow of Death which acts as a prequel to the event of the main game. This expansion allowed the player to change the difficulty in order to make some of the more insane maps easier to handle. I found that with the game set to normal and a story that was more compelling than the side stories of Armageddon’s Blade there was much more to enjoy in this expansion.
Even after playing for nearly two months I still have yet to complete everything in Heroes of Might and Magic III. I feel redeemed for using cheat codes when I was younger, but I also feel the same annoyance I felt all those years ago. Even on the lesser difficulties the computer has a tendency to come at you with overwhelming numbers of troops that do not seem possible in the short amount of time that has passed. In addition the computer will cheat by going directly to objectives and by having luck and morale bonuses occurring with nearly every attack. The advantages given to the computer make even easy difficulty a struggle on some maps. Overall, I am both happy to replay this series and angry that I have spent so many hours trying to complete every mission with only moderate success.
Heroes of Might and Magic III was not designed for casual players. It is a very hardcore tactical game and bonuses and skills picked up in previous missions might just make later missions unbeatable. This game will test your skill and your patience. That being said, I do not regret playing this game again. In fact I have more respect for the franchise now than I had before playing again. The game still stands up today even with the graphics looking a little dated. This return to the series allowed me to learn more about the other games and it reminded me that sometimes I want an “unbeatable” mission because when I beat it, I know I have achieved something others have not. With new sequels made by a new company it can be easy to forget the classic entries. However, no matter what is done in the later titles none of them can compare to the challenge and reward found in Heroes of Might and Magic III.
