Might & Magic: Then and Now
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Hello everyone, Animeman73 here. It’s time for another commentary. This one focuses on a gaming franchise that is of personal importance to me, Might & Magic. As with my Elder Scrolls commentary, all pictures used in this are legal under the terms of fair use. With that said, here we go
Might & Magic, a gaming franchise that holds a special place in my heart. Jon Van Caneghem created the franchise back in the 1980’s on the heels of the Bard’s Tale. I was first introduced to it when I watched my older brother. He played Might & Magic Book 1: Secret of the Inner Sanctum on the Commodore 64. This was back in 1986.
There would be several games that would follow. Starting with Might & Magic Book 2: Gates to Another World, released in 1988.
Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra got released in 1991. Then came Might & Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen (1992). Then came it’s immediate follow up Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen (!993).
The mentioned games tell the story of two Androids from the time of the Ancients. C.O.R.A.K. and S.H.E.L.T.E.M. The saga was a Sci-Fi meets Fantasy series. And it had plenty of Star Trek references thrown in. no surprise since John Van Caneghem has mentioned he is a card-carrying Trekker.
I started getting into it when I played Might & Magic World of Xeen. It was Might & Magic IV & V wrapped up into one, plus some extra stuff added in.
Then I played Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra, and have plans to do so again in the future, thanks to GOG.com. And Might & Magic World of Xeen (1994)
I never got into 1 and 2 because those games seemed a little too much on the grindy side for me.
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But Might & Magic III, IV, and V were perfect. The graphics were a little on the cartoonish side, but it was great gaming. I spent many fond hours on it.
I’m planning on playing III, IV, and V again. Thanks again to GOG.com, I can actually play World of Xeen. The version that has voice actors doing the dialogue of the NPCs in the game. Again, thank you GOG.com for making this possible.
Next up was a big change for the franchise. Might & Magic ventured into the world of Strategic gameplay. It did so with Heroes of Might & Magic: A strategic quest, which debuted in 1995.
It told the story of Lord Ironfist. A noble forced to flee his world under rather dubious circumstances. He must establish his own kingdom, which he names Enroth.
I played almost the entire campaign. And let me tell you the game is very hard. In this game speed is of the essence to win. If you lollygag around for too long your opponent becomes super strong. Then there will be trouble! 
Hop to it
In 1996 Heroes of Might & Magic II: The Succession Wars followed up on the first game. Then came its expansion pack in 1997, The Price of Loyalty.
Behold,
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Heroes 1 and 2 were big steps forward not only in gameplay, but music too. Where before the games had used synthesizer music, things changed in the Heroes games. Heroes 1 actually used real instruments. Violins, lutes, flutes and others.
Heroes 2 took it a step further by adding in actual singers and opera for it. The music's composer is the brilliant Paul Anthoney Romero.
In 1998 New World Computing became part of the company 3DO.
With this union the first game put out was Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven in 1998. The player takes the part of four characters.
All are the survivors of the town of Sweetwater. All four survived an attack of demonic aliens from giant meteors.
Might &
The party make their way through the Kingdom of Enroth. The problem is it's become infested with all types of nasty monsters. Yeah, something rotten is going on!
Give it
The players find quests that take them through various dungeons throughout Enroth. All the time they improve skills and climb up their chosen professions.
In the game the players search for answers about a new religious cult. One with connection to the devils.
In 1999, 3DO debuted two new Might & Magic games. Both of which would take the franchise to new levels.
The first game was Heroes of Might & Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia. In the Mandate of Heaven intro there was mention of Queen Catherine.
She is the wife of Roland ironfist. In canon he won the Succession Wars.
Catherine is returning home for her father's funeral. Heroes III follows her and several factions across the continent of Antagarich.
This includes the Devils, now known as the Kreegans.
During 1999 another game released from 3DO was Might & Magic VII: For Blood and Honor.
At the end of the Restoration Wars there’s a scenario. A region known as ‘the Contested Lands is sought by the humans of Erathia and the Elves of Avlee.
These lands would become known as the kingdom of Harmondale. By the time of Might & Magic VII it's up for sale. It's the prize for whoever wins a contest taking place on Emerald Island.
This is where the player's party comes into play. A major improvement in this game is this. The player can have Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, as well as Humans.
In this game the object is to find a solution to the situation called the Timber Wars. As well as lead and improve Harmondale. It requires adventuring through the land and hardening the party. It also leads towards a grand ultimate destiny.
New
Also, certain skills in the game have limits based on profession.
The biggest change in the game is at some point the party must choose whether to become a force for good or evil.
That was an interesting change. Because afterwards certain ranks and abilities get cut off while others open up. All of it based on that choice.
Consequences are a wonder don’t you think?
The ending of the story is also affected by the choice of whether to be good or evil. I for one chose the path of goodness. I’m a nice guy, I can’t help it!
Later in 1999, 3DO released an expansion pack for Heroes of Might & Magic III. The title of it was Armageddon's Blade.
In it a Kreegan lord has a vision of setting the world on fire. To bring this about he sends his minions to find three powerful artifacts. From them he can create the weapon Armageddon's Blade.
Once again Catherine Ironfist must go to battle, to save the world from the insane Kreegan Lord.
It also tells the stories of several other protagonists.
They include an Overlord from the underground realm of Nighon.
A Wizard who is a Dragon Hunter.
A barbarian who seeks to carve a bloody road to the kingship of the land of Krewlod.
Plus, a prequel story of a knight named Christian and his efforts to escape from a chain of islands.
Entering the 2000’s, 3DO released another game. Might & Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer. On the continent of Jadame there's trouble.
A mysterious figure has opened gateways to other realms. Unleashing strange elemental creatures who are wreaking havoc on the land. Worse they could bring about the end of the world.
Unlike the other Might & Magic games there were some very big changes. For starters rather than having four characters the party can have five.
Second, the party starts off with one character. And they have to recruit others to be in the party.
The professions the player can choose from are Knights and Clerics. Anyone who’s ever played RPGs can pretty much guess what they do.
But the player can also choose to play a Dark Elf which is a mixture of offensive and thief abilities.
The Vampire who is a lot like a thief and a spellcaster.
A Necromancer which is a wizard in this game. You also can play a Minotaur, an offensive creature that specializes in axes.
Or the player can be a Troll who can regenerate wounds.
It was a great game I thought. But one level, the Hornet’s Hive proved to be a bit difficult with all that jumping.
Also in 2000, came a final expansion pack to Heroes III. The title of it was The Shadow of Death. This campaign is a prequel to The Mandate of Heaven and The Restoration of Erathia saga.
The game circles around several characters.
The treacherous Necromancer Sandro. Gem a Sorceress turned Druid who appeared in Heroes II. Yog, a part human part genie barbarian who has rejected his magical heritage.
As well as barbarian Crag Hack, and Gelu. Before the elf became captain of the Forest Guard.
For the next couple years Heroes Chronicles got released. The series introduced a certain Orc protagonist.
This series also introduced casual gamers to the Might & Magic universe.
During this time certain characters from Armageddon’s Blade appeared. The series culminated with Wake of the Gods.
In it the King of Krewlod possessed a terrible weapon, the Sword of Frost. Gelu has Armageddon's Blade, a weapon just as dangerous.
Their meeting results in the Reckoning, which destroys Enroth.
Two years later two Might & Magic games debuted. Unfortunately, 3DO was having financial difficulties at the time. And out of desperation put out Heroes of Might & Magic IV and Might & Magic IX: Writ of Fate.
Heroes IV consisted of the original game. As well as the expansion packs released The Gathering Storm (2002), and Winds of War (2003). Unfortunately, both games got rushed. 3DO was desperate for money.
Unfortunately, the games ended up being half-finished. I myself tried playing Heroes IV and didn’t like it. The confusing mechanics and unfinished look took away from the game.
I admit I didn’t play Might and Magic IX. But as I understand the game's unplayable without a couple of mod packs developed for it. Yeah, this is what happens when a product gets rushed out half-done.
Before I continue let me say this. To me Jon Van Caneghem’s decision to destroy Enroth and move to the world of Axeoth was a mistake! Enroth did have some problems. But they were nothing a good able writer couldn’t explain away.
Also, Axeoth never quite lived up to the potential that Enroth had when destroyed. So, like I said Jon Van Caneghem’s decision to throw away Enroth was a mistake! The kind that needs immediate correction. I’ll go more into that later.
By 2006 3DO’s doors had shut for good. The Might & Magic franchise got bought by Ubisoft.
They produced Heroes of Might and Magic V, a game done by the Russian company Nival. Released on May 24th, 2006, in the U.S. and Canada the game was good.
But in this version of the game, they abandoned the format of sci-fi meets fantasy in favor of fantasy. I liked the high fantasy aspect, but I also thought this. The decision to abandon the original format of what the game was about…was a slap to the face of the Might & Magic fans!
The game focuses around several characters. Isabel of the Greyhound Duchy. Clan Lord Raelag of the Dark Elves. and others from the various factions.
All taking place on a world called Ashan. The world had a very High medieval fantasy vibe to it and the characters were compelling.
Heroes of Might and Magic V had some shaky gameplay. But in the later versions the problems got corrected.
Then came Hammers of Fate released November 24th, 2006. It introduced the Dwarf clans and the intrigues going on with them.
The third part of the game was Tribes of the East. It got released on October 25th, 2007. It introduced Orcs into the equation.
Hammers of Fate and Tribes of the East made Heroes V better. They put in a feature where the player could ship creatures from dwellings to any castle they own. Granted they did have to avoid getting ambushed. But I thought that added to the game.
Tribes of the East wrapped things up for the game's story. And it did so in a very satisfactory way
On October 24th, 2006, the game Dark Messiah of Might & Magic got released. It picked up the story of what happened to Isabel’s child, The Dark Messiah. 20 years after he was born the child is an adult and named Sareth.
It was an action-packed adventure. It looked fun but, in all honesty, as much as I enjoyed watching the let’s plays of it, I never played it. Ashan is a good world but, it wasn’t the J.V.C. universe.
In 2011, I pre-ordered the game Heroes of Might & Magic VI. Or as the game got renamed, Might & Magic Heroes VI. This game to me was one of the biggest insults to the original fans!
This game takes place several generations before the events of Heroes V.
This was a move I must admit I found rather curious. For the record I am not that hard to please. As frustrating as the latest Sim City game could be, I took some fun in it.
But Heroes VI proved to be one of the most ill-conceived messes I had ever seen! It’s almost impossible for me to get buyer’s remorse, but this game gave me that.
The war between the Angels and the Demons seems more an afterthought. At least when compared with the war against a race known as the Faceless. This game spat in the face of the canon for Heroes V.
While I liked the Naga faction in it, the rest of the game was confusing and had very poor writing. So much so I never bothered buying the game expansion packs. Heroes VI was an absolute disaster.
On January 23rd, 2014, the game Might & Magic X : Legacy got released. The game got produced by Limbic Entertainment under the guidance of Ubisoft.
This takes place following the messy and hard to follow events of Heroes VI.
Four Raiders (Adventurers) arrive at the town of Sorpigal-by-the-sea. They carry with them their master's remains. They seek to take them to their teacher’s home city. All to have the remains interred.
Along the way they learn something odd is happening on the continent they’re on.
I played the original game and actually beat it. The grid patterns and turn-based style were interesting. But after a while I for one found it a trifle tedious.
All I needed to do was figure out what effects I needed to protect my characters against. The big bad guy and his goons are tricky, but once you figure out their patterns then they become a bit of a chore.
While the game’s story was good, the gameplay itself was rather lacking at times.
Around 2013, a group called the Shadow Council was set up. The premise was Ubisoft wanted to learn from the mistakes it made in Heroes VI. I joined and at first it all seemed to go well.
But then the Shadow Council forum went on petty drama stirrups. Worse Ubisoft didn’t take care of the problem before there was permanent damage.
Also, some of the moves made when creating the game were very questionable. Such as making the Lich into a priest rather than an undead wizard. To me it was becoming clear. Thanks to the drama and the company not listening this was not going well.
So, I left the council for greener pastures.
By the time the game came out in 2015, I saw it on a Let’s Play video on YouTube. Let me say, oh dear God, this game turned out to be a complete and total disaster!
The premise of the game is set 100 years after the events of Heroes. Ivan Griffin must unite several factions to end a war that is tearing the former Falcon Empire apart.
To be frank there was hardly any animation in the cut scenes. So, to me it looked like I was observing statues as I listened to them speak. Sort of around the lines of a Disneyland ride or some such.
The graphics I admit were beautiful, they're fantastic!
But the storyline had Ivan listening to stories from his various advisors. All before making his move. This is often the last resort of lazy writing.
This game was very disappointing. There was downloadable content that followed up in 2016. But Lost Tales of Axeoth and Trial by Fire were too little too late to save the game!
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Now I'll say this. Since Ubisoft bought Might & Magic, they have done a terrible job with it!
They’ve completely veered away from the formula Jon Van Caneghem had in mind of Fantasy meets Sci-Fi. Instead, they've turned it into a personality lacking Dungeons and Dragons copycat series.
While doing so they spat in the face of every original Might & Magic fan there is. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry with them. I am angry, I'm furious with them!
But I also know how to control and channel my anger. So now in the name of fairness I have some solutions.
1. Get back to where you once belonged.
The Beatles song reference refers to this. Might & Magic needs to get back to the Fantasy meets Sci-fi formula that worked before.
The decision by Ubisoft to become a D&D clone proved a 24-karat mistake! If Might & Magic is to survive it needs to return to its roots.
Also, instead of it being Might & Magic Heroes change it back to Heroes of Might & Magic as it was always meant to be.
2. Combine J.V.C.’s universe with Ashan.
Now while Ashan has a lot of problems that’s not to say that it doesn’t have potential. Quite the contrary. The time following the events of Heroes V has some of the best potential for some great material.
3. SPIDERS WITH NECROMANCERS!?!
Sorry about putting everything in capitalization. But this is something that gets me so enraged! I’ve been playing Necromancers since Heroes of Might & Magic II. And at no time has there ever been spiders in the faction!
Even in Heroes V they didn’t have spiders with them. Now I know Asha is the Spider Goddess. But the idea of spiders with a spell caster who specializes in creating undead is absurd!
Now if they wanted to create a faction dedicated to Asha and spiders that’s different. But spiders do not belong with the Undead, period. Get those eight-legged freaks out of there!
4. The writing needs to be fixed…badly!
I’ll be the first to tell you I cannot program worth jack squat! But I can say I could do a better Might & Magic and/or a Heroes of Might & Magic story. Not to mention they need better developed characters.
Again, I can help with that problem. I can develop some pretty quirky and relatable characters. Hey, I’m a writer it’s what I do!
Better characters and better stories will help capture the imagination of people.
Better more relatable characters will take the game to new levels.
5. More effort and love into the games!
Since Heroes VI, it seems that Might & Magic has become more like a cash cow than a beloved franchise. This needs to change!
People need to come in who love what they do. Graphic designs, gameplay, the storyline, the characters, and the atmosphere. It all needs to change and get better.
That doesn’t mean get rid of the humor. It means actually put effort into creating something out of love that will be beautiful. When you have a good game then the money will roll in.
6. Keep some of the material, ditch the rest.
Okay I'm not a fan of Heroes VI and VII and Might & Magic X: The Falcon and Unicorn. But there were some things that I liked. The Nagas had a very complex, very Japanese style system I found intriguing. I’d like to continue to have them in future Might & Magic and Heroes of Might & Magic games.
I could see a developing faction that could bring a whole new level of excellence to the game franchise.
I also like the idea of the lost Shantiri Empire. In this there’s a lot of potential to explore Ashan’s ancient past. All in ways that were never conceived of. Yet staying true to the Fantasy meets Sci-fi formula of the series.
I I could see a developing faction that could bring a whole new level of excellence to the game franchise.
I also like the idea of the lost Shantiri Empire. In this there’s a lot of potential to explore Ashan’s ancient past. All in ways that were never conceived of. Yet staying true to the Fantasy meets Sci-fi formula of the series.
In closing its true Might & Magic has seen better days. It's true that Ubisoft has botched things up. But Might & Magic is worth saving. With a little elbow grease this franchise can get restored to greatness. And I'd love to bring that about, or see it happen at least. As a gamer and longtime fan of the series it's the least I could do. Why, because I love this game franchise that much!
Well, I hope you enjoyed the rather long commentary. Is there anything I missed? Is there anything you disagree with? Or do you agree? Please let me know in the comments section below.
Let’s start a gaming conversation on this.
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Thank you for reading this commentary. I’m Animeman73, until next time stay true to yourselves, stay classy, and God bless you all.
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