Might&magic series: worth playing from the beginning?

I prefer the combat mechanics in M&M VI+, especially being given the choice between turn-based or real time. I also prefer the more realistic and gritty look of the later games compared to the cartoony style of the older titles.

There is one thing that the older M&M titles definitely did better though, and that's character creation. The party creation in the newer games was a lot more vanilla and lacked some of the choices the older games had.

Anyone who likes World of Xeen should get the GoG version with Swords of Xeen as well. A real nice challenge after finishing World. Also, while the style of the Pre-VI M&M games was cartoony, it also had a charm all its own.

Swords of Xeen is quite unbalanced but still nice fan made game if you like M&M 3-5.

Oh yeah I played a bit of Sword of Xeen but never finished it - it was included in the Might&Magic I~V Compilation I bought in '98. I never would have guessed back then this was a fanmade game, it's certainly impressive for its time!

Also, while the style of the Pre-VI M&M games was cartoony, it also had a charm all its own.

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Agreed. More realistic and gritty does not necessarilly means better.

-Sergorn

Dark Savant said:

Swords of Xeen is quite unbalanced but still nice fan made game if you like M&M 3-5.

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Yes. Also, if I remember well, your main quest was to clean the cities from monsters and help the inhabitants to rebuild them, which was a nice and original concept.

Sergorn said:

Agreed. More realistic and gritty does not necessarilly means better.

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Nobody said it did.

The visuals in the older games were charming in their own way, but I just preferred the style of M&M VI onwards.

Pessimeister said:

That's staggeringly short-sighted as far as I'm concerned. World of Xeen (4+5) easily resonates just as much with me from an enjoyment and content point of view.
Plus the interface is very easy to get into. Might and Magic has always been more about accessibility compared to many of the earlier classic RPG series and so for a first time player or RPG fan, even the early games should at least be looked at.
MM3 is a good challenging starting point as later posts suggested.

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The creator of the thread clearly stated he was not very experienced at RPGs. MM6-8 all have more or less modern mechanics and interface and are generally easy to get into.

I replay MM6-8 quite frequently, but even I can't get into the older ones anymore as the whole setup is just too clunky compared to the standards that were set during the mid-to-late 90s.

Quick, somebody remake MM 6-8 using the Creation Kit. I'd like to play them by next month

I somehow just can't get into the later M&M games, but I found world of Xeen to be incredibly accessible, in particular compared to other games of its time. There were a few things that could have been explained better, but the game was easy to get into, and had a nice difficulty curve.

There is also a mod for MM6 (The Chaos Conspiracy) for anyone that wants to try it out. I've played through and enjoyed it when it was first released.

http://www.celestialheavens.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10107

Maylander said:

My advice: Play MM6-8, forget the rest. They're either too old or too rubbish to dig up at this point.

You could also combine it with Heroes 2-4

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I strongly disagree. I just got the MM series 2 years ago and I admit, I found the games too old school for my tastes (and I played the D & D gold box games when they were originally released). I'd play for a few minutes and then quit.

But one day, last Spring, I guess I really had nothing else to do and REALLY gave it a try. M & M 4 completely hooked me. I haven't finished yet due to not having enough time and my ridiculous backlog of PC, DS, 360 games, but I try to play a few hours each week and it's really a lot of fun. I'm hoping to finish soon so I can start the next in the series.

I will say 1 and 2 are probably not worth it but the rest are.

Also got hooked on HOMM but have only played 3. Great game as well.

Yeah, even for somewhat "inexperienced RPG players", I think all of 3-7 are still worth a try.
In my book 3-5 actually aged a bit better than 6-7 in terms of visuals.
3D from 90´s is generally a visual representation type that belongs among the most prone to aging (and I think M&M´s felt somewhat obsolete even at the release dates), the colour scheme and empty corridors make for a pretty bland visual experience and 2D models add an ever present element of inconsistency. 3-5´s 2D may be sorta childish, but it´s consistent and better defined.

Among the 3-7, for "inexperienced RPG players", I would recommend 4+5 combo (World of Xeen) and 7 the most. IIRC, World of Xeen features a bit more convenient UI, slightly less difficult puzzle element and I remember 5 as the best of these 3 overall.
Compared to 6, IIRC 7 also has at least one feature improving convenience (markers on already visited houses, which cuts the time spent on looking for trainers) and it´s not as difficult overall. It also has more interesting character development (probably best in the series), major choice in the middle and a cool minigame. 6 has more memorable dungeons, bigger environmental diversity and better ending, but it also features elements which someone may find detracting - personally I´ve found the amount of enemies to be overkill and a lot of dungeons to be way too long for their own good - I´ve actually found these two aspects so annoying that it put 6 at my least favourite spot of the 3-7 bunch. Tomb of Varn and Darkmoor Castle rule though .