Today I have a rather cold attitude towards computer games in any of their manifestations, because I am 100% sure that real life is much more interesting entertainment with noticeably better graphics. However, I have one thematic trigger – “Heroes of Might and Magic III”. As a child, I spent hundreds of hours of real time on the game, having studied the project to the smallest detail. I was surprised that today this entertainment continues to develop in the hands of enthusiasts. Moreover, competitions are still held in the game, especially in the post-Soviet space. I propose to talk about all this further.
For its time, the graphics in the game were very decent.
I remember very well when I paid attention to the game “Heroes of Might and Magic III”. In the late 90s and early 2000s, so-called game libraries were very popular in the post-Soviet space – computer clubs that gathered around themselves fans of digital games in general and multiplayer in particular. At that time I was in school and liked to drop into a couple of such establishments after school. Once, during such a visit, I just noticed a unique strategy with turn-based gameplay and cities of amazing beauty.
Yes, the graphics in Heroes of Might and Magic III today can hardly be called a reference and even just good, but about 20 years ago it seemed fantastic – there was nothing like this in games of this kind at all. Moreover, everything is turned upside down when you start exploring the city or participate in turn-based battles with absolutely any of your enemies. In these two scenarios, the graphics remain very attractive even today. Yes, it is clear that this is a banal two-dimensional illustration, in which there is nothing supernatural, but it seems to be as voluminous as possible and extremely atmospheric. The visuals in the game have always been extremely atmospheric, and I wanted to look at it again and again. Other turn-based strategies of that time always seemed to be as schematic as possible, and there were almost none in the fantasy direction.
The game combines a whole fan of various mechanics
“Heroes of Might and Magic III” at one time attracted my attention precisely with graphics, but, like many, I fell in love with the game precisely because of its unique and most multifaceted gameplay. What’s interesting, with whom I haven’t talked about this game lately, everyone loves it for purely their own reasons. Someone likes to develop economically and explore the map as slowly as possible. Someone likes the direct process of the battle. I know people who only played multiplayer, and also people who stopped playing Heroes after completing the story campaigns.
5 mechanics that made the game memorable
- The development of the city is both a beautiful and fascinating process: you need to understand exactly what kind of building to build in each case, and this only comes with experience.
- Character development – I remember very well how newcomers tried to create a whole “football team” of heroes to separate spheres of influence on the map, and professionals always pulled one.
- Exploring the map is an incredibly exciting process, which often dragged on more than anything else: I always especially liked the long and hard search for the Grail, but it was no less exciting to capture mines and dwellings of units, find resources, fight for artifacts and more.
- Collecting artifacts – on the one hand, there were incredibly powerful single items that greatly increased individual skills; on the other hand, the coolest thing was to find all the parts of something prefabricated – this could change the course of the entire “skating rink”.
- Turn-based combat – of course, it was they who made the game unforgettable: the coolest thing has always been to defeat the enemy with cunning with the help of a much more modest army.
Turn-based strategy is wildly replayable
After a close acquaintance with the “Heroes” it was impossible to break away from them. The game has always had a wild replay value that allows you to return to it again and again. Everyone had completely different preferences, but they all ultimately boiled down to the fact that every evening along with the game was not like another “date” with her. The developers managed to make it as diverse and unique as possible. And the fans could not stand aside – they were offered all the necessary tools for self-expanding the game universe.
5 facts that made the game replayable
- All sorts of story campaigns – in addition to the original game, as well as a couple of add-ons, he also played separate Hero Chronicles, which offered additional massive missions.
- New Maps in Expansions – There has always been a huge focus on individual scenarios, and each expansion brings a lot of new things to the game for both solo and multiplayer.
- Community-created maps – scenarios for single and multiplayer exploration were also created by the most ordinary fans of the series: for this they were given an editor.
- Randomly generated cards – I remember that along with the additions for Heroes, it became possible to create a new scenario based on conditional AI: you could do this as many times as you like.
- The ability to play with friends – wild replayability was achieved, among other things, due to multiplayer on one computer, on which we all spent whole days.
The game still has an incredibly active fan community.
It’s interesting how Heroes of Might and Magic III has an insanely active fan community. On the territory of the post-Soviet space, the game is still held annual competitions. It is curious that they use restrictions on the use of certain cities and units (for example, you cannot use Necropolis, which is considered too strong when compared with other cities, due to the ability of heroes to raise skeletons from any dead on the battlefield) – the organizers try do everything to even out the rather curved balance of the game. Moreover, it was by the forces of the fans that completely different unofficial additions, In the Name of the Gods and Horn of the Abyss, were released as a continuation for the official add-ons “Breath of Death” and “Blade of Armageddon”.
“In the Name of the Gods” — a large-scale addition with a lot of new creatures, reworking the balance and explicit references to the culture of Russian fairy tales. Many people think that this is a completely different game that has nothing to do with the classics.
“Horn of the Abyss” – a fairly balanced addition with a new pirate city, a lot of new campaigns and scenarios, as well as fresh items and other nuances. According to this addon, even competitions are held today.
Nothing better than “Heroes of Might and Magic III” never happened
In the rather vast universe of Might and Magic, nothing better than Heroes of Might and Magic III came out – this is a fact. That is why many of her fans are still going through this particular game and do not even look towards its numerous re-releases, among which there has been nothing successful so far. While I am finishing this material, I am actively looking for an opportunity to play Heroes of Might and Magic III today on modern hardware – especially within macOS and Apple Silicon. If possible, I will definitely arrange a couple of cuts with my friends. I hope they have not forgotten how they constantly suffered first from thousands of my skeletons, and then from liches …
Source: Trash Box
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
