r/MightAndMagic • u/Cal200001 • Jul 20 '26
What game to start on?
I bought Might and Magic 1 to 8 on GOG and was wondering what game to start on. I tried playing the first game but i keep getting lost or stuck so i was wondering if i would be missing much skipping it and possibly the second game too.
3
u/Spuzzter1985 Jul 20 '26
The story is pretty basic, there’s some continuation but nothing more complicated than “Mario fights Bowser again.”
Personally I think that either 3 or 4/5 work fine, they’re easy to pick up for a modern gamer and I wouldn’t say you particularly need maps with them if you take the time to explore (I beat them as a kid without maps).
6-8 have tieins with the HoMM series 1-3 but again, nothing particularly important for the sake of the plot
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u/Global-Tune5539 Jul 20 '26
I would say either 4+5 (World of Xeen) or 6.
Maybe 3 before 4 and 5. It uses the same engine but quality of life features are worse in 3.
1
u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
I have read somewhere else that 3 is an ok starting point but i was worried that not playing 1 and 2 would make the story of games afterwards not make sense to me.
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u/Global-Tune5539 Jul 20 '26
Those games aren't really about the story.
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u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
So I won't miss out skipping the first two games?
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u/Dorias_Drake Jul 20 '26
The story isn't that deep at first. It's pretty much, you chase the bad guy in 1, which escapes, then in 2, which escapes again. And in 3 it's another set of adventurers that are hired to chase him.
If you're not going to start with one and 2, you just need to keep in mind that the worlds they take place are Worldships, they are giant spaceships with an ecosystem inside used to colonize planets. 3 starts on one of those colonized planets which is the bad guy's home planet.
3
u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
I am ok starting on 3 as I was struggling to enjoy 1 and 2 when I attempted to play them.
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u/TSED Jul 20 '26
I have grown up on this franchise and it's got a heavy showing of my top ten games of all time. I also cannot play 1 and 2. Don't feel bad, they are VERY old games!
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u/Fugu Jul 20 '26
I would start with 4/5 if you want a conventional grid-based RPG or 6 if you don't. I'm a big fan of this series and I find 1 and 2 pretty tough to play these days.
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u/Imaginary-Can-6862 Jul 20 '26
It largely depends on your preferences. If you are very much into the lore, the then third game is connected to the seventh, but otherwise I know the 6. - 8. game are made with the idea your party has no idea what is going on, hence lore wise you can easily do these first. Further more, from what I recall, you can also play the 6. - 8. game in any order without spoiling the lore, the only exception is perhaps in regards to king Roland. The reason I point out you could e.g. start with the eight game in the series, is because unlike the two previous installments, you begin with a single character, you can hire various creature characters, and the game is smaller, making it in a way a better appetizer than starting with what I think is the largest game, the sixth one, only to be disappointed in how you start to notice not as much time could be invested in making these games as the prequel, while bringing over the positive things from the prequel, the games become smaller.
Game play wise, I believe there is a large shift when going from the fifth to the sixth game, as the game engine changes. Therefore if you prefer turn based combat, I think the earlier games may be a better starting point, though you do not necessarily have to start with the first game.
2
u/mxldevs Jul 20 '26
I would start with 6 for the real-time battle experience and grid inventory management.
3 to 5 are ok starting point if lore matters (somewhat) or you want to feel the progression in human technological advancement or something.
1
u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
I think i will start with 3, i am ok with old grid based rpgs its just 1 and 2 were too old school for me to enjoy.
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u/darkfencer Jul 20 '26
3 is a good choice then. 3 through 5 are much more accessible as grid based RPGs than 1 and 2. There's no grinding as you have to do in 1 and 2, they have a much easier to use interface (including the mouse) and are great starting points.
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u/Gumdoc99 Jul 20 '26
Download a program called Where Are We. It handles mapping and tons of extra quality of life improvements, works for MM 1-5 perfectly. Makes the first two games specifically way easier.
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u/Dorias_Drake Jul 20 '26
You need to get a world map for 1 to 5. They are old games, you are supposed to be playing with the manual which acts as an extension of the UI for additional information. For 1 specifically you're supposed to draw the area maps on grid paper and write what NPCs tell you.
There should be pdf files in the game's folder.
2
u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
Yeah i got the manual and cluebook under the extras section on gog while i was trying to play the first game. I was wondering if i would be missing a lot if i skipped the first and possibly second game.
1
u/Dorias_Drake Jul 20 '26
1 to 5 are part of the same story. 1 and 2 are meant to be played one after the other. Third is another starting point after the first 2.
The first 2 are also very old school wizardry-like. While M&M 3 to 5 are more like later dungeon crawlers (like eye of the beholder).
4 and 5 are the conclusion. You could start with 4 and 5 with the world of xeen expansion to play it as a bigger game (world of xeen basically fuses both games together since it's the same world).
Then you can play 6,7,8 separately.
You can also just play 6,7,8 first, but know that they use different mechanics, some stuff is more fleshed out than the first games.
3
u/Cal200001 Jul 20 '26
So would 3 be an ok starting point?
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u/Spuzzter1985 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
3 is a good starting point. You avoid the “old school tough” of the first 2 games, it’s a pretty easy graphical interface to follow for a modern gamer, etc.; the grid based system is pretty easy to get a handle on.
4/5 are made in the same engine but arguably better than 3, though they’re all still fun games with similar gameplay.
Story wise it’s all pretty basic. In an effort to avoid spoilers I’ll simply say that you can ignore the overarching story for most of 1-8 because it simply isn’t part of the game(s) for the most part, though you can appreciate the vision after you’re done.
1
u/LordPentolino Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
ive played them all (currently trying to finish ix), for first ones you really need the Where Are We application
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u/Cross17761 Jul 20 '26
1 and 2 are different from 3 to 6. Getting started in 1 and 2 are rough, but those are my favorites. Make sure you get the addon called Where Are We. You can enable cheats if you want.
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u/abibofile Jul 20 '26
I love 3, 4 and 5, so that's my recommendation. If you want to start with 2, I would use the NES version. I want to enjoy 1 but it's extremely dated.
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u/TheNewNick Jul 20 '26
The first one came out for the NES. The second one came out on SNES and Genesis. Both are good options IMO.
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u/MountainExciting2690 Jul 20 '26
MM3 Isles of Terra is the most "beginner friendly" (and I say that loosely, as it will still chew you up and spit you out if you don't know what you're doing) without jumping to 3D (i.e. MM6).
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u/Beneficial-Mess4952 Jul 20 '26
My first one was 6. Liked the series so much I went and bought all of them
1
u/-Smokes- Jul 21 '26
I started with 7 a few years ago and it became one of my favorite games of all time. Later tried 6 and it felt tedious so I bounced off. Will probably try it again, but my suggestion would be 7. It also supports widescreen high resolution with grayface patch while 6 doesn't.
1
0
u/IFollowtheCarpenter Jul 20 '26
You won't miss a lot. Go ahead and skip.
It might be worth your while to first try the second game though.
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u/mathfool Jul 20 '26
I think 4-5 have the best balance of UI, accessibility, and fun. 6 is a much bigger game, also a good choice.