Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars
Year: 1996
Type: Gamerip
Composer(s): Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca
Number of tracks: 41
The opera-like phantom
Here you can find the music review for
The Price of Loyalty (1997).
Come on guys, what can I say? Quarter past 2 on a Friday night. The alcohol has been flowing and my mental capacity is at about the same level as it was when I first played Heroes of Might and Magic II . The excitement of inserting the CD-Rom, the fascination of starting the game and the euphoria of all the bright colors and fantasy scenarios - little Mattis was happy, even if he didn't get through all the finesses of this turn-based strategy gem. Somehow he liked all the races except for the barbarians, and damage spells were always better than debuffs because it made the number of enemies smaller - duh!
Anyone who has question marks in front of their eyes after this paragraph will probably also not be able to comprehend the impact that the first Heroes of Might and Magicspin-off I played had on my early pubescent development. The much-praised 'one-more-turn' principle was already in effect back then, which is why I spent hours and hours racing around the map with my single hero before encountering the opposing AI, which either lapsed into vegetative inaction after my victory over its hero or mercilessly wiped the floor with me. In both cases, the game quickly ran out of steam, which of course didn't stop me from starting the next match straight away due to a lack of alternatives. Sometimes I wish I had my old enthusiasm back.
There is no other reason for my love of the soundtrack, whose nostalgia-tinged tracks still haunt my ears today and stand out between both its predecessors and successors. But perhaps it's not just due to nostalgia. Because the development of series composer Paul Romero can already be observed here. Here, the basis of the acceptable soundtrack for the first Heroes of Might and Magic was built upon. Romero dares to set new accents in the new installment and now uses vocals instead of simple MIDI compositions for the background music of the city screens. But not just any fantasy-elven junk à la Dragon Age, but ... opera. That's right. Hyperactive little Mattis was exposed to the acoustic equivalent of an average shower soprano at pre-school age. 'Deine Wilden Hunde wollen in die Freiheit!' (German for 'Your wild dogs long for freedom!'). Well, no wonder nothing became of me.
All jokes aside, and observed with suspicion for the rest of this review, the arias sung in German are an interesting departure from the soundtrack of the Heroes of Might and Magic–-series. The only thing that spoiled its premiere for my brother and me at the time was that our CD had a glitch, which is why the sound files were damaged and all the melodies were transposed 1.5 tones lower. Sounds funny, but it was actually a bitter reality and made the enjoyable visit to the city at home an acoustic test of patience.
When you took a break from the crookedly sung chorales, you could listen to some great compositions such as the iconic "Grass Theme", which can be found in many of the other spin-offs. But the battle tracks such as "Battle 2" and "Battle 3" were also always highlights to look forward to while exploring the map. The rest of the gamerip, on the other hand, is disappointing, as it only consists of stingers that are played when certain events are triggered, such as leveling up or visiting a nomad tent. However, the compositions are definitely worth listening to in their own right.
Thus, the average rating of a basically improved score of the predecessor is dampened, but in all likelihood it is only because of my memories that it has a comparatively high rating to begin with. If you compare it with its successors, above all part 5, it is basically old-fashioned musical fare, yet it leaves one looking forward to the greatness that Romero will deliver in his later compositions.
Nostalgia warning
The rating of the individual tracks is purely subjective and clearly colored by my own experience with the game. You can find out more in the article About Nostalgia.
Nr. | Title | Interpret(en) | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|
01 | Heroes of Might and Magic II | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
02 | Town (Knight) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
03 | Town (Barbarian) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
04 | Town (Sorceress) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
05 | Town (Warlock) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
06 | Town (Wizard) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
07 | Town (Necromancer) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
08 | Battle 1 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
09 | Battle 2 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
10 | Battle 3 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
11 | Victory | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
12 | Defeat | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
13 | Death | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
14 | Grass Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
15 | Dirt Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
16 | Ocean Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
17 | Swamp Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
18 | Wasteland Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
19 | Desert Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
20 | Lava Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
21 | Snow Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
22 | Lurking Enemy | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
23 | New Week | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
24 | New Month | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
25 | Black Heart | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
26 | Shadows Over the Kingdom (Archibald's Campaign) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
27 | Pure Heart (Roland's Campaign) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
28 | Peace at Last (Scenario Victory) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
29 | Puzzle Map | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
30 | Experience Gained | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
31 | Knowledge Spellpower | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
32 | News | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
33 | Watch Tower | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
34 | Tree House / Magic Garden | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
35 | Caravans | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
36 | Nomads' Tents | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
37 | Magic Well | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
38 | Gin's Lamp | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
39 | Demon's Cave | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
40 | Last Offer | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
41 | Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars [MIDI Version] | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca |
Year: 1997
Type: Gamerip
Composer(s): Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca
Number of tracks: 40
The Price of Loyalty
With The Price of Loyalty handelt es sich um ein Erweiterungspack, das das Hauptspiel Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars wohl um ein paar neue Kampagnen und Maps erweitert. Gespielt, geschweige denn besessen habe ich das Addon nicht und kann deshalb auch nichts Inhaltliches beitragen. Ähnlich geht es mir folgerichtig auch beim Gamerip, der im Grunde die gleichen Tracks beinhaltet wie das Hauptspiel. Tatsächlich weichen nur sechs Songs von der Tracklist ab, aber dafür die entscheidenden: die City-Tracks.
„City of the Sorceress“, „City of the Warlock“, „City of the Necromancer“, „City of the Knight“, „City of the Barbarian“ und „City of the Wizard“. Auch hier hören wir erneut mit klassischer Oper angereicherte Titel, die ich aber mangels Rosarot-Bille auf einem niedrigeren Level als die des Hauptspiels verorte. Deshalb sind sie natürlich nicht schlechter, nur anders – ihr kennt das.
Nostalgia warning
Nr. | Title | Interpret(en) | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|
01 | Heroes of Might and Magic II | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
02 | Battle 1 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
03 | Battle 2 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
04 | Battle 3 | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
05 | City of the Sorceress | Kareen Meshagan | |
06 | City of the Warlock | Reid Bruton | |
07 | City of the Necromancer | Paul Romero | |
08 | City of the Knight | Paul Romero | |
09 | City of the Barbarian | Kareen Meshagan; Reid Bruton | |
10 | City of the Wizard | Paul Romero | |
11 | Lava Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
12 | Wasteland Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
13 | Desert Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
14 | Snow Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
15 | Swamp Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
16 | Ocean Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
17 | Dirt Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
18 | Grass Theme | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
19 | Black Heart | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
20 | New Week | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
21 | New Month | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
22 | Shadows Over the Kingdom (Archibald's Campaign) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
23 | Puzzle Map | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
24 | Pure Heart (Roland's Campaign) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
25 | Caravans | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
26 | Lurking Enemy | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
27 | Victory | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
28 | Death | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
29 | Defeat | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
30 | Magic Well | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
31 | Gin's Lamp | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
32 | Nomads' Tents | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
33 | Tree House / Magic Garden | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
34 | Demon's Cave | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
35 | Experience Gained | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
36 | Knowledge Spellpower | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
37 | Watch Tower | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
38 | Last Offer | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
39 | News | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca | |
40 | Peace at Last (Scenario Victory) | Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca |