soundtracks,  video games

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars

7. August 2021 /

Year: 1996
Type: Gamerip
Composer(s): Paul Romero, Rob King, Steve Baca
Number of tracks: 41

★★★★★

The opera-like phantom

This is the music review of
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 Magic-spin-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.

No.TitleArtist(s)Ratings
01Heroes of Might and Magic IIPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5
02Town (Knight)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
03Town (Barbarian)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5
04Town (Sorceress)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
05Town (Warlock)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5
06Town (Wizard)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
07Town (Necromancer)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
08Battle 1Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
09Battle 2Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
10Battle 3Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
11VictoryPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
12DefeatPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
13DeathPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
14Grass ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
15Dirt ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
16Ocean ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
17Swamp ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
18Wasteland ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
19Desert ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca11/5
20Lava ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
21Snow ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
22Lurking EnemyPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
23New WeekPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca11/5
24New MonthPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
25Black HeartPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
26Shadows Over the Kingdom (Archibald's Campaign)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
27Pure Heart (Roland's Campaign)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
28Peace at Last (Scenario Victory)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5
29Puzzle MapPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
30Experience GainedPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
31Knowledge SpellpowerPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
32NewsPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
33Watch TowerPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
34Tree House / Magic GardenPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
35CaravansPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
36Nomads' TentsPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
37Magic WellPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
38Gin's LampPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
39Demon's CavePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
40Last OfferPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
41Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars [MIDI Version]Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5

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 we are talking about an addon, which expands Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars with a few new campaigns and maps. I have not played, let alone owned the addon and therefore I can't contribute anything content-wise. Consequently, I feel the same way about the Gamerip, which basically contains the same tracks as the main game. In fact, only six songs differ from the track list, but they are the crucial ones: the city tracks.

City of the Sorceress, City of the Warlock, City of the Necromancer, City of the Knight, City of the Barbarian and City of the Wizard. Here, too, we once again hear tracks enriched with classical opera, but I place them on a lower tier than the main game due to the lack of rose-colored glasses. Of course, that doesn't make them any worse, just different - you know how it is.

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.

No.TitleArtist(s)Ratings
01Heroes of Might and Magic IIPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5
02Battle 1Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
03Battle 2Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
04Battle 3Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
05City of the SorceressKareen Meshagan44/5
06City of the WarlockReid Bruton33/5
07City of the NecromancerPaul Romero44/5
08City of the KnightPaul Romero44/5
09City of the BarbarianKareen Meshagan; Reid Bruton33/5
10City of the WizardPaul Romero33/5
11Lava ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
12Wasteland ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
13Desert ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca11/5
14Snow ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
15Swamp ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
16Ocean ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
17Dirt ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
18Grass ThemePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca55/5
19Black HeartPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
20New WeekPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca11/5
21New MonthPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
22Shadows Over the Kingdom (Archibald's Campaign)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
23Puzzle MapPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
24Pure Heart (Roland's Campaign)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
25CaravansPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
26Lurking EnemyPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
27VictoryPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
28DeathPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca33/5
29DefeatPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
30Magic WellPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
31Gin's LampPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
32Nomads' TentsPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
33Tree House / Magic GardenPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
34Demon's CavePaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
35Experience GainedPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
36Knowledge SpellpowerPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
37Watch TowerPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
38Last OfferPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
39NewsPaul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca22/5
40Peace at Last (Scenario Victory)Paul Romero; Rob King; Steve Baca44/5

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