Magical walk

According to fans, Heroes of Might and Magic is like the Star Trek movies: most people claim that the odd pieces are the good ones. But that would mean that I played mostly the bad ones, which I can't confirm. In any case, I fear that my opinion within the fan bubble about the best Heroes would find little resonance, as there is no doubt that the 5th game deserves this place. But just try to convince anyone of that ...

I won't go into detail at this point about how Heroes III differs from its predecessors and what the general gameplay looks like. Anyone who has read my reviews of Heroes and Heroes II and its add-on The Price of Loyalty will have already gotten the gist of the gameplay of this time-honored turn-based strategy game series. And to everyone else I ask the question: What are you doing here? Come on, read the pioneer reviews first, otherwise you'll only understand half of what I'm saying ... are they gone? Good, then we can get started!

Games from the Might and Magic-series

Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest (1995)

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars (1996)

Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999)

Heroes of Might and Magic IV (2002)

Heroes of Might and Magic V (2006)

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006)

First of all, let me say that I don't know which version of the soundtrack I have. There is probably no OST, but the YouTube video you can see above, in which the cryptic track names are used, was commented on by the composer Paul Romero. I therefore assume that this is the closest we have to an original soundtrack. Incidentally, due to the anniversary of Heroes III there is a vinyl version of the score in which the tracks were also given different names. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any audio files for it so that I could make a comparison. Consequently, we have to make do with catchy labels such as Scenario Victory and Campaign Theme V.

During my research for the review, I also came across this very interesting review by someone who knows a thing or two about composing. As a writer who has never studied music and is expressing his amateur opinion here, I recommend that anyone interested should read it. There you will find a well-founded description plus an explanation of the peculiarities. Here, on the other hand, I continue with my humble opinion.

And that starts with me saying how much I like the score. Whereas with Heroes II I still think back with nostalgia goggles to my days and nights in my parents' basement listening to the sounds of composers Paul Romero and Rob King, I lack this sentimentality with Heroes III. Of course I played it at some point to check out the internet's argument that it was the best game of all time. I was able to satisfy my curiosity, but it was too late to really feel the euphoria.

The music, in turn, offers enough opportunities to agree with the claims of the internet. Once again, an improvement in the composers' artistic skills is audible. While the jump from part 1 to part 2 was accompanied by an entire orchestra, part 2 to part 3 sees a refinement of the recipe instead. You could say more of the same, but you would be wrong. Again, the score is fantasy-focused, again dominant instruments such as strings and wind instruments stand out. This time, however, we get more finesse.

Whereas in Heroes of Might and Magic II we were presented with largely irrelevant terrain themes (with the exception of the fantastic Grass Theme), these are now a little more varied and defined. Terrain (Snow) sounds solemn, but not too mournful; instead, it is more of a grim determination. It conjures up the image of a snow-covered tower defying the icy winds. Terrain (Rough) , on the other hand, feels like a trip to the countryside, which is supported by effects such as the chirping of crickets and the twittering of birds.

Once again, the composers use sound effects such as lava gurgling to reinforce the visual association, creating landscapes in the mind's eye. No problem with Terrain (Sand) ! Even if the music makers are still very much oriented towards the usual tropes here, this will change in the future with the later offshoots - I would just like to refer to the great City Theme (Academy) . Working with stereotypes therefore has both advantages and disadvantages. Here it underlines the composers' ambition to take us into a multifaceted world.

I also really like the main theme with its combination of harpsichord, flutes and strings, whose cheerful melody is reminiscent of classic fantasy stereotypes. Another cliché, I know. But somehow the orchestration again makes me see this in a more positive light, because for me it drifts more towards Peter and the Wolf and less towards Winx Club . Other series evergreens, such as the plucking of the violins in the AI themes, find their origins here and convey this mischievous, clumsy feeling as we watch our opponents roam the map.

In my opinion, the battle themes are less exciting than in the predecessor. They all sound quite oriental, which for me can be attributed to the fast rhythms of the drums (bongos?) and flutes. Mind you, this doesn't have to be a bad thing, because Combat II creates a fast-paced feast for the ears, reminiscent of the battles from the Total War-series with its menacing horns. Nevertheless, I would have liked a little more variation.

What is normally the highlight of a Heroes-score for me, however, doesn't really knock my socks off this time. The city themes all capture the quintessence of their respective factions perfectly: The music of the undead (City Necropolis) evokes a suitably creepy graveyard atmosphere through the chimes, while the magicians (City (Tower)) sound curious and - well - magical through the waltz-like strings and pizzicatos. In contrast, City (Fortress) creates a depressing swamp atmosphere with the bassoon and the demons (City (Inferno)) also sound suitably dark and dangerous.

So it all seems coherent, but I would have liked more to stick - gloomy moor sounds are only fun to a certain extent. This, for example, is one of the reasons why I like Heroes of Might and Magic V so much: the bad guys are also stereotypically dark and threatening and the good guys are orchestrated in an almost theatrically heroic way. But the themes, the motifs can inspire and generate sympathy - be it for the good or the bad. This is missing here, even if it is a rather unfair point of criticism. Nevertheless, as a player of the Fortress faction, I would feel like I'd been taken for a bit of a ride.

Beyond that, the OST is a beautiful, classic composition that transports even non-gamers into a fantasy world, with monsters and magic, with beauty and horror. If it wasn't a game, you could probably listen to the music on the classical channel, but this way it's up to the players to appreciate this art to its full potential. A definite recommendation for listening at a high level, which takes us on a magical journey.