Might and Magic

Might and Magic series
The most commonly used logo in the series
Genres	Role-playing video game
Developers	New World Computing
Publishers	New World Computing The 3DO Company Ubisoft Entertainment
Creators	Jon Van Caneghem
Platforms	Amiga, Apple II, C64, Macintosh, MS-DOS, MSX, NEC PC-9801, NES, PlayStation 2, Sega Genesis, SNES, TurboGrafx-16, Windows
First release	Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum 1986
Latest release	Might and Magic IX March 29, 2002
Spin-offs	Heroes of Might and Magic List of spinoffs

Might and Magic (MM) is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company. The producer of the series was Jon Van Caneghem.^[1]

Might and Magic is considered one of the defining examples of early PC role-playing games, along with the Bard's Tale, Ultima and Wizardry series.^[2]

The original Might and Magic series officially ended with the closure of the 3DO Company. The rights to the Might and Magic name were purchased for USD 1.3 million by Ubisoft,^[3] who "rebooted" the franchise with a new series with no apparent connection to the previous continuity, starting with the games Heroes of Might and Magic V and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.

History

There are nine games in the series, consisting of:

• Might and Magic: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum (1986; Apple II, Mac, DOS, Commodore 64, NES, MSX, PC-Engine CD-ROM)
• Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World (1988; Apple II, Amiga, DOS, Commodore 64, Mac, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Europe only), SNES (Japan-only, different from the European version), MSX, PC-Engine CD)
• Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (1991; DOS, Mac, Amiga, SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, PC-Engine CD-ROM)
• Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen (1992; DOS, Mac)
• Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen (1993; DOS, Mac)
  • Might and Magic: World of Xeen (1994; DOS, Mac)
• Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (1998; Windows)
• Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor (1999; Windows)
• Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer (2000; Windows)
• Might and Magic IX (2002; Windows; known as: Writ of Fate)

Anthologies

• Might and Magic Trilogy (1993), includes Might and Magic games III, IV, V, and the fanmade Swords of Xeen.
• Might and Magic I, II, III, IV, V: Collection Classique (1998), contains the games I-V
• Ultimate Might and Magic Archives (1998), includes the first five Might and Magic games, World of Xeen and the fanmade Swords of Xeen.
• Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven - Limited Edition (1998), a collector's edition of Might and Magic VI that included the first five games on CD-ROM as well.
• Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven - Special Edition (1998), included Might and Magic games I, II, III, IV, V and the fanmade Swords of Xeen as well.
• Might and Magic Sixpack (1998), includes the first six Might and Magic games.
• Might and Magic Millennium Edition (1999), includes the Might and Magic games IV, V, VI and VII.
• Might and Magic (Platinum Edition) (2002), includes the Might and Magic games VI, VII, VIII and IX.

There were several spin-offs from the main series, including Heroes of Might and Magic, Crusaders of Might and Magic, Warriors of Might and Magic, Legends of Might and Magic, and the fanmade Swords of Xeen.

In August of 2003, Ubisoft acquired the rights to the Might and Magic franchise for USD$1.3 million after 3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.^[3] Ubisoft has since released three new projects using the Might and Magic brand — a fifth installment of the Heroes series, developed by Nival Interactive, an action-style game called Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, developed by Arkane Studios and a puzzle RPG called Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, developed by Capybara Games.

In September of 2009, the Might and Magic Sixpack was re-released via the digital distribution service, Good Old Games^[4]. In March 2011, The seventh^[5] and eighth^[6] instalments of the series were also added to Good Old Games.

Gameplay

The majority of the gameplay takes place in a medieval fantasy setting. The player controls a party of player characters, which can consist of members of various character classes. The game world is presented to the player in first person perspective. In the earlier games the interface is very similar to that of Bard's Tale, but from Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven onward, the interface features a scrolling three-dimensional environment similar to that of Doom. Combat is turn-based, though the later games allowed the player to choose to conduct combat in real time.

The game worlds in all of the Might and Magic games are quite large, and a player can expect each game to provide several dozen hours of gameplay. It is usually quite combat-intensive and often involves large groups of enemy creatures. Monsters and situations encountered throughout the series tend to be well-known fantasy staples such as giant rats, werewolf curses, dragon flights and zombie hordes, rather than original creations. Isles of Terra and the Xeen games featured a more distinct environment, blending fantasy and science fiction elements in a unique way.

Plot

Although most of the gameplay reflects a distinctly fantasy genre, the overarching plot of the series has something of a science fiction background. The series is set in a fictional galaxy as part of an alternative universe, where planets are overseen by a powerful race of space-travelers known as Ancients. In each of the games, a party of characters fights monsters and completes quests on one of these planets, until they eventually become involved in the affairs of the Ancients.

The first five games in the series concern the renegade guardian of the planet Terra ("Earth" in Latin), named Sheltem, who becomes irrevocably corrupted, developing a penchant for throwing planets into their suns. Sheltem establishes himself on a series of flat worlds known as nacelles (which are implied to be giant spaceships) and Corak, a second guardian and creation of the Ancients, with the assistance of the player characters, pursues him across the Void. Eventually both Corak and Sheltem are destroyed in a climactic battle on the nacelle of Xeen.

The sixth, seventh and eighth games take place on Enroth, a single planet partially ruled by the Ironfist dynasty, and chronicle the events and aftermath of an invasion by the Kreegan, the demonlike arch-enemies of the Ancients. It is also revealed that the destruction wrought by the Ancients' wars with the Kreegan is the reason why the worlds of Might & Magic exist as medieval fantasy settings despite once being seeded with futuristic technology - the worlds have been 'cut off' from the Ancients and descended into barbarism. The first through third games in the Heroes of Might and Magic series traces the fortunes of the Ironfists in more detail, though none of the sci-fi elements appear in the Heroes series.

Reception

Might & Magic: The World of Xeen (comprising Clouds of Xeen and Dark Side of Xeen) was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #201 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the compilation 3 out of 5 stars.^[7] Petersen reviewed the World of Xeen CD-ROM version in Dragon #204, giving that version 2 stars.^[8]

See also

• Heroes of Might and Magic
• List of Might and Magic titles

References

1. ^ "CGW's Hall of Fame". Computer Gaming World. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=9&cId=3139081#83. Retrieved 4 May 2011. 
2. ^ Matt Barton, "The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)", Gamasutra, 2007
3. ^ ^{a b} Namco, Ubisoft and MS carve up 3DO assets
4. ^ "Good Old Games - Might & Magic 6 Pack LE Now Available". RPGWatch. http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=13081. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
5. ^ "Might & Magic VII - Now on GOG". RPGWatch. http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=16902. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
6. ^ "Might and Magic 8 hits GOG". Shack News. http://www.shacknews.com/article/67884/might-and-magic-8-hits. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
7. ^ Petersen, Sandy (January 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (201): 57–62. 
8. ^ Petersen, Sandy (April 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (204): 59–62. 

External links

• Might and Magic | Ubisoft | Official Website
• Might and Magic series at MobyGames
• The plot and history of the Might and Magic series on Celestial Heavens
• Might and Magic Tribute
• List of Might and Magic releases including games, books and other collectibles
• The Erathian Liberation Party (TELP)