Embark on a journey as a king in a world full of industrious people, dangerous magical creatures, and unexpected enemies who lay claim to your realm.
The Feuding Brothers
The campaign’s story is set after the events of Heroes of Might and Magic 1, during the reign of Lord Morglin Ironfist, who united and ruled the entire continent of Enroth. After his death, control of this magnificent kingdom falls into the hands of his two sons – Archibald and Roland.
However, Archibald desires sole rule over the entire empire and through cunning tactics, succeeds in exiling his brother Roland and claiming the crown for himself.
And this is where we enter the game, choosing between two campaigns to play either as Roland, who rebels and strives to reclaim his rightful inheritance, or as Archibald, who must suppress the uprising and protect the crown on his head.
In the Realm of Death and the Realm of Life
As evident from the campaign’s setup, two opposing sides stand against each other, perfectly symbolizing the world and cultures within it. Archibald represents evil, alongside necromancers, barbarians, and sorcerers. On the other hand, Roland takes the side of good, supported by the nations of the forest, knights, and wizards.
Each of these nations possesses unique castles, offering different units and battle strategies.
On both sides, you’ll find nations suitable for aggressive, fast strategies to overpower the enemy, others suitable for mid-length games, and some, with expensive yet powerful units, virtually invincible in long matches. It becomes clear that the strength and cost of units in different castles are notably imbalanced, but it adds a greater strategic challenge.
For each map, choosing the right plan is crucial to prevent the enemy from growing into an unbeatable force.
In addition to different castle types, each castle offers six units of varying strengths to recruit into your own army.
These include classic infantry units that must traverse the battlefield to strike their foes, ranged units capable of hitting almost anyone on the battlefield, though they may face penalties due to distance or defense, and flying units that can bypass obstacles, cross the entire battlefield, and wreak havoc among archers.
However, your army can only accommodate five types of soldiers, so which ones will you choose?
Life-and-Death Battles
But how do you actually engage in battles? Heroes of Might and Magic II incorporates RPG elements, as you not only recruit armies but also hire heroes or commanders to lead these armies.
They travel across the map on horseback, uncovering new locations (areas you have already visited remain visible, while unexplored areas are depicted as black, uncharted territory).
Heroes of Might and Magic II introduced the concept of upgrading units within the game. Each faction in the game had different upgrade options for their units, allowing players to enhance their armies and make them more powerful.
They not only engage in combat against enemy heroes but also cleanse their own territories of creatures terrorizing the vicinity and claim discovered mines, villages, or even entire castles (which must be conquered first!).
To confront an enemy, simply approach their town, get close to a creature, or directly attack an enemy hero. These actions then transition to the battlefield, where both sides have a maximum of 5 types of units (with their numbers accumulating), engaging in turn-based combat.
The order of unit turns may be influenced by luck and morale, so it’s worthwhile for your hero to visit various shrines, fountains of luck, or build additional monuments in the city to gain favor.
Magic plays a significant role as well. Not only is it useful when traversing the map (such as in the search for new mines or locating enemies), but it especially shines on the battlefield.
A hero with advanced magical knowledge can unleash spells like firestorms or duplicate their strongest soldier throughout the entire game grid.
A Dash of RPG…
With that in mind, it’s worth asking how to unlock higher levels of magic. Heroes gain experience by participating in battles and, upon reaching a certain threshold, advance to a new level. They randomly gain a skill point in attack, defense, spell power, or mana reserves (depending on their faction).
It becomes evident that if you choose a barbarian hero, their skill points will mostly contribute to attack and defense. By the way, increased attack and defense also affect these stats for the hero’s army, so even with a smaller army, they can overcome a numerically superior opponent, gaining the upper hand.
In addition to skill points, the hero acquires a special ability, and you can choose from two offered options. It’s up to you whether you focus on maximizing your hero’s movement across the map, earning more gold, or gaining better magical abilities.
The question remains: Is it better to have a single, highly experienced hero with many skills or opt for a larger number of less-experienced heroes to explore and cover a larger portion of the map?
…and a Touch of Turn-Based Strategy
At first glance, you may think that Heroes of Might and Magic II is primarily an RPG, but that is not entirely accurate. It is primarily a turn-based strategy game. You can have numerous heroes, and it’s up to you to strategically capture cities and locations.
You must not only navigate your heroes across the game map but also ensure a steady supply of precious metals and resources needed for the development of your cities, allowing you to purchase better and stronger soldiers or fortify them against invaders.
Interestingly, the game is not played in real-time but rather in turns. You can play for as long as your heroes have movement points, which dictate how far they can travel across the map. Once you’ve exhausted all possibilities, you can use the time button to end your turn and pass the baton to the opponent.
An Enduring Multiplayer Experience
In addition to the campaigns, the game offers a delightful multiplayer mode. Thanks to its turn-based system, you only need a single computer, taking turns with your friends and passing on your moves.
If someone needs to take a break or grab a snack, the game patiently waits until all players have taken their turns and confirmed that they’ve completed their round, ready to pass the game to the next player in line.
At home, we fell in love with this multiplayer mode, and several (older) titles in the Heroes of Might and Magic series have found a permanent place on our laptop. Occasionally, we launch them in the evenings while watching a movie.
Some games offer team cooperation, while most are strictly “every man for himself.” You can choose not only the map size, affecting the overall gameplay duration but also the nation you want to play as.
The only downside is that only the player who is playing last in the order can see the enemy moving on the map.
The first player in line has the disadvantage, as they need to thoroughly explore the map before initiating their hero’s movements. We have often overlooked enemy heroes on our territory due to this limitation.
Progress from the First Installment
Although Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest and Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars were released only a year apart and share many basic principles, the latter game has seen numerous interesting improvements.
For example, acquiring skills such as extended movement or enhanced magic. Thanks to the magic pool, heroes no longer forget previously learned spells and are restricted only by available mana for their invocation.
In contrast to the previous installment, Heroes of Might and Magic II offers not four, but six playable factions, including the addition of necromancers (evil) and wizards (good).
Within the towns, units can be upgraded to become stronger, albeit more expensive. The cities themselves provide a variety of buildings, ranging from fortifications to other supplementary structures that generate daily income.
Final Verdict
This turn-based strategy game, infused with RPG elements and accompanied by enchanting graphics and a delightful soundtrack, retains its gameplay appeal even after more than 20 years.
While the Heroes of Might and Magic series has seen numerous sequels, older versions like Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars continue to fully captivate new players and immerse them in the unique atmosphere of a fantasy world waiting to be explored and conquered.
The exceptional multiplayer mode is the icing on the cake. If you haven’t experienced HoMM yet, don’t hesitate to give it a try.
Play Heroes of Might and Magic II for Free Online
You can now play Heroes of Might and Magic II for free in your browser, reliving the nostalgic gaming experience from the comfort of your own computer. Explore the rich fantasy world, engage in epic battles, and strategize your way to victory.