It's fascinating to witness how game franchises can transform over time. Case in point, take the Might & Magic series, initially developed by New World Computing. It was one of the formative RPG experiences on PC in the 80's and early 90's, and by the time the company was acquired by 3DO in 1996, its combined titles had sold over 4 million units, and had already begun its now long-running spinoff series Heroes of Might & Magic. The 3DO contained HoMM2, the series's breakout title, and was generally viewed as a golden age for the PC-based franchise. But that stability would only last so long; The 3DO Company would go bankrupt only 5 years later, and Ubisoft would acquire the rights to the Might & Magic series in 2001. Since then, there's certainly been no shortage of mainline titles and spinoffs, even if many of them failed to capture the acclaim of the earlier games in the franchise. But every so often, an unlikely success would appear out of the mangled corpse of the once great franchise. And there might be no better such success than the Nintendo DS's Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes.
Now, to be fair, by the time Clash of Heroes released in 2009, the series was a long way away from its origins in 1986. So for fans of the earlier M&M games, it should be made clear that this game is part of the series in name only. The gameplay of M&M:COH is virtually unrecognizable from mainline entries. But where for many games that would be a mark against it, here it's not, because this game actually manages to be an impressively fun match-3 puzzle strategy game-which is about as far from the series roots as you could get. But any trepidation about the game's approach wears off incredibly swiftly, because at its core, it's an impressively addicting title. The main campaign takes you through 5 characters, each with their own units and special abilities, and as a result, a seemingly basic title turns into a surprisingly deep and intricate game. And it's a pretty unique concept, too-it merges ideas of strategy RPG with the styling of a modern arcade puzzle game, making it a game with both a low skill floor and an extremely high skill ceiling. It's fun to learn, hard to master, and as with many things, the best part is learning.
And on the original DS hardware, its visuals-as a modern take on an old SNES style-works perfectly, and its soundtrack feels pulled from that era as well. Aesthetically, from the game's pixel art to the hand drawn character portraits, the game is impressive. Less so from a story side, but to be fair, the character designs are nice enough, and some of the dialogue is actually quite impressively written. It's mainly a vehicle to deliver gameplay changes though, and in that regard it does a fine enough job. It's also good at delivering more unique gameplay challenges than just "defeat the enemy," and that variety prevents that game from getting too stale initially. It is a 25 hour game though, and that's a lot of time to devote to what is, for all its impressive feats, a match-3 puzzle game. You'll likely find yourself plowing through the first 1 or 2 chapters, only to feel it linger by the last one. It's probably not a coincidence that the last chapter, even out of context, is the game's worst by far, and feels very poorly fleshed out compared to previous ones. In fact, it feels completely disconnected to the philosophy of the game as a whole, and it's, unfortunately, tremendously unsatisfying. The game's difficulty can also be a bit all over the place, and lack of a consistent difficulty level curve doesn't help with it feeling more concise.
It also likely would have helped if the heroes you commanded felt more unique. They do get their own abilities and units, but differences are in most cases minor, and it seems only in limited preset battles are they able to be used to their biggest potential. In fact, more preset battles-where enemy units are defined each time, instead of random-would likely do this game more good than harm. As a puzzle game, it of course can become a bit of an RNG-fest, and the few preset battles in the game are when it feels M&M:COH is testing you the most, and as a result, feel most satisfying to succeed in.
It also has a relatively strong competitive scene, and with its port to mobile phones in 2013 & modern consoles (and Steam) in 2023, Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes is a great title to pick up for some casual quick battles or online multiplayer. It introduces players to its combat mechanics smoothly enough for even the puzzle novice to appreciate, and yet it contains an unexpected amount of depth that can certainly keep you coming back. While the length of the title and the extremely poor final chapter will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth come its conclusion, that's nothing a few quick battles of this great and uniquely implemented battle puzzler can't fix.
Now, to be fair, by the time Clash of Heroes released in 2009, the series was a long way away from its origins in 1986. So for fans of the earlier M&M games, it should be made clear that this game is part of the series in name only. The gameplay of M&M:COH is virtually unrecognizable from mainline entries. But where for many games that would be a mark against it, here it's not, because this game actually manages to be an impressively fun match-3 puzzle strategy game-which is about as far from the series roots as you could get. But any trepidation about the game's approach wears off incredibly swiftly, because at its core, it's an impressively addicting title. The main campaign takes you through 5 characters, each with their own units and special abilities, and as a result, a seemingly basic title turns into a surprisingly deep and intricate game. And it's a pretty unique concept, too-it merges ideas of strategy RPG with the styling of a modern arcade puzzle game, making it a game with both a low skill floor and an extremely high skill ceiling. It's fun to learn, hard to master, and as with many things, the best part is learning.
And on the original DS hardware, its visuals-as a modern take on an old SNES style-works perfectly, and its soundtrack feels pulled from that era as well. Aesthetically, from the game's pixel art to the hand drawn character portraits, the game is impressive. Less so from a story side, but to be fair, the character designs are nice enough, and some of the dialogue is actually quite impressively written. It's mainly a vehicle to deliver gameplay changes though, and in that regard it does a fine enough job. It's also good at delivering more unique gameplay challenges than just "defeat the enemy," and that variety prevents that game from getting too stale initially. It is a 25 hour game though, and that's a lot of time to devote to what is, for all its impressive feats, a match-3 puzzle game. You'll likely find yourself plowing through the first 1 or 2 chapters, only to feel it linger by the last one. It's probably not a coincidence that the last chapter, even out of context, is the game's worst by far, and feels very poorly fleshed out compared to previous ones. In fact, it feels completely disconnected to the philosophy of the game as a whole, and it's, unfortunately, tremendously unsatisfying. The game's difficulty can also be a bit all over the place, and lack of a consistent difficulty level curve doesn't help with it feeling more concise.
It also likely would have helped if the heroes you commanded felt more unique. They do get their own abilities and units, but differences are in most cases minor, and it seems only in limited preset battles are they able to be used to their biggest potential. In fact, more preset battles-where enemy units are defined each time, instead of random-would likely do this game more good than harm. As a puzzle game, it of course can become a bit of an RNG-fest, and the few preset battles in the game are when it feels M&M:COH is testing you the most, and as a result, feel most satisfying to succeed in.
It also has a relatively strong competitive scene, and with its port to mobile phones in 2013 & modern consoles (and Steam) in 2023, Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes is a great title to pick up for some casual quick battles or online multiplayer. It introduces players to its combat mechanics smoothly enough for even the puzzle novice to appreciate, and yet it contains an unexpected amount of depth that can certainly keep you coming back. While the length of the title and the extremely poor final chapter will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth come its conclusion, that's nothing a few quick battles of this great and uniquely implemented battle puzzler can't fix.