I started my HoMM journey from the 2nd instalment. That game is still amazing/fun in and of itself, but then there's HoMM3, which even without nostalgia goggles is as close to perfection as possible for its type of experience. The art is timeless, the gameplay loop is always fun. The random map generator is solid 90% of the time, the other 10% it bullies you by putting your sawmill or ore mine behind a horde of tier 2-3 units, while you started the game on impossible with 0 of each resources. There is also a further "expansion" (mod) called Horn of the Abyss which adds 2 extra castles and lots of QoL that weren't present in the original game. It's quite frankly an amazing addition and there's lots of flexibility and different experiences available. Each castle feels different, each castle has its own winning strategies and tactics (If you play inferno you just need to NOT play it, then you can win, for example.). The game isn't fully balanced, but for me that adds character into each faction (You can choose the meta castles/strategies, you can take off-meta picks, it's all up to you). If you play against AI, you can still win with any faction, simply it's a matter of if you want to take the easy way or the "slightly harder way". Note: For new players this game will require a lot of time investment. I recently got a few of my friends into it, and it took them south of 50 hours to finally become semi-decent in terms of game knowledge. There's a decent amount of skill hidden inside - what should you prioritize, what do you need at the moment, how to maximize your movement on heroes, when to attack, when to leave your starting area for new castles/artifacts, CAN you win against the enemy monsters/hero (it's a big difference if you're attacking a horde of Tier 2 Marksmen or Horde of Tier 2 Walking Dead, it's a difference of having 0 losses and losing your entire army cause you cannot beat the marksmen). This game has a learning cliff for beginners.
I still have the disk for this game. This is one of the first games I played when I got my first personal PC as a poor college student, so I might be slightly biased, but I feel like this is a really solid game in terms of a platforming and story experience. The environment is part of the story, and you slowly seeing it change is something you will appreciate and find beauty in (or at least I did). The characters are likable and the small talk is also great fun while platforming. The game also has weaknesses - while the story progression is nonlinear in terms of what boss you want to take down first, that also means that beyond general small talk it really doesn't have any story progression (basically the story progression is that you make things green/beautiful, and then go fight the last boss). There's no actual story beyond: the setting, the ending and the character background (each big boss has its own story of why it was corrupted, which is really well written, but at the same time, that's all they are, they don't have their own goals when you fight them, they just wait for you and you go and beat them). The combat is bad, other than the lack of story depth in terms of 0 story progression, this is another reason why I'd consider giving it 3 stars instead of 4. Lots of QTE's, no actual challenge in terms of u can make as many mistakes as you want and you'll be able to slowly wear down whatever you're fighting (cuz there's no game-over in this game). In the end, it's a really good looking game, with lots of good points, it's an Ubisoft game but I got more Indie game vibes in terms of the story and how the game felt to play. If you like story-based games with platforming (and where you make things look beautiful), then I'd recommend this to you.
I have yet to buy the game, am a family man so it's not ideal to buy a game at this point, but I have a lot of fond memories on this game and can definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind strategy games and anime waifus (with some "forceful action" at times). I remember being hooked to this for multiple weeks in a row and because of the type of game, and it was amazing. Now this is a major point that this is a strategy game before it's a visual novel - you can "use your hand" in the gallery if that's what you wish, but it's 99% a strategy game with 1% anime waifus. Pros: 1. Fun gameplay and lots of freedom in strategizing 2. Great story and characters - the character interactions tend to be fun to watch 3. Crazy amounts of content - you can literally spend hundreds of hours in this game without seeing 100% of the content. Also some "paths" and characters have extremely difficult requirements to unlock/conquer. 4. The "scenes" have a lot of variety for every taste. 5. Almost every playthrough will be different from the last (And you have so many different paths to choose) 6. New-game plus is rewarding and spices up your new games. Cons: 1. The biggest issue is: RNG. Most of the battles are RNG, most of your friction in this game will be "RNG". If you want to play optimally, you WILL need to save-scum. 2. No in-game guides/hints, anything. This game is amazing but its learning curve is similar to a cliff - Even a simple guide to get the initial +2 movement fans (which is required for a good run) has a multiple page guide, and that's just the introduction. You have a book-worth of guides for all the content, thankfully u don't need to 100% complete the game & U can just use them to have an idea of what you should aim for, 3. The main story path forces you to play a certain way, lack of freedom - thankfully NG+ will resolve it (kill the monke). Summary: It's amazing and an experience if u like anime waifus + strategy games. 5/5
I remember playing the game on my PSP a long time ago and this game did leave a deep impression in me. The writing is top-notch, there's a really messed up situation, a messed up story, the messed up story has "beacon of light" for the main character that they focus on, and you start to feel for the characters, even though the situations becoming increasingly messed up. This game heavily focuses on story angles and the different perceptions that people live in. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's depressed and/or going through a dark period as the darkness in this story is kinda on the more on the serious side. The music soundtrack is all kinds of twisted and it feels like it was made to make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy about everything, I can't imagine a more suitable soundtrack for this game. Saya for the MC is kinda cute tho, ngl.
