This is a very nice strategy game based on the frame of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. The combat system improves many flaws of its predecessors, making classes and items way more balanced. Though some classes are clearly better than others, most classes have some very powerful abilities and can be combined in many different ways. Some combats can be quite challenging, since the AI uses these combinations very well (but the final boss battle is disappointingly easy). Even the unique classes some characters have access to are reasonably fair. Thus, you will not have an Orlandu completely breaking the balance of the game. The only thing I did not like was the possibility of drowning characters in water. Some classes cannot swim and drown (instant death) if they fall in the water. This can be achieved by some skills that either push the character back or swap places between characters (and some enemies can even teleport then directly in the water!). Though you can benefit from this feature as well by drowning enemies, the AI uses and abuses this cheap trick whenever it can and that is quite annoying. But, nothing that jeopardizes the game. It is just very annoying when you go blindly in a scenario and this scenario provides multiple opportunities for the enemy to drown your characters (usually your healer)... The story is OK. Nothing exceptional. There are no plot twists or anything that will surprise you and keep you engaged. Everything is exactly as it looks in the first time it is shown. The one who appears as a good guy is the good guy and the one who appears as a bad guy is the bad guy. Basically no grey zones or complexity. But it is good enough to not bore or irritate you and sometimes it is even a bit entertaining. All in all, I had a great time playing this game and I would definitely recommend it for fans of the genre.
Do not forget to install the HoMM3 HD+ patch available for free on the internet. It solved all compatibility issues I had with the original version, which stopped working after some Windows update.
Simply put, the best strategy game ever made. Period.
This game is one of the best games I ever played storywise. The setting is unique and very interesting, mixing early technology and magic. The world is huge and has a lot of well elaborated narratives. The story plot is really interesting and keeps turning around, surprising you in many ways. Thus, I would definitely recommend to someone who likes CRPGs. However... Every comment you see in the other reviews about how the gameplay is unbalanced, unfinished, ugly etc. is true. The gameplay is definitely not a strong point of this game and it has many flaws. If you are not used to play old games, you may be specially affected by that. Yet, the game is very playable and has many interesting options for character building and strategy. I played the whole game and replayed it a few times to see the other options just to confirm that this game is totally awsome in terms of story and narrative. It is a pity that it was underdeveloped in terms of gameplay. It would be quite nice to have a remake of this game without such problems.
