We're rapidly approaching Halloween, and what better way to celebrate this spooky time with a visit to the Isles of TERRO-, oh wait, Terra. I guess that just means "Earth", doesn't it? Well, never mind that, because while Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra might not have any big scares it's certainly disquieting in that psychological way all modern horror stuff seems to be inching towards, possibly menacingly.
Might and Magic is, of course, the venerable CRPG series from New World Computing, which closely followed its main rival Wizardry with its traditional four-directional dungeon crawling, a vast number of sequels and spin-offs and a certain weird sci-fi edge to it that set both series apart from more traditional fantasy fare and perhaps led to its mega-popularity overseas. III actually goes back to an era when CRPGs were still largely inscrutable to those not prepared to read a 10,000 word novella of a manual, and coupled with its bizarre imagery and even more bizarre soundtrack, it's something of a discombobulating experience. It's not even some strange Japanese-developed console conversion either: New World Computing put this version together themselves (and got Hudson to publish it). It's functionally identical to the 1991 PC original, excepting the redbook audio which... I dunno, maybe you want to skip to the end and hit the Soundcloud link now, so you can enjoy the whole soundtrack while you read this.
The history of Might and Magic III requires a little too much text to fit into this brief pre-amble, so I'd recommend finding a spare hour to consume HardcoreGaming101's (yep, them again) retrospective on the series. Essentially, though, you're an adventuring party on the Isles of Terra (a group of islands floating in space) looking for artifacts to help a good diety, Corak, defeat his rival evil deity, Sheltem. Same ol', same ol'.
A Room... With A Moose Rat!
I know Corak the Mysterious! He had a great stint on Mad Men, and appeared in one of the Marvel movies. I forget which one. Maybe one of the Thors?Unlike Corak, I hadn't heard of this guy before this game. I checked IMDB, and he had a guest role in Law & Order and an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Gotta say, name doesn't ring a bell.That would be us. So glad we have such a central and well-defined role as 'a bunch of randos looking around the place'.This is Sheltem, he's kind of a skeleton-man God dude who was the vague antagonist of the first two games, and is for this one too. He's also the Guardian of the Isles of Terra, a group of islands apparently hanging over the Void. I don't really fancy my chances if some evil God who is on our case is also the one in charge of everything around here.Welcome to Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra! Prepare to be horribly confused!The game actually comes with a fairly tough default party. They have higher than usual stats (most generated stats don't go past 18), so the best thing to do is simply rename everyone and give them new portraits if you want a new group.This is Fountainhead! It's the starting town, though not exactly a safe haven. The game is cool enough to give you a permanently visible mini-map, which is more than most games do.These bizarre face fountains look like something right out of Dark Seed. Unsettling. I'm definitely not drinking any green ooze that's pouring out of their mouths.You start right next to the exit, but... well, going that way is not a great idea just yet. Let's explore first.The town is not a peaceful one. I suspect these bubblemen crawled out of the fountains, as if they didn't already produce enough nightmare fuel already.The game has a rather strict day/night schedule, and many places won't be available to you unless you feel like waiting it out. The game does provide a 'stand around like an idiot for x hours' button if you don't feel like waiting in real-time. This guild, incidentally, is the Thieves' Guild. Hence the after dark opening hours.Many of the enemies in Fountainhead are mercifully behind trapped doors. You can bash these doors down if you want, though it tends to hurt the guys in front.Entering any of the stores takes you to a separate screen with these little animations. The trainer is a particularly idiosyncratic feature unique to Might and Magic (as far as I know).Not only do you have to pay to level up, you can only do so here. Going to the trainer is also the only way you can find out how much XP you need for the next level. Might and Magic III does NOT like surfacing useful information to the player if it can help it. I suppose it's going for an immersion thing, but I'd sorta like to know this stuff.The in-game menu is largely icon-driven, which can be something of a mixed blessing. It's easy enough to ascertain what the 'break down door' or 'camp for the night' buttons are, but what would a new player make of that top middle symbol? Or the bottom right?That's inconvenient. What if I wanted to get my drink on in the afternoon? There is of course the Inn, which appears to be open at all hours. I haven't fought anything besides that Bubble Man yet, so I think I can hold out a little longer.You're given a not-inconsiderable budget for the travails to come, but because I have no idea what any of my classes use nor how much more effective the items he's selling are compared to what I'm already wearing, it's something of a wash. Also, that seems like way too many menu options for a store. My team seems to have plenty of armor and weapons already, so I'm just going to slowly back out of here.Oh, he just... wrote that on a wall. I guess that's one way to get a message out. I do wonder what someone might do with something called an Ultimate Power Orb. That's gotta corrupt anyone, even King Righteous.I'm... just going to leave you guys to your soup. Bon appetit?I forget what banks even do in games where you have to reload anyway if you get wiped out. Does money have weight? I don't trust this guy, that's for sure. (For fun, try giving some money to the bank in South Park: The Stick of Truth. Not a lot of money, mind you.)Would I?!This is a moose rat. Unlike the bubble man, these things hit hard and take a lot of whacks to bring down. I think they were added to the starting town to teach new players the value of humility.Finally, a goal to pursue. I have no idea where to look for silver skulls, and this guy won't tell me. I guess I'll start by killing anyone silver. Watch out, Silver Surfer!Deciding to leave the town to see what I can find. The map is conveniently filled in already, showing us where all the impassable walls and forests are.There's also thousands of goblins out here. These aren't so much an issue as the Orc Warriors though, who seem a little too tough for me right now.As evinced by this troubling scenario.Well, we all got eaten by a dragon. That'll teach us to take three steps outside of the starting town.I had the mental wherewithal to save it first, at least, but I'm still not quite sure where I can go quite yet without meeting an unfortunate demise. Maybe I really do need better gear. Or there's a dungeon in Fountainhead somewhere that's a little more survivable. Either way, I think I'll call it a day.
That's Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra, or at least the first half hour of it. I actually consider myself fortunate to have gotten that far, given how infamously tough those moose rats are on new parties. I, and a few others around here (including CRPG nut @arbitrarywater, to whom I owe a credit for recommending this one), are big fans of the later Might and Magic games (with the possible exception of IX). Even though III has dated terribly with its obtuseness, it was worth looking at Isles of Terra to see what kind of early advances it made to Might and Magic, and to CRPGs in general.
Here's a fun story tidbit about this game to see you off: At the end, the heroes were meant to follow an escaping Sheltem to the world of Xeen (the setting for games IV and V) via a "seedship", or an inter-dimensional spaceship. They got lost on the way there, however, and would eventually end up in Might and Magic VII, sparking off the events of that game. In other words, the player's adventuring party in this game would eventually become the powerful star-faring NPCs of M&M VII (a game I would very much recommend, even today, and previously Brief Jaunted a little while ago). Like I said from the offset, this is a weeeird series.
Might and Magic III soundtrack (I actually had to upload it to Soundcloud in the end, since YouTube and the internet failed me. The tracks are unlabeled, but I'd recommend 06. It's the theme to Fountainhead, the starting town, and is completely nuts. 07's something else, too, and 09's actually pretty good.)
