when it came out, Heroes of Might and Magic II was my favorite game of all time. Even though III has just about more of everything, I didn't dig the art direction in that game and it clouded my judgement (and my bias towards 2.)
Now that after so many years, and playing both games, I can say without bias that Heroes 3 is definitely better. But that isn't to take away from heroes II. i have a special place in my Heart for both of these games!

I've...er...only played HOMM3. *ehehehe*
I'd love to buy the first two if they get bundled here. I don't know about 4 or 5 though, I heard bad stuff about 4 and mixed opinions about 5, but alas, I haven't really played them.
So yeah, HOMM3 rules. :D

Why do they have to make me choose? Look at my avatar and take a guess of what my favorite game is...
I'd have to say... GAH! 3. But JUST over 4 for me. With the Equilibris mod, 4 is almost just as fantastic, but 3 wins because of the variety that 4 lacked. Still, 4th alternate choices made the sides more dynamic. Still, 4 has INCREDIBLE campaigns. Gauldoth Half-Dead and Emilia Nighthaven's campaigns are two of the best ever made in games. And the series' music is at its pinnacle there.
Then it'd come 5. Campaigns aren't that hot, but the game is almost as solid as 3. The hero progression system is MUCH better and dynamic, which is a thing to say when you consider the great stuff you had to play with already. Then they took Heroes 4 development paths and upped it one doing it right: In the upgrades. I feel they should lock you with one upgrade or the other, but I'm just nitpicking here. The magic system is the most refined, even though it still has its game-breakers (all heroes have...). The graphics are fantastic, although some units look a bit too much oriental-inspired (Angels' big honking swords for one).
Heroes 2 will always be my first. Heck, it was the game that hooked me into gaming. Before that I only appreciated Doom and was curious about Warcraft. Heroes 1 still has its own charm, but you have to understand the technical shortcomings of its time to appreciate it.

i remember old days i played homm3 in friends home.Later i found some homm4 preview + screenshoots in game magazine.It looked awsome.Sadly the game itself is not polished and resolution was pathetic also.I mean too big everything and too small resolution.
Later i tried homm5 and although i didnt liked it, it was still quite involving game. :)
So my vote is homm3>homm4>homm5

Hm *thinks a second about the problem*
3 - Played it literally for YEARS and loved the addons
2 - Made my addicted
5 - Good thing another developer can carry on the game the way I love it
1 - Introduced me to fantasy turn based strategy ... what a delightful little game!
Okay, okay - 4. But I haven't played more than the first 2 maps of the main campaign as I HATE the graphics. The way my hero trips over the map looks all so weird ... naah!

I think the best is Heroes of Might and Magic 3, but why??
1. Loong campain. I didn't see longer campain in other games.
2. Game is very extensive: many maps, castles, units and good map editor.
3. I can play multi with my firends.
4. Graphic isn't bad, it's magical.
5. WoG. Unofficial expansion. WoG is giving us so many changes in game like new campain, units on 8 lvl and more, more, more.
For me you can't choose better old game for loong winter evenights.

I've been following the Heroes series ever since HoMM 2, buying every single iterations.
Here my favorites:
HoMM 4 - My favorite. I, unlike many others appearently, liked the new features of caravans and such.
HoMM 3 - A close second.
HoMM 2 - Hard to say , I'd prolly only play HoMM2 after I am utterly tired of HoMM 4 and 3 which probably will not happen. Don't get me wrong, its a great game but.. HoMM 2 and 3 are very much alike.
HoMM 5 - At first I found 5 absolutely atrocious. I was unable to notice special landmarks and found myself walking by loads of things, simply because it was not properly highlighted in the 3D engine. A glowing outline of usable objects would have worked wonders..
Either way, HoMM 5 vanilla seemed like a vast downgrade, a dumbification and retardation of a series I once loved.
The last add-on , Tribes of the East gave back a lot of features I had previously missed. The dual evolve paths for creatures, to name my main problem with the vanilla HoMM 5. I still have issues spotting things in the world though, thus it is my least liked heroes.

I've been playing this series since King's Bounty on the Genesis. Own every series. I agree with a lot of people in this forum that 3 is the best of them all.

Ok I can't answer the thread question, because I haven't played any in the series before.
That said, I want to try out the series but I can't decide between 2 and 3.
Which would you recommend to someone new to the series and why?
Thanks to anyone who replies back.

Even though I like HoMM3 better, I would say start with HoMM2. It might be easier for you to handle the game and learn the basic rules. HoMM1 is quite short and a little bit too easy in my opinion and HoMM2 has awesome soundtracks !

I started with HOMM 1 and King's Bounty, and later got the Platinum Edition (123)
So I might be biased, but I'd have to say 2/1 for memories/classic look, and 3 for amazing gameplay that is endlessly replayable.

I prefer HOMM 2. Maybe because it was the first HOMM-game I played, but none of the sequels have appealed to me in quite the same way.

HOMM 1 for getting hooked in the first place. AI was easily exploited though.
HOMM 2 for better graphics. Very cool game.
HOMM 3 for strategy, but I agree that the graphics are not appealing.
HOMM 4 is my favorite for being able to build god-like heroes. Lots of people didn't like it because it initially came out very buggy, with a nasty memory leak that would lock your computer up. Others don't like it because it is more hero-centric than creature-centric, but I think it is a fantastic game.

I don't like HoMM4 for many other reasons. The only things that I really like in HoMM4 are the awesome musics. ;)