I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about MM2. I'm having a *grand* time playing it, and highly recommend it to everyone who picks up this package. This game has aged very well, and is still highly accessible and fun.
Here are a few points (good and bad) specifically about MM2 to consider:
- There are no timing/text scrolling issues with DosBox, so it just works right away.
- The cluebook includes maps for every area of the game, so you can just print those out and then add notes where you see fit.
- There is an automap feature built into the game with the Cartography skill (I believe MM1 is the only game in the series that doesn't have this to at least some degree)
- If you want to solve the game without extensive use of the cluebook or online guides, you'll want to take notes for everything you come across. There is no in-game quest tracking or notes section.
- You'll need to either keep the manual up in a PDF viewer to view the spells, or else print off the list. For me this is the biggest issue in playing MM2. All the spells are referred to only by level number and spell number. After a while you'll just remember that Lloyd's Beacon is C2-6 (cleric spell, level 2, spell #6), and Dancing Sword is S7-1 (sorcerer spell, level 7, spell #1) for example. But for spells you don't use often, you'll need to look them up.
- Similarly, outdoor zones are referred to by a coordinate system such as A3, D1, etc. So again, you need your maps handy (i.e. the cluebook in a PDF viewer) in case you don't remember the zone you want to go to. For example, if you're heading to Castle Pinehurst you'll need to know if it's B1, C1, or C2, because those are the values you'd have to enter when you cast Fly to get to the right zone.
- The only way to know if a weapon you find is any better than what you've already got is to get it identified. This is cheap and relatively easy at a shop, but it becomes a chore when you have to manage all kinds of equipment and magic items for your diverse set of characters. I solved this by using an on-line guide that lists the stats for every item in the game. I understand if some people are opposed to such things, but just know that the option is there. I found the info at http://www.gamefaqs.com./computer/doswin/game/564550.html.
Apart from a couple of retro-issues that are pretty easily remedied, this game is really fantastic. I was afraid that playing it again after about 18ish years it may not hold up so well to my fond memories in Junior High. No worries there! In fact, with virtually zero load times the painful process of dying and having to travel to an area again is pretty much a non-issue now. You can be almost anywhere in the game really, really quick.
I edited the DosBox settings file so that it will always start in Windowed mode, as opposed to full screen. I found that pressing alt-enter after starting full-screen would screw up many of my apps that I keep open. For example, I've got 3 PDF viewers open - one for cleric spells, another for sorcerer spells, and another for maps. Plus a browser open for item stats, and lastly a text editor for taking notes. I'm playing on a 2560x1600 30" screen, so it's kind of comical to see the game in the tiny centre window and remember how that used to be full screen.
Hopefully this post will convince someone to play MM2 and thereby bring more joy to their life. ;-)

The PC version is inferior in comparison to the SNES and Gensis releases when it comes down to graphics. Howevrer, I refuse to play any version other than the PC because I feel that to be a more genuine experience. It was was the original game after all.

Love 'em all really, but Might and Magic II is my favorite! I first played it around 1989, replayed it around 1998, and again in 2004. Really fun. There's just something about this game that I haven't been able to find in any RPG since... the combat, the searching, the adventure itself-- I don't know. I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

I just downloaded the info on weapons etc and printed them out. Keep then in a cheap school folder. It is a good old game much like the Bard's Tale I used to play. I had these six on the disk before, but started with #six which Loved! Was 3/4 finished with it when my computer went belly up. Got newer system and of course it would not play on it.
I am on 2 at the moment.

I agree that Might&Magic 2 has aged well. I played the Amiga version over 20 years ago and some months ago I played the DOS version, importing characters from MM1, and I had a blast.

IMO MM2 is among the top 5 CRPG of the 1980s, along with Dungeon Master, Chaos Strikes Back, Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds.

For any who are considering playing MM2, I would just like to point out that the item stats are also listed in the cluebook. I would just keep the PDF open and search for the item in question so as to minimize item spoilers.

The same is true for MM1, by the way, which is also a great game.

I am in Corck's Cavern but can find no way to get to Lloyd's Beacon. Any help? Thanks

walk south through the wall where the stairs in/out are

Might & Magic II. I would like to play privily saved game and start new ones that would not overwrite the 1st one, but I can not find how to do this with GOG Galaxy 2.0.50. At my age now the simpler the Ans the batter thanks. I now get all helpers at L1 then transfer them all to town 1. Cheap's town to get un dead in the temple only 100 gold.
The only way I see is to unloading the game and then reloading the game to start again. Be safe and well.

The PC and Genesis are both *far* superior to the (English) SNES release when it comes to playability and not being overly buggy. Yes, there are bugs in both the PC and Genesis versions, but at least these versions are reasonable options (though I personally prefer PC because of how offensive spells do less damage in the Genesis version one enemies save against them then in the PC version). In the SNES version, very basic things fail to work properly; spells do 50 damage on a successful save (regardless of the damage on a failed save, even weak spells do more damage in this situation), spells like Finger of Death and Disintegrate apparently never fail, and if an enemy frenzies, the other enemies can no longer hit you, resulting in the game being pretty much broken.

Also, in the youtube videos I've watched (I haven't played this version personally), eventually the game wouldn't let the player leave the inn, making the game no longer playable.

Then again, watching youtube videos of the Genesis version (again, I haven't played it myself), I did see, in one video, that a character's spells known list was corrupted, resulting in spells known that shouldn't have been.

Based on what you wrote I really think you should give MM1 a chance. The feeling of exploring the world I had there I've never felt in any other game. The immersion was even greater because I played it without maps and cluebook, I handwrote my maps on paper (I still love looking at those maps from time to time :-D).

But yeah, MM2 has many quality of life improvements and then there is a great jump in MM3 which finally feels like a "normal" game (graphics, music, keyboard+mouse controls, usable automap, save/load (even though there is just one slot unlike in MM4,5), names of spells etc.).

Actually, if yo want the *original* experience, you should be playing the Apple 2 version, which predates the DOS version and was the first released version. (Mobygames lists PC-88 and PC-98 releases in the same months, but those platforms were Japan only.)

Of course, if you really want the fully authentic experience, you should get an Apple 2 computer (don't know which models the game will run on), a floppy disk drive (pretty much standard back then), a copy of the game (it will be on floppy disks), and play the game that way.

Just be aware that playing the game this way will involve having to deal with load times and disk swaps, which are absent when playing a hard drive installation of the DOS version.

In my never-ending quest to play, and in some cases replay RPGs in my spare time I am ready to take on Might and Magic II once again. Played it originally way back when on my C64 as a teenager. Not long ago I finished my replay of Might and Magic I and now I've transferred over my characters for the next chapter. Loved that this was a feature of many of the classic RPG game series. Wish there was more of it as it gave the feel of taking your characters from one successful adventure to the next, just like in table top D&D which of course inspired the humble beginnings of the CRPG genre. It's fun to be nostalgic when the games live up to your memories.

MM2 is better looking in Genesis, however the gaming experience is extremely slow, you spent lots of time in menus, while in PC you can just quickly press numbers and targets in a much faster peace, making if much smoother.