I see the Might & Magic universe is on sale this weekend, which is great since I've been holding off until they went on special. Since I've never played a Might & Magic title I have a question: If you had to pick one to start with, which one would you pick up?

I hear they all hold up quite well over time, any favorites out there?

III is my favorite. I've played and finished the later ones, but never finished III. This time for sure.

Just wanted to chime in with the OP. I'm in the same boat. Would love to get in on a M&M game but will only be picking one. So, which should it be? 1-6, 7, or 8?

Part III is my favorite too.

I have played 1, 2 and 4-6. The first thing to realize is that games 6, 7 and 8 are very different from games 1-5, in that they are fully 3D and are played in real-time-with-pause instead of turn-based mode. My personal favorite is 4-5 (they combine to form one huge game), but there are many players who prefer the newer, fully 3D games 6, 7 and 8 to the older entries.

If you don't think you'd mind playing something a little more old-school, I'd recommend the 6-pack simply because it has so many games. Also, it includes 6 which will give you a taste for the newer entries in the series, and if you like it then you can continue on with 7 and 8.

I think many players prefer 7 or 8 to 6, but the 6-pack will give you the best sampling of games in order to decide what you like. 6 is still a very good game and if you like it and want more, then 7 and 8 are (allegedly) even better.

Isles of Terra. World of Xeen has a slightly better engine, though.

Difficult to say. I've starter my M&M adventurer career with III on floppy discs and I still replay it because it's such a great game. IV and V are great because they push III a little further in terms of game engine and a lot further in terms of worldspace.

But I have to admit I've spent the most time on 6. 6 is just awesome and, even if the graphisms are outdated now, it's still an excellent game, that will keep you hooked for hours and hours... If you're not afraid of fighting hordes (and I mean it literaly) of monsters and vast dungeons. 6 is a game where, in early levels, you must not be shy to retreat to the nearest town and rest. ^_^ That teaches humility, comparing to modern dungeon crawlers where you can complete a dungeon in one single go. In 6, you'll have to fight for every inch of land.

So i'd recommend to go with the 1-6 pack, as someone else said, you can have a taste of all the different types of M&M games in one go.

Right now you can pick (ALL of them) for only (under) $14, so why not get them all?

BTW, 6 is my all time favorite, although the Char faces sucks...They look like random folks from various ren-fairs!

When you say big dungeons, how big are we talking here? I love Daggerfall but the dungeons in that game were way too big for my tastes.

I may go for the I-VI pack based on what people are saying. The issue is that I've bought so many games recently that I still need to get through them first (right now making my way through Fallout... fantastic game), not to mention the fact that this sale has reignited my love for HOMM 3, which I already had. That game is amazing.

MM3, MM6, and MM9.

Dungeons in MM6 are not as big as Daggerfall. Well, maybe a few are, but they're much easier to navigate than in Daggerfall. There's also more variety in dungeon size, with many small and medium-sized dungeons in the mix. Also, since every dungeon in MM6 is hand-designed, they're much more memorable and unique-feeling than those in Daggerfall.

If I could only play one it would be MM7 (by a microscopic margin over MM6).

MM7 is the most complete game. It has the same epic scope of MM6, but it's refined to offer a more rewarding experience. You can't do everything in one play through. But with the class options and the benefit of hindsight, the second time is just as good as the first.

Unlike MM6, MM7 has a few calculated bottlenecks to keep you from rampaging through the game. It also has some nifty tricks like owning your own house and the monk class. Most important of all it has Arcomage.

MM6 would probably be better if some of the encounters were tuned a bit better (Castle Darkmoor and the Abandoned Temple of Baa to name two). It's still an incredibly fun, addictive RPG.

A close third is MM8. MM8 is great if you just want to recapture some of the feel of MM6 and MM7 but need stuff to have different names. Arcomage is in top form, and the ability to swap party members adds to replay value. However, Necromancers and Dragons are pretty overpowered. MM8 is also a good bit shorter than 6 and 7.

So I'd have to rank the series like this from best to worst.

7
6
8
4
3
9
2
1

Don't forget that MM1 and MM2 were made in a completely different era. MM1 was finished in '86 and MM2 in '89. There really weren't many RPGs out there back then and the games were brand new, even revolutionary for the time period.

I'm curious about everybody's feelings on M&M 9? I liked it because the engine was much more elaborate than the others, yet disliked it due to the small epic feel to it, yeah it had a good enough plot, but you didn't feel like you were a part of anything epic..