I have been thinking about getting in to the series and i am wondering if i should play all the games or if i should skip some. (just playing 5,6,7 for example)

You should play all of them.

I'd say start with 3 and continue with the later parts. Part 1+2 can be fun too but they're older and not that easy to get into. You can skip Swords of Xeen since it's fan-made and less polished but it isn't too bad.

I completely concur with Petrus. Try all of them. If MM1 and MM2 are completely intolerable to you, then I suppose skip them and go to MM3. But at least give MM1-2 an honest shot.

I tried them all but could never get into 1-5. But 6,7, and 8 are three of my favorite games. Six had some of the hardest play, Seven had the best story line. Eight was made too easy but still a lot of fun. The grid system in the earlier games wasn't something I could get into.

Bob

Like the others said, try them all; 1 may seem like a nightmare at first, but there are good resources for it in gamefaqs, and once your characters level up a bit, areas that felt impossible to move through at first will feel like a walk in the park.

It depends what time of game you like.

Many of the fans say that MM4&5 (which are combined into one game as World of Xeen) are the best. But they're grid-based and not very graphical.

So if you're the kind of person who struggles with low-graphical games, start from MM6/7.

Personally, MM7 is my favourite in the entire series.

There's basically three "sets" of games in the series. 1 and 2 are really old, have very little graphics, and (mostly) require the player to draw his or her own maps. They also have separate, text-based screens for turn-based combat. They are probably the hardest to get into because they're so old, but they're actually very good if you can get into them.

Games 3-5 still feature turn-based grid-based movement but combat now happens right on the map, without a separate screen. They have improved graphics that are colorful and still look pretty good, but are obviously dated. Many consider these games to be the best in the series (I'm partial to 4-5, but I haven't played past 6; many players think 7 is best).

Games 6-8 (and 9 I guess) are the most modern, with a fully 3D world that can be explored in real-time. Combat can be toggled between real-time and turn-based. Many consider these to be the best, especially 7.

There's not too much connecting the games to one another, but there are some cool details for those who have played in order, which are a nice bonus. But you could conceivably start with any of the games. So it comes down to what you're looking for. If a really old-school (made in 1986!) game that makes you draw your own maps (or look them up online) doesn't scare you, by all means start with the first game, but if it's too old for you then try number 3. If that's still too dated, maybe jump to 6.

I would definitely recommend trying all the M&M games, (after all, you bought them), but if you're not into one, move to a different one. I can't imagine gamers new to the series playing all 9 games, beginning to end. That's a lot of time! I'm going to guess that most of us who played the early DOS games were alive during the time they were released, so we've had 20+ years to complete them. ;)

I would break it up similarly as Waltorious did. 1-2, 3-5, and 6-8 are basically 3 different game engines, (donno about 9).

I will say that M&M 4+5 are my favorites, and I like the hand drawn graphics from earlier M&Ms MUCH better than the fuzzy 3D rendered abominations in 6-8.