Review and Discussion

[Giant2112Cat]

Having gone through the game twice now, here is my review and discussion. There are some minor spoilers here. I have played M&M I, VI, and VII previously and enjoyed all the games. I thought overall it matched previous games in scope, play, and experience. I would give this a 8/10 rating; very good with a few things that could have been improved.

Graphics and music were great. Even after two play throughs I did not get tired of the music. It looked great. With a turn-based CRPG like this there will be things like monsters repeating their same animations, but this is a minor issue. The scope of the game was on par with previous games spanning a large area with a multitude of main and side quests. I always found this to be a hallmark of M&M games, and it delivered. The final battle also was in-line with the M&M series. The connecting dungeons was also a good feature.

I found combat to be balanced throughout the game. I didn't get wiped out too often, and battles were challenging with keeping the party buffed and healed as the fighting progresses. The biggest issue is when you get surrounded, and all the enemies get a crack at the party. I fought from doorways as much as possible. My Blade Master with GM Sword and two relic swords cut through just about anything quickly.

I call this a semi-open world. I thought the blessings of the Dragons was a good idea for opening up the world as the party progresses. It also fit in well with the overall storyline. Sometimes there will be a 'gatekeeper' monster in these type of games.

The relics were a good addition to the game, My only issue is the last one (Wand for completing the Forbidden Saga) is kind of useless because the game is complete then.

The promotion quests were good; however, I thought the promotion quests that are not active with the right classes could have been turned into a normal side quests. The inactive promotion quests feels like there is something missing in the world. I don;t think this would have been a big issue to change, and it would have added to the overall experience. For example, "Hey, help me find the lost dwarven caravan". It doesn't need to be a promotion, just gold and experience.

A couple of NPC's that we moved, Falagar and Kaspar, I found stay in the original location and are in the new location. This is kind of an annoying. Maybe I would say a bug.

The extra content in the prison sneaking around I felt was totally pointless and I did not finish. After defeating the main enemy even without all your upgraded gear, the party should have no problem with some low-rent prison guards. Having to reload the game every time you make a mistake is frustrating. and the main reason I just quit. I had a save then after I won, I just got the party out of Karthal as fast as I could. I now have two parties that are exited from Karthal. However I can visit the slums!

My biggest issue in the skill point system. After playing a bit in the first game, I finally realized you have to specialize in just a few areas. My Archmage points were spread way too thin at first. I feel there should have been a better warning or explanation that you will not level up all the skills. Maybe there is, but I typically just jump right in (especially with this kind of game).

All right I think that is enough. Looking forward to M&MXI!

[Riwweer]

You might consider playing again with mod: https://www.vault.acidcave.net/download.php?id=624. It allows you to do all promotion quests besides several other improvements. I don't understand your issue with Kaspar/Falagar - never had any. They are in place 1 or 2 depending on story progress. Also Zouleika.

Also check out http://mmxl.wz.cz/mmxl/ you will find a lot of answers there.

[UneasyBoosh]

I have a major itch for one of these dungeon crawlers. I missed out on the M&M series and Wizardry but played the Gold box games back in the day like eye of the beholder and Ravenloft. In recent years I played Bards Tale 4 and really liked it.

Now wondering if this or maybe Operencia is a good bet (funny just added to wishlist and they both went on sale today) or if I should play a modded version of M&M 8 or Wizardry 8 which I have heard good things about.

How is the story in this one comparatively? From what info I can find most seem to say it focuses more on the combat aspects over story.

[Giant2112Cat]

Originally posted by UneasyBoosh:

I have a major itch for one of these dungeon crawlers. I missed out on the M&M series and Wizardry but played the Gold box games back in the day like eye of the beholder and Ravenloft. In recent years I played Bards Tale 4 and really liked it.

Now wondering if this or maybe Operencia is a good bet (funny just added to wishlist and they both went on sale today) or if I should play a modded version of M&M 8 or Wizardry 8 which I have heard good things about.

How is the story in this one comparatively? From what info I can find most seem to say it focuses more on the combat aspects over story.

I thought the story was good. The story opened up as you progressed. I played the remastered Bard's Tale Trilogy which was good, but it is definitely a dungeon crawler grind.

I saw the Operencia too.

[E-baisa]

I'd say, all the extra story, and the lore are plain terrible in here (unlike most other RPGs, and previous MM games). It is low quality, generic, and does not tie with the game world. The only part of the story that works, is the narrator, the dream shard, and whatever you learn doing the quests. At the end of the game, there is a failed attempt to tell how your actions changed the world (like in Fallout 1/2)- however the game basically does not allow any choice, and the few 'moral choices' that you make do not really matter. However, it is very much worth playing this game for it's combat, and for various party combat strategies that are available, work well, and are fun. The game also has quite a lot of puzzles and riddles, a lot of which are fun or decent (and just google the hardest/failed ones, to not waste your time).

[Riwweer]

No need to google - find everything here http://mmxl.wz.cz/mmxl/
The story is mediocre, but not terrible.