In honor of Neal's @nealiios upcoming book on the series, let's talk Heroes of M&M! As you know, this was a very successful spinoff from NWC's epic Might & Magic CRPGs series. Released in 1995, it's a turn-based strategy game with RPG elements, set in the Enroth universe. Pre-order Neal's book right now: a.co/d/4TgQjCz Though not as slick as the third game, it definitely laid the groundwork. Explore, gather resources, recruit armies, and conquer that beautiful map! You might not realize that an even earlier game, King's Bounty from 1990, included many of these features, but perhaps the boost from the M&M franchise helped put this series over the top. Compared to the later games, this one's fairly limited. You choose from four leaders: Knight, Barbarian, Sorceress, and Warlock. However, each gets unique rosters and stats. I've included a screenshot from the GameBoy Color version. Whaaaat? There seems to be some confusion over whether it was multiplayer. As far as I can tell from the manual and moby, it did not, though perhaps some fan remakes added it later. It's a shame, really, because it would've been an excellent use of the handheld's MP capabilities. I started the M&M series with 6, and it was such a great period of my life. I'd play the main games until I beat them, then shift over to Heroes for their replay value and multiplayer. I'd do anything for one more weekend with my college buddies playing Heroes into the wee hours of the night. So much fun! Be sure to download the manual if you play. It's almost 100 pages packed with extremely useful info delivered in a friendly fashion. The best part is the "Letters from Lord Ironfist," which amounts to short story. No fewer than five people were assigned just to this manual! NWC was amazing. Do you have fun stories about the game or know some BTS lore or anything else? Sound off in the comments! #RETROGAMING #mightandmagic #crpg #strategygames