Even though it's a shame, some games just don't stand the test of time very well.
Gameplay: Back in 1995 we didn't have lots of games like this. When Heroes came out, I thought it was a fun game. I also thought it could have been so much better. The gameplay here is simple & complex at the same time. If you have played the other Heroes games, you will be able to sit down with this game and know what you are doing instantly. If this is your first experience with this series, then I would recommend that you let your family, friends, wife/girlfriend, & your work that you may be away for awhile. This is addictive turn-based strategy at it's best.......for 1995.
The reason I tossed that reference to 1995 in there is because unlike the other games in this series, this one doesn't stand the test of time as well as the others. You start the game by picking either a campaign mode, multi-player, stand alone scenario, or you can make your own maps. The campaign mode is split up into four different parts. Each part represents a different 'faction' in the game. There are Knights, Wizards, Warlocks, & Barbarians. Each faction has it's own part of the story attached and you start that campaign with a set of heroes and armies that are associated with that faction.
The story here isn't developed half as much as it would be in the later games. There are obviously no cut-scenes, as the graphics here are quite primitive (even for '95) but more on that later. You don't really get into the story much. You are basically thrown onto a map with a castle and you build, produce, battle, etc. your way to victory in a turn-based strategy style. I love the gameplay of this series and it's one of the most addictive things I have ever played in my life. I have spent many hours with these games and gone to bed at 10am way too often for my own good.
All of the problems that I had with this title were basically fixed in the sequal. I know it's not fair to compare a game to it's sequal, so I am not doing that. I thought of these problems BEFORE I played the sequal. I really didn't like how small the battlefield was made by the sheer size of the characters on the battle screen. Some of the factions were unbalanced and would dominate the other factions. Magic is way too powerful here and makes the game annoyingly diffcult at times for the factions that don't use magic as much. There are no 'spell points' in the game. There are only 'how many times can you use each spell', which I never understood. The same idiotic and annoying CPU AI that has plagued the series through the third game is even worse here. Instead of making heroes that are strong and have decent armies, the CPU mostly throws a bunch of weak heroes at you with very small armies and tries to take over your castle while you are exploring. That was the biggest annoyance in the game for me & has been with this series for awhile.
And I wish you could carry your heroes over to the next missions. I know that sounds like I got that after playing the sequals, but I thought that back when I played this the first time. Some of the missions are very long and it annoyed me to have to give up a hero that I took so long to develop, only to lose him and start all over again at the next mission. I also felt like the game shouldn't have made the first level armies so useless, especially after you get the top level armies and there isn't even a spot for the lowest level in your hero's personal garrison. Unless you want to sacrifice a better army, that is.
Other than those complaints, I thought this game was fun. It didn't make you lose your mind (calling in sick to work three days in a row) like the sequal did, but it's fun to see where the series started and this is a good game no matter what came after it. And I did rank this game fairly, like I would if it was Aug. 1995 instead of bashing it because of what the sequals did better. All of my complaints were from back when I first played the game. I did have a lot of fun with this and I would recommend it to any fan of the series.
Graphics: While the gameplay holds up well over time, the visuals are another matter. I never liked the visual look of this game. I did like how colorful it was and it had it's moments. But this game was ugly back in '95 & even more ugly now. And it's not just the fact that the graphics aren't very good, I never liked the art style of the armies in the game. I thought they all looked goofy and oversized. I think a Cyclops or Phoenix should look intimidating, not goofy & cartoony. Don't even get me started on how stupid the Hydras & Dragons look. Some people like the 'cartoony' look of this series and I would agree the sequals look great. This game just looked like crap to me back in '95 and time has really taken it's toll.
Sound: Like the visuals, the sound here is pretty crummy overall. The music isn't too bad, but the SFX are absolutely terrible. Along with the goofy visual style, the SFX make you feel like you are playing some cartoon and not a turn-based strategy game.
Value: With a map editor and a lengthy single player game, this will keep you busy for awhile. Eating up your time has never been a problem for this series and this is no different here. Plenty of bang for your buck.
Tilt: I really wanted to give this game a higher score, but I had to be objective and leave my love for this series at the door. The graphics & audio were ancient by '95 standards. The gameplay is fun, but needed some refinement. I would recommend this to any fan of the series, though. I would just say that you should play this game FIRST if you are new to the series. If you come back to this, you may not want to give it a fair shake.