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Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven - Prima's Official Strategy Guide
Complete walkthroughs of all major quests
Complete character stats
Unbeatable strategies for all scenarios
Extensive monster tables
Exhaustive spell and skill lists
Detailed maps
About the Author
Ted Chapman is a freelance writer and technical editor with many years' experience in the gaming industry. He has authored One: The Official Strategy Guide, Politika: The Official Strategy Guide, Take No Prisoners: The Official Strategy Guide, Blood: The Official Strategy Guide and Warlords III: The Official Strategy Guide from Prima.
Complete character stats
Unbeatable strategies for all scenarios
Extensive monster tables
Exhaustive spell and skill lists
Detailed maps
About the Author
Ted Chapman is a freelance writer and technical editor with many years' experience in the gaming industry. He has authored One: The Official Strategy Guide, Politika: The Official Strategy Guide, Take No Prisoners: The Official Strategy Guide, Blood: The Official Strategy Guide and Warlords III: The Official Strategy Guide from Prima.
- GenresGaming
408 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 1998
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 30, 2016
Back in the day, I beat Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, for PC, twice.
I was first introduced to the Might & Magic series with Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra for Super NES. Almost instantaneously I was drawn in to the idea of not 2, not 3 (well, 3 is better!), not 4, but 6 party members, with greater party possibilities due to the greater number of classes available for each character. I think I used to like to bring, Knight, Paladin/Ranger, Archer, Ninja, Cleric, Mage.
Instead of being limited to choosing Warrior, Wizard, Cleric, and Rogue, there was also Ranger, Paladin, Archer, Druid, Ninja, and Barbarian. Not to mention the detailed, yet animated arcade-like graphics, the smooth feel of the digital grid (I realize that's kind of an oxymoron, but the...continuity and predictability of moving on the grid had a certain smoothness to it once you got accustomed to it), and...of course...the music in the game. Just beautifully composed music in the style of J.S.Bach on Dulcimer or harpsichord with a small strings ensemble supporting the melody. I tried to learn it on guitar but, I was only able to get the melody. The melody of the Fountainhead AND the Inn of Fountainhead, and the smithy were very repeatable, and listenable end over end.
A robust Arcade/Adventure/Action/RPG, Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra was just about all I could handle: the character generator alone might eat up several hours as I'd "re-roll" to try to get better luck with my stats, and curiously, "Luck" was actually an ability score, just like Strength, Intellect etc.). I liked shooting stuff, and once you found a couple of bows or crossbows, all but clerics and wizards could let loose a volley into the oncoming orcs or oozes, or rats. The item and weapon/armor upgrade micro-managing would long precede a similar addictive cornerstone in the late Blizzard masterpiece, Diablo. There was always a better item to be found or character level to be gained.
But despite the love ported to the SNES version of the PC game Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra, this review is for Might & Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven, which had by then, several years later after Isles of Terra, eschewed the grid in favor of complete 360 movement (with the most useful "Water Walking" and "Fly" spells, of course), as well as travel by horse and by ship for a nominal fee, depending on the destination.
The allowance for this freedom from the grid was however, a double-edge blade, as the freedom to explore would come 'strings attached, with the responsibility of finding items, barrels, passages, and of course, the oh so lucky horses, which granted 2 skill points to be allotted to one of 4 party members as the player saw fit. In contrast, the limitations of the grid made finding items, levers, and secret passage ways much easier. Yes, it was also nice to have 6 party members, but as it turns out with The Mandate of Heaven, 4 would prove to be sufficient with the amount of weapon and armor upgrades, the number of skills available to learn (I found it useful to designate the wizard with the repair skill to cut down on item management when identifying magical items/repairing them, swapping them out to different characters).
Its true, it has been over 10 years since I played the game, and when I think back of my time using the strategy guide I think "That will be USEful" and it was both a time and nerve saver, for the game is vast to explore, fight and plunder, and the trainer locations alone, much less the actual dungeon maps and quest walkthroughs, would have been frustrating to find and account for. (Every skill can be trained to Expert & Master status and you must seek out the trainers, scattered across the game to increase your proficiency with the skill to reap exponential bonuses). The game is replete with all of the classic monsters you can think of in your first pass, goblins, spiders, wizards, brigands, thieves, various undead, minotaurs, dragons, even a wicked cool pyramid with some Egyptian lore inspired nasties ("Implosion" spell a must!). Its funny...The Temple of Baa only recently just dawned on me 15 years later. There are also pages and pages of wizard and priest spells, as well as enough mundane weapons and armor and miscellaneous items (like rings, amulets, belts, and boots) that can be enchanted to kill several hours alone trying to get the best RNG enchantment roll (by this time they had trimmed down the "Luck" skill but probability certainly played its role).
I'm not going to ruin the ending, but there was a neat little twister at the very end that gave the whole game some perspective. And yes, I believe there are Twisters that you can fight in the game.
Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
Might & Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven
Might & Magic VII (I wasn't so crazy about being able to level up to grandmasters, a bit redundant, characters initially a little too weak, and potions skill a waste of skill points IMHO)
Oh, btw, yes there is alchemy in M&M 6. You can make potions with herbs and empty bottles, and then combine them to make more complex potions that emulate spell abilities if you are low on Magic Points
Heroes of Might & Magic GROUND BREAKING!!!
Heroes of Might & Magic 2 + expansion w/the level editor, Dragons too expensive, balancing issues
Heroes of Might & Magic III (AMAZING!!! To this Day AMAZING)
Heroes of Might & Magic III Expansion (new monsters, Elementals) And there was a Town/Hero that could recruit all of the different elementals from dwellings.
Heroes of Might & Magic IV Took a little while to get used to but I enjoy the battle music immensely.
And now at the time of this review I'm playing Might & Magic X (20+ levels in, not so crazy about it. The formula has been done to death and even though I like the return to the grid, nothing can compare to the impression I first got with M&M III/VI and The Original Heroes of Might & Magic Series)
MMIII: Isles of Terra (III) And Mandate of Heaven and the Heroes Series: awesome.
I don't know how they do it, or did it, but I guess after the original recipe has been improved time and time again and finally exhausted, they have to change the formula somehow, just not quite as awesome as those three games (M&M III, M&M VI, Heroes, Heroes III). I was also a huge fan of the original Diablo, insanely addicting as it was. Though the different series's share similarities, Action RPG, leveling, weapon upgrades, the darker, edgier angle of Diablo contrasts with the brighter, more arcade/cartoonlike style of the Might & Magic Series, which I found to be deeper in content than the frenetic clicking of the mouse race to grab the best items and level up addiction of the darker Diablo. Diablo III was very smooth, but no Diablo title has had as much magnetism for me, as the first Diablo. I found Might & Magic, with its ability for turn based combat, much more steady with a higher ceiling for game progression and immersive player experience.
I'd say that with the longevity alone, seeing as how they are up to number X, the M&M series ranks right on up there will Baldur's Gate (even though BG was a different system, D&D than Might and Magic) and of course, the mind-expanding Planescape Torment. A distinct contrast to the Some Final Fantasy series, FF fans may still like the M&M series. But if you like that spooky first person, grid-style, classic games (Twining and Yserbius on PC, and Eye of the Beholder on SNES come to mind) then you will definitely like M&M III. If you don't like the grid, I found M&M VI (with the strategy guide) to be strong enough on its own (two run throughs). For the record I've also beaten 7th Saga, The Secret of Mana on SNES. Both 7S and SoM were also fantastic, but in an isometric camera above character style. I am also a fan of the Balder's Gate II/Planescape Torment system but on a 3.5 D&D platform. Dungeons and Dragon 3.5 was just THE WAY, man. It was just masterful.
***Also one great thing about the strategy guide, and now that I think of it, strategy guides in general, is that even though it gives you the information to complete the game, its a companion to the video game. I find the experience more immersive and enjoyable to have a "book" to consult and refer back to the game when I get stuck. Some may call it cheating, but I now think of the game like a movie. A playable movie, consulting the book, like The Entertainment book to restaurants (is that thing still around?). The Strategy Guide brings the reading to the game. I may not have read as many books as some of my peers, but I remember back in the day I STUDIED those strategy guides! And at one point I knew them like the back of my hand. I'm flipping through it mentally right now. All the equipment, the spells, the monsters, the maps...nice!
:)
I was first introduced to the Might & Magic series with Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra for Super NES. Almost instantaneously I was drawn in to the idea of not 2, not 3 (well, 3 is better!), not 4, but 6 party members, with greater party possibilities due to the greater number of classes available for each character. I think I used to like to bring, Knight, Paladin/Ranger, Archer, Ninja, Cleric, Mage.
Instead of being limited to choosing Warrior, Wizard, Cleric, and Rogue, there was also Ranger, Paladin, Archer, Druid, Ninja, and Barbarian. Not to mention the detailed, yet animated arcade-like graphics, the smooth feel of the digital grid (I realize that's kind of an oxymoron, but the...continuity and predictability of moving on the grid had a certain smoothness to it once you got accustomed to it), and...of course...the music in the game. Just beautifully composed music in the style of J.S.Bach on Dulcimer or harpsichord with a small strings ensemble supporting the melody. I tried to learn it on guitar but, I was only able to get the melody. The melody of the Fountainhead AND the Inn of Fountainhead, and the smithy were very repeatable, and listenable end over end.
A robust Arcade/Adventure/Action/RPG, Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra was just about all I could handle: the character generator alone might eat up several hours as I'd "re-roll" to try to get better luck with my stats, and curiously, "Luck" was actually an ability score, just like Strength, Intellect etc.). I liked shooting stuff, and once you found a couple of bows or crossbows, all but clerics and wizards could let loose a volley into the oncoming orcs or oozes, or rats. The item and weapon/armor upgrade micro-managing would long precede a similar addictive cornerstone in the late Blizzard masterpiece, Diablo. There was always a better item to be found or character level to be gained.
But despite the love ported to the SNES version of the PC game Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra, this review is for Might & Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven, which had by then, several years later after Isles of Terra, eschewed the grid in favor of complete 360 movement (with the most useful "Water Walking" and "Fly" spells, of course), as well as travel by horse and by ship for a nominal fee, depending on the destination.
The allowance for this freedom from the grid was however, a double-edge blade, as the freedom to explore would come 'strings attached, with the responsibility of finding items, barrels, passages, and of course, the oh so lucky horses, which granted 2 skill points to be allotted to one of 4 party members as the player saw fit. In contrast, the limitations of the grid made finding items, levers, and secret passage ways much easier. Yes, it was also nice to have 6 party members, but as it turns out with The Mandate of Heaven, 4 would prove to be sufficient with the amount of weapon and armor upgrades, the number of skills available to learn (I found it useful to designate the wizard with the repair skill to cut down on item management when identifying magical items/repairing them, swapping them out to different characters).
Its true, it has been over 10 years since I played the game, and when I think back of my time using the strategy guide I think "That will be USEful" and it was both a time and nerve saver, for the game is vast to explore, fight and plunder, and the trainer locations alone, much less the actual dungeon maps and quest walkthroughs, would have been frustrating to find and account for. (Every skill can be trained to Expert & Master status and you must seek out the trainers, scattered across the game to increase your proficiency with the skill to reap exponential bonuses). The game is replete with all of the classic monsters you can think of in your first pass, goblins, spiders, wizards, brigands, thieves, various undead, minotaurs, dragons, even a wicked cool pyramid with some Egyptian lore inspired nasties ("Implosion" spell a must!). Its funny...The Temple of Baa only recently just dawned on me 15 years later. There are also pages and pages of wizard and priest spells, as well as enough mundane weapons and armor and miscellaneous items (like rings, amulets, belts, and boots) that can be enchanted to kill several hours alone trying to get the best RNG enchantment roll (by this time they had trimmed down the "Luck" skill but probability certainly played its role).
I'm not going to ruin the ending, but there was a neat little twister at the very end that gave the whole game some perspective. And yes, I believe there are Twisters that you can fight in the game.
Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
Might & Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven
Might & Magic VII (I wasn't so crazy about being able to level up to grandmasters, a bit redundant, characters initially a little too weak, and potions skill a waste of skill points IMHO)
Oh, btw, yes there is alchemy in M&M 6. You can make potions with herbs and empty bottles, and then combine them to make more complex potions that emulate spell abilities if you are low on Magic Points
Heroes of Might & Magic GROUND BREAKING!!!
Heroes of Might & Magic 2 + expansion w/the level editor, Dragons too expensive, balancing issues
Heroes of Might & Magic III (AMAZING!!! To this Day AMAZING)
Heroes of Might & Magic III Expansion (new monsters, Elementals) And there was a Town/Hero that could recruit all of the different elementals from dwellings.
Heroes of Might & Magic IV Took a little while to get used to but I enjoy the battle music immensely.
And now at the time of this review I'm playing Might & Magic X (20+ levels in, not so crazy about it. The formula has been done to death and even though I like the return to the grid, nothing can compare to the impression I first got with M&M III/VI and The Original Heroes of Might & Magic Series)
MMIII: Isles of Terra (III) And Mandate of Heaven and the Heroes Series: awesome.
I don't know how they do it, or did it, but I guess after the original recipe has been improved time and time again and finally exhausted, they have to change the formula somehow, just not quite as awesome as those three games (M&M III, M&M VI, Heroes, Heroes III). I was also a huge fan of the original Diablo, insanely addicting as it was. Though the different series's share similarities, Action RPG, leveling, weapon upgrades, the darker, edgier angle of Diablo contrasts with the brighter, more arcade/cartoonlike style of the Might & Magic Series, which I found to be deeper in content than the frenetic clicking of the mouse race to grab the best items and level up addiction of the darker Diablo. Diablo III was very smooth, but no Diablo title has had as much magnetism for me, as the first Diablo. I found Might & Magic, with its ability for turn based combat, much more steady with a higher ceiling for game progression and immersive player experience.
I'd say that with the longevity alone, seeing as how they are up to number X, the M&M series ranks right on up there will Baldur's Gate (even though BG was a different system, D&D than Might and Magic) and of course, the mind-expanding Planescape Torment. A distinct contrast to the Some Final Fantasy series, FF fans may still like the M&M series. But if you like that spooky first person, grid-style, classic games (Twining and Yserbius on PC, and Eye of the Beholder on SNES come to mind) then you will definitely like M&M III. If you don't like the grid, I found M&M VI (with the strategy guide) to be strong enough on its own (two run throughs). For the record I've also beaten 7th Saga, The Secret of Mana on SNES. Both 7S and SoM were also fantastic, but in an isometric camera above character style. I am also a fan of the Balder's Gate II/Planescape Torment system but on a 3.5 D&D platform. Dungeons and Dragon 3.5 was just THE WAY, man. It was just masterful.
***Also one great thing about the strategy guide, and now that I think of it, strategy guides in general, is that even though it gives you the information to complete the game, its a companion to the video game. I find the experience more immersive and enjoyable to have a "book" to consult and refer back to the game when I get stuck. Some may call it cheating, but I now think of the game like a movie. A playable movie, consulting the book, like The Entertainment book to restaurants (is that thing still around?). The Strategy Guide brings the reading to the game. I may not have read as many books as some of my peers, but I remember back in the day I STUDIED those strategy guides! And at one point I knew them like the back of my hand. I'm flipping through it mentally right now. All the equipment, the spells, the monsters, the maps...nice!
:)
Displaying 1 of 1 review