Might and Magic, Book One: Secret of the Inner Sanctum

Might and Magic, Book One: Secret of the Inner Sanctum is the progenitor of the great series and no less great branches. At the time when she was born, probably no one could have imagined what all this would pour out. Now the first question of a man who first saw the RPG, released before the 90s, will be "can it really be played?" But first, let's try to look from the perspective of that time.

The first part of Might and Magic was released against the background of existing quite successful games and even entire series, such as Wizardry, Ultima, Bard's Tale. Each of them already had a settled world and history, and the terse introduction to Might and Magic reads: “This is a long journey that can last hundreds of hours. Happy adventures!

In the graphics, Might and Magic: Book One was hopelessly inferior even to the first part of Bard's Tale that came out two years earlier. But the real connoisseurs of the world of Might and Magic know that the games of the series have never been distinguished by the use of advanced technologies, and we didn’t love them for modern graphics.

The mechanics of the game are few in what retreated from the trends already existing in the genre. A detachment of adventure seekers wanders through the pseudo-3D forests, fields, dungeons, simultaneously reading important messages that abound in the walls of these dungeons. The area is densely populated by monsters, both living in certain locations, and found by chance. When confronted with a group of monsters, as in many games of the time, the battle mode is activated, and the battle takes place separately from the adventure card. Using magic, you enter only the level and number of the spell, so playing without official guidance, where the names and descriptions of all spells are given, is simply impossible (such is the natural copy protection caused by limited space on the media). Save only in hotels. And, of course, an integral element - solving riddles and charades with the input of answers in the form of text.

“So what is it that would make people play?”, You ask. I answer: the most important thing is a huge world and freedom. I will cite as an example the same Bard's Tale, since, in my opinion, it is the closest relative. Bard's Tale - this is just a set of dungeons that are linearly connected by the plot, and, as a rule, at the last level of the previous dungeon you will learn how to get to the first level of the next one. Might and Magic: Book One gives you such freedom that the question first arises, and what, actually, to do? And only by the middle of the game a set of small events begins to merge into a single form of the plot.

So, if you decide to play, proceed. Your squad begins its way to the hotel of the city of Sorpigal. The question that has been tormenting you, what to do, disappears after the first attack of the monsters. First you need to somehow equip yourself in the local forge. Where to get the funds? The main source of income - collecting trophies, always search the site of battles and other game events. As soon as you are ready for real adventures, the whole world is open to you. Explore the terrain, make maps, write hints on the walls. If you want to start right away with the tasks - read the inscriptions next to the statues, listen to the prompts in the Sorpigala tavern. In addition, local rulers live in castles. Lord Ironfist and Inspectron will ask you to tell about any places, distant and not so, or deal with one of the problems for the corresponding reward. Lord Hacker, the bins of which are already full of treasure, will offer to bring something. Assignments and riddles are quite diverse, and the world is quite variegated.

Of course, the game can not be called the pearl of the series - there are few tasks both plot and side, but this is only the origin of the world. Mediocre graphics and sound - turn on the right music from the game newer. Control only from the keyboard is a bit of practice, and it will seem more convenient to you if you need to aim the mouse at the controls. No amenities in the form of autojournal and automaps - but you also don’t need to draw cards on pieces of paper, as you did before, there are more convenient tools. For example, Microsoft Excel, or similar from Open Office, are great for maps and notes.

If you want to find out how the phenomenon called Might and Magic started, then at least you should try to play. And most importantly - in this part you do not leave the feeling that everything is still ahead and to be continued.