Might and Magic (Franchise) Archives - The Greatest Game Music

Heroes of Might and Magic II Soundtrack (PC)

Heroes of Might and Magic II Soundtrack (PC), Steve Baca / Rob King / Paul Romero, 1996

Even decades after its release, the Heroes of Might and Magic II soundtrack stands apart as a unique experiment. The score for Heroes of Might and Magic had clearly articulated Paul Romero and Rob King‘s immense ambition to create game music with the gravitas and impact (and cultural cache) of classical music. The result was a resounding artistic success. It’s no surprise then that Heroes of Might and Magic II‘s music amplifies its predecessor’s already lofty aspirations. But how do you make convincingly symphonically-styled music like that of Heroes of Might and Magic even more grandiose?

Romero and King – joined by King’s band mate Steve Baca – found a logical answer. They added vocals – and not just any sort of vocals. In other words: a large part of the Heroes of Might and Magic II soundtrack consists of full-blown opera arias. These days, underscoring a game with opera arias would be highly unusual. Proposing such a thing in 1996 was revolutionary – and probably a bit mad.

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Heroes of Might and Magic III Soundtrack

Heroes of Might and Magic III Soundtrack, Steve Baca / Rob King / Paul Romero, 1999

After Heroes of Might and Magic II‘s unprecedented operatic splendour, the composing team of Paul Romero, Rob King and Steve Baca faced a problem when they tackled the franchise‘s next soundtrack: where to go from here? Heroes of Might and Magic II found its approach by amplifying its predecessor’s ambitions and scale. As a result, it rocketed past other Western game soundtracks at the time into uncharted territory. Repeating the same strategy – going grander – for the Heroes of Might and Magic III soundtrack wasn’t an option. After all, how much bigger can you go than full-blown operatic grandeur?

What was Romero, King and Baca’s answer to this dilemma then? In a nutshell, they play it safe on the Heroes of Might and Magic III soundtrack. This is not an envelope-pushing work like its two predecessors. Instead, Heroes of Might and Magic III is nothing more and nothing less than a really great fantasy score, with all the stylistic trappings one would expect from the genre. It’s a less dazzling, extrovert work than Heroes of Might and Magic II. However, its melodic beauty and orchestrational finesse still tower above the vast majority of fantasy scores.

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Heroes of Might and Magic Soundtrack (PC)

Heroes of Might and Magic Soundtrack (PC), Paul Romero, 1995

Few game scores start with a gesture as confident as the Heroes of Might and Magic soundtrack. Opening “Barbarian (Theme for Louis XIV)”, a harpsichord presents an almost rushing motif that already creates a dense soundscape. But clearly, the composer wants to take things further. Soon, a growing number of instruments join the harpsichord figure, playing the motif as a fugue. This continues until a whopping five different voices simultaneously perform in counterpoint. The resulting passage is of a structural complexity not previously encountered in game music.

On a purely musical level alone, it makes for a striking start to the album. But this display of compositional bravado is even more important from another point of view. This is a composition that wears its ambitions proudly on its sleeve. The piece doesn’t waste a second to proclaim that this is music of substance, demanding to be taken seriously. In other words, this is a game soundtrack that self-consciously styles itself as “Art”.

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Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor Soundtrack

Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor Soundtrack, Paul Romero, 1999

By the time of Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor‘s release, Paul Romero and Rob King had firmly installed themselves as the Might and Magic franchise’s go-to composers, thanks to Heroes of Might and Magic and its exceedingly ambitious sequel. They had also written the music for Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven. That score was a curious if not entirely successful hybrid of fantasy and science fiction elements.

The Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor soundtrack continues this inclination for experimentation and eclecticism. It turns out to be the best Might and Magic score (excluding Heroes I-III). Interestingly, Might and Magic VII ran on its predecessor’s engine and didn’t make many changes to the gameplay formula. For Blood and Honor‘s music, on the other hand, is a quantum leap over The Mandate of Heaven. In fact, in its seductive lushness, Romero’s score almost feels like a mismatch for the game’s blocky 3d graphics.

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Warriors of Might and Magic Soundtrack (GBC)

Warriors of Might and Magic Soundtrack (GBC), Matthew Simmonds, 2000

By the late 1990s, the Might & Magic franchise was going strong, with a number of successful main line games and the recent establishment of the Heroes of Might & Magic series. Not surprisingly, publisher The 3DO Company were keen to branch out further, making the most of the valued brand name. Its first attempt to do so in 1999 via 3d-action RPG Crusaders of Might and Magic didn’t cause much excitement. Interestingly enough, The 3DO Company tried again with a similar game concept a year later – however, Warriors of Might and Magic didn’t meet with much more enthusiasm amongst gamers and critics than its predecessor.

While the PS1 and PS2 versions of Warriors of Might and Magic didn’t cause much of a stir, the same goes doubly for the Game Boy Colour conversion – not necessarily a surprise, given the game’s poor reviews and the sheer number of games being published for the platform in 2000. However, the one positive thing to come out of this run-of-the-mill 2d-action RPG was an outstanding soundtrack by Matthew Simmonds (maybe better known under his demo scene handle 4mat). At the time the in-house composer for developer Climax Group, Simmonds had started out in 1989 as part of Amiga demo scene group Slipstream, before transitioning into a professional game music career in the early 1990s. Interestingly enough, Simmonds is one of the few game music composers who remained active in both the game industry and the demo scene decades after first starting out.

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