King's Bounty -- Must Play?

[Majorix]

Hi,

I got hooked only recently on the HoMM games. I will try to play through all the single player campaigns, to learn about the story.

I have come across this game called King's Bounty, which, I was told, was a prequel to the HoMM series. You can download it as it is abandonware, and so I did. The game looks really outdated, but I think still playable. There seems to be King's Bounty 2 & 3 but released only in Russia.

I also saw some more recent King's Bounty games which also look interesting.

My questions are:

1. Should I play the old King's Bounty game to understand the story of the HoMM games? Is the story any good? Since I don't speak any Russian, and cannot play the second and the third games, what should I do?

2. What about the recent King's Bounty games? Do they have anything to do with the original King's Bounty? Do you consider them good games?

Thanks!

[Qurqirish Dragon]

The original KB is a HoMM-like game, but is not attached to the M&M storylines at all. The more recent KB (The legend, Armord Princess, Crosswinds) are more RPG-ish, and are very good games in their own right. Basically you are a single hero (rather than a faction) and gather armies, fight monsters, do quests, etc. They are not related to HoMM, but do have a lot of the HoMM feel.

[Majorix]

Thanks for the explanation! I will probably still play both the original KB and the new ones, but not necessarily after I am done with HoMM.

[magritte2]

I encourage you to pick up King's Bounty-the Legend. I've just started into it and I'm having more fun than with either of Ubi's HOMM games.

[Sir Alock]

I like the entire Kings Bounty series. Love combat mode (one of the best TB out there) One thing that bothers me is unit hiring. You need to run all over the place for a refill. That aspect, I cannot stand!

[Variol]

I like the entire Kings Bounty series. Love combat mode (one of the best TB out there) One thing that bothers me is unit hiring. You need to run all over the place for a refill. That aspect, I cannot stand!

" "

Plus, there's only a finite number of each unit; no refills,

[parcaleste]

I am just playing "Dark Side"... well, it is as awesome as it comes. Some new units introduced like the Dragon Riders and the Amazons, finally I think the Warrior class is not OP compared to the others - playing with the Vampire right now and having a blast. Curious about the Demoness/Paladin class, as it wast the best in the first game and then nerfed to oblivion.

Still nothing better than the Red Dragons strategy, though.

... and still I love the game.