I wasn't planning on starting a H3 vs. H5 debate here. If you're tired of discussing which game is better, just don't write about it. I didn't write about that, or you misunderstood me.
I'm talking about the fact that many people say something like this: "The second and third games are classics and have a great atmosphere. The fourth game is somehow not as good. And the fifth game has that atmosphere again, and even better." Examining the continuity of the fifth part showed a small amount of "original" heritage and a lot of borrowing from other game projects. Therefore, I don't understand what "that very" atmosphere many people are so enthusiastically talking about. I don't see or feel it.
I'm addressing people who "are in the know," i.e., have played various fantasy games, see the differences between them, and recognize analogies in individual elements.

Alan.
Don't overdo it. The use of other people's ideas should only be considered between products of mass fantasy culture. Attributing "Myths of Ancient Rome" to this is the same as saying that the plot of HoMM2 is about the biblical brothers Cain and Abel.
I don't see where the plot of, for example, Heroes 3 comes from. If you think it's derivative, provide examples, give links to where something similar could be seen. I think it will be difficult because there were fewer games at that time, the popularity was not so massive, and there wasn't much to borrow from.
In the fifth game, you don't have to look far; it's from other games in the genre, practically all of them.