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Even though, for me, Heroes is considered the greatest and most beloved game, however paradoxical it may sound, to be honest, I don't really care about the story, who created the world, and so on. I started with the first part, and at that time, the main thing was the gameplay, and it was incredibly captivating. For me, the most important thing is that there are races with favorite units like archers, orcs, centaurs, medusas, dragons, etc., and, of course, it would be nice if they didn't forget about the old, good heroes like Krag Hack, Sandro, Lord Haart, and others; whether they play a major or minor role in the game is not so important! Now, people want better graphics, a more intricate story, and amazing music along with the gameplay.
But back then, in the first Heroes, all of that was in tenth place! Ah..., nostalgia!
I would say: The old universe or Ashan - it doesn't matter! GAMEPLAY RULES!!!