Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World (1988) continues the first game: its heroes pass through the gates to the world of CRON, which the renegade Guardian Sheltem means to hurl into its sun[1][2]. It came out on more than a dozen computers and consoles[1].
Development
- Jon Van Caneghem designed it, now with a studio in Van Nuys and full-time artists; it shipped in December 1988[3][1].
- In 1989 New World Computing moved its distribution from Activision to Brøderbund, shortly before Activision's troubles[3].
- Van Caneghem is especially proud of its "firsts", above all the automapping[4].
Releases
| Platform | Released | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Apple II | December 1988 | New World Computing |
| PC-88, PC-98, FM-7, X1, X68000, MSX | 1988–1989 | StarCraft (Japan) |
| MS-DOS | 1989 | New World Computing / Brøderbund |
| Commodore 64 | 1989 | New World Computing |
| Amiga, Macintosh | 1990 | New World Computing |
| Sega Genesis / Mega Drive | 1991 | Electronic Arts |
| Super Famicom | 22 January 1993 (Japan) | G-Amusements |
| Super NES | 1993 (Europe only) | Elite Systems |
As listed by Wikipedia and Sega Retro[1][5]. The Japanese computer versions were developed in parallel and differ noticeably, down to their ending[6][2]; the Super NES version was released only in Europe[2].
Setting
CRON — the "Central Research Observational Nacelle" — is threatened by Sheltem; the party crosses its lands, the four elemental planes and nine centuries of time to help Corak, and the finale requires boarding a spaceship and solving a timed cryptogram[1][4].
Gameplay
- Six created heroes plus up to two paid hirelings, whose daily wage grows with their level[1][2]; characters from the first game can be imported[1].
- Eight classes: the six of the first game plus the ninja and the barbarian, each with a class quest[1][7].
- New secondary skills, at most two per hero — Mountaineer, Linguist, Cartographer (which drives the automap), Pickpocket and others[1][2].
- 96 spells — 48 for clerics and 48 for sorcerers — in nine levels[8].
- Time matters: heroes age and can die of old age after about 75, and rejuvenation magic is risky[1][7].
Reception
- Computer Gaming World's Scorpia was critical of its bugs and of its turn towards hack-and-slash[9]; Van Caneghem later blamed the real-time puzzle at the end[4].
- Dragon gave it 4 out of 5 and the Genesis version 5 out of 5[10][5].
- The Genesis version averages 73% across 20 reviews, including 81 from the Russian magazine Tricks 16 bit[5].
- The CRPG Addict gave it 58 out of 100: "similar to MM1 but with better graphics, good story, good gameplay"[7].
Re-releases
Part of the Might and Magic Sixpack (1998) and the GOG 6-pack Limited Edition[11]. There was no official Russian release[12][13].
Trivia
After Scorpia's review, Van Caneghem named a monster in Might and Magic III after her[14].
More on this game: character classes, skills, spells and monsters.