Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition from Dotemu, Ubisoft, and Capybara Games brings a classic puzzle strategy RPG to PS4. Check our Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition review!
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition from Dotemu, Ubisoft, and Capybara Games brings a classic puzzle strategy RPG to PlayStation 4. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes was originally released on the Nintendo DS in 2009, which means that, yes, this was indeed, at that time, a retail title! It’s part of the beloved Might & Magic series that got its start on computers way back in 1986. The game was previously ported to PlayStation 3 in 2013, and we’re now getting the definitive version on Sony’s PS4.
It’s now 2023, and we’re getting a completely revamped version of the game with new character art, a reworked adventure mode, a revamped soundtrack, and all content rolled into a single release since you’ll get access to the I Am the Boss DLC which allows you to play as one of the four villains in the game in all modes but the Campaign Mode – more on this one in a bit. There’s even a new boss created exclusively for multiplayer: Euny the Archdruid.
The game’s story takes place 40 years before the events of Might & Magic V. You will be taking on the tale of the heroes who are scattered across the five regions of Asha. Your journey will begin with a short voice-acted cutscene that will give you a heads-up about the world you’re about to explore. There’s a realm known as Sheogh, where the demons are imprisoned. Unfortunately, during Blood Moons, the demon prison weakens, and the demons enter the world to wage war. A mighty blade used at the end of the last Demon War was broken into pieces and given to the humans, elves, and wizards to safeguard. As expected, those thirsty for power have tried to find all pieces to rule the world.
You can play this one by either diving into the Campaign Mode, taking on a Quick Battle, or playing local or online multiplayer for up to four players. There’s also an online leaderboard where you can compare your score to that of gamers from around the world. Your time with Campaign Mode in Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition will be split between the adventuring segments and puzzle segments. During adventuring segments, you’ll be able to talk to other characters.
Once in battle, which is presented by puzzle segments, you’ll need to launch attacks into the enemy’s zone to try and deplete all of the health. The battlefield is split into a top area and a bottom area. Your hero and its army will go into battle at the bottom of the area, while the enemy’s army will stand ready to attack at the top of the screen. You’ll need to make the most of the number of moves at your disposal in your turn so that you can try to gain the upper hand in combat.
In order to be able to unleash a core attack, you’ll need to vertically align 3 core units of the same color. You can defend against attacks by horizontally aligning 3 core units of the same color. You also have the option of launching an elite attack by placing 2 core units behind an elite unit of the same color. There are also champion attacks, which are very powerful and can be triggered by placing 4 core units behind a champion of the same color.
You can do all this by grabbing a unit by placing the cursor on top of it, and then pressing the X button. You can then move the cursor around your area to launch the unit into a column by once again pressing the X button. Attacks will be launched once the blinking charge number on the column has counted down to zero. Your attacks can either land a direct hit or end up being weakened by going through enemy units.
The units that attack or are defeated are removed from the battlefield, so you’ll need to call some reinforcements. This is done by pressing the L2 button to move units from your total at the bottom right part of the screen into action. Once you call some reinforcements and make your moves, if you have any moves left but can’t perform an attack or prepare a defense, you can press the Square button to end your turn. Sometimes it’s best to remove a unit from your area so that you can set up some combos. This is done by pressing the Circle button.
By making chains, you’ll be able to gain bonus moves so that you can work on setting up as many attacks and building as many walls as possible during your turn so that you can hopefully catch your opponent off-guard to deal considerable damage. You can gain as many bonus moves as chains you create, so if you play things right, you could destroy your opponent before it even has a chance to prepare for what’s coming its way!
The heroes you can play as will have different hero spells and wall abilities for you to consider when in battle. Take, for example, Anwen. She has an Arrow Storm spell that can be unleashed to launch a barrage of arrows into the enemy’s battlefield. On top of that, she has Sylvan Walls, which have a strength of 2 and regenerate 1 HP at the start of each turn. A hero’s spell can be put into play by pressing the Triangle button when your spell meter is full.
Something else to keep in mind is that you can link attacks to boost their power. To do this, you will need to create core attacks of the same color on the same turn so that they’re unleashed at the same time. Linking your attacks will prove to be a must as you progress further and further into the world of Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition. You can also fuse attacks by creating another attack of the same type and color below another attack. This will combine the total power of all formations used while also triggering a quicker attack. Fusing can also be used to strengthen walls. By linking attacks, creating chains, fusing attacks, and making the most of every single unit in your army during each of your turns, you might actually have a fighting chance.
As you win battles, your hero and units will gain experience points. Once one or the other gains enough experience points, it will get a chance to level up. Doing so will increase its stats. For units, this means they will gain additional HP o they will receive a boost to their attack power. For your hero, it will mean gaining a boost to HP, as well as to the number of units in its army or the strength of the walls it can build.
While exploring each area in the Campaign Mode, you’ll need to pay attention to the icons displayed above the characters you’ll meet. A golden question mark means that character is related to a main story quest. If it has a silver question mark, then it’s related to a sidequest. A golden sword means the character will fight against you and that the battle is related to a current main quest. As expected, a silver sword icon means it’s a battle related to a sidequest. There’s also a special icon to separate a boss fight so that you can prepare accordingly.
Another thing you should consider is that there are many artifacts for you to collect. Artifacts have special abilities that will aid you in battle. For instance, the first one you’ll find will be the Leaf Plate, a piece of armor that can boost a hero’s HP by 25%, which can make a huge difference in battle. Find a pair of Deer Antlers, and deer formations will be able to jump over all enemy walls, thus dealing considerable damage to your opponent when their attacks are released.
Remember elite units? Since they’re very powerful entities that will have additional abilities to aid you, their supply is finite. This is the game’s way of balancing things out so that you don’t end up with too many elite units in your ranks, thus breaking the overall experience. Any elite units that are defeated in battle will die. Elite units that act in battle will also be removed from play. To add more elite units to your army, you’ll need to purchase them from unit dwellings. You will need to use the resources you earn in combat or collect while exploring an area to purchase more elite units. Gold, rubies, and ore are very valuable in this adventure!
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy you can aim to add to your collection. The trophy list for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition will be split into 2 Silver trophies and 11 Gold trophies. What objective will you need to work on? There’s a trophy for winning a 1 vs. 1 online battle, another one for winning a 2 vs. 2 online battle, and one for reaching level 10 in the online Multiplayer Mode.
Along with those, you can get trophies for reaching hero level 10 and maxing out all units to level 5 in any Campaign, completing all battle puzzles in each Campaign, completing all bounty side quests, collecting all artifacts in each single-player Campaign, unlocking all special units, creating a link of 5+ formations in battle, triple fusing an attack formation in battle, winning a battle in the Sylvan Campaign, winning a battle using any of the playable villain characters, and dealing an additional 100 HP of damage to the enemy hero on the finishing blow. Are you up for the challenge?
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition brings us a revamped take on a classic puzzle strategy experience that jumped from Nintendo DS to PlayStation 3, and now on PlayStation 4, we have rebalanced gameplay, reworked music, new character portraits, as well as the I Am the Boss DLC available at no extra cost. It offers a very fun experience with dozens of hours of gameplay from its Campaign Mode, along with local and online multiplayer. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition is out today on PlayStation 4 with a $17.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by DotEmu.
