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HOMM 2 vs HOMM 3

Which do you prefer?


  • Total voters
    166

gunman

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,050
Having a nostalgia moment, I have downloaded both HOMM 3 Chronicles and HOMM 2 from GOG. I have played HOMM 3 a little but I couldn't play further than the 3rd scenario of the campaign, I found it stale. Started HOMM 2 and I absolutely love it. The graphics, the music, the long campaign, everything blends in a perfect atmosphere that HOMM 3 couldn't achieve. In the settings I have switched opera music to midi to bring back the old memories (for the first time I have played a pirated version of HOMM 2 back in 97-98 without cd music and videos)

I don't care for multiplayer (never did, except a bit of Panzer General PBEM many years ago).
 

AMG

Arbiter
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
374
It's the same freaking game, except 3 is bigger and better. How can you love one and don't like the other? And the one you found stale was the one with bigger variety of pretty much everything? You're a weirdo m8.
 

Eyeball

Arcane
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Messages
2,541
HOMM2 is way better looking.

HOMM3 is way better.

Choose your poison, graphicfag.
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
1,387
Location
Australia
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I agree with AMG that HoMM 3 is everything that HoMM2 is and more.

I get what you mean by HoMM2 achieving 'a perfect atmosphere' though. I played these games when HoMM3 came out, and initially I liked 2 better, but I guess my perception changed over time and I think that HoMM3 has perfect atmosphere, even to this day. 2 started to seem more primitive and cartoon-y the more I appreciated 3.
 
Last edited:

baturinsky

Arcane
Joined
Apr 21, 2013
Messages
5,526
Location
Russia
HOMM2 did many things better than HOMM3. It's castles are more different to each other. No that "7 creatures, 2 upgrades each everywhere" bullshit. And I consider the fact that heroes don't transfer from mission to mission (with some exceptions) a plus, because you don't feel the need to grind their stats in all that +1 map builsings. There is probably more, but I haven't played HOMM2 in a long time.
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
1,387
Location
Australia
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
HOMM2 did many things better than HOMM3. It's castles are more different to each other. No that "7 creatures, 2 upgrades each everywhere" bullshit. And I consider the fact that heroes don't transfer from mission to mission (with some exceptions) a plus, because you don't feel the need to grind their stats in all that +1 map builsings. There is probably more, but I haven't played HOMM2 in a long time.

I wouldn't say many things. Some things, maybe.

I did like that the towns were more different.

7 creatures, 2 upgrades in each town wasn't bad. I found it annoying trying to get black dragons in HoMM2. And heroes not being able to take all the town's creatures in 2 was a bit weak.

I never found the need to grind all the stat raising buildings in 3 during the campaigns with the transferring heroes, precisely because they did continue on, and the plus side to the heroes transferring the battles had a more epic feeling in the later stages. There were also some campaigns that didn't transfer heroes.

2's a great game, no doubt, but 3 was a little bigger, better and more refined IMO.
 

Norfleet

Moderator
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
12,250
I wouldn't call it a PENALTY to movement for having slow troops, but everyone knows that an army moves at the speed of the slowest unit. A penalty implies that there is something that you forfeited for doing so. Your units move just as quickly as they always did on the field. It's just that if you want to arrive at the battle with the other units, you have to let them keep up. You could omit them from the army, but then you have to do without their support. Choices and consequences!
 

Abelian

Somebody's Alt
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
2,289
I still remember the first time I started HoMM2 and saw the glorious main menu screen and heard the awesome music. It was a game I instantly loved, more so because it was so similar to HoMM1 which I already liked. HoMM3, on the other hand, took awhile to grow on me, but I now find that it improved on its predecessor in nearly all areas.
 

Chef_Hathaway

King of the Juice
Patron
White Knight
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
1,066
Location
Dicksville
Divinity: Original Sin BattleTech
HoMM2 got dat music, artstyle, and sound design.

HoMM3 got dat gameplay.

In the end though, they're both good, play both.

I still remember the first time I started HoMM2 and saw the glorious main menu screen and heard the awesome music.

Oh, if I could only go back and hear it for the first time again. That soundtrack is ingrained in my spirit.
 

Zboj Lamignat

Arcane
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
5,522
HoMM 2 has two advantages over 3: the presentation (it's not like the graphics or the music in 3 are bad though, they're great in fact, just worse than 2) and economics. The latter is the only mechanical part that's better in 2, so it's mostly a nostalgia game now, not really something you'd play 2 in multi for and HoMM is definitelfy a multiplayer game for me so yeah: 3>2.
 

adddeed

Arcane
Possibly Retarded
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
1,473
HoMM2 is much better looking. HoMM3 went for the "realistic" look, and just came out goofy.
 

Chef_Hathaway

King of the Juice
Patron
White Knight
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
1,066
Location
Dicksville
Divinity: Original Sin BattleTech
The actual units looks muddy though, due to the 3D-to-2D rendering they used.

Towns do look better, and I think it is a toss-up between overworlds, as they both have their charms.
 

Raapys

Arcane
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
4,960
You wut guize. Don't see how anyone could find the towns in HoMM3 (much) better looking than HoMM2. A lot higher quality technically and more detailed, yeah. But not more cozy. Though good-looking, HoMM3 towns are somewhat bland/less distinct in comparison.

Necromancers for instance:
4.jpg
heroes-2-4.png


Dungeon:
dungeon.jpg
1320751057_1283882-warlock.gif


But of course, neither can compare with the impressive improvements brought to us by 3D graphics:
HeroesV_ElfTown.png


lul
 

Abelian

Somebody's Alt
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
2,289
HoMM2 is much better looking. HoMM3 went for the "realistic" look, and just came out goofy.
Well, towns (except conflux) look much better in HOMM3.
The Conflux was rushed because fans reacted poorly to the steampunk-inpired Heanvenly Forge faction. That's why they reused the four elementals, brought back the sprites and phoenixes from HoMM1/2, and added the psychic/magic elementals without appropriately balancing the faction.
H3-ForgeTown.jpg
 

Leonorai

Novice
Joined
Oct 6, 2014
Messages
35
Though good-looking, HoMM3 towns are somewhat bland/less distinct in comparison.
Mate, if you took a nice hard look at what you've posted, it's the HOMM2 towns that look a bit sparse. It all depends on what you grew up with, if you discovered HOMM3 first, the previous ones will look primitive and barren to you.

As far as art style, the second game's unique, although personally i find the building design a bit tacky. Depends on whether you value digitized 3d models over pure sprites, 3's graphics won't be surpassed by anything the french imbeciles try and create.

Soundtracks are a tossup, it goes either way since music is the most subjective thing there is.

Balance wise i can't say what annoys me more - conflux/necro in 3 or the warlock town in 2. The AI certainly feels a lot more cunning in the latter.

I still don't understand why Ubi won't hire some godly spriters to try and recreate the same magic as before instead of forcing 3D on a game that doesn't benefit from it.
 

bloodlover

Arcane
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
2,039
HoMM2 is much better looking. HoMM3 went for the "realistic" look, and just came out goofy.
Well, towns (except conflux) look much better in HOMM3.
The Conflux was rushed because fans reacted poorly to the steampunk-inpired Heanvenly Forge faction. That's why they reused the four elementals, brought back the sprites and phoenixes from HoMM1/2, and added the psychic/magic elementals without appropriately balancing the faction.
H3-ForgeTown.jpg

Holy shit is that screenshot for real? It looks really cool. Liking the insporation from Metropolis.
 

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