Do yourself a favour and forget everything you know about the Might and Magic series and jump into Clash of Heroes with a clean slate. This hybrid puzzle adventure meets RPG game is so unique and so unlike any other game in the mythic Might and Magic series that you'll wonder if Ubisoft accidentally put the wrong title on the box. While it might seem strange that a traditionally PC-based, hardcore role-playing series would suddenly metamorph into a manga-inspired handheld DS title, it works, and long-time series fans will not be disappointed.
For all intensive purposes Clash of Heroes should be considered an original IP as it completely disregards traditional elements of the Might and Magic series such as grid-based map battles, city conquest and strengthening, and deep character ability customization. In its place we have a charactive-driven adventure that blends puzzle elements similar to what is found in Puzzle Quest with SNES-esque JRPG visuals and personality à la Final Fantasy or Breath of Fire. While a clear deviation from what we've come to expect from the franchise, Clash of Heroes paints a fresh coat on a languishing series that I had all but lost interest in. In fact, Clash of Heroes feels like a full reboot of the series with its teeming gameplay innovations and fresh, revamped visuals.
At its heart, Clash of Heroes feels like puzzle game clearly influenced by Capybara's successful Critter Crunch iPhone and PSN game, mixed with strategy-RPG elements such as landscape exploration, strategic unit placement, army recruitment and optional side quests. At the beginning of each combat sequence, opposing armies are positioned such that they face each other, looking across the gap between the two DS screens. Each side has a hero with a specific skill level, HP stat, and an individualized spell based on the hero's class. Players take turn moving their units around the battlefield -- you're given three moves in total per round -- with the goal of strategically creating offensive and defensive formations to thwart your enemy. Three units of the same type and colour stacked vertically will engage their offensive attack, which must charge for a specified number of turns based on the unit type. A horizontal-formation converts the unit into defensive walls that automatically shift to the front line and hinder forthcoming enemy attacks.
The ingeniously simple combat rules breed a surprisingly rich diversity of strategic options in actual gameplay situations that caters to many different play styles. Since players are given a strict limit on the number of moves per turn, and unlimited time to plan your tactics, the battle sequences encourage strategic, long-term thinking and reward players who can stay ahead of their enemy's game. Once you've mastered the basics of combat and defense, a whole slew of advanced battle tactics can be employed to outwit your opponent and survive the more challenging boss battles. First, a Combo system exists that enables a player to create a wall and a charged attack formation in a single move by placing a unit such that it creates a horizontal combination and a vertical stack. By deleting a unit in the front lines, units automatically move up and have the potential to create a Chain, which adds to your movement points, should the resulting army configuration form a vertical or horizontal combination. Finally, you can add lethal potency to your charged attacks through Linking, which occurs when two or more attack formations of the same colour are launched on the same turn, or through Fusing, which happens when you create a second vertical stack behind units already charging their attack power.
Clash of Heroes Campaign mode main quest lets players take control of five young, titular heroes whose lives has been turned upside down when a rare, blood moon eclipse weakens the walls of a mysterious Demon Lord's prison, plunging the world of Ashan into war. Each hero represents one of the game's five alignments -- Sylvan (elf), Haven (human), Inferno (demon), Academy (mage), and Necropolis (undead), and each have their own characteristics such as a unique Wall ability and battle Spell. Aside from the campaign, the game also features a single-player Quick Battle mode and a local wireless multiplayer battle mode. In both modes, you start with your hero at their maximum skill level of 10 and your units maxed out at level 5. It's a little unfortunate that no online mode was included, but the additional modes present are enjoyable in their own right, and hopefully with a little persuasion you can convince your DS-owning friends to also pick up the game. All told, the robust campaign mode takes well over 30 hours hours to complete the main quest, side quests and puzzle challenges. On a personal note, I've put in 35+ hours and still have a number of tricky puzzle challenges yet to solve and plenty of mileage left in the multiplayer mode.
While the overall game is practically flawless in its presentation and execution, there is one glaring quirk that must be mentioned. For whatever reason, the difficulty of bounty hunter and boss battles fluctuates considerably depending on multiple factors such as the strength of your enemy, the hero you control, and which starting units that are selected for you. With no included bestiary or any way to assess the strength of your enemy prior to the commencement of battle, from time-to-time you'll find yourself encountering leaders commanding a much more powerful army than your own, further complicated by the fact that the leader ranks several levels above your hero. Also, each hero is not made equal with Godric in particular, who specializes in purely defensive abilities and magic, feeling much weaker in comparison to the sheer might of Fiona's undead army and offensive capabilities. Finally, battles have an element of luck associated with them since you cannot select your initial battle formation, nor can you pick which units to call out for reinforcements. This randomization of unit type and configuration can limit the number of combos and chains accessible to your hero and can be a real pain when your opponent lucked out with a better set-up. Unbalanced combat situations such as these can be frustrating and often the best course of action is to simply reset your DS and load up your previous save.
Minor gripes aside, Clash of Heroes is without a doubt one of the most exciting sleeper hits of 2009. This adorable, turn-based strategy RPG has revitalized my interest in the Might and Magic series in one fell swoop. Its simple combat system begets a deep and rewarding experience that simply must be enjoyed by strategy fans old and new. If you pine for the days of epic SNES adventures, you'll find that Clash of Heroes pays the perfect hommage to these memorable experiences of yore. This game deserves to be placed in the upper echelon of the DS library and simply begs for future iterations to extend the adventure of this adorable Might and Magic spin-off.
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