Crusaders of Might and Magic
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Headquarters | Redwood Shores, California , United States |
| Products | Crusaders of Might and Magic |
Crusaders of Might and Magic is an action role-playing game released in 1999, presented from a third-person perspective. It was developed and published by The 3DO Company, with production handled by their Austin, Texas studio for the PlayStation version and Redwood Shores studio for the PC edition. The game was made available on both Microsoft Windows and PlayStation platforms.
Development
The development team intended to launch the Windows edition alongside the PlayStation release during the 1999 holiday season. While the PlayStation version's development spanned several years, the PC team had only seven months to deliver a complete title. They achieved this by modifying an existing first-person shooter engine to support third-person gameplay and creating all necessary game assets within this limited timeframe. The PC version was successfully released in time for Christmas 1999, followed by the PlayStation version in February 2000. Both versions were met with mixed critical reception.
Plot
Set within the fictional Might and Magic universe on the planet Ardon, the story opens with the Legion of the Fallen—a necromancer-led undead army under Necros—destroying a village in the Fairfield Lowlands. Drake, a young survivor and sole escapee, flees into the forests of Duskwood, driven by a desire for vengeance.
After surviving an ogre assault, Drake is rescued and trained by Nomandi, a blind hermit. In the PlayStation edition, players begin in Stronghold, where Drake escapes captivity aided by Celestia, Lady Archon of Citadel, before joining her crusaders.
Drake forms an alliance with Prince Dain Stonefist in Corantha to suppress the Ironpick uprising, uncovering that Dain’s brother Tor is secretly allied with the Legion. With assistance from Tamris and her insectoid Dashers, Drake retrieves the Coranthan Scepter of Regency from ogres. Upon returning to Corantha, he battles awakened Earth Elementals and defeats King Aiden’s necromantic revenant, securing Prince Dain’s trust.
Following this, Drake is assigned to recover the Star of Erathia talisman from icy northern glaciers. He then sabotages Necros’ supply routes within grub-infested tunnels beneath Duskwood. Subsequently, Drake returns to Stronghold to aid Celestia’s crusaders and dwarven forces during the decisive siege against the Legion.
At Stronghold, Drake discovers Celestia fleeing and Captain Ursan missing but manages to breach Legion defenses to confront Necros directly. The Necromancer escapes through a portal; Drake pursues him onto a floating battleship moored at a ruined Citadel. There, he finds an elevator transporting him to an otherworldly location where Necros stands before the Kreegan Gate—an interdimensional gateway.
Necros reveals that Celestia also sought Kreegan power and challenges Drake to combat. Instead of engaging Necros head-on, Drake destroys the Gate by targeting its power pillars using Exploding Gems. As a result, Necros is drawn through the portal while vowing vengeance. Returning triumphant to Citadel with Celestia in hiding, Drake assumes the role of Lord Archon and leader of the crusaders.
The Windows edition presents several key differences: before reaching Citadel, Drake travels through Cador-Sûl village; Prince Dain requires rescue prior to contact; Tor does not appear; two exclusive dungeons—the Catacombs and a crashed Starship—are featured; Ursan plays a more prominent role; Celestia remains present during the final battle aboard Necros’ battleship without any reference to the Kreegan Gate.
Gameplay
In both the Windows and PlayStation editions, Drake begins without any weapons but soon obtains a melee weapon along with a shield. The gameplay merges combat elements with an inventory system that provides access to a variety of gear. The Windows version incorporates a straightforward experience mechanic where defeating enemies leads to leveling up, whereas the PlayStation counterpart expands upon this by enabling players to enhance skills related to specific weapons, spells, and projectiles.
Experience points are earned by overcoming adversaries, which replenishes Drake’s health entirely and boosts his maximum health, mana, and attack capabilities upon leveling. The game offers three difficulty settings that influence Drake’s ability to dodge attacks and deliver strikes.
Players can discover spell books that allow them to cast or upgrade magical abilities. These spells consume mana and require a casting duration during which Drake is exposed to danger. Both versions feature common environments such as the Citadel—portrayed as a medieval fortress in Windows and as shell-like structures on PlayStation—Duskwood, inhabited by the Dashers; Corantha, the subterranean domain of the Dwarves; Stronghold, the strongpoint of the Legion of the Fallen; and the glaciers in southern Ardon, home to hostile creatures.
The PlayStation release introduces a system for "empowering" weapons and armor through talismans and runes based on elemental, essence, and aether attributes aligned with Fire, Earth, Water, Air; Spirit, Mind, Body; and Light and Dark categories. Characters are associated with these nine attributes, offering tactical benefits against enemies. Additionally, this version includes a New Game Plus option that unlocks a "Special" difficulty mode where all weapons, spells, talismans, runes, and unlimited items are accessible from the beginning.
Reception
Although heavily promoted as a true 3D experience featuring innovative concepts, the game garnered mixed reactions across both platforms according to GameRankings. Daniel Erickson from Next Generation described the PC edition as an unsuccessful experiment.
Jake the Snake of GamePro mentioned that enthusiasts of RPGs, third-person action titles, and puzzles might appreciate the PlayStation version but found its tempo sluggish for casual gamers. In contrast, The Freshman drew unfavorable comparisons to well-established PlayStation franchises such as Eidos' Soul Reaver and the Tomb Raider series, suggesting that dedicated Might & Magic fans would prefer the PC edition due to the PlayStation port's diminished impact.
Critics’ scores varied widely overall, reflecting divergent views on aspects including graphics quality, control responsiveness, audio design, and overall enjoyment of gameplay.