I've been eying the Ultima and Might & Magic series games lately. Specifically, I'm talking about UW 1+2, U 1-7 and M&M 1-8.

Since these games get bundled in different ways, which game do you suggest I check out first as a teaser? If I like them, I'd consider purchasing the rest soon thereafter.

Are M&M 6-pack and Ultima 7 safe bets?

I can't speak for the rest of the series, but Ultima Underworld 1+2 is a great buy.

Here, have some hg101 articles detailing those two series:

http://hardcoregaming101.net/ultima/ultima.htm
http://hardcoregaming101.net/mightandmagic/mightandmagic.htm

Ultima 4 (which is free and is the only one I've played so far) is pretty dated particularly if you don't use fanmade stuff like XU4, the problem's probably just magnified with the titles before that.

Ultima 7 -> Ultima Underworld 1+2 might be the best option in this case, particularly since 7 is the start of a new storyline anyway and UU2 is a spinoff of 7.

Kinda sorta the same thing with Might and Magic. The first two games have aged kind of poorly, and I think 4+5 is considered the peak in the series.

IMO the UW have aged worse than than MM2. In general 3D game don't age very well. I wish there was a graphics improvement for the UW games, like System Shock has.

I recently replayed MM2 and it was a blast. Prior to Diablo it was perhaps the game with the largest amount of different items, since you could find items with pluses up to 64 (or 99?). Unlike many other games you are not equipped with the very best items when you are half way through the game, and every new encounter means possible new equipment.

MM1 is also good, but it doesn't have an automap.

All in all the whole Might&Magic franchise have aged well, with few downright bad games.

I was surprised by how well the earlier Might & Magic games have aged. Might & Magic 3-5 (4-5 combines into a huge game) are great.

As for Ultima, I actually think that Ultima Underworld has aged relatively well. The controls feel a bit clunky these days, but the games themselves are still solid, Ultima Underworld 2 in particular. If you want to play them in chronological order, remember that Ultima Underworld takes place between Ultima 7 part 1 & 2.

As for the other Ultimas, you can almost consider the series to start at 4, in my opinion. 4-5 are both really good, 6 was a game that I never liked due to its interface, and 7 (part 1-2) is incredibly good. Note that Ultima games change a lot between each iteration. 4-5 are similar, but 6, 7, 8 & 9 are all vastly different from each other.

If you want to make sure that you get the best possible start to each series, without spoiling too much, I would recommend starting with Ultima 7, and Might & Magic 4-5 (world of xeen). Both series have their strengths & weaknesses, and while the setting is amazing in Ultima 7, its gameplay is not (it can also be a bit confusing at times, remember to speak to the fellowship in Britain once you get there, or you can't progress with the story), Might & Magic 4-5 had better gameplay but the world did not feel as alive.

Get the Might&Magic 6-Pack. Start with MM3 or MM4+5 WoX or MM6.

imho, Might and Magic 7 is the best of the series, followed closely by Might and Magic 6. 8 is also nice, but it's nothing special.

Okay I think I've settled down on some safe bets.

M&M 6-pack
Ultima 7 Complete
Ultima Underworld 1+2

And now for my greedy additions:

HoMM 2+3

:)

M&M 1-8 :D

I wish I could decide on the Ultima Underworld games. I adore freeroam RPG's, but I tried playing Daggerfall and couldn't get the hang of clicking different parts of the screen to move as well as attack...so awkward.

FWIW, Ultima Underworld isn't as twitchy as Daggerfall. There's a demo if you're willing to setup dosbox.

http://www.owo.com/archive/ftp/programs/games/uw_demo.exe

Hmm, thank you! I might give it a shot, $3 isn't much after all :D

I have not play Ultima before, but it seems to be very different from M&M series......
For M&M series, M&M 6-pack is definately the one to go. M&M4+5 is consider the high point of M&M series. M&M 6 is a great intro to M&M6~8 as they are quit similar, (it is even the best among them imo).......And they both offer quite an open world.......

And for Ultima, maybe you can first try the free Ultima 4 GOG provided......

I've always felt Ultima III was a classic.

When did you start RPGing? I would go with stuff from around that time, that seems to yield the best results.

For example everyone will tell you all day long to start with Might and Magic 4+5: World of Xeen, but if you're not used to games that old you likely won't get very far into it without some real drive. MM9 is actually pretty good with some fan patches (which I believe are included in the GOG release?) and much more modern, if that is more your era.