Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World

Cancelled US SNES release

There were plans to release the Super Nintendo version in the US, but it never came to fruition. However, the SNES version was released in other regions.

Hirelings

Hireling ages are calculated in an interesting way. If a hireling is at level one, then they will be 18, but if their level is higher, then one is subtracted from their level number and then added to 18.

References

• The two Wizards the sorceror class has to free in order to complete the plus quest are Yekop and Ybmug--or Pokey and Gumby spelled backwards.
• HK Phooey, a ninja hireling in the game, is named after a cartoon series about a dog who works as a janitor in a police station. The dog moonlights as a ninja by the name of "Hong Kong Phooey".
• Thund R--a barbarian hireling--gets his name from a cartoon called Thundarr the Barbarian.
• There are some woodsmen who challenge you to a tree felling contest. The song they are singing is, "Oh, I'm a lumberjack...". this is in reference to the Monty Python song.
• In Tundara, the portal in the Inn is manned by a guy named Jean-Luc. Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will know him as the captain of the Enterprise from that series. He also offers to "energize" you to your destination, and ends with the captain's line from the series---"Make it so".
• In the Druid's cavern is a location that has cans of spinach. If you eat it, you gain strength. The game also provides a line "You're strong to the finish 'cause you ate your spinach!" that comes from the old AARP cartoon series Popeye the Sailor Man. For those who don't know, Popeye gained strength to defeat his adversaries by eating spinach from a can that he always seemed to either find or have on him.
• In the slums of Sansobar, there is a message on a wall that, when read straight across, begins "Beware of eyes!" It seems to be surrounded by random letters. However, if you read these letters from the top down, you get the following messages: "Hi, Mom" "Spork" "XOXO" and "Slum rat Rule".
• Another hireling is named Jed I. This is, of course, taken from Star Wars' Jedi Knights.
• There is a sorceress by the name of Aeriel who is with Thund R. when you first meet them in Vulcania. As with Thund R., Ariel is the name of a character from Thundarr the Barbarian who was also a sorceress. It's also interesting to note that both these hirelings are human and good, which corresponds to their alter egos in the cartoon series.
• Nakazawa, a ninja hireling, is named after Nakazawa Minoru, president of StarCraft Inc. StarCraft ported MM1 to MM5 (DOS) and King's Bounty to Japanese-made PCs (PC88, PC98, X1, FM-7, MSX2) and published them in Japan.

SNES version

All alcoholic beverages were renamed to non-alcoholic ones (but still give alcohol poisoning), some other places and food were renamed as well and the enemy sprites of the thief (blood on dagger removed) and ghoul (the severed arm used as weapon replaced with a club) were changed.

Awards

• Computer Gaming World
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #12 Least Rewarding Ending of All Time