Other RPGs with full party creation:
* Ultima 3 (but not the rest of the series; Ultima 3 also has the best class system in the series, but that's not saying much)
* Avernum series, also Queen's Wish series
* Realms of Antiquity (this game actually gives you a choice; you can create just a Hero and recruit companions, or you can create a party of 4 (but no Hero))

Also Dragon Wars and Wasteland 1

Not quite. You get to create everyone *except* for the main character.

Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark (an SRPG) has some pre-made characters (including the protagonist, who must be used in most story battles), but you can recruit (almost) as many generic characters as you want, and you can change the classes of story characters. (Also, if you have the DLC, you can recruit monsters and customize them.)

Crystal Project (platformer/RPG hybrid structured like a 3D fixed-camera metroidvania) has full party creation.

Skills go up to 125, and 100 is nowhere near enough to cast powerful spells at useful strength with reliable success.

The "trouble" I had was the unbearable slog of combat without reliable magic appropriate to the enemy's level. I fully crawled the game fighting everything along the way, so if that made me "underleveled" then that's just another huge mark against the game.

Questionable takes aside, I don't wish to derail this topic any further.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I had played and enjoyed all the gold box games (except POD, that one pissed me off) and Ultima 3. Played the eye of the beholder series so decided to give grimrock a go. Anyone have any experiences with arkania?

100 in all magic skills is definitely enough to reliably cast all spells at PL6 100% of the time, as well as most at PL7 (exceptions include Quicksand and many of the 7th level spells, which will still work most of the time). If your skills are that high (realm skill is more important for this), and the spell fizzles or backfires, then it's your caster level, not your skill, that you need to increase.

125 requires special bonuses (from being the class's primary skill or from equipment) to reach (and is actually impossible for realm skills), and is not needed (though it does provide some benefit).

There is a point in the game, generally in the mid to upper teens, where the game just stops giving you good attack spells, and so offensive magic can fall a bit behind. Once you get into the twenties, you can cast 7th level magic at decent power levels reliably, and that gives you such a huge boost that offensive magic becomes really good in the endgame, provided you have Power Cast, and particularly if you have multiple casters.

There's one playstyle, known as the MDP (Magic Damage Party), that involves having multiple characters, possibly as many as 6, casting offensive spells constantly. There are some cases, mainly overleveled bosses, where you'll need physical attacks, but otherwise, even large hoards of enemies die quickly with an MDP played properly.

Not much, but it's basically like Might and Magic mixed with X-COM style tactical combat. Haven't played enough to form a strong opinion on it.



OK, fine. I'll try one more time. Follow along if you will.

1. I finished the game having explored everywhere and fought 99% of encounters along the way since they were rarely avoidable.

2. My casters could not cast endgame magic worth a damn despite practicing the entire game. Power Cast doesn't mean anything if the spell refuses to cast to begin with.

3. I was using an imported party, so my casters were of hybrid casting classes, because the previous Wizardry titles encourage multiclassing in this fashion. Only Wizardry 8 decides to retroactively punish you for doing this, without warning. If you're high enough level to learn a spell, you shouldn't be utterly useless at casting that same spell, otherwise what's the point?

4. None of this changes the fact that the game's combat is slower than molasses. There's a good reason why fans created multiple mods to increase the speed of combat animations. The game is a notorious slog even among its strongest proponents.

Hello dabugler!

Which of the "Might & Magic" games were your favorite(s)?

If you are looking for other RPG's similar to the menu- and turn-based "M&M 1 or 2", then the "Wizardry" series (epecially up to 7 or 8) and more modern Japanese 'clones' or 'iterations' such as "Labyrinth of Lost Souls", "Elminage Gothic" and "Stranger of Sword City Revisited", "The Dark Heart of Ukrul", or even "The Bard's Tale Trilogy" (both original and remake) would fit, well.
'dtgreene' already commented in detail on those!

If you liked the faster paced "M&M 3 (Isles of Terra), 4 & 5 (World of Xeen)", then the two "Legend of Amberland: Forgotten Crown & Song of Trees" are getting the closest.
They are both indiegames heavily inspired by "M&M3" and basically play very similar. My only experience is with the demo of the first one. The gameplay is almost there, my main gripe would be with the lack of world-building details. For instance, there are no fancy city or NPC background images, just plain uninspired text boxes. The whole game world appeared kind of generic to me and did not had any of the excentric quirkyness which "M&M 3 to 5" were known for.
According to reviews, the second Amberland improves on towns as city maps to visit and explore...

In case the later 3D "M&M" titles (namely 6, 7, 8 or even 9) contain your favorite(s), then games like "Wizardry 8", "Bradley's Wizard's & Warriors", "Paper Sorcerer", "Operencia: The Stolen Sun", "Star Crawlers", or the "Realms of Arkania" (in particular the original part 2 and 3, and the remakes of part 1 & 2) series might be of interest.
Be aware though, that these are purely turn-based (in combat).
And in the first two "Realms of Arkania" titles only city exploration and dungeon crawling is done in first person perspective! Overland travel is realised by a simulated traversal on a traditional (literal) map screen from one point of interest to another - the mechanics are of course much more intrigue than just selecting a destination. Oh and combat in the Arkania saga loads a separate 'isometric' topdown battlemap with turn-based movement akin to the "Forgotten Realms / Goldbox" series!

If realtime movement and combat (with cooldowns & 'dancing around opponents) is your thing, then there is a pletora of "Dungeon Master" 'clones' and 'alikes', such as "Lands of Lore" (especially part 1 Throne of Chaos"), two "Legend of Grimrock" games, "Bloodwych" and newer indiegames trying to imitate their formula.

(I focussed on games using primarily the first person perspective and which are available here on GOG.COM.)

Kind regards,
foxgog