If I want to give the Might and Magic series a try, which game should I start with?

[Morty]

If Might & Magic IX had come out as its own game rather than a part of the series, no one would be talking about it now. It would have just been an ugly, empty game with a pretty dumb story and imbalanced mechanics.

As far as other games in the series are concerned, I agree that Might & Magic VII is probably a good start, but I found the combat really awkward. The real-time/pseudo-turn-based model accomplishes neither and is mostly just a lot of strafing, firing arrows and casting spells. Then swinging melee weapons when you can't do that. And it's old school, for better or worse... well, for me it's usually for the worse, because I can't stand most "old school" trappings. Like the general sense user-unfriendliness and having to plan out your whole party carefully if you don't want to be struggling.

Might & Magic X is an interesting enough return to the old style in the Ashan setting (which is unfortunately as interesting as plain oatmeal). That said, it has some distinct old-school elements that put me off as well. Like being stopped cold by an enemy using paralysis and realizing the character I assigned to fire magic (needed to remove it) won't be able to cast it for a while.