King's Bounty

Depending on your allegiance, you will initially start with a different set of creatures. The game consists of four maps, each with more mean creatures to control and meaner opponents to fight. Conquering one of the more difficult maps early will let you find and buy stronger creatures that will help you conquer prior maps easily.

You can see all the enemies on the map and can literally clear them all out. You will get a level up after each conquered castle, and after two level ups, you will get promoted by the king, which allows you to recruit cavalry units from the castle. Manage your money carefully, as your army needs to be paid regularly to not desert or turn against you.

As for tougher enemies, like the final one having hundreds of dragons and demons, they can also be defeated. When you're defeated, you respawn back at the king's castle and start with almost nothing but your money. The enemy in the other castle won't get back their creatures lost in battle either.