One small but important feature that made HQ great

[Blackthorn]

Same goes to a lesser degree to the shield and banner for your heraldry and slogan.

This feature was omitted on the North American character sheets. I guess I can understand why, but it would be a cool feature for those who are artistically inclined...and a possible source for some in-game humor .

[Goblin-King]

By the way, the Barbarian's name is Angor.
Dwarf is Grimbeard, Wizard Ravenslock and the elf is called Stormbow.

So there's that...

It's even true!
According to HeroQuest II - Legacy of Sorasil

[cornixt]

My heroes were usually named Elvis, Barbie, Wizbit, and Shorty. I think you can probably guess which was which.

[Patroclus]

Names are great (I also like titles too). The miniatures, the furniture, the game workshop theme, the simple rules, all these things are making HQ something special. But the #1 that makes HQ the best game ever is that it gives you the option to turn the wheel to every direction you like.
You can put more skills and you will have a more tactical game, you can put special events and NPCs and you will have an AD&D feeling. Put more than one path to complete the quest and you will experience the unique exploration aspect of HQ. Only your imagination and your miniatures are the limit.

Every time you are out of a door, you are anxious to see what’s inside. Is it a goblin, an ogre, the boss of this level, the treasure room, a friendly unicorn who can help you finish your quest? Is it a scene where two goblins are fighting each other giving a clue for how to find the special artifact? It’s all these and more. It’s all the inspiration every one of us have from movies, novels, and other games in a single and simple game system. Put some numbers (attack/defence/body) and a skill, and you will have a new monster.

For example, I bought Space Hulk (the 2014 version is out there for everyone interested). It’s a very good game. It’s the shoot em up of board games. You are watching your every step (it’s a movement of 4 squares) and if you turn your miniature left or right 90 degrees you are spending 1 movement. It’s a 99% tactical game and it has very simple rules, let’s say as HQ, but how expandable it is? You can put custom monsters, you can put skills, you can put more paths to clear the mission, but it will always be a tactical shoot em up.

You can’t put a special room with a fireplace that you can pick up the fire sticks that does +1 damage to the skeletons if you hit with them. You can’t put a treasure room with 500gold and a magic carpet that it can transfer you with a movement of 4D6. You can’t feel the exploration by opening closed doors to see what’s inside. In Space Hulk you know what to expect, it’s the massive horde of genestealers that you’ll have to shoot them without rest. Of course Space Hulk is an amazing game. The best of his kind. You have to think if it’s time to use the flame thrower, or some of the spells of your librarian. You have to make the right choices for how to advance from one room to another covering everyone as good as you can. But HQ is HQ and this can’t be changed.

[mitchiemasha]

Yes, for the naming... Unfortunately for me i get too attached to the importance of the name that i don't actually come up with one... How about that for conflicting personality.

[Jafazo]

I'll have to politely disagree (again).
It is only a minor feature that doesn't make much difference to the game at all. It's not an rpg after all.
I've always named my characters in any game, something like Player 1, or left it blank if it was possible. Or something innappropriately funny, like when I played Championship Manager, I would name myself Tasos Killer.

My opinion is that HQ became a legend for the following reasons (in order of importance): figures, furnitures, gameplay, atmosphere, simplicity.
Other reasons such as being innovative, different for its genre might be more important but I can't really tell 'cause I wasn't around in the boardgame scene at that time.

In conclusion, I believe that if the 4 heroes were named as standard Borgar, Gremir, Sorekis, and Phantos, it would have pretty much the same impact in the gaming community.

As soon as I read the title to this my response was 'Simplicity'. I was glad to see it in your list except I'd include it as the first and foremost reason.

I don't think naming your hero at all played a role in the games success. Maybe it played an iddy biddy role, but even when Hero Quest came out there were plenty of RPG's that let you name your Hero on gaming consoles, table top, you name it. I kinda raised a brow, but I definitely agree that it's a MUST. There was a comment back there about someones wife who doesn't bother to name her character and man, I sympathize. I've played with women who don't care to name their characters and I'm sorry, but if you don't care to name your character, to me, it's an indicator that you just don't 'get it' and it completely kills my mood to play. You can still have fun with the game of course, but I agree that the attachment you develop to your character just makes the experience better. As for someone mentioning that one of the feelings they like is a sense of superiority to newer players whose characters haven't quite developed to their level, I get it, and I do feel older players should hold some sense of greater accomplishment over newer players, but I personally don't leave new players stuck on at the lower end of the 'Power Scale', so to speak, so eventually they catch up to the older Heroes and everyone's on the same page.

"I've been here longer so I should have better stuff than you." is the wrong mindset in my opinion if the GM does a good enough job of reflecting older players progress in other ways the newer player has a harder time matching. For example, an overall better experience such as NPC's who receive the older player more readily, maybe a discount on wares courtesy of a certain NPC and other little perks like a special Signet Ring that lets the older players gain access to places others normally can't get to.