Game 4: Ultima (1981)

    

Ultima

United States

Independently developed; California Pacific Computing (publisher)

Released in 1981 for Apple II and Atari 800
Remade and re-released as Ultima I in 1986 for Apple II; 1987 for Commodore 64 and DOS; 1988 for PC-88, PC-98, and Sharp X1; 1989 for MSX; 1994 for Apple IIGS

Date Started: 16 February 2010

      

My little project encompasses...I don't know...probably more than 500 games. I haven't counted them yet; I don't want to discourage myself. But considering the sheer number of games on the list, I was surprised how quickly I found myself playing a game I had already played. I assumed I would have to slog through dozens of unfamiliar titles before I got to something I remembered. But here I am, starting one of the best CRPG series of all time, replaying Ultima for the first time in over 10 years.

The original Ultima came out in 1981. I'm playing the 1986 re-release for DOS, downloaded (along with a suspiciously contemporary manual) from some abandonware site. From what I understand, the gameplay is the same, but the graphics were notably improved.

The manual follows the usual practice of explaining the somewhat limited game world in vivid and florid prose. Of orcs, it says: "Tribal by nature, they are sub-human at best, just a slight cut above true bestiality. They abhor all things human and cultured and will lay waste to anything fashioned by human hands. 'Tis said that they relish the taste of human flesh." In the real game, of course, orcs are little icons against which you hit (A)ttack over and over until they are dead, with no other interaction or depth. This isn't to say the manual isn't fun. If you're of a mind, whenever an orc approaches you can make up a little conversation to have with it. (It will end with the orc sniffing and shouting, "manflesh!", naturally.)

This one page has more text than the entire on-screen game. I'm not complaining; just saying.

I'm surprised at how many oddities I didn't remember. The character creation process allows you to choose from among elf, hobbit, and dwarf races in addition to humans--anyone remember any of these races in later Ultimas? I don't often play nonhuman spellcasting classes in single-player CRPGs, so I thought I'd go against type on this one. Oddly, it later appears my wizard character can still use any weapons and armor. I'm not sure what the downsides are to being a wizard.

The top-down game perspective starts you off in the middle of a plain on the continent of Sosaria, knowing only that your ultimate goal is to defeat the scourge of Sosaria: Mondain, an evil wizard who has unleashed unnatural monsters on the land. A few steps away are Lord British's castle and, right next to it...the City of Britain?! Really?! Was this something changed in the remake to make it more like Ultima IV-VII, or were these two locations always side-by-side? In any event, it's time to role play. You're a new adventurer seeking to rid Sosaria of an evil tyrant. First thing to do is to have a chat with the young benevolent sovereign that the manual has gone on about: Lord British. I wandered into his castle hoping to gain some insight into my quest, but I was immediately and tersely told by His Highness to go find the Grave of the Lost Soul and not return until I had. I guess a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lord British's castle and the City of Britain. Alas, no one's telling me anything about mantras and runes yet.

The interaction is pretty basic keyboard-only stuff. I failed to remember that you cannot talk to any characters except the king and some merchants. But even here there are fun little touches. Iolo the Bard, your stalwart companion from Ultima IV onward, shows up in every town singing "ho eyoh he hum" (it's an anagram; get it?) in the background. Here's the city of Paws, which I remember located south of Lord British's castle in Ultima IV, and here's Yew, the future home of the druids. And why does the City of Fawn sound a forgotten echo in my brain? Do we encounter that again in Ultima VII? (Edit: we do! And Montor, too! Now I know where those cities come from. I just got a little tingle.) (But I have to force myself not to mess around on that Ultima wiki; too many spoilers.) The shops, although they all sell essentially the same things at the same prices, distinguish themselves with colorful names: Li'L Karelia's Finnish Grocery, Cold Steel Creations, Fastest Freshest Food Market, Mystic Melinda's.

In the castle of the Lost King.

Almost immediately you begin starving. Why are all these early CRPGs so obssessed with food? Every two steps consumes a meal, so at the beginning, almost all the gold you have goes into food. Only when you have more than 1000 meals on hand do you start to feel comfortable buying better weapons, armor, and (in my case) spells. Fortunately, if you buy some method of transport like a horse, it cuts down on your food use.

I don't want to spoil how this battle turned out, but...

Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!

Hit points are awarded the same way they were in Akalabeth: you descend into a dungeon, slay some monsters, and return to the surface. It seems a silly way to do it, but keep in mind that there are no experience points or levels in these early CRPGs. Hit points are your only measure of advancement. Since in later CRPGs, hit points are dependent upon your level, which is dependent upon your experience, which is dependent upon slaying monsters, this method actually makes sense--it just cuts out the middle man. You can also get hit points by bribing Lord British for them. In just the last post, I was lamenting how most games don't give you much to do with all the money you make. Already I find one that proves me wrong. Also, as a mage, I need to keep buying spells if I want to use them. You can never have too many "kill" spells!

Like Akalabeth, dungeons are first-person. Like the towns and shops, they have creative and forboding names: the Dungeon of Perinia, the Mines of Mt. Drash, the Unholy Hole. Monsters are more randomized than in Akalabeth, and there are fun add-ins like coffins, chests (which are usually trapped), and magic barriers. Monsters regenerate on levels so you're never truly safe--you never know when one is going to sneak up behind you and start walloping you. Stray too far in a dungeon and you won't be able to get out in time (although the mage spell "ladder up" seems to help a lot).

Rats again. Every game has rats.

I explored a bit, made a few forays into dungeons, died a couple of times and was resurrected with only 99 hit points and food, and got an additional quest from someone called "The Lost King" (does he ever show up again in a later Ultima?) to kill a gelatinous cube. In both castles I've visted, a mysterious princess is being held captive in a guarded prison, and I remember vaguely that I have to do something with her later, but I forget what. In any event, it's clear that the Grave of the Lost Soul isn't on this island, so I have a plan: screw around in the dungeons until I have at least 1000 hit points and 2000 gold; spend the latter on food and a frigate, and set out to explore the rest of this world. Already I'm having more fun than in Akalabeth, Rogue, and Temple of Apshai combined.

*****

Further reading: The story continues with Ultima II (1982), Ultima III (1983), Ultima IV (1985), Ultima V (1988), Ultima VI (1990), Ultima VII, Ultima Underworld, and somewhere in there we have the dreadful Ultima: Escape from Mount Drash (1983). For a British copy of the original Ultima, see The Ring of Darkness (1982).