October 12th, 2009 by Benj Edwards
The Avatar: crushing gargoyles like roaches since 1985.
[ From Video Games and Computer Entertainment, January 1991 ]
Discussion Topic of the Week: I’ve already asked you what your favorite Ultima game was. What’s your least favorite game in the Ultima series? Which one do you think is the worst?
Tags: 1991, advertisement, Origin, PC games, Retro Scan, Ultima, Ultima VI, VGCE
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The Avatar: crushing gargoyles like roaches since 1985.
October 12th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I have not played the entire series, so I may not be a very good judge, but my least favorite out of the entries that I played would have been Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny. I just couldn’t get into it. I did, however, like the entry pictured above.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
XIII was the worst for me. It was sooo slow and buggie that I swore off the series.
By the way Quest for the Avatar was the best game of all time for me.
… Until Diablo I and II
October 12th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
My worst Ultima experience is the Ultima VIII. It’s too arcade and too different with the rest of the series. The only thing that ties it are the Avatar and The Guardian. I’d rather play Akalebeth than VIII…
October 13th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Ultima IV was the last one I beat. I liked V, but by then I was in high school, and didn’t have the time to sink into really playing it. Of all the ones I played, I think I liked III the best, It felt more open than the games that followed.
October 13th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Ultima VII was the last true Ultima for me. VIII was an abomination.
It didn’t even feel like a beta for Ultima: plot holes, bad game play, poor art, lousy control, small map, lack of a party, and a hack’n slash combat system. I played it for maybe six hours and returned it (back in the day when you could return software) for store credit.
I was shocked to learn Richard Garriott actually developed and released it.
October 13th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Ultima 3 – 5 were my favorites but I liked U6. I just never got into it like I did those others (at least not yet!). As a shameless (but related) plug – I got hooked on this a while back: http://www.u5lazarus.com/ If you haven’t seen it and and liked Ultima 5 it just might scratch an itch as it is very well done.
That lazarus mod actually gave me a reason to buy “Dungeon Siege” 🙂
October 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
While Ultima V will always be my favorite, in part because it was my first Ultima game, and also because it was one of the last RPGs I played that didn’t have a leading point-and-click conversation interface, I have been toying around with playing Ultima VI because of this:
http://www.u6project.com/
The link above to the Lazarus Project reminded me.
As far as the worst Ultima games, I would have to say the title goes to IX. Pagan took a LONG time for me to even mildly warm up to, because it deviated so much from the gameplay of previous Ultima titles. However, once Ascension was released, and I researched how rushed this project was, and how haphazardly it was put together, I found myself going back to III-VII over and over again. And yes, even banishing myself to the world of Pagan didn’t seem all that bad after blowing money ono the deluxe edition of Ultima IX.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Ultima IV is my favourite. Something really special about being responsible for your own moral character in game. Simple looking but incredibly deep for such an early title. I think the Master System version was my favourite.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Ultima VIII was my biggest disappointment. When my brother went to the mall in 1994, I asked him to pick up Ultima VII (7) for me. I was a big fan of Ultima VI and wanted some more Ultima action.
He called from a pay phone (before ubiquitous cell phones, remember that?) and asked me if I wanted Ultima VIII (8) instead, which I didn’t even know about. I said, “Sure,” and I’ve regretted it ever since.
Ultima IX was pretty bad too — a big mess. Of course, Ultima I and II aren’t that great either.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Ultima 6 and 7 are my favorites. as for 8, the graphics were cool u can eat shrooms and the screen would turn colors, but other than that it sucked. Ultima 9 was sweet in alot of ways and sucked too, ultima 9 didnt offer the ability to explore the land freely and should have had more side quests also. u can play Ultima 6 using the Dungeon Siege game http://www.u6project.com
October 17th, 2009 at 4:03 am
It’s a toss-up… I really despised the SNES port of Ultima 7 (never played the PC version), and I was kind of disappointed in Ultima Online, even though it holds a special place in my heart due to the fact that it’s my first true MMORPG…
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I agree.. 6 and 7 were the last true ultimas.. 7 was a bit more advanced but i’ll always have a soft spot for 6. I loved pushing the cannon out of Lord British’s castle and schlepping it up north to blast gargoyles with.