Current Events > Ultima may be the most forgotten important video game series in history

(+) Yeah! (+)

Turbam posted...

Lots of series are like that
Everyone sites Resident Evil 1 as the granddaddy of the survival horror franchise. Very few bring up Alone in the Dark, and even less bring up Sweet Home

Alone in the Dark was the first 3D survival horror, but Haunted House (Atari 2600) is definitely the granddaddy of survival horror. Trapped in a haunted mansion and must avoid spiders, ghosts, and bats while collecting a magic item to escape.

wanderingshade posted...

Ultima Underworld and Catcomb 3-D were there at the beginning of time.

Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness released 10 years before the two you mentioned. It was the first Ultima game, and It was the first videogame I ever played, (on my Apple IIGS).

ItsNotA2Mer posted...

Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness released 10 years before the two you mentioned. It was the first Ultima game, and It was the first videogame I ever played, (on my Apple IIGS).

Yeah, but the games I mentioned have more to do with 3D games in general than just RPGs.

YellowSUV posted...

So apparently Richard Garriott (The creator of Ultima) managed to to hold on to the rights of the Lord British character even after he sold the series to EA. That doesn't seem like that big of a problem if a new Ultima game is made (I know Lord British is a huge part of the games, but they can be done with him).

That said, it makes me wonder if Garriott also owns any other aspects of the series which would make a new Ultima game unlikely unless Garriott and EA are able to hash out an agreement. (Of course, the most likely reason for Ultima being a dead series is EA being inept at managing their IPs).

I said before I believe they feel another series(ES) fill the same niche and it's very sucessful. They feel they can't compete just on name alone

YellowSUV posted...

So apparently Richard Garriott (The creator of Ultima) managed to to hold on to the rights of the Lord British character even after he sold the series to EA. That doesn't seem like that big of a problem if a new Ultima game is made (I know Lord British is a huge part of the games, but they can be done with him).

That said, it makes me wonder if Garriott also owns any other aspects of the series which would make a new Ultima game unlikely unless Garriott and EA are able to hash out an agreement. (Of course, the most likely reason for Ultima being a dead series is EA being inept at managing their IPs).

He made one btw.

You may not have heard of it because it was such complete shit that it casts doubt on how much EA played a role in destroying the series.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/326160/Shroud_of_the_Avatar_Forsaken_Virtues/

Tyranthraxus posted...

He made one btw.

You may not have heard of it because it was such complete shit that it casts doubt on how much EA played a role in destroying the series.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/326160/Shroud_of_the_Avatar_Forsaken_Virtues/

From my understanding both Garriott and EA are responsible. Garriott admitted that EA didn't force them to rush 8 out with all the horrible bugs in it. EA was in part responsible for messing up 9 because they took developers off it to work on the highly successful Ultima Online which put 9 in development hell.

That said, I'm don't think Garriott has it in him anymore to direct a good game. Ever since he literally went into space, all his attempts at video games seem to have been half assed. I think he abandoned Shroud of the Avatar pretty quickly and tried to save face by saying the game was now in the hands of the fans. Apparently his last idea for a game involved fucking NFTs and it quickly became vaporware.

YellowSUV posted...

From my understanding both Garriott and EA are responsible. Garriott admitted that EA didn't force them to rush 8 out with all the horrible bugs in it. EA was in part responsible for messing up 9 because they took developers off it to work on the highly successful Ultima Online which put 9 in development hell.

That said, I'm don't think Garriott has it in him anymore to direct a good game. Ever since he literally went into space, all his attempts at video games seem to have been half assed. I think he abandoned Shroud of the Avatar pretty quickly and tried to save face by saying the game was now in the hands of the fans. Apparently his last idea for a game involved fucking NFTs and it quickly became vaporware.

Yeah, I've vaguely kept up with the stuff he's worked on, and it really comes off as Garriott just being left in the dust creatively. Lightning struck twice with Ultima and Ultima Online as far as being influential, and he hasn't been able to recapture that or remain relevant.

Foppe posted...

The original series got a Ghost n Goblins spinoff.
https://youtu.be/QrpcDNuxuJY?si=zukIaG9HiX2NlnPt

Why have I never heard of this? D:

Ultima Online still has like 25 shards I don't think it's forgotten

action52 posted...

I focused on the main series rather than side projects like that and Ultima Underworld, but they are all very good and worth playing. Especially Ultima Underworld 2. That game is absolutely fantastic.

Thats fair, and I wasnt trying to detract from your awesome post, merely add a supplementary recommendation.

McFarlane Toys made Ultima toys back in the day, and I think they said they were gonna make some newer ones sometime this year.

ive discussed, extensively, how literally everything in Dragon Quest was in Ultima First.

Turbam posted...

Lots of series are like that
Everyone sites Resident Evil 1 as the granddaddy of the survival horror franchise. Very few bring up Alone in the Dark, and even less bring up Sweet Home

I actually have played the og alone in the dark. Wasn't a fan but I played it. Never was big into survival horrow

Sufferedphoenix posted...

I actually have played the og alone in the dark. Wasn't a fan but I played it. Never was big into survival horrow

I mean.... I remember games like Splatterhouse, which happened way before Resident Evil.

Ivany2008 posted...

I mean.... I remember games like Splatterhouse, which happened way before Resident Evil.

Name rings a bell never played it.

I only played alone In the dark cause some magazine I bought came with a disc with several games to play on PC. Oddly I remember a Duke nukem game that was a side scroller... dunno if that was legit but it was there.

Sufferedphoenix posted...

Name rings a bell never played it.

I only played alone In the dark cause some magazine I bought came with a disc with several games to play on PC. Oddly I remember a Duke nukem game that was a side scroller... dunno if that was legit but it was there.

It's an old game for the Turbo Grafx 16, also came out for a variety of other systems, including Arcade.

Ivany2008 posted...

It's an old game for the Turbo Grafx 16, also came out for a variety of other systems, including Arcade.

.as much as I loved doom dunno why I could never get into Duke nukem and I know it's just not the edgy satanic demon shit. I played the og wolfenstein and enjoyed it.

JoeDangIt posted...

Why have I never heard of this? D:

Japanese exclusive, I myself learned about it minutes before I posted it.
Makes one wonder what other games one has missed.

Sufferedphoenix posted...

Name rings a bell never played it.

I only played alone In the dark cause some magazine I bought came with a disc with several games to play on PC. Oddly I remember a Duke nukem game that was a side scroller... dunno if that was legit but it was there.

Duke Nukem 1 & 2 were sidescrollers.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/fd1148c3.jpg

Pagan Ultima 8 was one of my favorite games as a kid, even though I sucked ass at it and barely understood anything. That execution scene in the beginning beats out most modern games by a mile.

Foppe posted...

Duke Nukem 1 & 2 were sidescrollers.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/fd1148c3.jpg

Thanks always wondered about that

Sufferedphoenix posted...

Thanks always wondered about that

Another fact;
Apogee discovered that the Captain Planet cartoon had a character named Duke Nukem. They were afraid of a lawsuit, so they renamed him to Duke Nukum in version 2.0.
They later learned that the cartoon had not copyrighted the name, so they renamed it back to Duke Nukem.

Ivany2008 posted...

I mean.... I remember games like Splatterhouse, which happened way before Resident Evil.

Splatterhouse wasn't survival horror though. It was a horror-themed side scrolling beat-em up.

Robot2600 posted...

ive discussed, extensively, how literally everything in Dragon Quest was in Ultima First.

Same. There's a direct line from DND to Ultima to DQ/F2F and every RPG since.
And since DND was a inspired mix between Tolkien and Wargaming. It all goes back to Tolkien. He was inspired by the Norse myths. So does that mean that with Valkerie Profile it came full.circle. lol. Jk

Really wished I would have played this when I was a kid. Even had a friend in school who talked about it at school every day

Ultima has finally be nominated to the "World Video Game Hall of Fame".

https://apnews.com/article/video-game-hall-of-fame-atari-guitar-hero-7b10c9f4d1a91a449111816c4432a638

Wonder if it will get in because they have made some rather questionable choices for nominees and inductees in the past. For example FIFA International Soccer has been nominated three times already. It took them 8 years to put Ocarina of Time (probably the biggest foundation for modern 3D games) in the Hall of Fame.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Video_Game_Hall_of_Fame

I consider myself lucky to have played Ultima 6 first - the graphics (at the time) were immersive in creating the open world and the plot was really engaging (hit one my favorite tropes of warring sides coming together peacefully).

Hexenherz posted...

Pagan Ultima 8 was one of my favorite games as a kid, even though I sucked ass at it and barely understood anything. That execution scene in the beginning beats out most modern games by a mile.

The music was also crazy good.

I still get the main town music stuck in my head every once in a while

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm0xabkRUh0

Does Ultima count as forgotten? I thought people more or less considered it the father of digital RPGs. There were a ton of clones.

Robot2600 posted...

ive discussed, extensively, how literally everything in Dragon Quest was in Ultima First.

I've heard that. Apparently the original Japanese version of DQ1 used more Western character sprites which can't change directions. The anime style ones weren't introduced until the US NES version.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/488f4274.png
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/92d10e2d.png

Fenriswolf posted...

I've heard that. Apparently the original Japanese version of DQ1 used more Western character sprites which can't change directions. The anime style ones weren't introduced until the US NES version.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/488f4274.png
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/92d10e2d.png

Funny how the western localization made it look less western in that instance.

Ultima series was foundational for RPGs, along with Wizardry an Might and Magic.

As to why it is "forgotten"?

It really isn't, the issue is simply the passage of time and so many console only players. So many top 10/100 lists suck because you can tell the goofuses tarely if ever played pc rpgs in their life.
This goes for sites like Mojo or Whatculture.

But people who played it remember it. They remember it like it was yesterday.
I'll post pics of my collection if I remember. I have the swag but lost the disks.

For. now i'll post this

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5279e0a6.jpg

Swen Vincke (CEO of the company that made Baulder's Gate 3) praises Ultima 7.

"It was so great, in that sense. You could fly, you could make your own air balloon. You could make a raft. There's a whole bunch of things that for a long time you couldn't see in other games all put together in there To my mind it's still an incredible achievement from a development point of view."

He doesn't want to play it again because doing so might possibly ruin the memories he has of the game.

https://shorturl.at/aRSWX

Shamino posted...

Ultima series was foundational for RPGs, along with Wizardry an Might and Magic.

As to why it is "forgotten"?

It really isn't, the issue is simply the passage of time and so many console only players. So many top 10/100 lists suck because you can tell the goofuses tarely if ever played pc rpgs in their life.
This goes for sites like Mojo or Whatculture.

But people who played it remember it. They remember it like it was yesterday.
I'll post pics of my collection if I remember. I have the swag but lost the disks.

For. now i'll post this

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5279e0a6.jpg

Username checks out

YellowSUV posted...

Swen Vincke (CEO of the company that made Baulder's Gate 3) praises Ultima 7.

"It was so great, in that sense. You could fly, you could make your own air balloon. You could make a raft. There's a whole bunch of things that for a long time you couldn't see in other games all put together in there To my mind it's still an incredible achievement from a development point of view."

He doesn't want to play it again because doing so might possibly ruin the memories he has of the game.

https://shorturl.at/aRSWX

For those wanting to play it, it is available through GOG and the open source engine Exult is well worthwhile for QOL additions

It is also a shame about Shroud of the Avatar, which is an MMO originally crafted by Richard Garriott himself. It had some interesting old school mechanics to it but failed to gain a lot of traction, and I think he got outed from the project at the end of the day. It's still around but I don't know who plays it.