Well…that didn’t take long, did it? Only yesterday, Origin historian Pix was delving into the dungeons of Britannia circa Ultima 4 as he continued his playthrough of the Sega Master System port thereof. He even got far enough into the game to attempt the passage of the Abyss, but met with failure as too many party members perished.

I had originally planned to do some dungeon delving for gold + stats at the end of part 4 but after gathering a small pile of mandrake and nightshade I decided that I was probably up the job as was and headed in for another go.

Today, he reports having finished the game.

After which my quest is over and I’m returned to Earth with my example of Avatarlyness having been set back in Britannia. It’s a slightly ignominious ending after such an epic quest really but somehow fitting and hinting at future sequels. It’s all there anyway and looking a whole lot better than in EGA just like the rest of the game.

It’s a pity this isn’t the version of Ultima 4 on GOG really as it’s considerably more accessible than the DOS one. I’ve seen numerous posts on the forums there from people who can’t even get past the menu screen since the arrow keys and mouse don’t work. Maybe GOG will start supporting emulated games one day. Whatever the availability, I’ve got a new answer for the next time someone asks which version of Ultima 4 they should play. If I ever find a copy of the FM Towns version, that could well change again of course.

So, there’s that. Another classic Ultima port, polished off and done. For a change of pace, Pix’s next playthrough probably won’t be an RPG, but I for one don’t doubt that at some point he’ll chance across an obscure console port of some Ultima title and fire it up for our enjoyment.