What is the best order to play the Ultimas in?
Those of you who have undertaken to read the Bible in its entirety may be familiar with the fact that most Biblical “reading programs” do not recommend attempting a cover-to-cover read-through. Indeed, many such programs do not necessarily recommend beginning with the Book of Genesis! The Bible is a complex book, and reading its every word typically requires a fair bit of thinking ahead and preparation on the reader’s part.
I mention this here because a reader sent me a request over the weekend that is kind of an analog to the above. For some of us, Ultima is a game which predates us; perhaps we were born after the first one was released, or perhaps we did not come to be gamers until the series had achieved a level of maturity. This is certainly the case for me: the first three games I ever played, in order, were a Winnie the Pooh puzzle solver/RPG, Sierra’s Mixed-Up Mother Goose, and Ultima 6…all within the span of about 18 months. If I was 7 years old by the time U6 and I first met, I’d be surprised.
But it got me hooked, and I’ve played most of the other Ultima titles since that time. (U6 remains my favourite, though.)
The last Ultima game released a decade ago. Think about that for a moment. Even Ultima 9 represents a bygone era of gaming…or, perhaps, several eras; game-related technologies move ahead with truly alarming speed.
If someone wanted to get into the Ultima series today, where would they begin? Is it still best to start at the beginning, with Akalabeth, and from there to play through all the games in game-chronological order? Or is this not the right approach? Should a person instead begin somewhere in the middle, then move to earlier titles, and then play through the Guardian saga? And should one play through the originals? Or the remakes?
That is what reader Lance wondered in his email:
Between 2000 and 2003 I played a lot of Ultima Online on various free shards; before that I hadn’t played any Ultima Games. Since then I’ve put a couple hours into the following: U1, U7 (in Exult), U8 (in the other Exult-like project) and U9 (completely patched up and using the developer-released patch).
In each I lost interest: U7, U8 & U9, I was obsessed with going into every
house and stealing useless junk like candles, cutlery and bananas…which meant the locals would eventually get angry at me.I’m thinking about starting with U1 again and working my way up to U9, but I’m not sure if I should play the remakes instead of the originals in
DOSBOX, or maybe start with U9 and work my way down to U1.. or even put Ultima’s best foot forward and start from there and work my way to the worst in the series (maybe U7, then U8, U9, then U6 etc)?
To be honest, I’m not sure what sort of answer to give him, apart from recommending beginning with U6; that is the best starting point, as far as I’m concerned. From there, the order I suspect might work best would be: U4, U5, U8, U9, U1, U2, U3, the Underworld games (optional), Akalabeth (optional), and then U7 (both parts, in order). This balances higher quality against lower, modern against classic; to my mind, it should work for the average gamer.
But what do you all think? Recommendations can be left in the comments (please give explanations for your suggestions, as well).
Since all the game are somewhat dated, I’d recommend start with the best, U7 (+SI). If your friend falls in love with the game, then it’s easy to play the rest of the series. But if the first impression isn’t that good, then it’s fairly difficulty to convince he/she to give it another try.
3rd trilogy (7…9)
2nd trilogy (4…6)
Underworlds
1st trilogy (1…3)
Akalbeth
PS. Sega Master System version of Ultima IV is a must! 😀
And maybe this little a made would help to get the big picture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6SJO_Vjjg0
I’d say play U4-U7 in order. The rest aren’t worth it, except as curiosities.
I think if the games are put into the proper context the best way to play them are in chronological order: 1-6 (and the two U6 spinoffs if being a completist), UW, 7, UW2, 7.5 and then 8 & 9. This way the intrepid Ultima explorer can truly experience the evolution of the Ultima series both technologically and storywise.
Of course *some* leeway should be given when it comes to the first trilogy…but the player should at least give each a try to “get a taste” for what each one is like. And Aklabeth…well, that can almost be left out being that it has no real bearing on the rest of the story. Maybe it could be futzed with for a bit as a curiosity.
I’d go with MagerValp, U1 – U3 is more or less just Hack’n’Slay. If you read through the books you get with every Ultima you’ll pretty much get the picture of what you need to know about them. Me tried Ultima 4 (theres the XU4-Clone somewhere, but I never went through it), Ultima 5 (or, if you like, take U5Lazarus for contemporary graphics and an excellent soundtrack), U6 and U7 (wich I liked most, maybe because I could play it in my native language, which is german), U8 (finished that one) and U9 (well… I got through it somehow, but never loved it).
Btw. theres a blog of one, whom played through all ultimas from Akalabeth to U9 (http://bloggingultima.blogspot.com/) quite interesting to read.
I began with U4 when it came out, and went back and played U1-U3 waiting for U5 to come out, then went in order from there…
I still think it is best to play U4-U6 first, then U1-U3, then Worlds of Ultima 1/2, then finally U7-U9.
I guess it depends on the players age and gaming experience. The younger someone is, the less forgiving of primitive graphics and sound they are likely to be. If they can look past that, I’d recommend chronological order, but play the remakes with graphic and sound enhancements. If the player just can’t tolerate primitive/sylistic graphics, then they should probably start with Exult.
I’m 47, so I got started in the Atari and Apple ][ era – abstract graphics don’t bother me. I still have my Cal Pacific Ultima 1 in the garage somewhere! I played Ultima 1-5 on the Apple, then went mostly computerless as the PC Ultimas 6-8 came out. I’ve since gotten them all but have to confess – I have still only dabbled lightly enough in 6-9 to get them working in DosBox… Am I missing something? 🙂
Graphically, which is the best way to experience U4 to U8?
I’ve come up with this list:
Ultima IV: xu4 engine
Ultima V: Lazureus (Dungeon Siege mod)
Ultima VI: U6 Project (Is Milestone 6 complete or still a work in progress?, another DS mod) or original in DOSBOX
Ultima VII (P1 & P2): Exult engine
Ultima VIII: Pentagram engine
Ultimas IV through VIII (including the Worlds of Ultima and Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds) are the best ones to date. On the whole Ultimas I-III are a bit… iffy, and the gameplay may throw some off.
IMHO, I would say thus:
Ultima IV: either get your hands on a copy of it on Master System or use the xu4 engine. They’re both fantastic on the remodel and make the game easier on the eyes.
Ultima V: Lazarus. Lazarus lazarus lazarus. I cannot reccomend this game enough – it augments the gothic, oppressive atmosphere of the game a treat.
Ultima VI: Ultima Archon (otherwise known simply as the U6 project) is coming along quite nicely, and I suspect it’s only a matter of short time from when it’s finished.
WOU (Savage Empire and Martian Dreams): taken neat, as I’m not sure there is any other way.
Ultima VII: Exult is fantastic for this, and I’d even recommend keeping an eye on The Feudal Lands – bringing back the virtues to a war-torn Britannia can’t be a bad thing.
Ultima Underworld 2: Again, taken neat. It’ll ease the progression between U VII and the Serpent Isle.
Ultima VII part 2: The Serpent Isle: Exult again keeps the ball rolling here in fantastic fashion. The “Jive intro” is great for a laugh.
Ultima VIII: Pentagram does the job nicely on the original. Let’s hope a remake in the future gives us the Lost Vale the game so desperately wants!
When Ultima IX: Redemption comes out I’d also recommend giving that a shot. It looks schmick from the bits and pieces posted there.
Well… it depends on how much he wants to play the series. I personally like to play them in chronological order (even the minor games)
Akalabeth
Ultima I
Ultima II
Escape from Mount Drash
Ultima III
Ultima IV
Ultima V
Ultima VI
Runes of Virtue I
Runes of Virtue II
The Savage Empire
Martian Dreams
Ultima Underworld I
Ultima VII
Ultima Underworld II
Ultima VII part 2
Ultima VIII
Ultima IX
In my opinion if he has played Ultima I and he did not dislike it, he should go with this order. Of course reading also the manuals and cluebooks if can, specially on the first games because they add so many backstory.
I’d have to agree that it depends on the age of the gamer and when he/she got into games.
My first REAL computer was a new C64 at 13 [after I destroyed a Sinclair the year before] and my first game Questron [a cool game I shoplifted from a Kmart computer display] I saved up my pennies for Ultima2 but when I finally bought it I was kinda disappointed so I took it back and spent an extra 10 bucks for U3 which came out that week – I absolutely loved it! Played it through like 3 times! I continued with the series till U6 then lost interest what with a high-school garage band and other active social opportunities.
Its not like that with those who started later in the series – hell, the entire game interface went thru several serious changes and someone who began in the era of the PS2 may never be able to get into U1-4. I suggest that if you came along in the 90’s to start with U5-up unless you like retro games. If you were there in the 80’s, you should get a blast playing the entire series from beginning to end like I did…
I finally built a PC back in ’98 and began playing games again when I saw the trailer for Final Fantasy 7 on TV [I suddenly realized there may be adventure games out there to compare with the old Ultima stuff!] When I found ‘The Ultima Collection’ at Best Buy I immediately picked it up but was shocked at the terrible versions of the originals! U3 doesn’t even have color let alone the cool music [which i still get stuck in my head!] plus you couldn’t import characters from one to the next like you could in the old games! Real bummer. I played them all, but on and off for the past 10 years I check the internet for emulators and C64 versions of the Ultimas.
It’s good to see a site like this has come along to pay proper tribute to what has to be one of the finest, most ground breaking series of all time.
I believe Ultima VII is an excellent gateway game into the series. For more modern gamers, it delivers the open-world feel of today’s RPGs and brings the player in at the start of what is probably the more interesting of the series’ storylines.
Or maybe he should try Lazarus. I consider Ultima V’s story better than the one in Ultima VII (of course U7 is the one with the best interactivity).
I don’t think that being a 90s gamer means you can’t appreciate the 80s Ultimas. I did start playing games in the 90s and I really like the old ultimas.
It depends on what you seek in a game. Some of my friends don’t understand that where they see just a few vectors representing a dungeon, I do see a dungeon. People lately don’t really use their imagination anymore, which is a shame 🙁
Origin games (Ultima, Wing Commander, System shock…) are the only ones that really make me feel in the game. They really did create worlds back then.
Strangely enough Ultima Online feels alot like Ultima 7 & 8, just GUI is alittle outdated.
Well, I was trying to suggest the official games themselves, not remakes; if only to get the proper feel. I dunno, I guess I’m just too purist about these things. I like to see/play the originals before I see/play a remake.
I think IV is really the start of the series as a distinct story and philosophy unto itself. But I agree with the comments about new gamers getting over the graphics. V has the DS version, with VI soon to follow; if IV had a reasonably modern interface, it would definitely be the one to start with. But the originals are the originals and the best way to go, no disrespect to the remakes!
From there, as much of III-I as they could stomach (in any order) and after that, VII-IX. SE / MD / UW I&II are curiosities for later more than anything.
I actually miss Ye Olde Sable-Fielded Tyle Graphicks ™ – it’s true that the imagination really used to fill in all these blanks (and often better than today’s graphics).