Ultima 4: Title Screen Comparison
Thanks to a little help from Dungy at the Codex of Ultima Wisdom and Mike O. in the comments, Ultima Aiera is pleased to present a (mostly) comprehensive comparison of title screens from the known ports of Ultima 4.
The Apple II Original
The Commodore 64 Port
The Atari 8-bit Port
The PC DOS Port
The Amiga and Atari ST Port
The FM Towns Port
The NES Port
The PC98 Port
The SEGA Master System Port
As you can see, there is quite a range in terms of quality and interface design between different ports of the game. Original for original, the FM Towns and Amiga/Atari ST ports probably win out for graphical quality, although the PC version has since been enhanced by several fan-generated graphics updates.
For complete details about the different versions of the game — and the differences between — be sure to check out the Codex article on the subject.
For the FM-Towns version, that isn’t the “title screen”.
Link to actual title screen image:
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z229/ashura_x5/fmt_u4.png
In the FM-Towns version, the logo text on the title screen is a bit grainy, as are the in-game graphics. Only the opening story demo looks that good.
I don’t remember the title screen for Ultima 4 being enhanced with Aradindae and Wiltshire Dragons’ upgrade patch (checked now: It’s doesn’t). Was there another update that enhanced the title screen?
Mike:
No. I think WtF was talking about the U4 PC version’s graphics in general, not specifically about the title screen. Or he forgot that the patch doesn’t affect the title screen. Either way…
What about the sega master system title screen? That’s the best console port of them all!
Rothbard: I…don’t seem to have that one in stock. Can you get me a screenshot?
Master System Title Screen: http://codex.ultimaaiera.com/wiki/Console_Ports_of_Ultima_IV
Btw., the link to the article is wrong, it points to the ports of Ultima I.
Sweet…thanks for that! I’ll add it to the post later tonight.
Also: link fixed.
No problem. Also, If you need screenshots, feel free to search in the Codex, we practically have everything by now.
Unfortunately, those Master System screenshots are using some horrid pixel scaling. All the rage in emulators these days, too bad they make everything look worse.