What’s interesting about Time’s list of the 100 greatest games of all time is that it doesnt assign rankings to each game, but instead proceeds decade by decade starting in the 1970s, enumerating great and influential games from each period. The list, then, is like a compendium of equals, the greatest of the great (in Time’s view).

Naturally, Ultima 4 is on the list.

Ultima IV – first released for the venerable 8-bit Apple II in 1985 — was certainly that, but more importantly, it heralded a remarkable shift in tone for this series about an inter-dimensional hero (that would be you) who traveled to the medieval realm of Britannia to save its denizens from monstrous evils.

But instead of tracking some maleficent bad guy’s henchmen headed for a frightful final smackdown, Ultima IV bid players follow the road to self-discovery, pursuing a “virtuous life” and seeking “Eight Virtues” scattered throughout the realm.

The reward for gaining access to the game’s celebrated “Codex of Ultimate Wisdom”: Avatar-hood. Alas, for all Ultima IV did to transcend gaming’s narrative clichés, few games since have managed or even tried to emulate its uniquely contemplative quest vibe.

Sadly, Time also included a poll with the feature, allowing users to either agree that a game merited mention on the list or state that it did not. And sadly, many more people have downvoted Ultima 4 than have upvoted it, demonstrating (I suppose) the short-sightedness of the modern gamer.

The list is also missing a mention of Ultima 7, I suppose it could be argued, which did for open-world gameplay what Ultima 4 did for the tone of the Ultima series and the vibe of RPG quest paths.

Ultima Online is also on the list, and has been similarly downvoted. Again, a pity.