The Battle Bards, in case you are unfamiliar with that podcast, are a “musical journey through MMO soundscapes”. Every couple of weeks, the Battle Bards podcast “reviews and discusses the soundtrack of MMORPGs with a trio of engaging hosts.” It’s one of my occasional listens; I don’t catch every episode, but when they cover a game I am either curious about or have dipped my toes into, I’ll tune in.

They’ve covered Ultima Online in past episodes, but their most recent episode — #84 — is all about Ultima’s various online incarnations…the successful ones, and the ones that didn’t make it. Here’s the playlist:

• Intro (feat. “Stones” from Ultima Online and “The Hero’s Call”from Ultima Forever)
• “Cove” from Ultima Online
• “Hail, Lady of Britannia” from Ultima Forever
• “Misty Forest” from Ultima X
• “Buccanneer’s Den” from Ultima Online
• “Despise the Light, Live in Shadows” from Ultima Forever
• “Townlife” from Ultima X
• “Rule City” from Ultima X

I think you all know I’m something of a fan of Ultima Forever’s soundtrack, and I seem to recall that others have praised the tracks that Chris Many composed for Ultima X: Odyssey. So it will, I think, be interesting to hear the Bards’ take on pieces from both games.