Tripping Down Memory Lane: Fenyx’s Ultima Forever Alpha Gameplay Footage
Don’t get too excited by this; it’s not as though a server has suddenly come online which enables those of us with copies of the Ultima Forever PC client — the alpha test for the game wasn’t on iOS, but on Windows — to log in and play again. But Fenyx4 (who maintains the technical backend of the Codex of Ultima Wisdom, SotAwiki, and Underwiki) did record the first fourteen minutes of his time playing the game back when the alpha test took place, and just recently published that footage to his YouTube channel.
The video gives a good overview of what getting started in Ultima Forever was like. Some of the details are different; the alpha test took place before the plot of the game shifted to include the Weep consuming all of Britannia, for example. But you’ll get a look at the introductory sequence, Lady British, and one of the first dungeons in the game, as well as the combat mechanics and some of the game world.
….I remember when this game first unveiled its true gameplay and I recoiled at its subversion of everything that made Ultima great. How could they do this, I thought. What we need is a REAL new Ultima, from the man himself! If only! Ah, that is but a pipe dream.
But then, Huzzah! It finally happened! The real King of Britannia was stepping in and reclaiming his rightful place on the throne!
I was ecstatic! It was a truly wonderful time, full of magic and hope…
I was so naive.
The thing about legends, is that they rarely manage to live up to themselves. I can only think that’s it’s time to look for new heroes. The Ultima fan community is brimming with creative and talented people, and it saddens me that the return of the king seems to have squashed so many of the projects that had been keeping that fandom alive. I’m hoping that this is not permanent, and that the “Inspired by Ultima” section will see some new entries soon, created be people who remember why they found this community in the first place.
Funny thing is: I’d give quite a lot to be able to play U4E again. Far from being a subversion, it was actually a very fun game to play, and a thoughtful take on an “alternate history” of Britannia.
SotA? Not that anxious to reinstall.
I gave it a go, even have the card set and other trinkets around here somewhere, but it didn’t really grab me. It was arguably a better game that SotA though I guess. Better made at least. The devs actually seemed to care more about their product than what we’ve seen from the original crew lately.
I can totally grok that it wasn’t to everyone’s tastes. It was a mobile action RPG…not everyone digs those.
But Mythic could never be accused of not caring deeply about the series or the lore, even though (for legal or practical reasons) they had to take a few liberties therewith. There was more than a veneer of Ultima to U4E; it was not an “in name only” title like LoU was. The story had a surprising amount of depth, the characters of the land challenged you to consider the Virtues, and it was neat to see another take on all the same places we know.
Truthfully, watching that video only reminds me how little of the game I actually remember. I do recall that the combination of art and game play were not to my liking. World-wise though, it did remind me of one of the Ultima-like worlds I created in my imagination as a child playing with a wooden sword in my back yard. I agree that the devs seemed to love their source material.
<3
Well that was a better game and Ultima than SotA that’s for sure. Miss that game 🙁
It really feels like a successor to the Runes of Virtue games 🙂