Ultima - Complete Review Series
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- A compilation of all of my Ultima main series reviews. A journey through video gaming history from the very first Ultima, to the final installment.
Chapters:
00:00 - Ultima I
17:06 - Ultima II
36:23 - Ultima III
58:02 - Ultima IV
1:23:42 - Ultima V
1:54:05 - Ultima VI
2:25:37 - Ultima VII
3:00:59 - Ultima Underworld
3:25:25 - Ultima Underworld II
3:55:35 - Serpent Isle
4:35:35 - Ultima VIII
5:24:19 - Ultima IX
Shameless self promotion #
Support the channel on Patreon: / finntrovert
Support the channel on Ko-fi: www.ko-fi.com/finntrovert
Livestreams: / finntrovert 
Игры
Yes, I will eventually cover the Worlds of Ultima games, but not yet.
After concentrating on only Ultima for over a year, with the focus on the story of The Avatar, I want to do some other games and franchises to avoid a burnout.
But eventually I will!
I don't care what you make next I just enjoy the dissection of deep media
great videos and very nice sound mix bro
@@Daveforever Thanks!
Garriot also wanted to be an astronaut as a child which may have also played a role in it
I ran into Lord British at PAX East some years ago. Said "M'lord" in passing and he responded in character. Love that dude.
It is amazing how he still interacts with the community.
That's cool that he goes to conventions and what not. I want to think of him wearing a Henry viii type costume.
@@tuffasgong lol yeah, he was just in his usual jeans and polo shirt type get-up. I'd walked off to a "quiet" corner of the outer hallways of the convention center to make a call and looked up while dialing only to immediately lock eyes with Lord British while he was being interviewed. It was like I saw him and probably looked a little surprised, he saw that I saw him, and I saw that he saw that I saw him. So I had to play it cool and go to pretending to stare at my phone until the interview was over before paying my respects. He did a regal gesture and responded "yes yes, carry on, sir"
Someone else does an Ultima retrospective besides Spoony (a decade later) and it just so happens to appear on my front page? Oh Lord British above, praise be! Instant subscription from me.
Thank you!
Lmao I was just thinking to myself, "wait, didn't some other guy do this?"
I forgot about that dude. Hope he's doing alright.
Ultima 4 quest of the avatar on NES was a big memory when I was 12, a RPG godfather of a game
That's one I want to try one day. Haven't seen the console versions yet, but I've heard a lot of positive from the NES era in the comments.
This is such a fantastic retrospective. As someone who is making Ultima videos since 2019 I must admit that it boggles my mind to realize that you'd covered the whole series (and with that level of quality!) in just a year. This video is an achievement and you should rightfully be proud of making it. Cheers!
Thank you!
This series has in a sense been in the making since 2019/2020 when I first decided to properly sit down an play the series, but I really only got to work on it when one of my side gigs ended.
It's been kind of annoying, since I've been actively avoiding Ultima content from other people since then, but now I can finally watch what other people think about the games! So, time to add yours to my work playlist! XD
@@finntrovert Oh, I didn't realize it was in the making since 2019 - it makes me feel slightly less bad about my terrible upload schedule 😅 In any case - the hard work is definitely on display as those videos are an absolute blast!
I'll admit that I'm the same - I had only watched the videos on the games I'd already covered (so parts 1-6). And if you get around to watching some of mine - hope you'll like them ^_^
@@GeorgGreat_GameReviews Yeah, I had wanted to make these for years, but I was spending my free time working as a pixel artist, so I just didn't have the time to do... well, anything.
When that was done, I finally got to start replaying the games and writing down all the thoughts that had been going around in my brain. XD
@@finntrovert I can definitely relate. Real life certainly has a tendency of putting sticks into the wheels of ones dream projects. It makes me doubly happy to see that you'd pulled this project through to its conclusion!
You should be proud of your videos too. I found your channel a couple months ago while looking for more Ultima reviews and loved your content. I hope you eventually make more
U6 was a mind blowing experience. Map was massive and full of mystery that you couldn’t figure out
That it was. I know for certain I've missed a lot of things in these games, just because there's so much to find in them.
I'm a huge fan of Spoony's Ultima retrospective and the Ultima series itself. What a delightful surprise it was to stumble across this video, another look at the series that goes in-depth and with love and appreciation for what the series is and means, while being rightfully critical where due. You've found yourself a new fan, looking forward to exploring more of your content.
Thank you!
I was about to comment something very similar. I need to listen to this review in it's entirety.
Now there are several really good ultima retrospective. Good thing as for all purposes ultima created the RPG genre in games.
Majuular restrsopective is probably going to be like 12 hours long
@@AL-lh2ht It is nice to see more Ultima content pop up, this series deserves to be remembered more than it currently is.
In my 40 years of gaming nothing has come close to the enjoyment and memories of Ultima IV. For me, it was the first and best non-linear epic quest game. No gateway keepers marking off areas because you're "not ready yet!" or because you haven't unlocked previous quests, etc.
You enter the game completely unsure of what's expected of you until you speak with Lord British. He tells you to strive to become the Avatar and of the virtues. Then you go out into the world and strive to learn of the virtues, the actions that exemplify them and how to be an example to others.
All that you learn in your quest had to be written down (no in-game notes back then). Speaking to NPCs; searching for runes, artifacts and reagents; looking in libraries for tomes and in dungeons for stones and keys; all were part of putting the puzzle together and coming to an actual understanding of the virtues, their principles and the symbol of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.
When you deem yourself ready, you venture in to darkest depths to test your physical mettle and your understanding of the concepts learned.
It was the very first CRPG that needed you to be a hero instead of just a vanquisher.
I just finished working on a 12 hour long video about The Phantom Menace. I just realized I don't leave comments often on other people's videos. I love this video. I've seen all of it multiple times, and I like to watch it in pieces before I sleep. I missed most of the Ultima games, besides IV. I enjoy your exploration of the world, the story, the gameplay. Thank you.
Thank you!
I have those videos myself that I just fall to sleep to, and it is honestly surreal that something I've made has been that to someone else.
It's honestly the greatest compliment I can think of.
Your video is a masterpiece.
This has been a fantastic trip down memory lane! My first (and favourite) Ultima has always been six but, after watching this, I am compelled to _at_ _least_ try the fourth entry onwards. A great watch, thanks for this!
I wrote similar words before, but this video is a very good opportunity to write them again: I'm very glad I was there to watch you streaming the series, starting with Ultima IV. Back then I wasn't sure what to think about that game. As you know, I wasn't hooked immediately. But following the series with you as some sort of a playing guide, I was able to learn why the Ultima games are so beloved by many and why they are considered having great importance for the RPG videogame genre.
Thank you, Finn, for the journey!
Thank you for being there for the journey!
You have to remeber part of the reason Ultima is such a big deal is they essentially created the RPG videogame genre.
No one remember it now because it fell into decline (because of their ownn decesios and EA) around whenn baldurs gate ad that style of RPG became popular.
*Shamino*
*Iolo*
*Dupre*
These guys were my best friends over a few summers cuz i lived so rurally.
Once you got to 6-8 i realized how nostalgic these games were… i never beat them (i was 12-15yrs old) but i played the hell out of em. I remember being fascinated by the sheer volume of movable/usable objects and thoroughly enjoyed the narrative!
Great video, finn. Earned a sub from me 😊
Watched this over the course of several days at work. Thanks for all the videos
Thanks for watching!
Absolutely phenomenal! I rarely watch super long series' like this, but I watched the entire thing and it was all great. I grew up on Ultima VII mostly, and it's one of the games that inspired me to get into game development.
That's quite the compliment, thank you!
Kiitos kaikista näistä videoista. Ovat olleet tosi hyviä ja päässyt elämään pelisarjaa, jota en sen kulta-aikoina kokenut.
Olepa hyvä, ja kiitos paljon!
Näiden tekeminen on ollut hauskaa ja olen hyvin iloinen siitä, että näinkin monet ovat ne löytäneet ja saaneet niistä jotain positiivista irti.
In Ultima 5, the best way to up your stats is through dying. It drops your experience level, as well as your possibility of losing a level, but your gained stat remains the same. Thus you can raise your attributes continuously by intentionally dying and leveling again, usually best around level 3.
Never played any of these games but I'm happily listening to this entire video while working painting cars 😆
Thank you! That's honestly one of the best compliments one can give! XD
I started watching your channel thanks to Ultima reviews. Now, when they're finished and so beautifully summarized in the video above, I can say we have new classic after Spoony's one. Thank you, dude
Thank you!
Despite what a lot of people may think of Spoony these days, I take that as a great compliment.
I can't wait to see this hit 1 Million
If that happens, it will be surreal!
I never expected this to get even close to a 100k, and that's inching ever so closer now.
I love this so much! Congrats on finishing the series and thank you for all your effort in making these videos.
Thank you!
Was not prepared for being hit instantly in the feels by that opening MIDI track from Ultima 6. Took me straight back to playing it on the Amiga, many moons ago. Thank you for this retrospective!
Thank you for watching!
To this day I still think Ultima VII was a miracle of development. The game has so many little details unde the hood such as crafting, day night cycles, billion of side quests and many others that literally took at least a decade to see in other RPGs.
It definitely was a landmark game.
sad that the game after screwed up pretty bad. allowig baldurs gate and similer games to replace ultima.
@@AL-lh2ht Its a shame how EA simply have destroyed Ultima (as well as other titles)
When you think about it, so many games borrowed from Ultima. It was one of the earliest rpgs and many early ones had way more depth to them than some other rpgs that came afterwards. Ultima Underworld was one of the earliest first person rpg games as well, with many borrowing from it, like Elder Scrolls. And even Ultima Online helped paved the way for MMORPG games as well, being one of the earliest ones out there. It really was ahead of it's time. So many games around the world borrowed from Ultima.
Very true, which is why it's a massive shame more people don't talk about the series these days.
Ultima deserves to be remembered more, since it was massively influential to the medium.
It effectively helped started the jrpg genre as a whole, basically the grandpa of Dragon Quest. Without Ultima there wouldn't be Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, the influence of Ultima is so expansive that it's insane to imagine what games would be like if Ultima never blew up as it is. God i love Ultima
Giggity, 6 hours of Ultima! Nice to see you bring it all together
“Whats a PALADIN!?”
Play it again….
AGAIN!”
Ultima 3 was my first RPG. The Ultima series set a standard that modern RPGs rarely live up too now.
Thankfully there are devs who at least try!
I've heard good things about Baldur's Gate 3, although I have yet to have the opportunity to try it myself.
@@finntrovert Indeed. BG3 is a great modern RPG. I've played it since beta. But honestly I prefer Rogue Trader. Though my 40K bias should be mentioned.
@@Adino1 Rogue Trader is another I've heard a bit about.
Hoping I have the time to try one of them out when I get my vacation this year.
@@finntrovert As a former railroad conductor and then train master, I understand that all too well. Take some time for yourself, whenever you can.
This quite possibly the best retrospective I’ve ever gotten a chance to listen to. This was a series I completely missed other than Ultimate Exodus on the NES, and as a child it was an impossibility to beat it.
Now that I’m older and a speedrunner im returning to these classics and demolishing them with tech and strats after my first full re-playthrough.
This is such an excellent video. Thank you. Subbed on RUclips and Followed on Twitch!
I didn't know I needed a 6+ hour review of the Ultima series, but it turns out I did.
Glad I was able to provide to that need! XD
@@finntrovert There are a lot of new things I learned about the Ultima series from your videos! Still watching through it, on Ultima Underworld 1 as of writing this, but this is great stuff!
Thanks for this equally fantastic and titanic retrospective.
Legacy of Kain is one of my favorite western franchises so I'm looking forward to the new reviews!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this project of mine.
LoK was very formative for me, and I can't wait to get my thoughts on paper about the first one. Now that the holidays are over I have more time to properly play it and continue writing about it.
I sat here on my day off from work, and watched thise entire video. What a journey. Thank you for this, I can't imagine how long this took--your efforts, descriptions, narrations, opinions, all top notch.
Thank you, Finntrovert. It was a lotta fun.... (WHAT DO I DO NOW?!)
Thanks!
In essence, it took a little over a year, which is why I released the videos individually first.
Glad I took the advice and made this compilation of the entire series, since clearly that is a format which people seem to enjoy as well.
Man I made it through all 6+ hours of it! I first got into Ultima at 6 - it came in a 4 pack with my Gravis Gamepad, which was weird because the gamepad didn't even work with Ultima 6 (or I think any of the other 3 games it came with now that I think about it?), but that game got tons of my playtime at 11/12 years old. I used to enjoy just loading up the game and pushing the canon around shooting people. I don't think I completed the game until I was in my 20's...I remember getting to the gargoyle world and then not knowing what to do when I was younger. Then I skipped U7 and bought Serpent Isle with my own money, then ended up buying Silver Seed later on. I couldn't tell you how many hours I put into that one either, but I beat it several times in my teens. And the cheat system in that game gave it tons of replayability!
I did eventually get the Ultima Collection and beat U7 and U9, and put some time into each of the others. Thanks for a great walk back through Ultima, it was the pinnacle of RPG's for a couple of decades there and doesn't get much attention these days!
man I'm loving all these long form videos that youtube is recommending me
U9 left me with more questions than answers when I got to that point. Main one being "So If Guardian was Avatars opposite - Would he have died if The Avatar yeeted into the furnace instead of Dupre in Serpent Isle?
I would like to think so, but it indeed is never explained, which is in a way good, as it lets us use our imagination.
For me, I want to think it would have defeated the Guardian, as it would fit pretty well into the comedy of errors. You think you are doing something heroic, but due to lack of information end up accidentally making things worse, which has been a theme since, well, the beginning of Ultima.
Amazing collection of videos! It took 3 weeks to watch it all, but great stuff.
Thanks for going through it!
Incredible, incredible epic work. Wonderful!
Thank you!
I was there when Ultima 3 was new. Seeing it for the first time on the Apple 2 C was amazing. The cloth map,the spell books,the art work. Everything drew you into the world. While it is dated now it was beyond anything else at the time. Ultima 4 was a big step up. And frankly the story of trying to become a symbol of heroic hope for people without any real villains is something that we could use now in this DEI,ESG filled age. Ultima 6 was mind-blowing. The cut scenes,the music and the adult story was great and still is. 7 though was the Pinnacle. A game that still holds up and frankly is better than anything Bethesda has made. It's a shame that EA is a big reason why 9 is so bad. They still have the license and do nothing with it. Updates or remasters for modern consoles would be great.
"DEI, ESG" So you want heroism but think diversity in media is a threat of some kind? Seems like you didn't learn the lesson very well.
Also, there's no such thing as a DEI cult. If you believe otherwise, you've been fed lies by ideologues who want you to be afraid of a "woke" boogeyman.
The overwhelming majority of people who care about diversity simply want it to exist in media, as ordinary and unremarkable as anything else. It's those who complain about the "woke mob" that paint this imaginary alternate world where simply having the option to set your pronouns in Starfield is part of some sinister agenda, rather than the casual, everyday, "sure, why not" inclusion it is in reality. The only people anywhere who are anything like this so-called "DEI cult" are literally 14-year-olds on TikTok, and you know what happens with them? They grow up.
It's not a big deal. The last time anyone was seriously like that in actual published media was in the early 2010s. The only people trying to shove anything down your throat are the crazies who fearmonger daily about woke ideology.
@@FelisImpurratorthere is literally nothing "heroic" about any of those things
@@sikax13 Congratulations. You have no idea what I'm talking about.
@@FelisImpurrator neither do you apparently
A great job has been done! Congratulations on the video release!
Thank you!
It's an end of an era, but I'm excited for all the other games and franchises I get to play now.
These were great videos. Thanks for all your hard work on them.
Thank you!
It's been fun making these, and I can't wait to play more games in 2024.
I've never played these games but I've now watched your retro three times. I'm fascinated by the lore and story, and you've done a great job at explaining the world.
Really want to track down some of these but worried about how unintuitive they are compared to modern RPGs.
You've made each of these stories come to life and I'm now going down the Ultima rabbit hole totally obsessed
Thank you!
That is a massive compliment! I tried to write these in a way where the structure of the videos follows the structure of the games, which I hoped would make following the way the games work and how the stories play out interesting and intuitive, and it makes me happy people have resonated with that.
Part of why I wanted to do that is because of your concern. All of the games are available on GOG, and come with the manuals and lore books, but you are right to worry, since they do show their age and are not that accessible compared to newer games.
Ultima 6 was my favorite. Having a party of 7 people was so cool, it was like having a small army!
it was so open world too to mess around in, doing bank or boat heists and stuff.
I've never played an Ultima game. I fell in love with the series and plot thanks to Spoony's excellent retrospective. His love and passion for the series is infectious. It led me to seek out more videos on Ultima.
That is what led me here. And man, am I happy it did! Your retrospective is just as good and insightful, perhaps even better especially for the earlier games AND doesn't have 'skits' but is still damn funny at times!
With 'skits', they're not everyone's cup of tea and this retrospective of yours does not suffer without them. I really enjoyed the way you deliver the games plot, features and mechanics.
An absolute joy to watch. Thanks for all of your hard work and insight!
A like and a sub is all I can offer in return along with my gratitude.
*Edit*
Oh my goodness! Legacy of Kain is the next series?!!!??! Why does this channel feel like it was made to eat all my time?! 😂❤ Thanks again!
Thank you!
I'm glad you liked the videos!
It still makes me happy how the reception to these has been. I tried to structure the videos to follow the progression of the games and introduce features as they would be in the games, and was worried whether it would be too disjointed, as it's taking the story structure instead of segmenting things per category, but that seems to have been an unnecessary worry.
@finntrovert I haven't finished yet. I'm about to start the 'Pagan' section.
I have to back track my original comment a bit.
This IS the best retrospective. It's not even close! Absolute work of art and passion. It shows very clearly in the quality of the video.
Thanks again!!
@@Nediablo Thank you!
I grew up with these - loved them! The first RPG I ever completed was Ultima III. Then I completed IV, V, and VI. I played VII, VIII, and IX but don't recall if I completed them or not. Thanks for posting this! Nice memories!
Absolutely amazing! I've been waiting for something like this for years (not patient enough to play the old games myself, especially the ones from the 80's).
Hope it will not disappoint! (too much)
More than half the series came out in the 80s lol. 1-3 are pretty rough at times, but 4 and 5 has a lot of goodness to be found for the patient player.
@@Tony_Cardoza Yeah, for people who do want to play the series themselves I tend to recommend starting from 4, unless they really want to experience all of the history themselves.
Going through the process of becoming The Avatar is kind of important after all, and I think the rest of the series feels more meaningful having gone through the journey yourself, instead of just reading about it.
@@finntrovert Very good points. Excellent videos by the way. I've been enjoying them thoroughly.
@@Tony_Cardoza Thank you!
I do love that we finally get to use the armageddon spell for good in U9.
It was a nice payoff after multiple games where it was just a "game over" spell, basically.
Ultima VI was already installed on one of the first PCs that our family household got. It was used, so there was random stuff installed on the computer's hard drive from a previous user, and I still remember that first night I was excited to find Ultima VI on it. It was probably pirated as the computer also came with photocopies of the manual and the other printed materials. It was the first Ultima game I played (though I haven't played many). I enjoyed VI and later bought and enjoyed VII and even Pagan: VIII. Other than point-and-click adventure games, Ultima VI triggers immense '90s PC nostalgia for me.
It defined my childhood and felt lucky in undergrad to beta test UO.
Nice!
More people need to see this! Subbed and commenting to boost engagement for the algorithm. cheers!
Thanks!
Another fellow long form content creator. Always looking for new ones. I don't know much about ultima but I'm going to learn.
I never had the patience to do more than dabble in a handful of Ultima games. I've always wanted to know the whole story. Thank you very much for this. Fantastic work!!
Thanks for watching!
The response to these videos has been absolutely amazing, and I'm happy people have found them enjoyable.
I only had little exposure of some console ports, and for a long time wondered what was the ultima serie appeal. Your retrospective ehre is fantastic! It was really cool to see what the whole deal is, it sure seemed to have been an intriguing serie for sure! So, thanks for all the work here!
That the series was, and in a historical way still is.
After finally getting to play them myself, I finally understood why I kept hearing about Ultima so much during the 90's.
@@finntrovert You sure gave me the desire to investigate them now, be it sooner or later.
Ultima DID in fact define my childhood , and i am very grateful for these essays Finn =] ; thank you
i started with U5 , which while not necessarily ideal for the chronological narrative , i understood enough to pick up where the story was at ; and imho U5 is arguably the high water mark
later on i would probably spend even more time with U6 as i truly loved the new engine and would ofc later recognize the profoundness of what U4 did , something that to this day , basically Ultima 4 stands alone , afaik there is no other story told in any other game that asks the player to literally live up to their values in such a way , truly remarkable and at the same time quite sad
Thanks for watching!
U5 is indeed very good. The way it built on the mechanics of 4, improving upon them, and with a great story to follow up as well.
So glad I finally got to play the series.
Ultima VI was my first approach to RPGs (and higher-than-basic-English. Yes, playing the game was incredibly hard for ten years old me). I managed to reconnect with the world of Ultima thanks to the AMAZING and hilarious textual Let’s Play made by Nakar. Thank you for this anthology video! EDIT: YES. DEATH TO CHUCKLES!
I was 10, too, and it was also my first rpg. My little mind was truly blown by the depth of storytelling and all the systems in the game :)
@@crtglowgames not being a native English speaker, at the time I was less able to appreciate the narrative (beside the basics: the revelation about the gargoyles helped creating my disdain for the “savage humanoid” trope in fantasy literature and games), but I loved how the world felt immersive and “real”.
I would like to see some loving developers come out with an Ultimate Ultima package that contains all of the different versions of all of the Ultima games plus some of the remastering options like Exult, and a centralized launcher that just does it all for you. I'm just too lazy to start fussing to get the non-GOG versions to work, and the PC ports weren't my favourite. I grew up on the Apple II versions myself, though the C64 was supposed to be a good port as well.
More retrospectives please! This video is great! You earned a sub!
Thanks!
Slowly but surely there will be more. The first part of the Legacy of Kain series I plan to get out this week.
@@finntrovert I played Legacy of Kain a lot when I was younger, excited to see that!
Great compilation.
Great stuff and great work. -From someone who has never played or even watched any of the Ultima Games.
Thanks!
I still think about ultima online almost every month for the last 20+ years. I cant move on
I will forever remember my little crafting shack in the woods.
Amazing video. I'd only seen the W8 and W9 videos previously. I'm old enough to have played all these games at launch, except I didn't because I couldn't afford an IBM PC until 1995. My introduction to Ultima was U7 and UU:SA. I never finished either game, U7 due to some game breaking bug about halfway through and UU:SA because I got stuck and didn't know how to proceed. Both games are extremely memorable to me; however, there have been many games since UU that essentially capture a lot of the same magic. Arx Fatalis is the obvious example, but there are so many good 3d dungeon crawlers, including retro indy games. Less so with U7 though. You could argue for Baldur's Gate, Gothic, Divine Divinity and Divinity Original Sin - and others - but nothing quite captures the feel of U7. It truly was an open world game done right. There were various quest threads, but none of them demanded your immediate and absolute attention. The world felt like one that was alive, since NPCs kept to their daily and weekly schedules. I remember following various suspects through town at night to see what they were up to. Unlike what was mentioned in the video, I totally failed to note that the Fellowship was clearly evil based on spoiler talk from The Guardian, so for me the big reveal was following the main priest at night and observing his shadowy dealings. I also remember there were many other interesting activities you could observe, such as someone having an affair, and these discoveries enhanced the immersion more than they had plot relevance. I also remember going off road and ending up being teleported so some highly dangerous location far aware from civilization, and then having to find my way back without engaging any enemies and dying. Simply amazing stuff. If I have to call out what I love about old RPGs that's mostly missing from games today it would be:
(1) Lack of hand-holding. Specifically, you can wander into a dangerous area and get slaughtered, but equally you could find amazing loot.
(2) Greater attention to world-building. The world isn't just there to be your theme-park. I particularly like NPCs having daily schedules and interactions that do not involve the player.
I've been meaning to play U7 again for years. This video bumped it higher up my to-play list.
First off, thank you!
Second, I agree with your points. I appreciate games like U7 because it has so much stuff that could be considered pointless. Things that are there for no real purpose other than to make the world feel like a world.
I think these days the design philosophy of games is different, which is in a way understandable, especially due to massively grown budgets.
Developers want their players to experience as much of the world they've built, so the games try to guide you to all the events, and they want to reward players for finding the events, so everything is a quest or somehow meaningful to the main character to facilitate this.
It's fine, and I appreciate this design style too, but I also appreciate games where the world is there for you to experience, but it's not all about you. That style just feels more "real".
Ultima VI:
Recovering mental patient has a seizure watching tv, sees lighting and a magic portal in his back yard, then passes out.
He wakes up in a homeless woman's tent, who gives him something to drink, where upon he proceeds to trip balls for the next 3 days.
oooh yes! all of it in one video! thank you!
It's been requested so many times I felt like it had to be done. XD
I could add a lot of stuff but...
Mainly got one word for you.
Congratulations!
Thank you!
Thank you for the video.
Nicely done.
Thanks!
My one problem with this series? It's one of 3, extremely well produced, editted and scripted retrospectives on the Ultima series. And yet the best I can find for Might and Magic is SsethTzeentach's videos which, while amusing, are not exactly for good company or deep thought.
That is, however, not a slight against the series. Our good Finn is a great presenter, and even tries to give each game in this set the most optimal chance it has to show off what makes it different from its sibling games, while also showing off how the series as a whole stayed true to itself as much as it could in an ever evolving marketplace.
I'll admit, this series was never mine. I've played 3 of them in their entirety(7, underworld, and 9), and then many years later using the GoG releases, which made the final one of those stable enough not to crash every five minutes, which is a miracle in coding from what I understand.
Still, it's a landmark series, and presented well by our host, so I support it, and him, and hope one day the owners of the series realize they are sitting on a series that could bring in the big bucks, with just a bit of investment and effort.
I may or may not have been gifted a full set of Might & Magic games on GOG.
Things may happen.
@@finntrovert You had my interest before, but now, you have my attention.
I look forward to seeing if it does happen, if not, I at least hope you enjoy the games.
Oh wow. Only 8 minutes in and already being hit by the nostalgia. Can already tell this video is going to be amazing.
Hope the rest of it was adequate as well! :P
Maybe this is because I'm really high at the moment but I feel like your narration could snap me out of a panic attack and lull me into a peaceful sleep. I mean that as a compliment btw
Thanks!
I have been known to read a bedtime story or two as well. :P
Holy heck, very nice!
One of the first game titles I ever purchased was Ultimate III. Evocar!
Ngl. I wish the type n talk approach in dialogue when interacting with RPG NPCs was more a thing in modern day games...
I'd love that.
That would be nice. Who knows, perhaps there is an indie studio wanting to make something like that again.
Watched the whole thing, I played UO for 8 years if not more. Ultima is close to my heart, I wish we could get a remake of the series. Maybe mash a few of the games together to create a longer story but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Shame it ended the way it ended, Ultima Forever was a fascinating project and would have been interesting to see. Though most likely EA just wanted a WoW killer and a portion of that MMO money.
Thank God you made this video. I snagged all the games on gog, but never picked them up. Thanks for getting me to finally pick them up!
Have fun!
A retrospective like this wouldn't be complete without the howie scream. Thank you lol.
took me a week to get through this big video.
I've only seen this game in passing but never played a single Ultima game. But watching this made me feel I've gone through these adventures.
Nice! Glad to hear that, since that was my goal when writing the scripts.
It's nice to know that attempt was not in vain.
Awesome video
Thanks!
Loved the video, I finished it a couple days ago and something just occurred to me. First off, my only Ultima experience only extends to UO and its custom variants, and this is where the thing is.
I’ve seen that rat/lizardfolk get names, but the gargoyles I’ve encountered never do. Seems like the gargs got done dirty
Ultima 1-5: Yay! We're the good guy :)
Ultima 6: We tried our best to be good, but our actions have unforseen consequences. can there even be an objective good without causing harm to others?
Ultima 7 SI: Oh... I guess being Lord British's croney is a necessary evil?
Ultima 8: Ok now we're just straight up evil
Oh man seeing (and hearing) Ultima Underworld again brought back such vivid memories. First PC our family owned, and I remember spending so many nights trying to get different games working by editing batch files in DOS and changing various RAM and MIDI settings. I think UU must have set quite a high bar for later games, for me, because I absolutely love the balance of the limitations and seemingly-endless variety, such as the carrying capacity and the fact you could break or wear down tools through normal use. Add to that the rune mechanic - a neat blend of code-breaking (ish) and magic powers - and it makes for such a rich experience. Also I usually turned off music in games if possible, but I *love* the music in UU, and it really added to the emotions of the gameplay.
This video earned my sub.
Thanks!
3:31:41
A - Hole of Spiders
they knew exactly what they did there :D
;)
Good work
Thanks!
Thanks so much for this series! I have always been interested in Ultima but never committed to trying it, hearing about this series and its story and how it evolved was fantastic. And I liked your style of review. I'm looking forward to videos from you in the future! I am very excited for the Kain series of vids. As a quick question, would you be interested in covering Might & Magic? Figured it may be your type of thing and I'd love to hear your takes on the series as it evolves.
Thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos!
As for Might & Magic, I do have them all, and I do intend to dive deeper into them. Just don't know when.
Thanks for the review! U1-3 were terribly frustrating to me as a child back then. But on the positive side: my father taught me how to use PC-Tools' hex editor.... ;D
I had a similar experience with X-COM. XD
Thanks to Ultima V, I can still read and write runes!
Awesome video. Right up there with Spoony.
Thanks!
Amazing videos, can't wait to see your channel blow up - what other franchises are you interested in covering?
Thanks!
There are plenty, some more talked about, some less.
Legacy of Kain is next, after that I've not yet decided.
Eventually though, I want to talk about System Shock, Quest for Glory, Deus Ex, Crusader, Syndicate, Might & Magic, and many many more things. That's just a snippet of what I call "the list".
@@finntrovert Syndicate would be incredible, loved those games & that setting
Have not watched a single minute of the video yet. But holy fuck 6 hours worth of editing deserve a like and sub at the very least. Damn!
But seriously I’ll save this for a multi session viewing.
finally, for years it felt like the only notable ultima retrospective was ugh spoonys
It does feel weird to have the word notable being used in connection with my little series, but in a good way!
The lack of Ultima content is what made me want to start making videos here in the first place, and it does make me glad so many people have found them and also enjoyed them.
That was an epic journey.
Obviously it would have meant more development time the game just didn't have, but I think different endings depending on the solution you find to the quandary the Guardian/Avatar opposition poses would also have greatly helped Nine's story. Aw, well, might as well also wish for better written script on the whole and no bugs...
That really highlights the, in my opinion, the biggest issue of the game.
There's so much missed potential. You can see how things could have been better with more time, but... that didn't end up happening.
One thing about U3 you didn't mention, it had a 'time' limit. Or, rather, a move limit. You had to defeat Exodus before a certain move limit or it would win. Also, spawned monsters on the overworld got tougher (e.g. dragons spawning versus orcs) and spawn more often as the move counter increases.
I did not know of a time limit. I wonder how it works, and now want to look into it.
Nice reference to the Spoony Ultima series with the Benny Hill music.
In Lord British's defense, the Gargoyles do look pretty... Demon-Y, lol.
That's racist 😆
Ah... Such a short video.... =P
Finally the supercut is here! YAY!
Love it, stumbling across this retrospective (and channel) was a great find. :)
I started with Ultima IV in December 1985. After that was Ultima III and Ultima V. These three are my favorites. I actually enjoy all of Ultima but would put Pagan at the bottom (I’m glad you stuck with it after starting with Pagan: Ultima VIII and then Ultima IX). Ultima IX was a cool game but it was just very buggy and crashed a lot on me. Superb review of the Ultima Series.
First. Thank you!
Second, glad you've enjoyed all of Ultima in varying degrees. There's quite a bunch of negativity especially towards the final two entries, and I was at one point worried I was going to be the odd one out for NOT completely hating them.
I do also get why 8 would be your bottom, I can't really decide mine, but Pagan is in my opinion the most obviously unfinished, even if IX tends to get that reputation.
@@finntrovert Ultima IX was pretty good once I got the patches and it ran ok on XP. You’re correct in that 8 and 9 were both rushed to release and not finished.
@@ChadQuick270W Agreed. I mean, I can see why people would take umbrage to some aspects of it, some which I mentioned in the video, but overall I still found the game enjoyable in the state it is now.
Powder to stop time seams the best "spell"
I am sure this will be an amazing video. So excited. I am a fan of Ultima games but never played it. Only played black gate for like half an hour
Hope it's not too much of a disappointment!
@@finntrovertno no. Its good
Classics never die !!!
I watched the entire video and enjoyed it immensely. Thank you for covering one of my favourite old CRPGs (and the first I've played on PC). Would you be covering any other old CPRG series like Wizardry or Might and Magic?
Thank you!
As for the question, yes, eventually. I have been provided with the entire M&M series, and Wizardry as well is often brought up either on Discord or streams and I want to look at them more closely.
First though, I want to dive into Legacy of Kain, first video of which should come next week if all goes well, after which I might change how I do things a bit, and instead of just going through one series back to back, perhaps mixing it up with another to keep myself from burning out.
@@finntrovert Thanks for the response! You have certainly made me consider replaying my GOG copy of ultima 7 with exult, which I have never heard of until this video. Thanks for the great video again!
@@Somebody374-bv8cd Sounds like a plan!
Exult really does add quite a few quality of life features without breaking the intended flow of the game.
hyvä video broidi 👍
Kiitos! Kiva kun tykkäsit.