Ultima VII: The Black Gate - Review / Retrospective
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- Опубликовано: 11 апр 2023
- A review of the first part of the final chapter of the Ultima saga.
The opinions are from the perspective of someone who only recently played these games for the first time.
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Игры
The entire Ultima review series playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL6ySdS-taQCLCyXvRRoHCYgBDo2h8bUle
crazy how this game in 1992 proposed way more complex systems than some modern RPGs
Had to have that little homage. He's who originally got me to play these, and while I disagree with some of his points, I still appreciate the entertainment value.
@ImDrunk99 Voodoo mem manager, a whole engineering feat. It was used to allow unreal mode to abstract a "far pointers" linear memory space beyond the 640k bytes. They were pushing boundaries at all fronts of the tech stack.
It was a different time... Developers couldn't rely on whiz-bang graphics back then. Instead, they had to have great stories and complex adventures.
Back when developers wanted to produce art and great projects and it wasn't just churning things out for money. I guess. I don't know that for a fact, even.
Ultima VII is one of the greatest RPGs ever made.... it's a masterpiece. It was completely astounding when it first came out.
0pl
Ultima VII was my first Ultima game. Also my first RPG. So it will always have a special place in my heart.
This game will never cease being fun for me. As someone who played IV and VI to death before the release of VII, the technical innovations present in U7 were nothing short of mindblowing. The music, the story, the aesthetic, the dialogue: all superb. Yes, combat is suboptimal but I liked the auto-combat for party members in U6 so I did not mind the auto-combat for everyone in U7. I spent at least 18 months running around and having fun in U7 in 1992 and never finished the game. By comparison, I finished Final Fantasy II the same year in about a week and then went back to U7.
The connections between Ultima games and the fact that they reused the same world is a huge bonus. Longtime players are amply rewarded. Just one example: Ultima VI never explains who murdered Quenton in Skara Brae, everyone just racistly assumes it was gargoyles. But then in U7 the truth is revealed for players who remember the mystery. And of course, the tradition of making fun of EA in U5 and U6 was carried forward brilliantly into U7.
A monumental release that was hugely influential in the West.
I fell asleep to the 1-6 playlist last night and this is what I wake up to. Glory be to the Avatar!
For inventory management:
1 You can place crates in the middle portion of the flying carpet for lots of portable storage.
2 You can wear a barrel instead of a backpack once you have enough strength, giving tou a lot more space.
3 If you're playing the original game (not exult), there is a bug which allows you to carry any movable item despite the weight. I used this before forge of virtue to carry barrels and cannons. If you drag an item onto the Avatar, but it is too much weight or too big, the game displays a red X then places the item back in the game world *exaclty where the mouse was when the item was picked up*. This is an important feature, as if the item is tall enough like a barrel, chest or cannon, to overlaying the Avatar visually, you can pick up an item from the pixels which cover the Avatar, then the game will place the item inside the Avatar instead of in the world. A little cheaty, but it's fun to just whip out a cannon and unload on some enemies.
Dude, that's cool!
The Hoe of Destruction in a shed really made this game.
and it was used to kill a kilrathi. lol
Dirty diapers create a fear effect in enemies. ANY enemies. Even dragons.
There's an infinite XP glitch, that I discovered can also be used to duplicate items. Here's how:
1. When Batlin asks you to take the box to Minoc, SAY NO. The glitch won't work unless you first refuse the job.
2. Talk to Batlin again, and take the job. He gives you the box, and everyone gains 100 XP.
3. Talk to him again, and even though you have the box already, he'll offer you the job again. Say yes, to gain 100 more XP.
4. As long as you don't deliver the box, you can keep talking to him and accepting the job for 100 XP.
Now, the item duplication glitch. Do the first two steps above, then add:
2.5. Take an item that has a quantity. Gold coins, spell reagents, arrows -- the important thing is to move the item, so that a "how many" prompt appears. Move all the items.
3. Talk to Batlin again. Take the job offer, gain 100 XP.
3.5. Check your inventory. The item you moved is back, but also where you put it, giving you two piles.
3.6. Exploit the hell out of it.
Ultimate VII is my favorite game of all time. Just something about how everything is so hand crafted, there's so much to discover hidden away in some corner of a forest or cave, how each NPC seems like fully fleshed out characters, how you can have large, spanning, full conversations with some random NPC in the corner of the map. Simply exploring the world just inspires a sense of discovery that awes me to this day and no game has ever matched.
I completely understand that.
Even if there are countless games where I enjoy the technical aspect of the gameplay much more, Ultima VII still has an extremely engaging world I was able to just lose myself into. The joy of discovery is something more games should strive for.
Other funny thing besides generators being shaped like the Electronic Arts logo at the time are: The murders accomplices Elizabeth and Abraham (nudge-nudge, wink-wink) and probably the Guardian himself who goes around conquering or destroying worlds (in contrast to Origin Systems' slogan which had the line "...we create worlds").
Is incredible what this game has achieved for such an old game. Maybe to many it looks dated but if you can get over that and with some help from Exult you will find an amazing experience. Is a completely open world experience where you can literally do anything.
Watched all of your Ultima videos, really well done, would love to see more from this era like Wizardry. Great job!
for some reason the biggest memory of this game is baking bread and doing smash and grabs for armor and then being chased and murdered by guards.
Sorry, Finn, that I - once again - can't provide a critical comment. I enjoyed this reviews as much as the previous ones.
To some extend it's weird though: I feel some sense of nostalgia watching these videos of yours after I witnessed the Ultima series streams some years ago. I'm looking forward to the other review videos. There is still some way to go til the cameo of Burt Reynolds. ;-)
This is a great retrospective series. I'm subscribed to make sure I see all of them.
What an excellent video! The first Ultima I played in my youth was VIII, which was way too advanced for young me, but I totally get what this game is like after watching this. Keep up the good work!
also the gargoyle ass at 00:02 is _fine_
Who wants to see this series remastered? This guy, that's who. I was around and a gamer when the fourth game released but...I just didn't know about them. I started gaming in 1986 with the Nes and Master which I believe was when Ultima IV was introduced. Come on somebody in the industry or indy show these so called new AAA titles what expansive, open ended gaming truly is.
My all time favorite game with Serpent Isles and both add ons. And it was the time when quests aren't shown with an x on the map. No one was holding your hand. The plot was great, the open world mind blowing. Well, a bit messy in Serpent Isle but awesome no matter what. Great soundtrack, great overal production. "Organizing the keys", yeah that was something lol. But we didn't have much comparison back at the time so we were still amazed by everything in the game. I still play the saga every 5 years with Exult. Great review !
Thank you!
It's very understandable how these would be your favorites. Even if I have my gripes with some aspects of the engine, those are in the end relatively minor issues that don't really interfere with the parts that are absolutely amazing.
Ultima VII has been one of my favorite game (or I guess pair of games) pretty much since the day I first played it in the mid '90s. It's easily one of the most immersive open worlds in gaming, rivaling or even outdoing many games made today. I fell in love with the series with IV, V and VI (VI has my favorite story in the series, but the clunky systems hold it down. They were innovative for the time, but didn't age well), but VII is really the pinnacle of the series for me. Been ages since I last played it. Watching this has me in the mood to grab Exult, find my old discs and give it another play.
I wouldn't do that, if I were you, Avatar.
It is sad that most people have not played the best game on the planet
This game is a masterpiece. Ages like fine wine and beautiful to look at due to fantastic Pixel art design.
A truly brilliant series.
Both the games itself as well as your reviews. Thanks a lot! Cheers.
Thank you!
Thanks for making this Finn Friend, subscribed and added the rest to my watch later. Never played Ultima but learning about such an influential series is fascinating.
glad to see more reviews on this game. it was very formative for me. i'm surprised it doesn't get brought up more often. the NPC schedule system lended so much to the immersion of Britannia
Another great video, really enjoying the series.
The expansion/sequel serpent isle was great as well, a bit different from u7, maybe less open but the world and story was still great.
As a kid i liked u8 a lot as well but i think that hasn't held up nearly as well. The underworld games still hold up though, looking forward to your take on them.
Great Job on these Ultima Videos! You have a perfect voice for these types of videos! Better voice then that of some professionals !
Thank you!
@@finntrovert your welcome. Appreciate the videos and information provided.
@@finntrovert i have a question about the Ultima series and I'm thinking u would be there perfect person to ask...
Which Ultima game would you recommend starting with? I have owned every Ultima game on PC for quite some time now (including Ultima Underworld 1 & 2 & Ultima 1-8) but have not had the time or opportunity for some time now to do much gaming on PC due to raising my daughter on my own since she was born. Now that she is a bit older and able to do more stuff on her own it has opened access for me to get back into PC gaming. I have lots of experience playing many different types of RPGs on pc but never got around to the Ultima series and after watching your videos on them I'm thinking now would be a great time.
So with all that said / in short, in what order would u recommend me to start the Ultima series? From what research I had done years back, lots of people in forums and online recommended to start with Ultima IV and work my way up from there or start with the Ultima Underworld 1 and play the 2nd Underworld right after then move onto Ultima IV. The more I think about it I want to say some people also recommended to start with Ultima 3 and that Ultima 7 was the best of the series...
Apologies in advance for the short novel comment and hope to hear back from you with some insight. Thank You in advance @finntrovert. (Cool name by the way)
Hey, just caught up on this series. Looking forward to the rest! Thanks.
The script for the next one is almost finished, so... soon-ish!
Ultima vii and part 2 are one of my all time RPGS favorites. So rewarding to finishing both titles
Can't blame you there. The worlds are so interactive and interesting that it makes sense why those who remember them, remember them fondly.
They went hard on backpack programming.
My favourite adventure game of all time. U7 + exp & U7P2 + exp.
I really tried to get into this back in the day but still can’t stand the UI. Glad RUclips came along so I can experience the game anyway :) The Avatar joining the Fellowship always cracked me up. It’s like starting a new religion and then having Jesus show up and want to become a member.
That's understandable.
Juggling the UI can take a lot to get used to and isn't the most user friendly. It looks nice, but trades a lot of functionality for looks.
I didn't mind it, but get why people would.
these are great. appreciate the reviews.
The only classic Ultima that I truly played all the way. Great stuff.
I love how character portrait frames are based on from where they are from.
Good stuff, sir. Thanks for the upload - here, have a new sub and some virtual love
Ultima 7 would be a strong contender for my favourite game of all time. I still prefer this to modern RPGs. This was the peak of gaming for me. Old fart!
It's a good choice!
Personally, I prefer Ultima VI more, but if the combat system was more to my tastes in VII the choice between which I prefer would be extremely difficult.
One of my favourite games ever and I'm not a D&D or CRPG guy. For years I was obsessed with the Ultima series after playing this and I'm disappointed that even with all the money and huge teams that are required for modern games very few games have come close to recreate that feeling of a living, breathing world.
Regarding finding out early in the game that an organised religion that sees itself as the ultimate good is actually misleading and follows a secret agenda is not really an spoiler. It's more like a "duh... no shit" moment. For me the mystery still worked because you find out about the Guardian, the astronomical phenomenon going on, the magic failing, the appearance of Fellowship, the ritualistic murders, and the people throughout the land hearing "voices" as separate things but you explore the world to find out how all these are related.
One of my favourite RPGs and definitely in my top 10, even top 5. I really liked the darker tone of this one and how it questions the Virtues and the Avatar. Yeah, the combat is the worst part sadly. Nothing worst than one of your party members running off... dropping items in his wake. Shame it goes downhill afterwards (damn EA).
Was it just me, or could you transfer characters to/from the Bard's Tale series? I vaguely remember seeing that feature on the Commodore 64 when I was a kid.
I never knew this, but after a quick Google, apparently you could import characters from completely unrelated games to Bard's Tale.
Really cool!
The sad thing about this game's story is that.... If you could remove The Guardian's influence from the Fellowship, it could have been a good thing.
Indeed, and in the context of U9, perhaps even the solution to most of Britannia's problems.
The Fellowship here sounds rather like the Universal Brotherhood from Shadowrun at around this time.
Can someone please tell me what the white ring does/means in the inventory screen? I have looked everywhere for an explanation and can't find one. THANKS in advance!
In the reference guide it s called Protect Mode. Toggling this on means other party members will follow the character in combat, prioritizing attacks on enemies that are attacking the character that has this mode turned on.
I'm studying this cos I got the complete case (just no game cd found around yet lol)
Have you thought of doing Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 1+2? Savage Empires & Martian Dreams? Mostly just mentioning them, because they're free on GOG right now.
I've never played them, but I night set up a touch interface on my phone for them at that price 😊
Eventually, my only problem is the lack of time to work on these.
I want to do so much!
Martian Dreams is weird and great. I had a little trouble in the middle with knowing the right words to say to the right people.
Great reviews for the Ultima series.
Have you tried playing the Worlds of Ultima and the Ultima Underworld series? All of them are worth playing as well.
Akalabeth is also worth mentioning. Even as simple as it is, it's a very fun game, and both the manual and game acts as a prequel to Ultima I.
Worlds of Ultima use the Ultima 6 engine with some nice improvements. I personally really like both Savage Empire and Martian Dreams, and add some variety to the Ultima series. Ultima Underworld is also a great first person experience. The second Ultima Underworld is a direct sequel to Ultima VII as well and it has a direct reference in Serpent Isle as well, though, to get that reference in Underworld 2 you have to select some very optional dialogue with a very minor character...
In fact, I'm currently playing through Ultima Underworld.
It's been fun so far, even if I have some criticisms. But as a whole it's been enjoyable.
I loved tossing people into the crematorium in the serpent expansion.
I can't wait to see the video about the next and final game in the series, Ultima Online.
There is still Ultima 8 (mediocre) and Ultima 9 (crime against humanity) ... Plus the two based on Ultima 6 (Savage Empire and Martian Dreams)... not to mention the two Ultima Underworlds.
I loved Black Gate
Good!
Even if I have some criticisms, overall I too really enjoyed it.
You deserve more views and subscribers 👌🏼. Have you ever played the Wizardry and Might and Magic games?
I have the maps on the wall, are they collectable?
I grew up on the 8-bit Ultimas and loved them. To this day, Ulitima V is still my favourite single-player game of all time. Ultima VI is fantastic as well, though I did feel it was a bit of a step backward in some important ways.
And while I can appreciate the greatness of Ultima VII from an academic standpoint, I never really enjoyed _playing_ it. For me, gameplay is king and much of the gameplay in The Black Gate is just bad.
The combat system is a joke. The move to real-time just killed it. What is the point of even having a party if you don't get to direct each party member's actions individually?
And the inventory management is just insufferable. The invisible "volume limit" was the worst. I found most of the gameplay involved moving stuff around between inventory containers and fighting with the inventory limitations to try and carry what I wanted. I recall one time when my party's inventory was full, and I couldn't pick up something I wanted. So I decided it was time to sort through inventory. I spent _over an hour_ removing crap from my backpacks and bags, etc. Laying it sll out on the ground, deciding what was most important, who should carry what, etc. At the end of this excruciating exercise., it turned out that with sufficient rearrangement, I was able to fit everything into my inventory after all. This is _not_ my idea of fun, and I can't fathom how such a user-hostile inventory system could have made it through playtesting.
After introducing a party in Ultima III, Origin seemed to get that micromanaged character-based inventory systems are a pain, and wisely introduced simple, party-based inventory in Ulitimas IV and V. To this day, I can't figure out why they reversed course starting in Ultima VI.
I feel like a spiritual order like the fellowship would also have members who it attracted be still believes even in the adversity of the failure of characther of their leaders, the same way people believe in political ideologies of all kinds even when their leaders are exposed to have misslead them. So i am not sure killing all of them is justifiable either as change might be needed with systems the kingdom has relied on failing.
Also i feel like phasing the fantasy out of the fantasy game by draining magic story wise is a short sighted call to make as very few games can do justice to a story of introducing magic into a world and so its most likely ir-reverseable. Obviously there were not many games in the ultima series after this one but its similar like how games building on deus ex story are eventually bound to fail in this regard.
Looks gorgeous and its almost Ultima Online, weird how VIII came out to be...
28:44 what is the easter egg about EA? I cant find a reference online.
The shapes of The Guardian's generators correspond to the shapes used in the EA logo at the time, and the initials of the two evil people you follow are E & A.
Will you be doing a retrospective on the sequel, Serpent Isle?
Oh yes, but for... reasons, I need to do the Ultima Underworld games first.
Is Akalabeth World of Doom, AKA "Ultima 0" ever gonna be reviewed?
Possibly. My only problem is the lack of time I have available for playing games thoroughly.
Currently going through the next project, and work is keeping me unreasonably busy. But new ones will come, and one may be Akalabeth.
Cool game. 😎👍
For the love of RPG, there is not reason not to remake this game.
Unfortunately, Richard Garriott owns the rights to the Lord British character and EA owns the rights to the Ultima games... but they can't make an Ultima with Lord British in it without Garriott's approval. So, it likely will never happen, but I agree with you...
played this so looong ago wonderful game!
Still is!
Even if I had some criticisms of some aspects, still enjoyed the game immensely.
i wanna play this now
As you should. It's a good game!
For my money, still the best Open World in an Open World RPG ever. And it isn't even close.
28:45 🤣🤣🤣
Is it just me or does the Avatar look a lot like Rutger Hauer?
I'd like to see this game remade by larian
These videos have been very Finnteresting
Best RPG ever..
Understandable choice!
Though personally, I prefer Part 2 over this one.
I never could get into this game. The weird perspective always bothered me lol.
That was exactly why I never played this when it came out.
Tried it at a friend, had no knowledge of the world so I was confused, and the perspective felt weird, so I just didn't bother.
Until two years back, of which I am glad I did.
There was a mod for Exult a few years ago that rotated the view 45 degrees. And it looks surprisingly good... who knew just rotating the screen would make U7's wonky isometric view better? The shame is it was a proof of concept mod and had never been completed.
I think the presence of the Guardian really weakens Ultima VII's story. Why have a Big Bad that's literally sucking the magic of the world? Since IV the series tried its best to shy away from Big Baddies and cartoonish villains. It was an exploration on philosophical and moral systems that's, even to this day, unlike anything else in gaming. VII seems like the logical next step, showing us a once magical kingdom dealing with some very non-magical issues, like inequality, corruption, drugs, etc. The Fellowship is able to manipulate everyone because it gives some simple answears to very real problems, and the citizens of Britannia are in a vulnerable enough position to take any answear they can get. Suddenly fnding out it's all literally Satan's fault always seemed like a cheap conclusion to me.
Agreed. The Guardian was the weakest part of the story to me as well, and Batlin was far more interesting as a villain.
In part because that's who he is, a charismatic manipulator to the end, as even after the Cube is destroyed he is more than willing to continue being evil.
The Guardian was a means to reach desires of power he always had.
@@finntrovert Cast the Armageddon spell and then go talk to LB and to Batlin, the only other people still left alive. You will learn more about Batlin's motivation!
I think the story of the Guardian is resolved well in Ultima 9 (although Ultima 9 is a horrible game overall).
The Hoe of Destruction is very OP as well (if you know how to get it)
I did not get far in this game when I bought it on release. In the main starting town, I discovered you could kill EVERYONE in the town and that to keep track of the living from the dead, it was possible to drag the bodies to the center of town and pile them up. This was the first game that provided me with that level of interactivity and surprisingly it was all I really needed from the game at that time. I never bothered with the quests or missions as that would have required sparing the townsfolk and their fate was sealed.
I can't remember if I was able to set the murdered townsfolk on fire... if anyone knows please let me know.
Just try and eat a brick of butter (any food really) off someone’s plate at the Blue Boar (Britain) at night and you’re in for a blood bath fight.
Sounds like you would also like Fallout
I wish they redo this game
Understandable.
You can find many a Hoe of Destruction in Akron, Ohio.
someone bring back the ultima ip
Feels like some writer overread on Ayn Rand
did you find and kill rathi?😅
Unfortunately, a farmer had already eaten it...
Ugh, that food mechanic did not add to the fun.
IM STARVING AVATAR
IM FAMISHED
OUCH
"I put food in your backpack, you can eat it whenever you like"
HELP
*dies*
@@bluedistortions lol
Really this is where the game starts going downhill for me. Sure, the story's good... if you discount BubbleHead McGee taunting you... But mehanically the game is.. not as good as previous entries. Oh well... still 1 good game to go. xD
What, no love for Serpent Isle or Ultima VIII? 🌝
Imagine my surprise when an organization that wants to strangle the importance of the individual for what they perceive to be the greater good of the collective turns out to be evil.
I played IV, V, VI, and VII when they came out, and while initially impressed with the graphics of VII, I now find it rather poor compared to VI. :/
I love Ultima but the inventory is just too much for me in 2023. Shame really.
Very understandable. It can get really messy, and while I appreciate the idea, I have more of a love for grid inventories.
African-American Gate, racist
Elder scrolls copy most things of Ultima
U7 is one of the most impressive tech demos ever made. As an actually playable RPG? God awful. A janky buggy disaster without any actual good gameplay unless you are one of those people who consider Visual Novels games. Sure a good story but story isn't a game. It's an enhancement to the game not the purpose. It's like the condiment on your burger. It can enhance something but it's not why you are there. If it's bad it can destroy what's good too.
why this overrated ugly game so incredibly pointless
Why does it feel like you had to NITPICK to find anything bad about the game… why can’t you just say it’s a great game!! This review is so pedantic it makes it worthless!
Because then I would present an opinion that's not mine.
Thanks for the feedback though!
@@finntrovert your opinions on it are completely pedantic… you poke at stuff that is of no real consequence
@@willgibson8534 Thank you for sharing your opinion!
Only thing worthless about this video is the very bottom comment from some boomer.