Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

Description

The fourth game in the now well-established Ultima series featured an improved game engine, with color graphics and better character interaction (you could now have actual conversations with NPCs). But what really makes Ultima IV shine is its radical departure from any other RPG made before or since in terms of the story and goal.

Instead of building up your character by any means possible in order to face the Ultimate Evil in a big bang up showdown, in Ultima IV you were trying to become the Avatar, a role model of sorts for the people of the land. This meant upholding the "eight virtues" and basically trying to become a better person. In most RPGs you chose to be a just/nice hero because the people you'd help would usually provide you with some nice equipment for your services, but in Ultima IV you helped people not for a reward or to advance the plot but simply because it was the "right thing to do". The game actually frowns on behavior that was typical of most other RPGs, such as backstabbing fleeing monsters or picking up everything that wasn't nailed down even if it didn't belong to you. The game keeps track of all your actions, so if you went about killing and looting like in most RPGs, you'd never finish the game.

This VERY different approach to the game's ultimate goal is what makes Ultima IV famous so many years later, and became the sort of design philosophy that made all the following Ultimas so unique in their genre.

Of course, the game still has plenty of traditional RPG elements such as dungeons to explore and hostile monsters to kill, as well as a typical final "Holy Grail" type quest where you had to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom to complete your transformation into Avatarhood.

Alternate Titles

• "Ultima: Seisha e no Michi" -- Famicom Title
• "Ultima: Quest of the Avatar" -- NES Title
• "Ultima IV: Avatar no Tankyu" -- Japanese Title
• "Última IV" -- Brazilian Sega Master System Title

Part of the Following Groups

• Games made into comics
• Ultima series
• Ultima universe

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User Reviews

This game should be taught in schools	DOS	Unicorn B. Lynx (53164)
An all time classic. Still as playable as it ever was	DOS	Pix (1148)
A revolutionary game that has aged well	DOS	WWWWolf (353)
Morality in a video game? Are gamers ready for something like that?	DOS	Don Lee (8)
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar	DOS	TheNightWalker (16)
One of the greatest CRPG's of all time.	DOS	cimerians (48)
THE role-playing game. If you haven't played this, you aren't an RPG-er.	DOS	Mirrorshades2k (282)
Best RPG plot there was, there is, and there ever will be (maybe).	DOS	Yeah Right (61)

The Press Says

Power Play	SEGA Master System	Aug, 1990	86 out of 100	86
HonestGamers	NES	Nov 13, 2008	8 out of 10	80
Nintendo Power Magazine	NES	Feb, 1991	3.7 out of 5	74
Defunct Games	SEGA Master System	Feb 14, 2009	55 out of 100	55

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
The Best Game Ever or The Biggest Waste Of Time?	12	mobiusclimber (224) Nov 08, 2007
Test, test!	7	WildKard (11963) May 17, 2007

Trivia

In addition to home computer platforms, Ultima IV was released for both the Nintendo Entertainment System and (much to Nintendo's chagrin) the Sega Master System.