Pagan: Ultima VIII

aka: Super Avatar Bros., Ultima 8
Moby ID: 723
DOS Specs
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Ultima VIII: Pagan begins where Ultima VII: Part Two - Serpent Isle ended. The Guardian banishes the Avatar to the land of Pagan, a world under his control. Stranded in this unknown land, without his companions to help him, the Avatar's goal is to find a way back to Britannia. He has to confront four Titans in this world who are embodiments of the four elements, as well as master different styles of magic and fight many opponents on his way.

The gameplay is significantly more action-oriented in this installment than in the previous Ultima games. The Avatar is able to jump and climb, and some puzzles are based on these abilities, adding platform-style elements to the game. There are no companions to help him in battles; combat is action-based and relies on the player's dexterity. The game also abandons the leveling system of the previous entries, utilizing instead a training-based approach, similar to the one implemented in Quest for Glory games: the character's parameters are increased by continuously using correspondent actions (e.g. the Avatar's strength gradually increases as he swings his weapon).

Magic occupies an important place in the game, also departing from the style of the preceding games. The player still needs to gather reagents for spells; however, the exact preparation and casting of the spell differs depending on the elemental school it belongs to. There are four different magic schools in the game, and mastering their spells bears plot-related importance as well.

Like in the two previous Ultima installments, the game features physical interactivity with the environment: the player is able to take, drop, and move most objects from place to place. As opposed to the topic-based dialogue style of the earlier games in the series, Pagan uses conversations with selectable responses. It also reduces NPC interaction, focusing more on exploration of a hostile world and combat.

A speech pack was released separately, which added voices to some of the major game characters. It was included in the CD-ROM edition of the game.

Spellings

  • Ultima VIII: פגאן - Hebrew spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 19 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 79 ratings with 9 reviews)

Hard to get past the short-comings but ultimately immersive and rewarding...

The Good
Ultima 8 was oft berrated at the time of release for moving away from the traditional Ultima style, e.g. the changed isometric perspective, no party system and rendered (not hand painted) graphics. Putting that aside however the game's graphics are excellent for the time and the world is even more finely detailed than in Ultima 7.

The removal of the party system and having the player being alone for the whole game I found as a bonus too. The atmosphere and loneliness that this creates is invaluable in sucking the player into the world. As the player gains skills in spellcasting and the like you get a real sense of "a single force to be reckoned with" evolving in your character.

The story of this game I find is more memorable than previous games (probably because it takes place in a different Ultima universe) and there so many cool little touches that stick in my memory.

The Bad
The game was not without it's problems. Certainly the release version was plagued with problems; the worst of which made the jumping puzzles next to impossible to complete. In the release version the Avatar could only jump set distances and directions which made landing on specific targets (e.g. moving platforms) a very hit and miss affair, involving a lot of saving and reloading.

This was addressed (along with numerous other problems and bugs) in the patch release. The patch made it so the Avatar jumped to wherever you pointed the cursor, provided it was in range, and although the jumping puzzles were still irritating, you could put up with them.

The Bottom Line
This game requires a bit of effort to get into; to get past the bugs and gameplay flaws, however at its core is a good story and excellent attention to detail which made (for me) a memorable RPG-come-action experience.

DOS · by Tibes80 (1543) · 2007

The Avatar loses his virtues as he goes the route of action hero.

The Good
Unlike most games in the Ultima series, Pagan has less going for it than against it. The graphics are crisp, clean, and pretty (although one can easily lose items behind walls due to the isometric perspective). They convey the world around your character in an adequate manner, if sometimes a little too bright and colorful. The rich sound and music tradition from Ultima VII continues on here and the little voice acting in the game is done well (most noteably the ever ominous Guardian). For those who like the recent game Nox, or would like an action-oriented role-playing game that has a little more depth than Diablo, this game may very well suit their needs.

The Bad
Often called the worst addition to the Ultima series, this game's biggest faults lie in breaking the status quo. In terms of gameplay, Origin decided to take the game down a more action-oriented path, resulting in what was (although not appreciated as such at the time) a predecessor to Diablo and Nox. Countless jumping episodes and other arcade-related activities frustrated RPG fans, especially since the interface wasn't the most user-friendly.

Worse than the decision to go with action is the deviation in story/content. In the continuing trend of lessening the personalization of the Avatar, in this game you are forced to play a male, bucket-helmeted Avatar, making the character more and more distant in many people's mind. The Avatar himself no longer seems to be the Avatar. This 'paragon of virtue' who strove to be honest, humble, compassionate, etc in the previous four Ultimas suddenly has no qualms about lying, stealing, and murdering (to the apparent point of genocide). There are no ways around these plot points as there were in the past. The evil choice isn't just the easy way...it's the only way. The plot is fairly linear and although the hand-holding is fitting considering you're stuck in a land run by the Guardian, it, along with the action, tends to make people feel like their playing some scrolling jumper game (ala Super Mario Brothers) rather than a RPG.

The characters and world in this installment lack the interest, appeal, or fascination of the people and places in the earlier chapters. I never realized how much the character portraits from U6 & U7 added to the personality of the character. Here, the characters all look little wooden artist models with clothes on. Lacking in any feelings for them, I began to lose my digust over the Avatar's behavior. Much like he, I started to not care. I just wanted to get it all done with.

The Bottom Line
Ultima VIII: 'Super Avatar Brothers' is the low point for both the Avatar and the series. Origin took a shot on redefining 'role playing games' and, while in retrospect helped define a genre later perfected by Diablo and Nox, it was a disaster. It was too actiony for long term fans and too complex for simple action fans. The main character, once the epitome of a virtuous hero, throws it all aside in an attempt to escape from world totally under the control of his arch-nemesis. The clean and colorful graphics give life to the world, though the faceless clones may remind one of Ultima Online. The game appeals in its attempt to convey being a prisoner in a world without bars, but the Avatar's contempt for rules and 'good behavior' remove any real concern for him.

DOS · by Ray Soderlund (3501) · 2000

A big stretch, and a big departure from the previous Ultimas.

The Good
The graphics and sound are very good, and the mouse interface is fairly easy to learn and use for character control.

The Bad
It's almost nothing like all the other Ultimas. In fact, if you call it something else ("Land of Pagan", for example) and name the hero something else ("Gunther" instead of "Avatar"), you'd never know it was made to be an Ultima.

Also, combat is kind of tricky since it's real-time and mouse controlled. You can swing your weapon (normally used), or kick your opponent. Kicking is rather silly, I think, and contributes to the "Super Mario Brothers" feel of the game.

The Bottom Line
All the jumping and kicking aside, this is still an okay game to play. However, I think you'll like the other Ultimas better.

DOS · by Mirrorshades2k (274) · 2000

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Any Western action RPGs before this one? Unicorn Lynx (181780) Sep 9, 2014

Trivia

Cancelled add-on

The planned add-on The Lost Vale was all but finished and ready for duplication before it was cancelled in September 1994 due to poor sales of the main game. In September 2005, a prototype of the game box appeared on eBay and was sold for almost 2000 dollars. Its authenticity was confirmed by Origin artist Denis Loubet. More information on The Lost Vale, including a scan of the box, is available at PC Games That Weren't.

Engine

The Pagan game engine was recycled in Origin's Crusader series.

Pentagram

Richard Garriot used pentagrams as gameplay element because he thought the superstitions - many people believe pentagrams summon the devil - are ridiculous. During development, a few people actually left Origin because of this. After that, Garriot used the pentagram on the cover which caused some US retailers like Walmart to refuse carrying the game.

Plot

In the previous games, Avatar is rated mainly on compassion and doing good deeds. In Ultima VIII, the Avatar must turn all four planes of existence upside down by destroying the Titans of each plane, in order to escape. Many fans believed that this storyline ran counter to the spirit of the Avatar and the entire Ultima series.

Reception

Pagan was not well-received by long-time Ultima fans. A large number of them ridiculed the action and platform elements of the game, dubbing it "Super Avatar Brothers". The alternate nickname this game was known by is "Super Mario Avatar". Only a different wording, but still making a point about the gameplay and jumping puzzles.

Richard Garriott, the producer of this game, admitted himself that it was released too early, incomplete and with too many bugs. The patch Origin released soon afterwards corrected most of the issues and made jumping easier. The CD ROM release is already patched.

References

  • Like Ultima VII, the game contains a reference hinting at the mighty corporate power of Electronic Arts. In Mythran's abode, a magical, morphing object appears, which continuously changes shape between cube, sphere and tetrahedron, and labeled differently during each change. These are the items the former EA logo was made out of.

When double-clicking the item, the avatar kneel and says: "I have not the strength, nor the wisdom to master such power... but one day I shall!". Obviously, Richard Garriott was behind this. * Check out the graves on the graveyard - on one of them there is the following epitaph: "Here lies Arnold. Hasta la vista baby!" An obvious reference to the movie Terminator 2.

Release history

At least in Europe, there were two different releases of the CD-ROM edition (not counting the budget releases). The first one came in the same box as the floppy disk release, with a "CD-ROM" sticker added to distinguish it from the floppy-based version. It included the speech pack, but was the same otherwise.

The second version had a redesigned box and was released in 1995. Unlike the first CD-ROM edition, this one was fully patched to fix all the bugs and plot holes that the game originally had.

Titans

The names of the four Titans are Greek words, that correspond to the elements the Titans represent: * Pyros (fire) * Lithos (earth) * Stratos (air) * Hydros (water)

Tumbling Avatar

In the original release of Ultima VIII there was the feature, that the Avatar, when hit hard in combat, fell on his back and had to get to his feet again before he could continue fighting. They later removed this in the patched version because players considered this very annoying. But you can still watch this feature when fighting a creature named Changeling. If the Changeling has taken the shape of the player and so you are fighting "yourself", the false Avatar will still fall on his back when he gets hit.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #20 Worst Game of All Time

Information also contributed by Kasey Chang, Sciere, Terok Nor, Unicorn Lynx, WildKard, WindowsKIller and xcom1602

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe, G. Ganesh, Jeanne, Apogee IV, Pseudo_Intellectual, Crawly, phorque, Patrick Bregger.

Game added January 11, 2000. Last modified February 11, 2024.