The Ultima series is a collection of open-world fantasy role-playing video games developed by Origin Systems and created by Richard Garriott. Since 1992, Electronic Arts has owned the Ultima brand. By 1997, the series had sold more than 2 million copies.
Along with Wizardry and Might and Magic, the Ultima series helped set many standards for computer role-playing games. Several games in the series are considered very important to their genre. Many of their early ideas were often used by other games.
The Ultima games are mostly based in the fantasy genre but also include science fiction elements. Most of the games take place in a world called Britannia. The main character is first known as the Stranger but later becomes called the Avatar in Ultima IV and retains that name in later games.
Games
The main Ultima series has nine games (with the seventh game split into two parts) divided into three three-part series, or "Ages": The Age of Darkness (Ultima I-III), The Age of Enlightenment (Ultima IV-VI), and The Age of Armageddon (Ultima VII-IX). The last series is sometimes called "The Guardian Saga" because of its main enemy. The first three games take place in a fantasy world named Sosaria. During the big, destructive events of The Age of Darkness, most of Sosaria is split apart and disappears. What remains becomes Britannia, a land ruled by the kind and fair Lord British. Most of the later games are set in Britannia. The main character in all the games is a person from Earth who is called by Lord British to protect Sosaria and later Britannia from dangers. At first, the player is called "the Stranger," but by the end of Ultima IV, the character is known as the Avatar.
In Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1981), the Stranger is summoned to Sosaria to defeat the evil wizard Mondain, who wants to take over the world. Mondain has a Gem of Immortality that makes him unable to be harmed. The Stranger finds a time machine, goes back in time to stop Mondain before he creates the gem, and breaks the incomplete gem.
In Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (1982), Mondain’s secret student and lover, Minax, tries to get revenge. When Minax attacks Earth, she opens doorways to different times and places in Earth’s history and brings monsters to them. The Stranger finds a special sword that can harm Minax, locates her at Castle Shadowguard, and defeats her.
In Ultima III: Exodus (1983), it is revealed that Mondain and Minax had a child named Exodus, who is neither human nor machine. Exodus is shown as a computer and appears to be a self-aware, demonic artificial intelligence. After Minax’s death, Exodus attacks Sosaria, and the Stranger is called again to destroy it. This game was the first in the series to include a system where players can control a group of characters, a feature used in later games.
In Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), the series changes from simple "hero vs. villain" stories to a system based on eight virtues linked to love, truth, and courage. Although Britannia is peaceful under Lord British’s rule, he worries about his people’s spiritual health and calls the Stranger to become a spiritual leader by example. The Stranger’s choices throughout the game determine how close he gets to this goal. If he achieves all virtues, he gains the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom and becomes the "Avatar," representing Britannia’s virtues.
In Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988), the Avatar returns to Britannia and finds that Lord British has been lost in the Underworld. Lord Blackthorn, who rules in his place, is corrupted by the Shadowlords and twists the meaning of the virtues. The Avatar and his friends rescue the true king, defeat the tyrant, and restore the virtues to their original form.
In Ultima VI: The False Prophet (1990), the Avatar and his companions must fight Gargoyles invading Britannia. The game explores themes of racism and fear of outsiders, asking the Avatar to understand and reconcile two different cultures.
In Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992), the Avatar becomes involved in a plan by a group called the Fellowship (inspired by Scientology) to create a gateway for a powerful evil entity named the Guardian to enter Britannia. Richard Garriott, the game’s creator, said Ultima VII was the first game where he planned future stories in advance. An expansion pack, Forge of Virtue, added a volcanic island to the map where the Avatar finds a piece of Exodus’s data storage unit. To leave the island, the Avatar destroys this piece, creating a powerful weapon called the Black Sword.
In Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle (1993), the game used the same engine as Ultima VII, so it was labeled as part two instead of a new game. The story was shortened due to time limits, and some original plot ideas remain in the game’s database. After defeating the Fellowship, its leader flees to Serpent Isle, where the Avatar and companions follow him. Serpent Isle is revealed to be another piece of the old world Sosaria. The game ends with the Avatar being captured by the Guardian and taken to another world for the next game. An expansion pack, The Silver Seed, allowed the Avatar to travel back in time to plant a seed that balances the island’s magic.
In Ultima VIII: Pagan (1994), the Avatar is exiled to a world called "Pagan" by the Guardian. In Pagan, the Britannic virtues are unknown, and the world is ruled by god-like beings called Elemental Titans, who serve the Guardian. The Avatar defeats them, gains power, and returns to Britannia. A planned expansion, The Lost Vale, was canceled because the game did not sell well.
In Ultima IX: Ascension (1999), the final game in the series, Britannia is conquered by the Guardian, and its virtues are corrupted. The Avatar must restore them. The Guardian is revealed to be the evil part of the Avatar himself, separated when the Avatar became the Avatar. To stop the Guardian, the Avatar must merge with it, ending his existence as a separate being. An earlier version of the game had a more extreme ending where the Guardian and Lord British were killed, Britannia was destroyed, and the Avatar ascended to a
Packaging
Ultima game boxes often included special items called "feelies." For example, starting with Ultima II, each main series game came with a cloth map of the game world. From Ultima IV onward, small items like pendants, coins, and magic stones were added. These items, made of metal or glass, usually represented important objects from the game.
Richard Garriott disliked how games were sold in plastic bags with only a few printed pages for instructions. He insisted that Ultima II be sold in a box, along with a cloth map and an instruction book. At that time, Sierra was the only company willing to agree to this request, so Garriott signed with them.
Copy protection measures
In the Atari 8-bit version of Ultima IV, one of the floppy disks had a track that was not properly formatted. Without this disk, players would lose every fight. This issue was not immediately obvious as a copy protection measure, as players might think the problem was due to lack of experience or poor equipment. The copy protection was designed to be hidden, and the German distributor did not notice it. They sent out disks that were properly formatted, which caused players to lose every battle because the disks did not include the necessary data.
In Ultima V, some information in the game’s booklet was used in the game. For example, characters would ask players about details from the booklet. The game also used a special kind of writing, called runic script, and unique names for spells. The booklet provided translations and explanations for these elements. Additionally, a journal about Lord British’s failed journey into the underworld was included in the game’s packaging. During the game, players would need to follow the same path as the journey described in the journal to find an important item. These features were designed as copy protection, but they fit naturally into the game’s fantasy setting, making them less obvious to casual players.
In Ultima VI, the game used a more organized method of copy protection by asking players questions. If answers were incorrect, players could not progress in the game. This method continued in Ultima VII, where players had unlimited chances to answer questions correctly. Answers could be found in the game’s manual or cloth map. However, the manual included all the answers for every game in the Ultima Collection.
In Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle, the copy protection was slightly changed. Players faced questions at two points in the game. If they failed to answer after two attempts, non-player characters (NPCs) would say altered versions of famous quotes, and everything in the game would be labeled "Oink!" This made the game unplayable. Starting with Ultima VIII, copy protection questions were no longer used.
Common elements
The world of Ultima originally had four continents. These were Lord British's Realm, ruled by Lord British and the Lost King; The Lands of Danger and Despair, ruled by Lord Shamino and the King of the White Dragon; The Lands of the Dark Unknown, ruled by Lord Olympus and the King of the Black Dragon; and The Lands of the Feudal Lords, ruled by the lords of Castle Rondorin and Castle Barataria.
After Mondain was defeated and his Gem of Immortality was broken in Ultima I, a major change happened. Three of the four continents seemed to disappear, leaving only Lord British's Realm. This remaining land was later called "Sosaria." The Lands of Danger and Despair were later found again as the Serpent Isle, which appeared to be moved to a different place. This suggests the other two continents might still exist. Ultima II shows Castle Barataria on Planet X, which means the Lands of the Feudal Lords may have become this planet. Ultima Online: Samurai Empire suggests the Lands of the Feudal Lords were changed into the Tokuno Islands after the cataclysm.
After Exodus was defeated in Ultima III, Sosaria was renamed Britannia to honor Lord British. Serpent Isle stayed connected to Britannia through a gate near the poles. In Ultima VII, Batlin, the leader of the Fellowship, fled to Serpent Isle after the Black Gate was destroyed. This action caused the deaths of 90% of the island's people when evil Banes were released.
In Ultima, the player controls the Avatar, who represents eight virtues. These virtues were first introduced in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985). The goal of the game was to practice the virtues and become a moral example. Each virtue is linked to a party member, a city in Britannia, and one of eight other planets in Britannia's solar system. Each virtue has a mantra, and each of the three principles (Truth, Love, and Courage) has a word of power the player must learn. The eight virtues are Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility. These virtues are based on the three principles, which are part of the One True Axiom called Infinity.
The virtues were inspired by Hindu ideas, such as the 16 ways of purification and character traits that lead to becoming an Avatar. They were also influenced by characters from The Wizard of Oz, where the Scarecrow represents truth, the Tin Woodsman represents love, and the Cowardly Lion represents courage.
After Ultima IV, the virtues appeared in many other games. In Ultima V, Lord Blackthorn made the virtues into strict laws, which caused the opposite of the virtues to happen. In Ultima VI, the Avatar was shown that his actions might not seem virtuous from another perspective. In Ultima VII, the Fellowship replaced the virtues with a different belief system, causing chaos in Britannia. In Ultima IX, the virtues were turned into their opposite, called anti-virtues.
The virtue system in Ultima was a new idea in game design and became a standard for other games. It influenced games like Black & White, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the Fable series. Unlike other games, Ultima can only be won by being virtuous. Mark Hayse praised the system for being subtle and allowing players to think about their choices without clear rules.
Before Ultima IV, the player was called the Stranger, and the game allowed actions like theft or violence. After Ultima III, Richard Garriott, the game's creator, received criticism from parents about allowing immoral actions. He also faced criticism over supposed Satanic content in Ultima III. After learning about Hinduism and the concept of the Avatar, Garriott created the system of eight virtues for the Avatar in Ultima IV.
The Avatar first appeared in Ultima IV, where the goal was to follow the virtues and retrieve the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from the Great Stygian Abyss. In Ultima V, the Avatar helped end a repressive regime in Britannia. In Ultima VI, the Avatar brought peace between humans and gargoyles. In Ultima VII and VIII, the Avatar fought the Guardian, and in Ultima IX, both the Avatar and the Guardian were destroyed.
In most Ultima games, players could choose the Avatar's name. Ultima VIII fixed the Avatar's appearance as a blond-haired, blue-eyed male, while earlier games allowed players to choose the Avatar's race, gender, and look. Starting in Ultima IV, players used single keywords to make the Avatar speak, but later games like Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld allowed full conversations. Ultima IX added digitized speech to the game.
The Avatar was designed as a blank slate, allowing players to reflect their own personality. The word "avatar" in this context was first used to represent a player's character in a virtual world. The Avatar was one of the first times players could choose the race and gender of the protagonist, letting them think about their actions in the game. Over time, the Avatar took on a more specific look and personality.
Lord British is the ruler of Britannia and represents the game's creator, Richard Garriott. His nickname came from friends who thought his way of saying "hello" sounded British. He added the title "Lord" when he played the dungeon master in Dungeons & Dragons games.
Reception
By 1990, the first five Ultima games sold more than 470,000 copies on home computers in the United States. In Japan, Pony Canyon's Japanese versions of the Ultima series sold nearly 100,000 copies on home computers and over 300,000 copies on the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) by 1990.
In 1996, Next Generation ranked the Ultima series as the 55th best game of all time. They said, "Even though the graphics and gameplay change with new technology, the series has always provided the most consistent fun in role-playing games." In 1999, Next Generation placed the Ultima series at number 18 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time" list. They noted, "Many PC RPGs focus on fighting enemies and exploring dungeons. However, the Ultima series always emphasized a character's virtues as important as their armor class in achieving success."
In 2000, Britannia was listed among the ten best game worlds by GameSpot. It was described as "the oldest and one of the most historically rich game worlds."
Impact and legacy
Many features from early Ultima games, especially Ultima III: Exodus (1983), became common in later role-playing games (RPGs). These included tile-based graphics, group combat, a mix of fantasy and science fiction, and the use of time travel in the story. Some of these ideas were inspired by the game Wizardry, which also used group combat. Exodus was also groundbreaking because it used written stories to tell more detailed tales than most games at the time. Many other games, including earlier Ultima games and Akalabeth, focused mostly on combat and had simple plots. In Ultima IV, Richard Garriott introduced a system of chivalry and rules that tested players’ actions through both obvious and hidden challenges. This was unique because most games allowed players to act freely without facing consequences for their choices.
Ultima III was later released on many other platforms and influenced games like Excalibur and Dragon Quest. Many people believe it was the first modern computer RPG.
On June 30, 2020, Richard Garriott said that EA refused to help him revive or update the Ultima series.
Garriott’s new company, Portalarium, created an RPG/MMORPG that he called a spiritual successor to Ultima. On March 8, 2013, Portalarium started a Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. This was the first of five planned episodes in the game and was designed as a "Selective Multiplayer Game," letting players choose how much multiplayer interaction they wanted, from full online play to single-player mode. Originally planned to release in Summer 2017, with later episodes coming yearly, the first episode was finally released on March 27, 2018, and received mixed reviews. No further episodes have been released yet.