Ultima is a series of open-world fantasy role-playing games created by Richard Garriott of Origin Systems. Electronic Arts has owned the brand since 1992. The series sold more than 2 million copies by 1997.

Along with Wizardry and Might and Magic, the Ultima series helped set many standards for computer role-playing games. Some games in the series are considered very important for their genre. Early games introduced new ideas that other games often copied.

The Ultima games are mostly set in the fantasy world of Britannia. The main character is first called the Stranger but becomes known as the Avatar in Ultima IV and is referred to by that name in later games. The series also includes some science fiction elements.

Games

The main Ultima series includes nine games (with the seventh game split into two parts) organized 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 series takes place in a fantasy world named Sosaria, but during the events of The Age of Darkness, the world is split apart, and three-quarters of it disappear. The remaining part becomes Britannia, a land ruled by Lord British, where most later games are set. 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 character 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 Mondain, an evil wizard who wants to take over the world. Since Mondain has the Gem of Immortality, which makes him unable to be harmed, the Stranger uses a time machine to travel back in time, kills Mondain before he creates the gem, and destroys the incomplete artifact.

In Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (1982), Mondain’s student and lover, Minax, tries to avenge him. When Minax attacks Earth, she opens doorways to different times and places in history and brings monsters to those locations. The Stranger finds a special sword called the Quicksword, which can hurt Minax, and defeats her at Castle Shadowguard, where she first appeared.

In Ultima III: Exodus (1983), it is revealed that Mondain and Minax had a child named Exodus, described in later games as a computer-like, self-aware 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 the player could team up with other characters, a feature used in later games.

In Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), the series shifted from simple "hero vs. villain" stories to a system based on eight virtues inspired by love, truth, and courage. Although Britannia is peaceful under Lord British’s rule, he is worried about the spiritual health of his people and asks the Stranger to become a spiritual leader by example. The Stranger’s choices in the game determine how close he gets to achieving this goal. If he succeeds in all virtues, he can find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom and become the "Avatar," a symbol of Britannia’s values.

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, has been corrupted by the Shadowlords and misuses the virtues. The Avatar and his allies rescue Lord British, defeat the tyrant, and restore the true meaning of the virtues.

In Ultima VI: The False Prophet (1990), the Avatar and his allies must fight Gargoyles invading Britannia. The game explores themes of racism and prejudice, showing that the Gargoyles have reasons to hate the Avatar. The Avatar must learn to understand and reconcile two different cultures.

In Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992), the Avatar is involved in a plan by a group called the Fellowship (inspired by Scientology) to create a portal for an evil entity named the Guardian to enter Britannia. Richard Garriott, the game’s creator, planned the story for this trilogy in advance. An expansion pack called Forge of Virtue added a volcanic island where the Avatar had to destroy a piece of Exodus, a leftover part of the artificial intelligence. This act also created a powerful weapon called the Black Sword, owned by a demon.

Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle (1993) was released as the second part of Ultima VII because it used the same game engine. The game’s story was shortened due to time constraints, and some original plot details remain in the game’s database. After defeating the Fellowship, its leader, Batlin, flees to Serpent Isle, where the Avatar and his allies follow him. Serpent Isle is revealed to be a piece of the old world of Sosaria, and its history explains many events from earlier in the series. The game ends with the Avatar being captured by the Guardian and taken to another world for the next game. An expansion pack called The Silver Seed allowed the Avatar to travel back in time to plant a seed, balancing the forces on Serpent Isle.

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 the Elemental Titans, powerful servants of the Guardian. The Avatar defeats the Titans and gains power before returning to Britannia. A planned expansion pack, The Lost Vale, was canceled after the game did not sell well.

In Ultima IX: Ascension (1999), the final game in the series, the Guardian conquers Britannia and corrupts its virtues. 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, destroying his separate identity. An earlier version of the story had a more dramatic ending where the Guardian and Lord British were killed, Britannia was destroyed, and the Avatar ascended to a higher level of existence.

Akalabeth: World of Doom was released in 1979 and is sometimes seen as a game that came before the Ultima series.

Sierra On-Line also made a game called Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash in 1983. This maze game has no connection to the other Ultima games but is highly valued by collectors because it is very rare.

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. Beginning with Ultima IV, small items like pendants, coins, and magic stones were added to the packaging. These items, made of metal or glass, usually represented important objects from the game itself.

Richard Garriott did not like how games were sold in zip lock bags with only a few printed pages for instructions. He insisted that Ultima II be sold in a box, including a cloth map and a manual. 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 track, players would lose every battle. This issue was not immediately obvious as a copy protection measure, as players might think the problem was due to inexperience or poor equipment. The German distributor, unaware of this issue, provided Atari 8-bit packages with regularly formatted disks. These disks caused players to lose every battle, acting like unlicensed copies.

In Ultima V, the game included one or two questions based on information in the accompanying booklet. The game also used runic script and a special language for spell names. Translation guides and explanations for these elements were included in the booklet. Additionally, a journal describing Lord British’s failed journey into the underworld was included with the game box. Throughout the game, players would need to follow the journal’s clues to find a key item. These features were designed as subtle copy protection methods, blending naturally into the game’s historical and fantasy themes so casual players might not notice them.

Ultima VI used a more organized copy protection system, requiring players to answer in-game questions correctly to progress. This method continued in Ultima VII, where players had unlimited attempts to answer questions. Answers could be found in the manual or cloth map included with the game. However, the manual from the Ultima Collection included all copy protection answers for every game.

In Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle, copy protection was adjusted slightly. Players faced questions at two points in the game. If they failed to answer correctly after two tries, all non-player characters (NPCs) would stop speaking and instead say altered versions of famous quotes. The game would also display the word “Oink!” and become 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 destroyed in Ultima I, a major event changed the world. Three of the four continents seemed to disappear, leaving only Lord British's Realm. This remaining continent was later called "Sosaria." The Lands of Danger and Despair were later found again as the Serpent Isle, which had moved to another dimension or plane. This suggests the other two continents might still exist. Ultima II shows Castle Barataria on Planet X, which implies the Lands of the Feudal Lords became this planet. Ultima Online: Samurai Empire suggests the Lands of the Feudal Lords were transformed 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 in the polar region. The Fellowship leader, Batlin, fled to Serpent Isle after the Black Gate was destroyed in Ultima VII, preventing the Guardian's first invasion. Ninety percent of Serpent Isle's population was destroyed when evil Banes were released by Batlin in a failed attempt to capture them in Ultima VII Part 2.

In Ultima, players take the role of the Avatar, who represents eight virtues. These virtues were first introduced in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), where the goal 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 come from the One True Axiom, a combination of all Truth, Love, and Courage, called Infinity.

The virtue system in Ultima IV influenced later games. In Ultima V, Lord Blackthorn turned the virtues into strict laws, which unintentionally caused the opposite of the virtues to happen. In Ultima VI, the Avatar faced challenges that questioned whether their actions were truly virtuous. In Ultima VII, the Fellowship replaced the virtues with its own 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 groundbreaking idea in game design and became a standard for other games. It influenced titles like Black & White, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the Fable series. Unlike other games that allow players to choose to be evil, Ultima can only be won by being virtuous. The system is described as a "philosophical journey" because it does not give clear rules or point values.

Early Ultima games called the player-protagonist the Stranger, and players could complete quests through theft or violence. After Ultima III, Richard Garriott received criticism from parents and others who were concerned about the game's content, including accusations of Satanic themes. Inspired by a TV show on Hinduism and the concept of the Avatar, Garriott created the 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 overthrew 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: Ascension, both the Avatar and the Guardian were destroyed.

Except for Ultima IX: Ascension, players could choose the Avatar's name. Ultima VIII: Pagan fixed the Avatar's appearance as a blond-haired, blue-eyed male, while earlier games allowed players to select the Avatar's race, gender, and look. From Ultima IV onward, players used single keywords to activate the Avatar's speech, until Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld allowed full conversations. Ultima IX added digitized speech to accompany the text.

The Avatar was designed as a blank slate for players to reflect their own personalities. The word "avatar" in this context was first used to represent a player's choice in a virtual world. The Avatar was one of the first games to allow players to select the protagonist's race and gender, letting them think about their actions. Over time, the Avatar took on a more specific appearance and character.

Lord British is the ruler of Britannia and represents the game's creator, Richard Garriott. His name comes from a nickname given to him by friends who thought his greeting sounded British. The title "Lord" was added when he played the dungeon master in Dungeons & Dragons games.

Reception

By 1990, the first five Ultima games sold more than 470,000 copies for home computers in the United States. In Japan, Pony Canyon's versions of the Ultima series sold nearly 100,000 copies for home computers and over 300,000 copies for the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) by 1990.

In 1996, Next Generation ranked the Ultima series as the 55th best game of all time, stating that "even though graphics and gameplay styles changed with new technology, the series remained a reliable source of roleplaying excitement." In 1999, Next Generation listed the Ultima series as number 18 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time," noting that "many PC role-playing games focus on fighting enemies and exploring dark, underground areas. The Ultima series, however, always emphasized a character's virtues as important as their armor class in achieving success." In 2000, Britannia was included in GameSpot's list of the ten best game worlds, described as "the oldest and one of the most historically rich gameworlds."

Impact and legacy

Many features of the early Ultima games, especially Ultima III: Exodus (1983), became common in later role-playing games (RPGs). These included the use of tiled graphics and party-based combat, the blending of fantasy and science-fiction themes, and the use of time travel in the story. Some of these ideas were inspired by the game Wizardry, particularly the party-based combat system. Exodus was also groundbreaking for using a written story to tell a more detailed tale than most games at the time, which usually had very simple plots. Most video games, including Garriott’s earlier Ultima I, II, and Akalabeth, focused mainly on combat without exploring deeper themes. In Ultima IV, Garriott introduced a system based on chivalry and a code of conduct. Players, called "Avatars," were tested regularly through their actions, both clearly and secretly, and judged based on their choices. This moral system was unique because other games allowed players to act freely without facing consequences.

Ultima III was later released on many platforms and influenced the development of RPGs like Excalibur and Dragon Quest. Many consider it the first modern computer role-playing game.

On June 30, 2020, Garriott said that EA refused to help revive or remaster the Ultima series.

Richard Garriott’s new company, Portalarium, created an RPG/MMORPG that Garriott described as a clear spiritual successor to the Ultima series. On March 8, 2013, Portalarium launched a Kickstarter campaign for Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. This was the first of five planned episodes in Shroud of the Avatar and was designed as a "Selective Multiplayer Game," allowing players to choose how much they wanted to engage with others, from full multiplayer to single-player offline. Originally planned for release in Summer 2017, with episodes 2 through 5 expected each year afterward, the first episode was released on March 27, 2018, and received mixed reviews. More episodes have not yet been released.