Ultima is a series of open-world fantasy role-playing video games developed by Origin Systems and created by Richard Garriott. Electronic Arts has owned the Ultima brand since 1992. 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 the computer role-playing game genre. Several games in the series are considered very important in their genre. Their early innovations were often copied by other games.

The Ultima games are mostly based on fantasy stories 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 known as the Avatar starting with Ultima IV and retains that name in later games.

Games

The main Ultima series includes nine games (with the seventh game split into two parts) organized into three groups called "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 group is sometimes called "The Guardian Saga" because of its main enemy. The first group takes place in a fantasy world named Sosaria, but during the dangerous events of The Age of Darkness, most of Sosaria is destroyed. What remains becomes Britannia, a land ruled by the kind and fair Lord British. Most later games are set in Britannia. The main character in all the games is a person from Earth who is asked 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, they are known as the Avatar.

In Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1981), the Stranger is called to Sosaria to defeat Mondain, a wizard who wants to take over the world. Mondain has a special gem that makes him untouchable, so the Stranger finds a time machine, travels back to kill Mondain before he creates the gem, and breaks the incomplete gem.

In Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (1982), Mondain’s student and lover, Minax, tries to get revenge. When Minax attacks the Stranger’s home planet, 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 hurt 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, described as neither human nor machine. Later games show Exodus 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 group of players working together.

In Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), the series changed to focus on moral choices instead of simple good vs. evil stories. Although Britannia is peaceful under Lord British’s rule, he worries about the people’s spiritual health and asks the Stranger to become a spiritual leader by example. The Stranger’s actions determine how close they come to this goal. If they achieve all eight virtues based on love, truth, and courage, they can reach the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom and become 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, has been corrupted by the Shadowlords and twists the meaning of the virtues. The Avatar and their 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 their friends must stop Gargoyles from invading Britannia. The game explores themes of racism and fear of outsiders, asking the Avatar to understand and unite 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 portal for an evil entity named the Guardian to enter Britannia. Richard Garriott, the game’s creator, planned the story for Ultima VII-IX in advance. An expansion called Forge of Virtue added a volcanic island where the Avatar must destroy a piece of Exodus’s data and create 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 not given a new number. The story was shortened due to time limits, and parts of the original plot remain in the game’s database. After defeating the Fellowship, its leader flees to Serpent Isle, where the Avatar and friends follow him. Serpent Isle is revealed as another piece of the old world of Sosaria, and its history explains many events from earlier games. The game ends with the Avatar being captured by the Guardian and taken to another world for the next game. An expansion called Silver Seed lets the Avatar travel back in time to balance the forces on Serpent Isle, but this quest is separate from the main story.

In Ultima VIII: Pagan (1994), the Avatar is sent to a world called "Pagan" by the Guardian. The rules of Britannia are unknown here, and the world is ruled by powerful beings called Elemental Titans, who serve the Guardian. The Avatar defeats them and becomes a demi-god before returning to Britannia. A planned expansion called The Lost Vale was canceled because the game did not sell well.

In Ultima IX: Ascension (1999), the final game, Britannia is conquered by the Guardian, and its virtues are corrupted. The Avatar must clean them up and restore them. The Guardian is revealed to be the evil part of the Avatar, separated when the Avatar became the Avatar. To stop the Guardian, the Avatar must merge with it, destroying their separate identity. An unreleased version of the story had a more dramatic ending, with the Guardian and Lord British dying, Britannia destroyed, and the Avatar moving to a higher level of existence.

• Ultima Trilogy (1989) – an early collection of the first three Ultima games released for the Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS by Origin Systems.
• Ultima: The Second Trilogy (1992) – a later collection of the second three Ultima games released for the Commodore 64 and DOS by Origin Systems.
• Ultima I–VI – a compilation of the first six Ultima games.

Packaging

Ultima game boxes often included special items called "feelies." For example, starting with Ultima II, every 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 wanted Ultima II to be sold in a box with a cloth map and a manual. At the 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 prepared. If this track was missing, players would lose all battles. This issue was not immediately obvious, as players might think they were losing due to lack of experience or poor equipment. The copy protection method was hidden well enough that the German distributor did not notice. They sent out floppy disks that were properly formatted, which caused players to lose every battle because the copy protection was not present.

In Ultima V, the game included a booklet with information that was needed to answer questions in the game. Some parts of the game used a special kind of writing called runic script, and spell names were written in a unique language. The booklet provided explanations for both of these. A journal describing Lord British’s failed journey into the underworld was also included with the game box. During the game, players must follow the same path as the expedition to find an important item. These features were designed as copy protection, but they fit the game’s fantasy and historical themes, making them seem like normal parts of the story.

In Ultima VI, the game used a more organized copy protection method. Players faced in-game questions, and if they answered incorrectly, they could not progress. This method continued in Ultima VII, but players could attempt the questions as many times as needed. Answers could be found in the manual or cloth map included with the game. The manual for the Ultima Collection included all the answers for every game.

In Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle, copy protection changed slightly. Players answered questions at two points in the game. If they failed twice, all non-player characters (NPCs) would say nothing and instead repeat altered versions of famous quotes. The game would also label everything "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 big disaster 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 Serpent Isle, which appeared to be in a different dimension. 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 that the Lands of the Feudal Lords were turned into the Tokuno Islands after the disaster.

After Exodus was defeated in Ultima III, Sosaria became Britannia to honor Lord British. Serpent Isle stayed connected to Britannia through a gate near the North Pole. In Ultima VII, Batlin, the leader of the Fellowship, fled to Serpent Isle after the Black Gate was destroyed, which stopped the Guardian's first attack. Ninety percent of Serpent Isle's people were killed when evil Banes were released by Batlin in an attempt to capture them in Ultima VII Part 2.

In Ultima, the player controls the Avatar, who represents eight virtues. These virtues were first introduced in Ultima IV and marked a shift in the game's focus from traditional role-playing to a system based on moral choices. Each virtue is linked to a party member, a city in Britannia, and one of eight 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 that 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, called Infinity.

The virtues were first used in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), where the goal was to practice the virtues and become a moral example. Variations of the virtues appear in all later games. Richard Garriott, the game's creator, designed the system to encourage players to think about the consequences of their actions. The system was inspired by Hindu ideas about purification and character traits that lead to becoming an Avatar, as well as characters from The Wizard of Oz, such as the Scarecrow (truth), the Tin Woodsman (love), and the Cowardly Lion (courage).

The virtues became a major theme in later Ultima 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 was challenged to consider if his actions were truly virtuous. In Ultima VII, the Fellowship replaced the virtues with a new 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 role-playing 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, not by being evil. Mark Hayse praised the system for its subtlety, as it left the practice of virtues open and ambiguous without clear rules.

Early Ultima games called the player the "Stranger," and allowed players to complete quests through theft or violence. After Ultima III, Richard Garriott received criticism from parents who were upset about the game's allowance of immoral actions. He also faced criticism for supposed Satanic content in Ultima III. After watching a show about 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 his 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, he 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 identity as a blond-haired, blue-eyed male, while earlier games allowed players to choose the Avatar's race, gender, and appearance. Starting in Ultima IV, players used single keywords to control the Avatar's speech, but later games like Ultima VII and Ultima Underworld allowed full conversations. Ultima IX added digitized speech to the game.

The Avatar was designed to be a blank slate, allowing players to reflect their own personality. The word "avatar" in this context was first used in Ultima to represent a player's choice of race and gender. The Avatar was one of the first times players could choose the protagonist's identity, allowing them to 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 Richard Garriott, the creator of the Ultima series. His nickname came from friends who thought his way of saying "hello" sounded British. He added the title "Lord" after playing the dungeon master in Dungeons & Dragons games.

Reception

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

In 1996, Next Generation ranked the Ultima series as the 55th top game of all time, stating, "While the graphics and playing style change with new technology, [it] has been the most consistent source of roleplaying excitement in history." In 1999, Next Generation listed the Ultima series as number 18 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time," noting, "Most PC RPGs are about fighting enemies and exploring dungeons. The Ultima series, however, has always focused on a world where a character's virtues are as important as their armor class in determining 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 from early Ultima games, especially Ultima III: Exodus (1983), became common in later role-playing games (RPGs). These included the use of grid-based graphics and party-based combat, the blending of fantasy and science fiction, 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 written stories to tell more complex tales than most games at the time. Many other games, including Garriott's earlier Ultima I and II and Akalabeth, focused mainly on combat and had simple plots. In Ultima IV, Garriott introduced a system of chivalry and rules that tested the player's actions, rewarding moral choices and punishing unethical behavior. This was unique because most games allowed players to act without consequences.

Ultima III was later released on many other platforms and influenced games like Excalibur and Dragon Quest. Many consider it the first modern computer RPG.

On June 30, 2020, Garriott said he was not allowed by EA to restart or improve the Ultima series.

Richard Garriott's new company, Portalarium, created an RPG/MMORPG that he described as 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 Shroud of the Avatar series and was called a "Selective Multiplayer Game," allowing players to choose how much they wanted to play with others. Originally planned for release in Summer 2017, with later episodes coming yearly, the first episode was finally released on March 27, 2018, and received mixed reviews. No additional episodes have been released yet.