Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

After defeating the Evil Triad in the last three Ultima games, the world of Sosaria had changed beyond recognition: continents rose and sank, and new cities were built, heralding the dawn of a new civilization. United under the rule of the benevolent monarch Lord British, the new world was renamed Britannia. Lord British sought to base the well-being of the people on the ethical principles of truth, love, and courage, and proclaimed the Eight Virtues (honesty, compassion, bravery, justice, self-sacrifice, honor, spirituality, and humility) as the ideal to which everyone should aspire. The person who could fully understand and embody these virtues was to serve as a spiritual leader and moral exemplar for the inhabitants of Britannia; only this person would be able to obtain sacred artifacts, descend into the Stygian Abyss, and gain access to the Codex of Supreme Wisdom. This person is the Avatar. The fourth installment of the Ultima series features an improved game engine with color graphics and expanded character interaction: the player can converse with non-player characters by entering names of various topics. The main difference between Ultima IV and its predecessors in the series (as well as other role-playing games), however, lies in the game’s objectives and the ways to achieve them. Instead of building up a character by any means necessary to face a villain at the end of the game, in Ultima IV the player strives to become the Avatar—a role model for humanity. This means upholding the Eight Virtues and, essentially, trying to become a better person. Making morally conscious decisions and helping others is not done in anticipation of a material reward, but because this is the actual goal of the game and the focus of the gameplay. The game frowns upon behaviors typical of most other RPGs, such as sneakily suffocating fleeing enemies or picking up anything that isn’t nailed down, even if it doesn’t belong to the protagonist. This different approach established the game’s reputation as the first “true” Ultima and influenced the design philosophy of later installments as well as the general spirit of the series. Character creation is done by selecting answers to morally ambiguous questions. Each of the eight virtues corresponds to a character class; by setting the player’s personal priorities among the virtues, the game assigns the avatar a class and a starting location. Upon arriving in Britannia, the player is free to explore the land in various ways (on foot, via Moon Gate teleportation, on horseback, by ship, etc.). Certain items must be collected in any order to enter the Stygian Abyss and complete the game. The avatar must also reach the highest level in all virtues. This is achieved in various ways: donating blood increases “Sacrifice,” not fleeing from battles increases “Bravery,” and so on. However, the process is not irreversible: if the Avatar overpays a blind vendor, they gain “Compassion” points; conversely, if they cheat the vendor by underpaying, their level in several virtues decreases. These unorthodox gameplay elements coexist with numerous traditional RPG elements, such as dungeons to explore and enemy monsters to defeat. You encounter enemies both on the world map and in dungeons; battles take place on separate top-down screens where the player-controlled party and enemy groups can move freely. Characters gain experience points and level up, granting them more hit points and access to more powerful spells. As in previous entries in the series, the world map, town exploration, and battles are presented from a bird’s-eye view, while dungeons are rendered in pseudo-3D and explored from a first-person perspective. Ultima IV also introduces several new game mechanics to the series and to role-playing games in general. A number of initially non-playable characters living in various areas of the game world can join the party and fight alongside the hero. They thus replace traditional player-created characters or mercenaries and adventurers who are only available in specific locations. Other new elements include purchasing and combining ingredients to cast spells, puzzle rooms in dungeons, and much more.