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/vr/ - Retro Games

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4533251 No.4533251 [Reply] [Original]

Let's have an Ultima thread. I've owned the entire series for many years but I plan on finally delving in soon. Is it true that I can safely skip the first three and start with 4?
Other discussion stuff:
>How would you rank the games?
>Which ones have you beaten?
>Are 8 and 9 that bad?

>> No.4533290

Lets be honest:
Ultima 1-3 are too primitive to enjoy
Ultima 8-9 are too shitty to enjoy


that leaves just 4-7 to play, quite the legacy!

>> No.4533570

>>4533251
>>4533290
8 is worth playing for the atmosphere as long as you get the Gold Edition since that fixes the worst of the bullshit gameplay-wise.

9 just sucks.

1, 2, and 3 are OK, even now. The bigger issue than being "primitive" is the fucking controls are just a pain in the ass. Same goes for 4 and 5, though those are good enough to be worth dealing with it.

4, 5, 6, 7, 7 Part 2, Underworld, Underworld 2, Online, Savage Empire, and Martian Dreams are all awesome in their own ways. That actually IS a pretty fucking spectacular "legacy".

>> No.4533579

>>4533251
>>How would you rank the games?

ARGUABLY THE BEST GAME EVER TIER
>7
>Underworld

MASTERPIECE TIER
>6
>Underworld 2

LESSER CLASSICS TIER
>7 Part 2
>Online

FLAWED CLASSICS TIER
>4
>5

COOL TIER
>Savage Empire
>Martian Dreams

The first 3, and maybe even 4, tiers are all basically must-plays. The spin-offs less so. After the quality ones it'd probably go:

AWESOME ATMOSPHERE TIER
>8

POTENTIALLY WORTH PLAYING TIER
>Runes of Virtue
>Runes of Virtue 2

SHIT TIER
>9

>> No.4533596

>>4533579
>LESSER CLASSICS TIER
>>Online


>the oldest running MMORPG that is 20 years old

calling it lesser classic is a bit of an insult, to be fair though it turned to shit in 2003

>> No.4533667

the first three are a trilogy than can safely be skipped yes

4-6 are another trilogy and are simply masterpieces, 4 in particular is just incredible

7 is actually two games each with an expansion, and like others have said, it represents the absolute height of crpgs, and a strong candidate for best game of all time

8 is different, i like it but it feels half assed, especially when compared to 7

9, oh boy, its supposed to be a direct sequel to 8 but ends up retconning alot of it in an attempt to end the series nicely, which it largely fails at. i actually dont mind the gameplay but everything else sucks

overall i think the series is slighty overrated and propped up by 7 and underworld(which is basically a different franchise)

>> No.4533873

>>4533596
>>the oldest running MMORPG that is 20 years
old

but it isn't the oldest still running MMORPG?
both the realm and nexustk are older than it

>> No.4533904
File: 3 KB, 57x105, abidah pipe.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4533904

>>4533873
>NexusTK

Dear Lord and Lady, the nostalgia. This was the first MMO I ever played, and probably only like two other games have matched the sheer joy of exploration that I got from Nexus.

>> No.4533961

>>4533873
Do you know what MMO stands for?
Protip: it doesn't stand for just "online game"

Nice try though

>> No.4533985

>>4533961
are you really going to play this language game of drastically redefining common industry terms just so you can save face on a counterfeit anime picture board

please explain your idiosyncratic definition so I can point out that first mmo under it was actually eve

>> No.4534004

>>4533985
Ultima online peaked at 250,000 active subscribers.

THAT is an MMO.
Not your little scrub games you mentioned.

>> No.4534304

>>4533596
and I probably would have ranked it higher if it were still in its 1999 form

>> No.4534312

Anybody ever play Arx Fatalis? I've been trying to find a zero-effort download of it, but no such luck. Anyway, it looks like the closest thing to a relatively-more-modern Ultima Underworld.

>> No.4534370

>>4533570
4-7 would be 4 games, that's a hell of a lot. even one good game is a good legacy. no one's gonna care how many shitty star wars movies they make as long as a new hope exists

>> No.4534379
File: 16 KB, 320x200, ultima-worlds-of-adventure-2-martian-dreams_26.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4534379

>>4533251
The only good Ultima games are Savage empire, Martian dreams (NOT U6), U7, Serpent isle and the two Underworld

The others are too old/shitty

>> No.4534384

>>4534312
try on GOG you poorfag, i bought the game for less than 2€

>> No.4534414

>>4533251
8 is not bad but 7 was, with all its added content, a masterpiece while 8 went in a different direction and was rushed. This lead to a fan uproar making people to remember it as being much worse than it actually was.

>> No.4536332
File: 12 KB, 512x512, u9_in_ultima-iii.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4536332

> Ultima IX was a mess
what if we just... reached over and...

>> No.4536350

Although 9 is pretty horrendous story wise... and performance wise with it crashing a lot, but there is enjoyment to be had from it.

I feel like Ultima is the kind of series that could use a proper reboot.

>> No.4536505

>>4536350
>I feel like Ultima is the kind of series that could use a proper reboot.

EA own it, so like 90% chance it would be shit. They have tons of money to hire people with talent but really they make shit.

>> No.4536528

>>4536350
The only enjoyment I ever derived from U9 was an MST3K esque mocking how stupid it was

>> No.4536641

I've completed all games except Escape from Mt Drash, Runes of Virtue and Online.
My personal favorites are UW2 and 6, biggest disappointments were 7 and SI.
8 is pretty bad but 9 was alright.

>Is it true that I can safely skip the first three and start with 4?
You won't miss anything in terms of lore or plot.
1 is so short and simple you can easily squeeze it in just to get a taste of the origins.

>> No.4536643

>>4536505
>>4536350
They made a shitty mobile game that shut down after a year because it didn't make enough money.

>> No.4536650

>>4536643
>shitty mobile game
shitty is redundant there, and game is not the proper word to use.

>> No.4536659

>>4533985
Ultima Online literally invented the MMORPG. Sure, there were multiplayer RPGs you could play online before it, but none of them on the scale of UO.

>> No.4537693

>>4536332
Gothic 1 and 2 are basically everything Ultima 9 could have and should have been.

>> No.4537697

>>4536505
Underworld Ascendant is getting made.

>> No.4538318
File: 579 KB, 671x938, LHaJb3B.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
4538318

Anyone coming?

>> No.4538986

>>4536350
Piranha Bytes are basically remaking Ultima 9 over and over again.

>> No.4539335

>>4538318
Is this the orchestrated version?

>> No.4539383

>>4534414
I agree with you there anon. If U8 had just been some independent game made by a studio nobody had heard of, it probably would have been a mediocre and soon forgotten adventure/RPG hybrid. It's only because of the snapback from the rest of Ultima that it is remembered so badly.


>>4536350
The worst crime, IMO, was disregarding everything after black gate and trying to turn it into another "let's romp around britannia a-fucking-gain." Set it on the Guardian's homeworld while you do battle with him as a titan of Aether or something dammit!

>> No.4539770

>>4539335
What do you mean

>> No.4540354

Ultima Online is getting a restricted free mode soon, any thoughts? I might try it again but when I last played the free 2 week trial or whatever it is, I was kind of disappointed when I saw all the gear that people had now. Just looks out of place and knowing how long you probably have to grind for it didn't make me happy either.