Ultima I is the first game in the Ultima series of role-playing video games created by Richard Garriott. It was originally released for the Apple II in June of 1981.
I had played and reviewed Aklabeth (which is now officially referred to as Ultima 0) in great detail and I was very excited to play Ultima I. I have an admission to make: I have never played nor even attempted to play any of the Ultima games. I am an Ultima series virgin. This may come as a bit of a surprise coming from an avid CRPG fan. So why have I never experienced any of the games in the Ultima series?
There are multiple reasons why I didn’t experience any of the Ultima games growing up. I think the primary reason was the time commitment needed to play the game. I grew up cutting my teeth on the genre with Wizardry I and then went on to play Wizardry II. When I was growing up I had to choose very carefully how to spend any of my free time. I ended up working three different jobs to put myself through college. When you add in somewhat of a social life to the mix that leaves very little time for computer role-playing games. The time that I did have I devoted to Wizardry and became somewhat of a dungeon crawling junkie. I thus found the large outdoor maps displayed in Ultima I to be a bit daunting. The years rolled on as did the Ultima sequels as it grew into one of the best selling series of all time. I find myself to be a bit of a completionist so by the time Ultima VI hit the market I felt as if the entire series had passed me by. The completionist in me wouldn’t let me start with Ultima VI never having played Ultima I. This is one of the primary reasons that I started this blog and journey in the first place. Now I do have the time to go back and do what I could not do before; or at least it is a dedication to make the time. So even though I did complete Akalabeth I am very excited to begin my relationship with the Ultima series.
Whenever I am on social media I have to make a conscious effort to avoid any spoilers concerning a show that I’ve yet to watch or have recorded. I want to be surprised and judge the show on my own terms. I view video games with the same lens. The internet is filled with fan sites, walkthroughs, and reviews of older games so I have had to make a conscious effort to avoid reading any Ultima I spoilers. I have read in Discord rooms how the game is actually relatively short and an individual also claimed to have beat the game in less than 2 hours. While I am certain this is true I find it to be shocking. The game thus far seems massive or least gives the illusion of being massive. My goal with Ultima I was to read the documentation and begin the game as if I was opening the box and exploring the contents for the very first time back in 1981. The only information I have concerning the plot or how to win is what is contained in the documentation that was shipped with the game – which isn’t much.
When you’re writing a blog and taking a video game challenge there is the danger of falling into a trap. There can sometimes be this sense of urgency or pressure to complete the game as quickly as possible so that you can move on to the next one. There can be a sense that you have a responsibility to “report” to readers of the blog or that you have the pressure of meeting a particular deadline. I find it is then important to take a step back and remind yourself that your ultimate goal is to enjoy the game on your own terms. Which is exactly what I am doing. I am taking my time with the game and choosing to create a complete outdoor map. I have created a character thus far and I am still in exploration mode. I am only now realizing there is more than one continent in the game and I have already spent over six hours in the Lands of Lord British and I am having a ball. The road to win the game may indeed be a short one but I choose to take the longer route and explore the game to its fullest. I will report back to you with my findings very soon but right now I have a particularly treacherous stretch of forest to cross. Until next time…
Good luck with your forays into the world of Ultima!
As a long-time fan of the Ultima series, I will caution you that there are times when a little help is required. Designer Richard Garriott was fond of keeping critical pieces of information so that they were uttered by only characters lurking in the most obscure recesses of dungeons or towns. It’s therefore quite possible to hit an impasse, just because you missed out talking with that one particular NPC.
If you do get stuck, “The Official Book of Ultima” is worth perusing as it provides high level guides to completing the first six games but doesn’t spell everything out. It’s available in the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/TheOfficialBookOfUltima .
If you want to read about the background to the Ultima games, Parts I and II of the book I mentioned above are well-worth reading. Part III contains the high-level walkthroughs so you can avoid reading those until you want a nudge in the right direction.
I actually, based on your recommendation William, just ordered the book off of Ebay for two reasons. 1) I am very interested in reading Parts 1 & 2 as I’m excited to learn more about the backgrounds behind the games and 2) merely to have as a collector even though I don’t plan on using any of the walkthrough pieces. Thank you, as always, for your thoughts and contribution
Although I think it took me longer than 2 hours to win, I can confirm that Ultima I is relatively breezy for an RPG once you know what you’re doing. It’s the games that came after that will require more time.
Wow Andy that is amazing. I can tell you that I am already 6+ hours into the game though I have spent much of that time laboriously mapping out the entire continent of the Lands of Lord British. I can tell you that there are 2 castles, 8 cities, 9 dungeons, and 2 signs located on that continent lol. I am only just now stepping foot on the continent Lands of Fear & Despair and have yet to create that map. I’ve completed no quests as of yet and have basically no clue at all as to what to do but my focus right now is just mapping out the continents and collecting information. Thank you Andy for stopping by to post and I look forward to your thoughts in the future