Developed by Origin Systems and published by FCI (North America) and Pony Canyon (Japan), in 1993, Ultima: Runes of Virtue II is the sequel to Ultima: Runes of Virtue, although in reality it is more of a remake than a sequel.
Tag Archives: Richard Garriott
Ultima: Runes of Virtue, Game Boy
Ultima: Runes of Virtue is a cut-down version of Richard Garriott‘s famous Ultima games, in particular the Age of Enlightenment trilogy, because Runes of Virtue features some of the main characters from those games. It was developed by Origin Systems and published by FCI in North America, and Pony Canyon in Japan, in 1991.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, FM Towns
Origin/Blue Sky Productions‘ classic MS-DOS RPG, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, was released for the FM Towns in 1993 by Electronic Arts Victor, Inc.*
*= Electronic Arts Victor was a joint venture between Electronic Arts and the Victor Musical Industries subsidiary of JVC, established in September 1992 in Tokyo. Electronic Arts Victor‘s mission was to translate Electronic Arts‘ library of games to Japanese language and to distribute them in Japan, as well as to create original titles for the Japanese market.
Continue reading Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, FM Towns
Autoduel, PC
Based on a Steve Jackson board game called Car Wars, Autoduel is an early attempt by Origin Systems to create a Mad Max-type post apocalyptic, car-based RPG that borrows elements from Origin‘s own Ultima series, as well as from other games such as FTL‘s SunDog. It was first released in 1985.
Ultima Special
Richard Garriott‘s famous Role-Playing Game series began officially in 1981 with “Ultima” for the Apple II. It was a pioneering mixture of single-player adventuring, combat and levelling, with humble beginnings, starting out on early 8-bit systems and working its way up to modern PCs in the 1990s. The Ultima series was always evolving; always innovating, and constantly proving to be a considerable influence on story-based, single-player RPGs, and the fantasy adventure game market in general.
Ultima IX: Ascension, PC
Ultima IX: Ascension is the ninth and final instalment of the core Ultima series and was developed by Origin Systems and published for Windows-based PCs by Electronic Arts in 1999. It was the first Ultima game to use polygonal rendering in a full 3D environment.
Ultima VIII: Pagan, PC
Ultima VIII: Pagan is the eighth entry in the Ultima series and was developed and published by Origin Systems for PC MS-DOS in 1994. Like its predecessor (The Black Gate), Pagan goes for a darker, more mature tone than most of the previous Ultima games, and it is also more puzzle and action-oriented.
Ultima VII: The Black Gate, Super Nintendo
The only version of Ultima VII: The Black Gate that is available for any system other than the PC is the Super Nintendo port, first released by FCI/Pony Canyon in 1994. It is a much simplified version of the game, but is still fun to play if you like old school RPGs.
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, PC
Serpent Isle is an oddity in the Ultima series in that it is a direct sequel to the previous game – Ultima VII: The Black Gate – which uses the same game engine, but with a few enhancements. It was published by Origin Systems in 1993 and only ever appeared on the PC, running under MS-DOS.
Ultima VII: The Black Gate, PC
Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the seventh game in the Ultima series and the first part of the “Age of Armageddon” trilogy, and was first released for PC MS-DOS by Origin Systems in 1992. The game is highly-rated among RPG fans and even series creator, Richard Garriott, describes Ultima VII as “the most masterfully-executed” of the Ultima series.