Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Final Rating

Ultima: Exodus has not fared the test of time well. A number of things that will no doubt aggravate the player come with very little warning. This port suffers from being one of the earliest attempts of converting a computer RPG to fit on a console. So, let's get right to the categories.

Combatant
My initial reaction is combat was very tactical. However, that delusion quickly fell apart. The AI has the advantage with the ability to attack diagonally, and the only way to even the odds is to take advantage of their attack pattern. Many battles are easily finished by lining the enemies up, and taking them out one at a time from one side.

Ranged weapons are significantly better than melee ones. Damage is never reduced as armor is only used to calculate evasion. The difficulty takes giant leaps quickly if characters are leveled as soon as possible, and some encounters can mean instant death for the wrong party.

Fighting becomes a chore with very little variation. In fact, while going through the last cave I noticed that if I fought the same enemy with the same pattern--choosing the same actions--then my characters would do exactly the same damage, miss at exactly the same times, and the enemy would do the same. Everything was preplanned, and would only change if I changed my attacks. Enemy differences are slight with many being re-skinned versions of each other. The rewards for killing any enemy are one chest worth the same gold (30 - 99). Experience points don't track well with difficulty, and combat itself eventually gives no worthy rewards.
Rating: 3

A.k.a. Dragon #5

Admirer
Character combinations are staggering with a party of four, 11 professions, and 5 races. Yet, when we delve deeper, we see that there aren't many differences. Races only define the stat maximums for each character, and don't have any bearing on how the character looks. Character appearance is entirely based on their profession, and I do mean entirely. There's no choice for gender, it's assigned by profession (e.g. paladins are all female). Weapons and armor aren't reflected on the characters either. There are portraits of each character, but again, it's unique by profession only.

Stat increases are available later in the game. While having a fuzzy thief is interesting, an elf thief is always obviously better due to a better strength max. As fun as a dwarf wizard might be to role-play, he's at a distinct disadvantage. Though, none of that matters much since the best weapon and armor (mystic sword and armor) are useable by everyone, effectively removing the difference between a fighter, barbarian, or even cleric (except the cleric also has magic). All characters have a max level of 25, which results in the same max HP. By the end the differences between each class blur to such a point that there are only those that have magic and those that don't.

One of the most aggravating aspects of controlling the characters is when navigating the ship. The game takes the wind direction into account, so if you're going against the wind then movement slows to a crawl. While realistic, it's annoying to press the direction and only move 2 seconds later.
Rating: 2

Each profession is drawn with nice iconic detail

Puzzler
There aren't any big puzzles, and only some slight riddles that are probably more attributable to the poor translation and cutting of text than on a desire to only hint at the answer. The Time Lord that gives the "hint" for the final challenge tells you exactly what to do. Many of the other hints require at least a bit more thought, such as the town of Dawn only showing up at two new moons. The moon gates provide an interesting experiment, which I've not see in any other games.

Some side quests are available, but without doing them, the difficulty of the game shoots quickly towards impossible. Buying stats, getting the mystic gear, giving flowers to Sherry, finding the Time Lord, and many other things are not exactly necessary to beat the game, but forgoing those make it that much harder to reach and defeat Exodus. The main quest becomes fairly obvious, as many NPCs mention needing the marks and horn, but the hint of the cards only came from the fortune teller as far as I can tell. This makes it a little obscure since those are necessary to seal away Exodus.
Rating: 2

Final Challenge: "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 24"

Instigator
Involvement in the story stops after choosing the characters. It's often hard to tell the difference between random NPCs, and dialogue that is of note. There are two menu options to unlock, Pray and Bribe; however, it's not obvious when these are received, and Bribe requires speaking to a random NPC twice (one that doesn't say anything of interest the first time). Understanding what the NPCs are trying to say through broken English often tries my patience. How am I to know when I should follow up questioning an NPC? Why not give me all the dialogue at once? It's interesting for dialogue to change after significant events, but having to unlock it by repeatedly speaking to NPCs is inane.

The world is filled with enough hints to avoid getting lost, but sometimes these are so cryptic that it takes a few reads to fully understand what a random message in a cave is supposed to mean. It's difficult to feel immersed in the game when the goals aren't understandable; I knew I need to get the marks, but I had no idea why. I lucked upon--more than figured out how to get--the silver horn, which is an essential item.
Rating: 2

I must suffer wiht [sic] your crines [sic] against humanity!

Collector
Most items (called tools) are relegated to stores. Only the picks are not bought, but one is still located in a store. The most powerful weapon and armor are found (using the picks), and not purchased. Every other chest is just gold, mainly used to increase each character's stats. Gold is never excessively abundant, and by the time I bought everything it was time to end the game. In fact, it's necessary to continuously search for gold, as the amount necessary to purchase everything is excessive. Inventory items stack, and there's a enough room to hold everything, which is a first.

The marks, cards, and flower are tracked on the status screen, so knowing once you've collected everything is as easy as looking at each character. There isn't a lot here to collect though. About the only other thing to get is a group of horses. That's it, nothing more. Detailed information is missing for weapons. Although it is helpful that the store will warn you if a character can't use a weapon or armor you're about to purchase, there only indication a weapon is better is by the price.
Rating: 3

The first--and only--interesting artifact

Explorer
Ultima: Exodus offers the most open world yet while maintaining some barriers for later content. Once the ship is obtained the world again opens up, and really shows just how small it is. The continent of Sosaria does offer an interesting feature in the moon gates that allow early travel to some islands, and are the only way to access a couple locations. Exploring the caves is a necessity, and there's a lot of cave to look through. If you're a mapping fiend, then you'll be happy exploring all eight levels in each cave. Luckily if you're not, there are gems that will display the map.

The graphics are good for an NES game. Some tiles are rather bland, but how interesting are plains to draw in 8-bit? The character portraits are the most detailed visual to find here. Music is used throughout to great effect, except the title screen; that music is just grating. It's good fun searching for the marks in the caves.

The amount of differences between caves and towns are minimal. Caves all share the same graphics. Towns use the same tiles, but there are some interesting layouts like Death Gultch that is hidden in a mountainous maze. Gems will show the maps for Sosaria and Ambrosia as well as the caves; however, the over-world and Ambrosia maps are hardly viewable, and while caves offer the best maps, they'll train you to only pay attention to the '?' squares.
Rating: 6

If you look close, you can see the Time Lord (hint: not a '?')

Final Rating: 18 (30%)

There's some untapped potential (isn't there some in all games) here that wants to shine through. While some can be blamed on porting to the NES, much of it is more design decisions that don't seem to have gone through play testing. Fighting is slow, and grinding gold is necessary, both of which add unnecessary hours to the game. I guess the game couldn't boast 100 hours of play time without them though.

Some of my time with the game was enjoyable, but my opinion is this game is skippable without missing much. We'll see how the sequel does when we get to that. Fans of the game do exist, but many acknowledge the flaws and try to mitigate them by suggesting the creation of multiple parties (one to level up and get the boat, and another to stay low level and explore).

One gamer has even modded the game in hopes of making it more playable. So, if you have the urge to play this game again, maybe it'd be better to try a mod like the one Jeff Ludwig has created: A New Exodus. I haven't tried it myself, so if you do, I'd like to hear about it. I'm interested in knowing how it is, but don't have the time to check it out. Maybe in the future.

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Finished!

Be seeing you...

And so, another game has come to a close. Exodus is defeated, or at least sealed away in the depths of a crumbling castle. I struggled to find Exodus, and continued to do so at the four altars. Frustration was creeping over me, and while those watching the stream could easily give me the correct combination, I wouldn't accept it wholly. I attempted to use them as a test for card order instead of wasting time by trying it in the game for the 3rd, 4th, who knows how many times.

My brain is wired to think of mushrooms, badgers, and snakes whenever I hear one of them

The night started out well; I found the fourth mark (Snake) deep in the Cave of Sol. Enemy encounter rates seemed at an all time high. Hints from the fortune teller (I finally remembered!) suggested I need to find some cards. More hints in the Cave of Sol said I needed to pray at the altar and shrines. So, after collecting the final mark, I quickly traversed Ambrosia to retrieve the cards.

With cards and marks in hand it was time to assault the castle. There's something here that added to my frustration, I couldn't attack with weapons...only magic. I was forced to wait after only a battle or two for all my MP to recover. At one point I attempted to clear the castle out, yet enemies continuously spawned, turning my efforts into a fruitless gesture. Once I'd finally search the entire castle, I determined the end must be across the floor enemies. There I prayed, and found I must correctly place the cards in a specific order. I had found no hints on what order to use them.

Just run!

After my second failed attempt, I recalled the fortune teller mentioning a hint about the cards was available in Montor. I couldn't find it. Maybe it's in the prison, but after killing the guard, all other NPCs disappeared. So, I resolved to trying again this time utilizing the viewers by suggesting an order, and have them tell me if it's correct or not. This would at least allow me to finish the game from my own guessing instead of being told the answer. All it does is remove the time necessary to get back to this point, and some of the frustration.

Guessed wrong

I randomly started spouting off all the cards in chat, and without telling me if I was wrong or right, a viewer helpfully (whether knowingly or not) asked me what I was using to guess the order. Thinking on this, I looked at the card names, and thought of arrangements. I had already tried Sol and Death first, which results in immediate wiping of the entire party. Death, Sol, Love, Moons... I thought on it. The order of attributes is Str, Dex, Int, Wis, which would give the order Death, Love, Sol, Moons, but I already tried Death first. Seeing Death there made me think it had something to do with a life cycle, which turned out to be all I needed.

Formulating an order based on this I knew Death came last, but I wondered how Sol, Moons, and especially Love fit in. Eventually, I decided; I took Love to mean the start of life, Sol the brightness of youth or the dawn of new life, Moons the aging days, and finally it ends in Death. Now, I have to partially thank the Sphinx's riddle (walks on four in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening) for the inspiration of this order. Also, the viewers get a thank you for confirming this pattern before I risked attempting it.

There's going to be a quiz on this later, so take notes

Finally done, and a little stunned this worked, I stare as the castle starts to fall around me. I soon realize this is an interactive escape, and I need to get out without help of the menu (I have at least one compass heart saved). This final part was fun, probably the most fun I had in the entire game. I guess that doesn't bode well for the final rating coming up in my next post.

Rocks will fall in the path blocking the way

As a wrap up, here are the important parts missed that would have made the game a bit easier:

• The hints that a pick was at a guild shop were only partially correct. What I failed to connect was that I needed to steal this pick. Also, I had potentially misread a hint that said a mystic item was in the Cave of Death, while a second pick (one unlocks the armor, the other the sword) is found there.
• I passed on searching for the mystic equipment. This made the final area increasingly difficult, as all weapons and armor are ineffective save for this special equipment. This isn't mentioned as far as I know, and only experienced when the fight command is locked. At first I thought this only meant magic attacks were useable here, possibly unlocking weapons later.
• Time Lord, who tells me the order to place the cards to seal Exodus, is not marked on the map when using a gem. So, I didn't search this corner, and didn't know to look for him in the first place.
• I missed the Bribe command. I talked to everyone in every town, and still missed it somehow. Guess how... I should have talked to everyone twice. New lesson learned, make sure every NPC actually repeats their dialogue instead of giving new hints.

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Going for Broke

Raising stats has made battles less of a chore. Don't get me wrong; it's still a huge time sink, but I'm less worried about getting wiped now. More time was devoted to grinding gold, and another trip to Ambrosia confirmed my suspicion that the Dex shrine was across the waters.

With stats more appropriately leveled to match HP, I ventured once again to the previously mapped caves of Moon and Madness. While there was much gold found, the marks were all the same (Kings and Fire). Getting through these two caves alone took 2 hours, and I was about to wrap up for the night defeated once again. That is until I remembered I didn't have a map for the Cave of Fool.

What was to be a quick jaunt to map this last cave became a full expedition. The layout looked very basic, so I ended up exploring most of the cave. For those more familiar with the game, you'll know that I was rewarded for my efforts by finding the Mark of Force.

Everyone!

Finally! Progress! I was hoping the fourth was in the same cave, but I guess I can't get all the luck. So, the plan for tomorrow is to explore Sol. This is the last cave where the 8th floor is unexplored (I know, I'm still banking on the major marks being on the 8th floor); in fact I don't believe I've explored it much at all. If this proves fruitless, then I guess it's back to the Cave of Death, Fire, and Gold in that order as I know I rushed to the bottom of those.

I've given up on finding the pick for now (and thus the mystic equipment), and I'm placing all my bets on the fourth mark in order to finish the game. Once again, I haven't visited the fortune teller, so I'll be sure to do that first thing. I seem to have plenty of gold now, and maybe she'll give me some insight on the location of the fourth mark.

Having a higher Dex has helped Trick avoid more traps, but most are less of a threat being level 25; poison is more of an annoyance than a concern. This last trip through the Cave of Fool provided so much gold that Trick reached the maximum of 9999 gold. I'm actually not sure how, as I can't recall opening more than 100 chests (although I suppose it happened).

Moments before Trick attempts to stuff 3,000 more gold into his pockets...

As a point, I find maximums in games detract from immersion rather than increasing realism. In this case I'm faced with the role-play equivalent of Trick (my thief mind you) finding gold, then realizing he can't carry anymore, and leaving it behind. No warning to me; no chance to give it to his companions for safe keeping, only the silent truncation of a machine trying to add a number beyond a defined limit.

Weight limits, inventory limits, max stats, party size limits, and so on all scream, "this is a game!" to me. I can see reasons for having them of course (some good, some bad), but most seem to boil down to limited memory or arbitrary limits. What is the reason to only have four digits of gold? Why not five? Phantasy Star had an inventory limit, which really boggled my mind considering a soda and a suit of armor (not to mention a hovercraft) each took one slot. Immersion is broken once again by the limitations of computers.

Limits can add to the challenge of a game, or attempt to keep it in some kind of balance; however, the benefit here is only for the game instead of the experience the player wants to shape. I'm probably rambling by now, so I'll stop now. Next time with enough luck will be the final part.

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Season of Grinding

A time for grinding... it's not clear where the last two marks are. While I've tried to quickly get through some of the caves--hoping to run across one of the other marks--I haven't made much progress and have no clues for where to look. I did find a couple more king and fire marks, but getting them again doesn't do much. However, while doing this I had an idea for grinding gold quickly.

I'm fairly sure healing and donating blood is the quickest way to get gold; however, it still feels extremely slow, so I tried to get AmyK a higher healing spell, and Chet to get his first one: still slow. My new plan... to use the fountains to completely heal everyone, then donate blood. This cuts the time for a full round of donating/healing down to 5 minutes instead of 15 on a good trip. Enemies are a problem when I'm very weak, but AmyK and CanaG both have spells now that can destroy all enemies. Even so, most fights still add minutes to each trip.

Most of last night was spent doing this and raising stats. I've raised strength quite a bit for Chet and Trick, and now they are doing more damage. I'm not sure how a higher strength increases damage for a blowgun, but I'll take it. AmyK and CanaG have their discipline stats (Wis and Int respectively) maxed out at 99. I'm sure there's a Dex shrine out there somewhere, which will hopefully give my guys a better hit rate.

Ambrosia, I'm not sure what all the glowing points are, but some are enemies I believe

Next time I'll save up enough gold to max strength, hopefully find the Dex shrine, and then continue my exploration of Ambrosia. I really need to double check the towns for the pick. I'm sure there are things I could dig up in the caves like the Mystic Sword and Armor, but possibly gold when it says "Gremlin Gold."

While I was in Ambrosia last, I decided to use a gem, and it worked. So, now I have an even smaller map, and some points of interest. My hope is maybe I'll find the pick on Ambrosia because I'm fairly sure I searched all the towns, and none of the guild stores had a pick for sale.

There isn't any variety between the higher level monsters. They all do similar attacks, and while the graphics are different, they might as well all be called dragon 1, 2, 3, and 4. I had actually forgotten about the fortune teller, so if I have enough gold left over, then I'll check her out; may as well get the best armor for Chet.

Balrons (aka Dragon #4)

I think a lot of the enthusiasm I had has suffered from the long grind to get enough gold to handle the high level monsters. Exploring feels like a chore without any hints, and having gone through most caves to the bottom. Without each cave providing rewards, the satisfaction of discovery suffers. The Cave of Fool is the only one left where I haven't reached the bottom.

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Surprising Discoveries

Fair warning: there are maps of the maze town and most of Ambrosia in this post. I don't usually have spoiler warnings because I think it's obvious there will be spoilers, but since there are maps, I thought I'd be extra cautious.

One of the joys of playing games is the discovery of new ways of using familiar features. It's also frustrating when I realize I've been doing things the hard way, or something I need to do now would have been easier earlier in the game. Had I known how much gold I needed, I'd never have leveled until I had all I needed. Getting treasures in town seemed like a good option, but no, not really.

What do you mean entering looked doors behind a barrier that kills everyone and taking the chests is stealing?

Gold is a vital resource that diminishes over the course of the game. The common way to generate more is to kill enemies; however, as the party levels, the over-world enemies become harder, but they drop the same amount of gold as the low level enemies. I can only guess this is a bug. One of my other annoyances is that fights at sea generate no gold. So, the best way to get gold at the moment is to waste time by healing and donating blood.

Somehow, I was able to level up after being stuck at level 5 (maybe getting the 2 marks helped), so my HP is high enough that I can get 1200 gold in about 10 - 15 minutes of healing and donating. Compare this to fighting level 1 enemies, which is more like 2000+ gold in that amount of time. If I only knew that I could cast open to avoid traps I wouldn't have wasted so much on curing poison.

^ Death Gultch-------The greatness of MS Paint------Ambrosia ^

To take my mind off of the gold grinding I decided to map Ambrosia and the town hidden in a maze (possibly Death Gultch, as mentioned by a random NPC). I was on my way to the town when I ran across the whirlpool. Not looking serendipity in the mouth, I decided to first stop by Ambrosia. Mapping here was fairly easy compared to my last attempt. Apparently I previously started mapping the only area with enemies. This time I got through about half before succumbing to a previous fight with Man-o-Wars, but I did find a shrine.

The shrines are quite possibly the biggest money sink in the game (next to food). But, it's the only way to raise stats in the game. I knew I needed to save up for my next trip, but unsure of how much the stat raises with each donation I only brought a thousand gold. For every 100, the stat raises 1 point...this is going to take a while. So, I raised CanaG and AmyK 5 points in their discipline, and they both now have new spells. Well, it's nearly the same spell, but the Wizard version only works on the over-world map, and the Cleric inside caves. The spell randomly teleports the party; I don't see much use for it in caves, but now AmyK can heal three times at full MP at least.

Not even a door, no way is this stealing. I mean, he's asking for it...

I did get around to mapping Death Gultch, but didn't find much use for the town. I had expected to find the guild store that had the pick, but all I came away with was the knowledge that the Mark of Fire protects me from the 'lava' tiles; oh, and a deep desire to steal the 45 chests from the weapon shop. I guess I did finally learn that Dawn appears only at the double full moon.

One last thing I confirmed is that monsters in the caves are definitely not dependent on the party level, which now makes exploring them a breeze. If only it didn't take 15 minutes to heal everyone to max. Lastly, I discovered that gems don't work in towns, but they will show a map of the over-world! I actually can't find another copy of this map, so this may be the first time most people see this.

Using a gem on the world map displays this

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Cave Crawling

Dungeon crawling is an erratic game of chance in Ultima: Exodus. The main reason are the enemy encounters. Unlike the over-world enemies, those found in dungeons don't seem dependent on the party's level. No matter if I were level 1 or 5, I'd still run into gargoyles, demons, and griffins; so, I've bit that bullet I mentioned before and leveled my characters for good. Everyone is level 5 and happily at 550 max HP, and it's a good thing too because caves are much harder than I first imagined.

Battles in caves are random; when I say random, I mean chaotic, unpredictable, wildly different between each encounter. I could traverse multiple floors without fighting a single enemy, or have three battles in three successive steps. That's not the worst of it though, the enemies themselves range from simple to "OMG, I'm going to die!" Then there's the fact I have to deal with anywhere between 1 - 8 units. Early on I learned that the only way I'm going to get through more than one battle per cave was to exploit the AI (I mean... use better tactics). So, instead of good tactics, like protecting my flanks, I put one person in front causing a pile up.

Even at full health, this is what death looks like

There are some things that make the whole endeavor endurable. First of all, mapping is made much easier with gems. These show a screen that has the map of the current floor, but not just the layout; it shows ladders, secret doors, and other points of interest shown as question marks (?). Mapping on my own takes a lot of time, and is prone to errors. Second, spells: both clerics and wizards have spells that move the party up or down a floor. I'm not really sure what happens when (or if it's even possible to) move into a wall this way. I think I might try that out some time. Also, if MP is low, or being saved for the aforementioned spells, there are tents to heal the party. Lastly, there are fountains that will either poison, cure, damage, or heal. Unfortunately, they all look the same, so CanaG has been my taste tester most of the time.

*blushes* We just met... ;)

Preparation is key for exploring any of the caverns. I've ensured I have full HP and MP, enough torches and gems, and crossed fingers before entering. Torches (or glow/light spells) are needed to see in the dark, but there are some spaces that will blow them out, so it's important to have a stockpile. There are traps as well, and the first I ran across reminded me of the 'Order' command, which allows me to put Trick in front to disarm them (he has about as much luck with that as chests). I also keep forgetting about the Sands of Time I purchased, which are supposed to freeze the enemies. This is probably most helpful on the enemies that have magic attacks.

What's Powder? Hey, where'd my Sands of Time go?! Oh...

So, last night Chet got some new Iron armor (honestly, I noticed no difference), we stocked up on food, raised the party level, and we're off! Some bad luck with enemies had everyone dying within 10 minutes of being in the cave. I'm sure that isn't the last time to happen. Next venture goes much better, and I start making some progress on the Cave of Gold. Not sure what I'm looking for (other than "marks"), the best place to start looking is probably on the bottom floor. So, any time I find a ladder I go down. I'm not sure if I got lucky, or if it's just this easy, but I found a ladder chain from level 2 down to level 8. Exploring this area reveals a fountain that heals me, and the Mark of Fire. "Yeah! My first mark!" I shout. Not 10 seconds later, "Yeah! My second mark!" as I unexpectedly find the Mark of Kings cater-corner to the previous mark. I easily escape, and save, thankful to finally feel like I've made some progress.

I am the Fire King!

With new found confidence I galloped on to the next cave thinking I could easily pass two more by the end of the night. How mistaken I was...

The Cave of Fire was my next stop. I didn't think much about the connect between the name and what could possibly be found, so off to mapping I went. Then bad luck hit, 3 encounters within moments of each other depleted my health, but I managed through it back to the exit. Being on the first floor, this actually wasn't too much trouble. Healing up and heading back in proved a bit easier. After mapping everything though, I discovered no ladder. Searching for a secret door allowed me to find it on the first wall I tried. On the third floor is when I ran into some more trouble (and when I started using my "improved" tactics). Beaten down and very close to death, I searched my tool bag for the tent I knew was there. My hope that I could use it inside proved well placed, and I felt a bit better about continuing on. I also realized I had plenty of gems to do the rest of the mapping for me.

Please arrange a queue in front of AmyK, and we'll get to your death in the order received. Thank you!

Gems were now my only mapping tool (although for more complex paths to the next ladder I drew it out to better remember), and I easily made my way down. Before I met any greater threat I found a fountain, and luck was with me this time. With full health I pressed on, and ran into the toughest enemy yet: griffins. Luckily there were only two, but they had magic attacks that did nearly 100 points of each. I could only counter with 10 - 20 at best. Somehow, I defeated them with no losses, but once again I was low on health. My only hope was to reach the fountain before the party met with another strong opponent.

Why make my own maps when there's an auto-map this good?

Once again I found myself at the fountain with full health; however, after facing some of the toughest creatures, I wondered if I could manage this cave. I resolved to get to the end though, risking all progress to see what's at the bottom. Getting there wasn't a problem though, it was getting out that was the toughest challenge. So, I made my way to the bottom floor, checked my gem and find only another ladder. Following this lead me to some more fountains, and in a side room, another mark! The Mark of Fire! "Wait... I already have the Mark of Fire..." was what I said as another thought slowly crept in, "what else did you expect to find in the Cave of Fire?"

So, I left mostly empty handed. I mean I did have the extra experience and gold, so it wasn't a total wash, but it was definitely less than what I could have gotten in safer conditions outside. As I'm making my way back to the fountain (my safe spot), I fight some tough fights. When I start to ascend again (the action, not the spell), I realize I have enough MP to use ascend (the spell, which is also the action). There were many fights, and by the time I get out, none of my characters had more than 100 HP (most enemies hit for 30 - 40). But, I was out, without a single death. Instead of waiting to heal fully, I start to make my way back to the castle, and I come face to face with a hard enemy.

Just wait right there, I'll be right back

I'm fairly sure I'd be toast if I didn't have my horses. While they don't allow my party to actually move faster, I'm getting the feeling it allows them to move more spaces between enemy movements. I turn back to the cave to reset the enemy encounters, and I make it back to the castle without incident when I leave again.

I agree with CRPG Addict (I'm glad I took on his rule to only reset/load a game when I've been completely wiped out) that the experience of surviving through all odds--of coming back beaten, battered, and bruised, but alive (at least partially)--makes for some of the best moments in a game. It also makes for some good stories... if I ever have anyone to tell them to. Four caves Fool, Sun, Moon, and Death, and Ambrosia are all left to explore. Also, the castle of Exodus, but if the hints are true, I shouldn't head there until I have all four marks. Speaking of marks, I don't know what use they actually have (if they have one beyond Exodus). I'm also told that some Guild store has a pick I need. So, I'm going to find a way inside the guarded town next, and maybe explore Ambrosia again before going into another cave. I'm still looking for those shrines I heard about so long ago.

P.S. Thank you to whomever built the ladders.

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Foresight

There's one difference between RPGs on the computer/console and those on the tabletop that doesn't get highlighted nearly as often as others: the ideal of keeping player knowledge and character knowledge separate. In tabletop RPGs, keeping these two knowledge banks separate is cornerstone to the gaming experience, while in video games it remains mostly non-existent.

For those not familiar with these terms, character knowledge encompasses everything your character could possibly know in their lifetime from their perspective, and player knowledge is what you the player knows. This most often comes up when a player has knowledge that the character has no way of knowing within the game world. As an example, if your current character falls through an illusory floor to his death, your new character has no knowledge of this trap, and may fall in herself. Also, a rural farmhand turned adventurer shouldn't know the secret greetings of the thieves guild you may have learned with a previous rogue character. This goes beyond previous character knowledge into the realm of reading monster manuals for the best way to defeat an Iron Golem, or spying on a new player's character sheet to see if they truly are the ranger they claim to be. (These last two examples are still frowned upon by most gamers though, and discussed later.)

Focusing on the first two examples, we can see this concept doesn't translate well to video games. Aside from the fact there's no ever-watchful GM to keep you in check, there are many cheap deaths that will never allow you to progress without knowing they're there. In video games, playing the game is put above playing the character(s). It's rather expected to learn from your mistakes and prepare better for the adventure once more should the party be wiped out. Character knowledge is never encouraged; however, it is at times strictly enforced.

Pray? I think I'll try this strange thing you suggest...

There are many cases where dialogue options are locked until you've learned the correct piece of information. Sometimes, events don't take place, or items don't even appear until the character's have learned some vital clue. In Phantasy Star, I guess Alis didn't think a Hovercraft was useful until someone mentioned it, and that key behind her house was useless (read: not even there) unless she learns someone put it there. In Ultima: Exodus, I gained a new command after talking to a priest, the Pray command. Of course, praying sounds like something characters facing danger at every turn should already know all too well.

It seems that instead of characters being the point of a game, they are only a means for the player to learn how to beat it. Player knowledge reigns above character knowledge. Imagine if it weren't that way; it's acceptable to make maps of all the dungeons you're exploring, but should your characters die you'd have to throw them away and put aside any memory of the dungeon layout, traps, or treasures. Luckily it's not this way, and we're able to build our knowledge as we go, mapping a little more, learning from failure, and becoming familiar with how best to game the system. Sure we can choose not to do this by handicapping ourselves through creating imperfect characters, not picking the best dialogue choices, and not reloading after every failed attempt to get max HP for each level.

No? I guess I really can't run away then.

I mentioned in a previous post that save systems encourage this sort of behavior: stat-maxing, fixing gambling games, exploring alternative paths a character normally wouldn't take (seriously, who hasn't tried to kill Lord British... I'm sure even Richard Garriott tried (if he hasn't may he comment on this blog to say so)). There's really no way to get away from this because the more we play a game, the better we'll be at it through an increased understanding and foreknowledge. Unless we played a game up to and no further than the first game over screen (only saving and reloading for breaks), player knowledge will always affect our judgment.

However, there's part of comparison that still stands for video games, and other entertainment: spoilers. Many feel experiencing a game for the first time shouldn't be spoiled, so we strive to keep experienced knowledge out of the hands of new players. We warn others when discussing a game's inner workings in an open forum, and beating a game on one's own is often seen as better than eliciting help. Whether this is leads to a more enjoyable experience is hard to say when we're continuously trying to explore a dungeon that hundreds or thousands of others have already mapped, or solve a puzzle whose solution is just a few clicks away. Going it alone, as others have, may lead to camaraderie between peers; almost like a shared experience participated in by individuals, throughout the years, this experience is held higher than others. Having a fresh experience is a one time affair, and can never be recaptured again.

Well, I won't be trying this spot again.

With the amount of hours necessary to pour into a new game, how much is that first time really worth? It seems nearly priceless to most with sentiments abound of wanting to play a game again as if it were new, while others are content at playing through with guides on their lap. Personally, I enjoy figuring out a game on my own unless I'm completely stuck. So, I continue on.

For those wondering, why yes, my party did die... multiple times. I've made hardly any progress in the nearly 5 hours on Saturday night. I did learn the Pray ability, and tried it nearby to find myself the proud owner of a shiny new silver horn. Some NPCs hinted (not sure how they knew) that a silver horn would remove the snake blocking the path to Exodus. In one iteration I raised my level, which is the only way to get pirate enemies to spawn I learned. The only way to get a ship is to attack pirates and steal theirs. Somehow I ran across Fawn (still can't figure out how), and wow, this town has everything (when I say everything, it even has an inn to save). I was able to get a Bow for Chet, and stocked up on tools.

I was told to stay away, only one said he ever made it back, that number didn't go up

Some things I've learned, but my characters currently don't know: I've mapped a couple of caves, the whirlpool is a gateway to a place called Ambrosia, there's a town that's blocked off by NPC guards, the barriers damage for more than 550 HP, and I've found I need to level; however, leveling makes getting gold harder. I wonder if I should grind enough for the best armor, or continue to plunge into dungeons mostly unprepared for full exploration, making maps along the way for use in the next attempt. Aside from a hint of four marks, I really don't know why I'm going into these dungeons. There are also a few items mentioned: silver and gold pick axes, and a mystic sword and armor. At least grinding gets my characters somewhere because character progress feels more accomplishing than increasing my own knowledge of the game.

Oh, and I got horsies! Contrary to popular opinion, they do not make traveling faster

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Progress, at a Snails Pace

So, I'd like to take this time to welcome back CRPG Addict. I'm sure everyone here is already aware, but it doesn't feel right to not say something when writing a blog and playing a game with a character that are mostly based on him. When I decided to start this, before his hiatus, I had hoped to compare some of the games on my list with the ones on his. While many of the early ones are covered, there are still some later ones like Drakkhen, Hillsfar, and Eye of the Beholder that would lack comparable reviews.

I enjoy reading other views on the same game. In fact while I'm playing Exodus, I took a peak at his posts, and noted that it only took him 10 hours to get through Exodus (I didn't read past his spoilers warning, so maybe he explained this quick expedition). Maybe this is due to his previous experience with the game or a difference in the port, but I'm expecting at least double that.

I prefer the screen with character stats on the side

I'm 6 hours in, and have very little to show for it. I was able to check out the main island, found some towns, a lot of dungeons, and moon gates. The one dungeon I ventured in I hardly explored because I got scared off by the harder enemies. Grinding for gold, I managed to upgrade Chet's armor who passed on the leather to AmyK.

Who would have predicted CRPG Addict would be back so soon?

I think I've already mentioned it, but I'm wary about raising my level due to expecting the enemy level to increase as well. Without increasing my other stats, I feel that fighting stronger enemies would act as a hindrance to progress (not that I'm making much of that as is). Maybe I should just bite the bullet, and have a little more faith in the game; however, in this era of gaming, I'm slow to trust the game to stay within hand. So, I've explored all the towns I could find. Only finding the odd rumor and unhelpful dialogue, maybe this wasn't the right approach. All of the armor and weapons are the same, but I did find some guild shops to purchase keys. Even with the keys though, the doors in the castle don't lead to much.

Sounds good, thanks for the tip...

Now, wait a minute...

There's a prison, that didn't prove very helpful, although there are still two doors to open and some NPCs standing in deadly areas I've yet to talk to. A fortune teller that charges obscene amounts of gold was a little useless at this point. The cheapest hint definitely didn't endear her to me. I may try again once I have some cash to burn. Lastly, the boat I'd been so eager to get to was stuck in the moat, and I couldn't find a way to sail it out to shore. (I only found one NPC, who said he was guarding the castle. More like slacking off.)

This doesn't look safe

The most drawn out part of all this is the fighting. Battles can take a long time to resolve, but I need to get through them for the money (plus I've yet to find a way to retreat). Then there's the choice of opening just one treasure, with the risk of getting poisoned. Actually, I had not recalled that the open spell automatically avoids traps, and continued to forget this. With this firmly in mind now, Trick is mostly useless for that task, although he's still good for stealing from shops if I choose to go with that approach. Also, I had been neglecting the Repel spell, which is actually very handy for taking out the early living enemies I've found.

Wow, look at all that treasure! Wait, where'd Trick go?

I'm definitely enjoying the game; it all has a certain charm: the random exploring, trying new things, and making incremental progress. Now that I've explored a bit I'm fairly sure that I need to delve into the dungeons. Maybe I'm being a bit too cautious, but the early party wipe caused me some concern. With the only save point at Lord British's castle, I still haven't wanted to stray too far. Next steps are to collect some gold, get a blowgun for Chet (I was really hoping for some kind of bow), stock up on food, and fully explore one of the dungeons. There are Shrines, which I've been unable to find, and flowers somewhere that a girl named Sherry is asking for. Also, a ship would be great. Maybe horses for 800 Gold isn't too bad of a deal, at least it'd help me travel faster.

I'm noticing a lot of dialogue directed at the player. The fourth wall is more like a parapet with quotes like "are you a descendent of Link?" and "I'll tell you a secret. I really enjoy Ultima V." Immersion is often broken because of these quips, and it's hard to take the game seriously. I'm not too concerned with this though, as I haven't found myself thoroughly drawn in even without running into these NPCs. It's hard to think of this as another world when many conversations are repeated, and other NPCs will spout off random nonsense. What am I supposed to think when an NPC responds, "I'm Jane. I'm on a diet." without any context?

I know he meant this to be funny, but playing it decades later, it takes on a rather sad context

And many believed Richard Garriott's avatar was Lord British...

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Blundering Through

"We received word that Lord British requires help in the land of Sosaria. When we arrive, we're greeted by Lord British himself. Making note that we are the only ones to head his call, he tells us that a great devil, Exodus, will soon awaken. Should that occur, darkness would fall across all the land, destroying the world. Our task, to seal away this dreadful creature before it brings about this ruin. With no other clues to go on, we resolve to exploring the land with rumors of a fiery island being home to Exodus."

I'm excited about this game. The Ultima series is one that I never really got into until Ultima VII (in fact it was only that and the Underworld games I played). I remember the Guardian scaring me at the beginning, and hoping I'd never have to run into him. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of history by ignoring these games for so long; I'm glad to finally get around to them. Maybe I'm missing out on some things by not playing them on PC, but this is better than nothing right?

So, I created my characters rather than using any of the pre-made ones. Chosen by poll, I have a Human Ranger (Chet), an Elf Thief (Trick), a Bobit Cleric (AmyK), and a Fuzzy Wizard (CanaG). I tried to maximize my stats somewhat, and ignored the non-class specific ones like Int and Wis for Trick, Wis for CanaG, and Int for AmyK. 

*Plop*

We begin outside, a castle and a town not far off. This is Lord British's Castle, and the city is dubbed The Royal City. Visiting the castle seems like a good place to start. It houses an inn that acts as a save point, a doctor to cure what ails me (and to take my blood), and Lord British who is only interested in leveling me up. Searching the outskirts, I saw a boat floating in the water on the opposite shore. Possibly one of the locked doors would allow me access. (Thinking on it now, I only assumed they were locked, I wonder if I could just open them.)

After exploring the castle, I took stock of my equipment and found it substandard, so on to the town I went. My reasoning led me to purchase a sling for my wizard, and maces for the rest. I found that the sling I bought can't be used by my wizard or cleric. (I'll give the game credit though; it did try to warn me, but I pressed the button too quickly to heed it.) I passed the extra daggers to CanaG for extra ranged weapons. I found the armory, the weaponry, and grocery stores, but NPCs tell me there are four stores. Ignoring that for now, I stocked up on food as best I could, and prepared to fight enemies in the wild.

Looks like you're the only ones, guess you get the job

Battles are a lot of fun, and I think I misspoke in a comment regarding the first strategy RPG being Shining Force. Each enemy killed gives experience to the character that killed it, and after battle a treasure chest is left. However, most of these are trapped. It's possible to get straight damage to one or all members, have someone catch a cold (not really sure what this does), or set off a poison trap that effects everyone.

Traps are best avoided by opening chests with a dexterous character, like a Thief. Lucky for me I have one, but I still set off the occasional trap. Poison slowly drains HP, but that's not the worst part; paying to cure everyone that's the real biter. Cure poison costs 100 gold per character, chests range from 60 - 80 gold, and I need to pay for food too. Saving up is going to take a while. An interesting option does exist for the doctor; each character can give blood and get 30 gold. Giving blood means losing 100 HP, but with MP regenerating quickly it's a good deal. It certainly keeps my cleric busy constantly healing. When I do need to grind, I find it best to fight a bunch of enemies, before opening any chests. That way poison traps only affect my party once; I'm also guaranteed to have the gold to afford curing.

Cleaning up my treasure droppings. Why yes, I did get poisoned again...

After a number of fights, my stocks of food dwindled, and I noticed an issue: only Trick had gold. Being the only one opening chests, he'd need to buy food for everyone, but there's no obvious option for that. Each character buys food only for themselves. Consulting the manual reveals options to evenly disperse food and transfer gold between characters. So, I pull up the menu, and nothing. I push left and right in the menu, and nothing. Start button, nothing; select button, ah finally. (One good thing about the NES, it only has so many buttons to try.) During battles the menu is even more obtuse. There's no undo button, and no way to move the character after it's initiated. One wrong button press means skipping a character's turn.

One Undead spell, at level 1 can take out 8 skeletons... over powered much?

Learning curve aside, I've tried to explore. Yet I can't seem to stray too far from the first town and Lord British. The first time I did, Trick and AmyK died because I blindly walked into damage inducing terrain. In my defense I was walking through the forest, and could only see one tile ahead. No problem I thought, "I'll go resurrect AmyK, and grind up some money to get Trick back... what's that? Oh, AmyK just turned to ashes. Let me go explore that blue barrier looking thing next to the doctor and... okay now the whole party is dead." Strangely, CanaG gets magically revived at Lord British. This isn't very helpful though, as I'm still in a position that requires me to restart. While the thought did cross my mind of trying to continue on, I brushed it aside as an undue burden. I hadn't saved too long ago, so it wasn't a big loss.

The change in sound from *crunch*crunch* to *thud*thud* should have been a dead give away

Overall, nothing's been too detrimental (except for the whole party death thing); I've gained some confidence now, and some levels. Leveling gives a character more hit points. Chet has been raking up the experience with his Undead spell, wiping out most groups of ghouls and skeletons single-handedly. The sling was handed to Trick rather early, as I found ranged weapons are best. This was quickly upgraded to a blowgun, and some leather armor for him and Chet as well. Chet also saved up enough for a sword. As soon as Chet reached level 3, I noticed stronger enemies started appearing. I remember there being a way to increase stats later, and with stronger enemies lurking around I'm definitely looking forward to that. Next trip out I'll better prepare by reviewing the manual a second time. My plan is to explore all I can of the over-world. I hope to find some more towns, and maybe my first dungeon. I actually have some clues, but no way of knowing how to follow up on them.

Are you my ship?

Game 3: Ultima: Exodus (NES) - Introduction

The original game, Ultima III: Exodus, was released in 1983 for many PC platforms including the Apple II (I have fond memories of trying to play it with my dad). It was a great advancement for the series with many new additions, and much polish. Battles now take place on a separate screen, and with multiple party members, it takes a more tactical approach to defeat the enemy. The setting takes on more focus with a fully medieval-fantasy setting, gone is the futuristic themed parts. Using what the party can realistically see, the player now has a limited view of their surroundings based on the terrain. Dungeons are drawn with textured walls, and sprites are animated.

Wow, the music here is maddening...

This game may have had the greatest influence of all on the console RPG genre, so it's great to see it ported to the NES. All games that followed it show strong evidence of the impact it had. From the use of an over-world map; separate screens for battles, towns, and dungeons; and the four character party to magic points used for spells, and the proliferation of the medieval-fantasy setting, the game echoes throughout time.

An NES port was an obvious choice as the leading console of the time; following the success of games like Dragon Warrior (1986 JP) and its sequel (1987 JP), which take most of their inspiration from here, and seeing Dragon Warrior II become the first blockbuster game in Japan (seriously, people camped out days in advance to get the game), cashing in on this market is a no-brainer.

Changes were necessary though as the NES had no keyboard. To fit everything to a 2-button controller interface, the game used nested menus to fit all the options (much like Dragon Warrior). The graphics are more colorful than the original versions of the game, and the music changed to fit the NES hardware. All the manuals were reduced to one, and no map was included. I feel like I'm in for a bit of a challenge with the reduction in exposition.

The party that never was (also this music is pretty catchy)

I remember having rented this game as a kid. I never beat it. In fact, my memory of it is all rather hazy. The most memorable part of it is my struggle with understanding the moon phases. Moon gates were the bane of my young addled brain. I'm fairly certain I didn't get very far, and would jump on my brothers save file to check it out.

Mostly, I'm going into this blind, and from what I hear I'm going to struggle with unhelpful NPC hints. There's also mention that it is not possible to brute force through the game, and the final boss is more of a puzzle to pass. I've tried to keep this research spoiler free, so I don't have much more to report. There's evidently a 64-page hint book floating around as well, which I'll take the time to peruse after completing the game.

There's not a lot of mention of this game when reminiscing about classic console RPGs with friends and forums, so I have to wonder how the Ultima series continued to be released on consoles through Ultima VII. In fact, there's two Ultima games released for the Game Boy that look more like Zelda than Ultima, but I'll give them a chance based solely on the series. One of the most unfortunate omissions of the series on console is the lack of an American release to the PlayStation port of Ultima Underworld.

I didn't even vote in this poll...

I had a poll up for the last week to help me decide characters. It looks like Ranger & Thief edged out Paladin & Lark. This gives me a party of Ranger, Thief, Cleric, Wizard; in honor of the CRPG Addict, The Trickster, and my top two commenters, I'll be naming them Chet, Trick, AmyK, and CanaG respectively. Thanks for all the inspiration and support guys. I'm really looking forward to this one.