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.