"Well, well, well Avatar. You have managed to thwart me once again." "Actually, it seemed more like your plan was thwarted on its own. What was your plan anways?" "Shut up."
If Origin Systems is the “creator of worlds” then EA is the destroyer of worlds, just like the Guardian (cf. Ultima Underworld 2, Pagan Ultima 8). In U7, the cube, sphere, and pyramid are objects of ultimate evil that interfere with magic, which is the old logo of Electronic Arts. To date, EA has shuttered many gaming companies it has acquired.
You know what is weird that I JUST noticed? The Blackrock Order Serpent has always crooked to the left. The Blackrock Chaos Serpent to the right. However, when the Balance Serpent joins with them in the void, it is switched around. Order (blue) to the right (as it should be logistically) and Chaos (red) to the left. Weird.
I like how the usually smart-ass guardian was legitimately miffed at the end Like he knows now that he can't keep fuckin with the avatar like he's just some rando with a sword Even tho he still does it in 8 lmao
I never actually finished u7 or u8. The interface I found too confusing and I wound up lost. There were no easy guides back then either. U6 I figured out on my own.
At least like 10 years ago there was exult. Don't know if it still exists. But you can play Ultima 7 and Serpent Isle on it. It's a game engine to run Ultima on Linux but also MS-Dos. Back then worked like a charm for me. I played Ultima 8 through when it came out. Too jumpy sometimes. Mario Brothers, avenge me. Here's an answer 13 years away from the question. Hope you are still good, and maybe can enjoy Ultima 7 again ;-)
Eventually I grabbed a guide and followed it through to completion. Back in the 90s. I got about halfway through. The bit I missed is that if you don't tell the hound to sniff Batlin's medallion, then the Gwani whose daughter you saved won't reward you with a key piece of information that unlocks the later part of the game. Makes perfect sense... how'd I miss that?
I just played and finished Ultima VII: The Black Gate the first time very recently and started Serpent Isle right after that, but this game is so boring I can't stand it. For me this is a totally different game altogether and I think it shouldn't carry the name of Ultima VII, even if the story is finished here. The Black Gate is a great game with a vast world to see and experience and I really recommend it, but Serpent Isle I cannot recommend for it feels like it's totally missing a soul. Anyways, I came for this video to see the ending which leads to the beginning of Pagan. Got to try that game out.
I agree with you, I've tried it out but it's so linear, weird, unapproachable, buggy and awkward. Even though they use the same engine it somehow lacks the charm that TBG has. I finished TBG and wanted to like TSI but totally lost interest/patience after the first town. To pick a couple things for anyone else reading, when a companion (you're forced to have a set 3 for most of it who barely have dialogue) dies you have to use an hourglass to revive them instead of having a resurrect spell or a healer, which is weird. When YOU yourself die, you're teleported to an island where some monks revive you and then return you nearish to where you were. In one dungeon early on filled with traps and monsters, this returns you to your exact last co-ordinates. So for all intents and purposes you're unkillable (besides which the combat in both games is an uncontrollable clusterfuck). Not to mention other shit like multiple currencies, the lack of ability to sail or fly around freely, and naah. Just cbf. Bit of a rant there but what the hell I just felt like it.
@@somemong989 Serpent Isle is the result of heavy narrative approach on Ultima, toning the gameplay part to a minimum, while suffering, like countless of games, cuts in development due to whatever constraints (likely time). It's cool that many people found the approach amusing or even thrilling, but I have enjoyed Ultima games for a different reason, which is the open ended player driven design. It certainly feels strange how part two of the same game can feel so vastly different, which I have personally never experienced before Ultima VII. It's almost like if you finished a Mario game, but then there is a direct sequel which is surprisingly an RPG.
@@TheSupremeSkill well the gameplay is similar in a lot of ways minus the open world side of it as we've said, and both had problems like combat and inventory management. There's a lot more story and it's more complex, I feel like I'd rather watch a let's play of it and get the story from it than bother with the hassle of playing it myself though. The story is supposedly really awesome and the world is bizarre and interesting in its way. Yeah apparently what happened is that EA took over and gradually imposed many shifts in priority and harsh deadlines to the series. So plot points and dev time were cut from serpent Isle (there's a fair few bugs), Ultima 8 was unfinished and appears terrible according to Spoonys review, and Ultima 9 turned out incredibly badly. It's a shame.
@@somemong989 It's easy to blame EA solely, but lead designer Richard Garriot himself has said he tried to please the investors, which he admitted was a huge mistake. EA was still a big part of the downshift surely, managing resources as they saw fit. Gameplay is very similar indeed in Serpent Isle with the half automatic combat and all, but I was referring more to the choices you make along the way, which there are really not since all you do is go to your destination, talk this, pick that, buy this, sell that, then a puzzle, etc. The gameplay is so set on wheels you barely feel like you are playing a real interactive video game, at least that's how I felt. Ultima IX is an attrocious game for sure, but I actually played all the way through VIII, which is clearly unfinished, a little buggy and just nasty at times, but I still found it to be atmosphere/setting wise maybe the best game I have ever played, believe it or not. The basis is, just like Garriot has roughly said, phenomenal, but the gem it could have been never got refined. I have never been as saddened by failed potential as with Ultima VIII. I don't exactly recommend to play it, but you could find it to be interesting from gaming history standpoint, at least for the first hour.
@@TheSupremeSkill It's a shame, since the Ultima series was all about him creating these worlds rather than trying to please shareholders, up until roughly that point. I've not really played much of serpent Isle tbh, but yeah it did seem that way. Once I got out of monitor, fawn didn't look very interesting and then it was like, hey, there's not a lot of places I can go and just explore. I didn't feel like going through reams of dialogue to figure it out as it felt unbalanced having to do that compared to the last game. I wonder if there's been any fan fixes of U8 as I think U9 got some, but yeah it is sad as seeing a whole new world could've been more interesting than it was.
"Well, well, well Avatar. You have managed to thwart me once again."
"Actually, it seemed more like your plan was thwarted on its own. What was your plan anways?"
"Shut up."
I always thought the Guardian was a representation of Electronic Arts
The Guardian is the side of the Avatar's personality that keeps buying EA products.
The two fellowship bosses were EA representation: "E"lizabeth and "A"braham
If Origin Systems is the “creator of worlds” then EA is the destroyer of worlds, just like the Guardian (cf. Ultima Underworld 2, Pagan Ultima 8).
In U7, the cube, sphere, and pyramid are objects of ultimate evil that interfere with magic, which is the old logo of Electronic Arts.
To date, EA has shuttered many gaming companies it has acquired.
It's so profound... "now here you are, poised at the edge of eternity.."
You know what is weird that I JUST noticed? The Blackrock Order Serpent has always crooked to the left. The Blackrock Chaos Serpent to the right. However, when the Balance Serpent joins with them in the void, it is switched around. Order (blue) to the right (as it should be logistically) and Chaos (red) to the left. Weird.
I love "Ultima" series
+Jolas Vasco yeah and this idiot of richard gariot sell ultima serie to EA game...
*Guardian abducts Avatar*
Sorry Avatar I'd love to help but um...kinda busy...balance and stuff.
I like how the usually smart-ass guardian was legitimately miffed at the end
Like he knows now that he can't keep fuckin with the avatar like he's just some rando with a sword
Even tho he still does it in 8 lmao
I never actually finished u7 or u8. The interface I found too confusing and I wound up lost. There were no easy guides back then either. U6 I figured out on my own.
At least like 10 years ago there was exult. Don't know if it still exists. But you can play Ultima 7 and Serpent Isle on it. It's a game engine to run Ultima on Linux but also MS-Dos. Back then worked like a charm for me.
I played Ultima 8 through when it came out. Too jumpy sometimes. Mario Brothers, avenge me.
Here's an answer 13 years away from the question. Hope you are still good, and maybe can enjoy Ultima 7 again ;-)
U9 didn't happen in my view.
"What's a paladin?"
I don't count 8 either.
*Guardian takes the avatar*
Can’t help you avatar sorry we’re really busy but good luck with that
Ooh, look at it dance!
This game was so bugged I kept having problems with it. Never had the chance to play for very long.
Eventually I grabbed a guide and followed it through to completion. Back in the 90s. I got about halfway through. The bit I missed is that if you don't tell the hound to sniff Batlin's medallion, then the Gwani whose daughter you saved won't reward you with a key piece of information that unlocks the later part of the game. Makes perfect sense... how'd I miss that?
I just played and finished Ultima VII: The Black Gate the first time very recently and started Serpent Isle right after that, but this game is so boring I can't stand it. For me this is a totally different game altogether and I think it shouldn't carry the name of Ultima VII, even if the story is finished here. The Black Gate is a great game with a vast world to see and experience and I really recommend it, but Serpent Isle I cannot recommend for it feels like it's totally missing a soul. Anyways, I came for this video to see the ending which leads to the beginning of Pagan. Got to try that game out.
I agree with you, I've tried it out but it's so linear, weird, unapproachable, buggy and awkward. Even though they use the same engine it somehow lacks the charm that TBG has. I finished TBG and wanted to like TSI but totally lost interest/patience after the first town. To pick a couple things for anyone else reading, when a companion (you're forced to have a set 3 for most of it who barely have dialogue) dies you have to use an hourglass to revive them instead of having a resurrect spell or a healer, which is weird. When YOU yourself die, you're teleported to an island where some monks revive you and then return you nearish to where you were. In one dungeon early on filled with traps and monsters, this returns you to your exact last co-ordinates. So for all intents and purposes you're unkillable (besides which the combat in both games is an uncontrollable clusterfuck). Not to mention other shit like multiple currencies, the lack of ability to sail or fly around freely, and naah. Just cbf. Bit of a rant there but what the hell I just felt like it.
@@somemong989 Serpent Isle is the result of heavy narrative approach on Ultima, toning the gameplay part to a minimum, while suffering, like countless of games, cuts in development due to whatever constraints (likely time). It's cool that many people found the approach amusing or even thrilling, but I have enjoyed Ultima games for a different reason, which is the open ended player driven design. It certainly feels strange how part two of the same game can feel so vastly different, which I have personally never experienced before Ultima VII. It's almost like if you finished a Mario game, but then there is a direct sequel which is surprisingly an RPG.
@@TheSupremeSkill well the gameplay is similar in a lot of ways minus the open world side of it as we've said, and both had problems like combat and inventory management. There's a lot more story and it's more complex, I feel like I'd rather watch a let's play of it and get the story from it than bother with the hassle of playing it myself though. The story is supposedly really awesome and the world is bizarre and interesting in its way.
Yeah apparently what happened is that EA took over and gradually imposed many shifts in priority and harsh deadlines to the series. So plot points and dev time were cut from serpent Isle (there's a fair few bugs), Ultima 8 was unfinished and appears terrible according to Spoonys review, and Ultima 9 turned out incredibly badly. It's a shame.
@@somemong989 It's easy to blame EA solely, but lead designer Richard Garriot himself has said he tried to please the investors, which he admitted was a huge mistake. EA was still a big part of the downshift surely, managing resources as they saw fit.
Gameplay is very similar indeed in Serpent Isle with the half automatic combat and all, but I was referring more to the choices you make along the way, which there are really not since all you do is go to your destination, talk this, pick that, buy this, sell that, then a puzzle, etc. The gameplay is so set on wheels you barely feel like you are playing a real interactive video game, at least that's how I felt.
Ultima IX is an attrocious game for sure, but I actually played all the way through VIII, which is clearly unfinished, a little buggy and just nasty at times, but I still found it to be atmosphere/setting wise maybe the best game I have ever played, believe it or not. The basis is, just like Garriot has roughly said, phenomenal, but the gem it could have been never got refined. I have never been as saddened by failed potential as with Ultima VIII. I don't exactly recommend to play it, but you could find it to be interesting from gaming history standpoint, at least for the first hour.
@@TheSupremeSkill It's a shame, since the Ultima series was all about him creating these worlds rather than trying to please shareholders, up until roughly that point.
I've not really played much of serpent Isle tbh, but yeah it did seem that way. Once I got out of monitor, fawn didn't look very interesting and then it was like, hey, there's not a lot of places I can go and just explore. I didn't feel like going through reams of dialogue to figure it out as it felt unbalanced having to do that compared to the last game.
I wonder if there's been any fan fixes of U8 as I think U9 got some, but yeah it is sad as seeing a whole new world could've been more interesting than it was.