Ultima IX - Retrospective Review

RPG wolf level up looks back at Ultima IX Ascension and it's development:

Ultima 9 Ascension

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It could have been sooooo good.....

Bloody EA!!

Ran right off the cliff, this one did. All the potential was there, yet it was overwhelmed by abject failure.

I never finished it, but I found Ascension interesting and fun to explore. I was never a hardcore fan of the series though and didn't follow the lore very closely. I imagine my opinion might be different if I had been.

Manure smells better than it did!!

The video makes it look better than it actually is!!

I never actually finished Ultima IX and perhaps someday I will muster the courage to try again. I finished Ultima VIII for the first time about 5 years ago even though I disliked large segments of the game.

I never understood why so many people -it seems, anyway - venerate this game. I think "spoony" did, and other younger youtubers rushed to be like him and pretend to like it. As someone who was on the old OWO boards that Christmas of 1999, no, it was not a good game. I'll admit, I white knighted LB and Origin and defended it at first, but I knew deep down it was horrible. Still is. It's not the "pre-morrowind" younger gamers make it out to be on youtube.

It did have promise though. I remember getting to the gargoyle area and using the boots to fly out as everyone drowned or something. The game ran so bad, even three years later when I bought my first gigahertz CPU, that I never got around to finishing it. The combat was god-awful and has aged so poorly that it's unplayable in my eyes.

I remember them saying EA treated it like a red-headed stepchild and all of their money went into Ultima Online. Probably worked out in the long run for them, though.

That being said, Gothic came out in 2001, just two years later, and was absolutely everything Ultima 9 had promised it would be. Funny how that worked out.

It is not a great Ultima but I think it is still a decent RPG as a standalone game. Of course I played EU version, released several months after US, already patched and had no real problems or serious bugs on a decent machine with 3dfx card. Played it again like three years ago with all fan patches and still enjoyed the game. Graphics and soundtrack are great, there is a lot of variety between places, dungeons are one of the best in the genre. After a linear beginning, it does open up later. I liked it much more than replaying Pagan before it.

Dark Savant said:

It is not a great Ultima but I think it is still a decent RPG as a standalone game. Of course I played EU version, released several months after US, already patched and had no real problems or serious bugs on a decent machine with 3dfx card. Played it again like three years ago with all fan patches and still enjoyed the game. Graphics and soundtrack are great, there is a lot of variety between places, dungeons are one of the best in the genre. After a linear beginning, it does open up later. I liked it much more than replaying Pagan before it.

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At some parts it showed how brilliant it could have been, like running with a sword along the beach at night with a glowing sword, or exploring the maze outside Lord Brittish castle, or using bread to build a staircase and find a secret. I had fun, but so many parts were broken.........

I think it's the only game that I got significantly angry playing. I fought through it just because after having been a fan for so long, I wanted to see the end. And that was a huge let down. I remember I went and immediately reloaded Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 just to purge as much of the memory of U9 as I could.

I'm under no illusions about it being a good game, but I wish I'd played it back in the day. I was a big fan of the series, especially 6 and 7. It's far too late even for that, though.

It's never too late - I don't reckon. It's a question of mentality, diligent effort and perhaps a little bit of patience.

Ascension remains the only Ultima that I haven't completed. I documented my first try here on the 'Watch some years ago but my attempt failed when I encountered a pretty nasty game-stopping bug. I haven't had the courage to try again but in truth, perhaps I should, as the love for Ultima is still there.

JFarrell71 said:

I'm under no illusions about it being a good game, but I wish I'd played it back in the day. I was a big fan of the series, especially 6 and 7. It's far too late even for that, though.

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It was a couple years before it was stable enough to play and the community mod made it bearable. I had it for a year before it would even load on my machine.

For going back, I've found that if I force myself to just put an hour or so into a game, it sort of resets my expectations and I'm good. I actually played the Ultimas starting at 1 (I'd never played 1 or 2 as a kid) and played through U7 one summer in the early 2000's. They were archaic even for then, but since I forced myself into 1, each new game I was able to appreciate more the steps in technology.

Which of the community mods are considered mandatory? I'm thinking about giving it another shot and last time I didn't play with any mods.