Tales of the Arabian Nights (1984). C64

Tales of the Arabian Nights looks interesting! The Arab theme is different. I imagine turbans and scimitars and fireballs and flying leaps!

We need to talk about the cover:

I will get to be on a flying carpet? And the game has ULTRA LOAD and SPEECH?! Awesome! That being said, why does my dude look so damn evil? His face is giving me full-on witch realness. The pointy blue hat is not helping matters. Neither are his hands and arms, reaching up towards the sky in paroxysms of wicked joy. I can't imagine that the princess would feel very comforted if this one showed up in her chamber. 

The Kalendar Prince: " *cackling* I'm here to rescue you! Hee hee hee!"

The Princess Anitra: " ...Nah, I'm good."

Status: Played it

Thoughts: The digitized speech is awesome! It was a pleasant surprise. It shows what the C64 can do when its power is harnessed properly. And I like the music as well.

But once again, the controls are "stiff as a board"! If only this game remembered the "light as a feather" portion as well! My character was a squat, heavy and square blob. He moved like one, too. The dude was very angular. 

Movement onscreen has a case of pixel-hunt-ladder syndrome, where unless you are standing on the EXACT pixel for a ladder or rope, you won't move up or down at all. The seconds that are required for me to take tiny steps left or right to reposition myself will often prove to be fatal. Whenever a game has a loop of flying enemies that dive towards you and they endlessly respawn, timing is key. 

The horizontal jump distance was surprisingly far. Unfortunately, the immediate death from a tiny fall is quite reminiscent of Spelunker. Tiny fall distances discourage exploration and using a character freely. I loved the mechanic of having to grab the gold jars in a specific order so that I could spell out "ARABIAN". It adds a nice layer of strategy. But my character sprite was way too big and would often completely obscure whatever surface or object I was interacting with. It also made the screen feel weirdly crowded. The cannon, multiple bird types, squids, and mostly unsafe jumps worked together to create a minimum of movement for my character. I was pinned down so often that it felt like I was playing chess!

This is another game that absolutely should be revisited and remade. I love single-screen platformers. Just give me a character that is fun to control!

Rating: 2.0 out of 4 Flying Carpets

Saucer Attack! (1984). C64

Saucer Attack! is a shooter from 1984. Let's see how it plays! The style is first-person and you move a reticule around the screen, shooting at enemy saucers.

Here is the cover:

The game doesn't hide the fact that the saucer is attacking the Capitol building of the United States, located at the National Mall. They appeal to patriotism... and some of our biggest fears!

Status: Played it

Thoughts: This game is weak. It is a light gun game with no light gun. The reticule and shots are slow, the enemy movement is fairly random, and there is no feedback when you hit an enemy successfully. There is no thrill of marksmanship, like in archery or gun sports. Frankly, the game was less fun than games from the 70's! Don't bother.

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Flying Saucers

BC's Quest for Tires (1983). C64

BC's Quest for Tires jumps out at anybody who used to read the newspaper! B.C. was a famous comic strip. I have a fond memory of reading that comic as part of the Sunday paper on Easter Sunday! I would have tons of Easter Candy and these comics. Pure joy! Hopefully, this game lets me ride the unicycle!

Here is the cover:

It looks like the game is promising fast movement. Great! Why is the hero only a tiny portion of the cover? Anyhow, let's get some tires!

Status: Played it

Thoughts: These are excellent graphics, especially for 1983! The animation is fast and smooth. But it is not very interesting. I noticed that I have zero desire to try the game again. It is a side-scroller that doesn't have weapons or much platforming. It is mostly jumping and ducking and there aren't any enemies to avoid! Even Pitfall gives you more to do than that. 

I tried the game again so that I could be sure that I was giving the game a fair shake. I made it further! But it still controls relatively poorly. I noticed that I wasn't enjoying it. Mario Brothers came out at the same time as this game. Yet the original Mario Brothers game controls quite well! There was no reason for BC to be this stiff, especially since the game doesn't have to program any enemies. They could have put all their resources into making smooth controls. When a game character is a joy to use, you can have fun just running around! 

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Stone Unicycles

Caveman Ugh-Lympics (1988).

Caveman Ugh-Lympics is my first game post that was requested by a reader! Graeme Fawcett has fond memories of this game. World Games and Winter Games are 2 of my favorite C64 multiplayer games ever, so I am excited! I read the manual. I practiced all the Events at least once. Let's go!

Here is the cover: 

The cover art has cavemen that are drawn in that classic cartoon style that brings you back to the 80's (and earlier!) As the sabretooth tiger has eaten the athlete in 3rd place, the stakes will definitely be high. 

Status: Played it

Thoughts: This game must be played with friends. As a single-player experience, Caveman Ugh-Lympics has very awkward controls, along with a lack of direct interaction with the CPU opponent. Those 2 things are the death knell for any sports games.

But if you play this with friends, you will definitely enjoy yourself! Whatever issues exist with the controls are irrelevant as your opponent will have the exact same issues. Fire Making and Dino Race are 2 Events that stand out as particularly fun when playing against a friend or two (or more.) Don't make yourself dizzy!

I give this game 2 ratings. Single-player is ultimately boring as the events are not interactive enough to evoke the thrill of competition. But multiplayer rocks, which is appropriate for these cavemen. Give this game a try!

Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Dinosaurs (multiplayer experience)

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Dinosaurs (single-player mode)

Spelunker (1984). C64

 Spelunker is familiar to me. Namely, the hilariously difficult NES version! I have a memory of playing it on Nintendo when it first came out. I had a little black & white television in my bedroom. My sprite on screen had a tiny whip and an even tinier fall distance. It was an exploration game that made "exploring" a very scary experience! lol. I wonder how this will be on the C64.

Here is the cover:

This guy looks TOUGH! Dirty but determined. Unfortunately, this cover tells me NOTHING about the game. Is it going to be a reenactment of a Village People concert that takes place in an abandoned mine? Will my character be a serial killer? On second thought, perhaps the mystery of the cover art is a good thing! #C64 #retrogaming

Status: Played it

Thoughts: I like the idea behind Spelunker. It combines action gameplay with the puzzle-solving bend of adventures. I liked having dynamite to drop and flares to shoot. 

Just be warned: Spelunker is tough and it requires precise movements. You won't just stub your toe on a small stone on the ground. You will be rebounded backwards as if you stepped on a landmine. That rebound often ends with you sailing right into a pit. The fall will kill you long before you reach the bottom! Every jump is fixed and has the potential to kill you, which is tense for a platformer. You better fully commit whenever you decide to hit the joystick button! Imagine Super Mario Brothers, except the entire game was World 8-2.

I just wish the controls were better. I believe that the reason why Spelunky (the modern spiritual successor to Spelunker) was such a big success is that they drastically tightened up the controls. Every time you die in that game, you know that you deserved. Whereas in Spelulnker, my guy would often not do what I wanted him to do. Part of that is definitely a skill issue on my part. The other part is that it wasn't quite fun enough for me to continue. I had my run and I am satisfied with that! 

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 Phantom Blasters 

Star Trader (1985). C64

Time for Star Trader! 

The cover art has a sleek spaceship, blasting away at an enemy ship up front. Another enemy ship is swooping in! The planets seem to be uncomfortably close to each other. "STAR TRADER", "The ultimate arcade adventure for the Commodore 64." Why is the BUG-BYTE logo such a large part of the cover? What is an arcade adventure? All of these questions will be (hopefully) answered shortly! #C64 #retrogaming

Status: Played it

Thoughts: I like that Star Trader has 2 different game modes. The spaceship shooter mode and the planet-hopping day trader mode. 

Let's start with the strong adventure mode. The graphics are good. I like the tracing as the different locations load up onscreen. It gives the game its own flavor. And you are genuinely a trader. Buy high/sell low never gets old! You look at reports and see which planets where prices are the most favorable for supply runs or sales. Like a real-life stock market, the prices keep fluctuating. This game allows for couch co-op local multiplayer of up to 8 people, which is a rare treat! There is even a food/health component though it is a little too opaque. 

Where the game falls off is the action portion. The wireframe shooter has sluggish controls and unsatisfying missiles/lasers. It is boring. You can die if you are hit too many times. If you don't die, you didn't have much fun. And there will be many more of these sections to come. It is possible to keep paying off the space pirates and avoid battle, but the game needs the variety of action and adventure. 

Star Trader would have been much better off as a pure adventure with planet and trading options expanded. The battle section could be redone as text-only. Removing the graphics and joystick control from battles would have allowed them to offer a text-based battle system that is much deeper. Or even have auto-resolve combat where you choose the inputs. This is another game where they wanted more than their engine could offer, though I am glad that they got half of it right!

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 Continental Breakfasts  

Microcosm (1986). C64

Today's game is Microcosm! I have never heard of this game before. It is a single-screen platformer, which is a genre that I enjoy! 

From the cover, I assume I will be in a spacesuit, and I will be shooting at plants with long stems. As far as the little spider dude to the bottom-right, I am not 100% sure if he is friend or foe. Clearly, this game is going to involve very fast action as the box artist didn't even have time to draw in a background. Nope, no time for that! 

Status: Played it

Thoughts: This game has fairly good controls! My dude moves around smoothly and he even flies! It was fun to run around with him. I actually felt bad about punishing those prior games for poor controls, as if it was a product of that time. Baloney! Games from 1986 on the Commodore 64 can control nicely and run smoothly, so I will not be giving out excuses for bad controls any longer.

As far as the game itself, that's another story! It is very difficult. I was expected to shoot down all of the aphids whenever they would gather. They respawned endlessly, so there was only about 5-10 seconds of respite before they would fill up the screen again. I was also expected to gather seeds from the roof and place them on the sprouts to grow stalks. I was also expected to fly all the way to a tiny shelf, drop off my gun and go to another shelf on the far end of the screen to pick up the watering can. Then I was expected to go water the plants, but if there are aphids on the screen... the watering can doesn't work. I need to clear out the aphids again. I can only shoot them with my gun, which I have to go retrieve from the shelf on the far edge of the screen. But I can't pick up the gun without flying to another opposite edge of the screen to drop off my water can first. Let's not forget that I still need to fly to the roof and get seeds with which to grow stalks. I have to get to the seeds while avoiding aphids and drops of acid. But taking the time to avoid damage means that my phloem meter is constantly going down... LOL! This game is one big bout of plate-spinning. You better have a good strategy and never stop moving.

I deeply respect this game's ambition. It packs a LOT of moving parts into a single-screen platformer. It is that the individual parts don't actually work with each other. The fact that the aphids can go through walls is one of the most baffling design decisions. That eliminates any chance for strategy. It is either shoot them or shoot them. If you miss or try to avoid them, you will spend too much time running away and the phloem meter will get you. 

But I feel like Microcosm would be amazing if it was remade today! 

Rating: 2.0 out of 4 Watering Cans 

R-TYPE (1988). C64

Time for R-TYPE! It is the first game that I am playing on the Commodore 64 that is based on a more modern game. This game has a manual. Here is the box cover:

The game looks frightening! I like that. There is a smattering of a story in the manual. The cover also has that 80's heavy metal vibe. All good things!

I am excited to experience deeper gameplay! I am also nervous about how well the C64 will handle the arcade action of R-TYPE with only 1 button and less horsepower. But I like shooters! I look forward to this. I want to play a game that brings me back for more than 1 session! 

So far, each game has been played in a single sitting. I realize why I enjoy this journey so much. Variety!

Status: Played it

Thoughts: This one is hard for me to rate. I didn't like it. But unlike the prior games, this is not a bad game at all! It is simply doesn't have the flavor that I like. Rating this badly would be like rating a basketball video game poorly because I don't like basketball! My issue with the game is that I was not enjoying the C64 version enough to stick with it and improve. I loved Gradius on the NES and I finished that game with no save states! But the controls for Gradius were beautifully smooth, so I enjoyed the game enough to keep coming back and improving. But this game didn't taste good to me, so there was no incentive to practice it and get better. R-TYPE felt like a platform tried to make Gradius, but didn't have nearly enough horsepower and frames to give that same experience. But the C64 graphics are excellent and the music is GREAT! Far better music than the other platforms.

If I was playing R-TYPE on a different platform, my rating would be far higher. I will give it 2 different ratings. 

Rating: 2.0 out of 4 Fighters (in comparison to other non-arcade platforms of the time)

Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Fighters (if you have never played R-TYPE or Gradius on any other platform)

Captron (1989). C64

Captron is next on the list. There is no box cover or manual, so I will need to jump in and figure it out on the go. I accidentally saw the blurb on Mobygames that says that Captron is a Burgertime clone. Hey, at least I now understand the basic game mechanic! I wonder if I will be capturing something.

Status: Played it

Thoughts: Captron is awful. It is Burgertime without interesting enemies or weapons or good controls. There is a mechanic where you press a button and it leaves a clone of you, but all it does is freeze the werewolf for a moment. That is nowhere near interesting enough to make up for the horrid controls. Similar to Super Pipeline II, it is finicky when trying to climb up and down bricks/ladders. The sluggish joystick response removes any chance of fun. It is astonishing that this game came out in 1989!

Rating: 1.0 out of 4 Werewolves

Atlantic Patrol (1978). C64

My next game is another wargame. It is called Atlantic Patrol. The theatre of war is WWII, and I play as the Royal Navy. My job is to sink as many enemy ships as I can. I could not find a box cover or a manual, so I took a screenshot from my own game session.

After the unpleasantness of Falklands 82, I did not have high hopes for this game. But I was willing to give Atlantic Patrol try. I am glad that I did! I also learned a few nautical terms, and I share them in the video!

Status: COMPLETED IT!

Thoughts: Atlantic Patrol is fun! The game is from 1978. That proves that graphics are absolutely not required to make a good game. Gameplay is king. This game triggers my imagination. I imagined the big and heavy ships on the ocean, desperately turning to port or starboard and readying the guns. I was in full control of the ship's speed and bearing and weapons. The text gave concise descriptions of the enemy warship's position (from my vantagepoint) on every turn. The game doesn't even have any sound! I still yelled out loud and felt the tension. I was thinking, thinking, thinking. What is the enemy ship planning?

Please consider playing this game!

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Warships

Falklands 82 (1985). C64

 Falklands 82 is my next game. The cool part about the randomizer is that it introduces me to games that I would never have chosen to play. I am sure I missed some real gems! If I think about it, I probably played or saw about 500 different Commodore 64 games in my life. The C64 has over 5,000 games! That means that I only experienced 10% of its games. This is truly an adventure!

Here is the cover:

My biggest fear is that because it is an old-school wargame, it will be too complicated and primitive, so I will bounce off it. There is no manual available. But Jack Alien cracked the game and provided some instructions in the opening screens, so that is certainly better than nothing. Falklands is a wargame. I fear that it is a jingoistic romp, but maybe the gameplay will save it!

 

Status: Played it

Thoughts: This game is mediocre. Even if we ignore the subject matter of the very real war between the United Kingdom and Argentina, this game makes almost no effort to bring the wargame to life. The battleships are bizarrely offscreen. Air battles are briefly referenced via text messages that show up on your HUD. If the majority of the action will not be graphically represented AND we have no control over it, this isn't really a wargame anymore. A game of chess is infinitely more a wargame and more satisfying than Falklands 82. This game is unacceptable for 1985. Where are the hexes?!

A text-only wargame would have handled this far better. All we get for "graphics" are a handful of sprites that aren't even animated. Each round plays out almost identically with nearly no drama, considering that enemies can absorb a lot of damage and have no visible health bars. It is not a game that you want to play to the end. It is a game where you keep wondering why the developer made these decisions. A positive outcome from playing this game is that I look forward to the SSI wargames! They are high art in comparison. 

Rating: 1.0 out of 4 Imperialists

Super Pipeline II (1985). C64

 The randomizer has chosen Super Pipeline II as my next Commodore 64 game to try! This game has a manual, so here is the cover to set the mood:

 

There are pipes and they are definitely in geometric lines, so I better prepare for some... water that goes in a line? This is the cool part about trying a game that I have never played or even heard of. The excitement of having no idea what I am getting into!

Status: Played it

Thoughts: I like simple games. Pac-Man is one of my favorite games! But Pac-Man controls well. That is crucial for an action game. 

Super Pipeline II does not control well at all. 

Foreman Fred is very sluggish and it is not fun to try to make him do any sort of turn. Many games from the 70's had reasonably good controls, so Super Pipeline II has no excuse in 1985. I think it is the pipe size! If they were significantly bigger and Fred was smaller, it would require less precision. The game would be more fun. Fred is way too big and the enemies are too small in comparison. I loved the mechanic of using Wills (assistants) to fix leaks. That part was fun! But when I would attempt to turn Fred around to shoot an enemy, problems would arise. Fred decides to be slow about it and also walk forward, which is certain death if it is a short pipe and an enemy is in front of me. The computer-controlled Wills saved me way too many times! The game mechanic might simply be to herd the endlessly-spawning Wills into being human shields, but that is honestly not much fun at all. If they are defeating enemies AND fixing leaks, why am I even there!

Rating: 1.5 out of 4 Irish Screwdrivers

Lemonade (1982). C64

The randomizer has chosen Lemonade as my next Commodore 64 game to try! From what I can tell, it is part of the "Commodore Educational Software" series. Since there is no manual, I will have to wing it!

Status: COMPLETED IT

Thoughts: This was fun! It is a cool game if you are a kid. You get to do math and see immediate results from your calculations. As an adult, I still had fun! I used my instincts to feel out the best price to sell lemonade, based on temperature and humidity. I also had to gauge inventory to make sure that I didn't overbuy. No JIC (just-in-case) inventory here! This is all JIT (just-in-time). 

Rating: 3 out of 4 Dixie Cups

How Beautiful... are midrange notes!

This is the other piece that I am singing for the Easter Vigil Mass. I had never heard it before the Music Director assigned it to me on Sunday.  

From what I can see, "How Beautiful" by Twila Paris is a famous song! There are tons of versions of it on Musescore. But I am not going to learn the piano part this time. The accompaniment doesn't feel very interesting. Even if I loved it, I am starting to run short on practice time! This will be one of the few performance pieces where I will just learn the vocal line. 

It is a great warmup! Tons of half notes and whole notes, all in midrange. There are no pyrotechnics in this piece. I will sing it straight, as per the Director. And that is ok! Sometimes, less is more. I will trust that my voice will craft something lovely during this equivalent of an on-rails shooter.

We Are the Light of the World! A desperately needed message.

The Director assigned this piece to me a few minutes ago for this Sunday. "We Are the Light of the World" by Jean Anthony Greif. I will learn the harmonies and the descant. Yes, practice time is a precious resource! These lyrics are liturgical and they are ultimately about hope. We very much need that right now! The number of wars keep increasing. We must take a chance on peace

Let us be a light for our communities. So many people give up and become racists, misogynists, colonialists, or some other person that chooses to only trust the negative. There is no easier instrument to play than our fears. Let's choose to instead believe that there is good in others! 

"Shine, / Shine before all, / See, see the good we do!" -lyrics based on the Beatitudes

Easter is coming. I will do the Exsultet for Easter Vigil Mass!

 This is very exciting! I believe it is the first time that somebody is doing the Exult solo that is not the Music Director for Holy Trinity. It is 6 pages long, lasts 10 minutes, and is acapella! It is dense and in a specific smaller range as it is considered chant. But it is all sung and I will be the one who sings it this year. 

It is the most demanding piece of music that I have ever done, considering that I will not have musical accompaniment for my singing and it goes on for an extended period of time. I will be singing my own aria, except that it will be for God. This experience is also for me, given that I now have STRONG incentive to practice each day and continue to develop my singing! lol. If my pitch starts going flat, I will end up in the basement by the end. 

Gaming is something that I do when I have the free time. But singing is my life. I do it every day. It is the home that I carry with me. It is the way that I share my heart.

Regarding the Exult, I wonder if I can smuggle in a pitch pipe to give myself the starting note before I begin?..

Ultima III. Class selection

 What occupations will I choose for my team of 4? Considering that I will be spending a lot of time with these party members, I better choose carefully!

Fighter: Using all weapons and all armor is quite attractive! I do need somebody that can take a hit. But I wish he could use magic!

Paladin: She can use all weapons but not all armor. I am ok with that as the strongest armor in the game can be worn by anybody. That armor won't arrive until much later in the game, however! Having that 2nd healer (and chest opener) is clutch. 

Barbarian: He can use all weapons. But he has no magic ability whatsoever and he can only wear leather armor. Is it just me or does this strike you as simply a worse Fighter?

Cleric: This Wisdom class is mandatory. The heals and resurrections and utility spells are the difference between a scary and fun dungeon vs a miserable dungeon. She is the only one who has access to the full Cleric spell list.

Wizard: This Intelligence class is also mandatory. The firepower considerably speeds up mid and late-game battles. I would take 2 of them if I wanted to minmax. But it feels sacrilegious to use the same classes twice when a game offers 11 different classes! Also, the early game would be too grueling if most of my characters become useless after their MP runs out. 

Illusionist: I love her sprite! I now see how similar she is to the Shepherd class that will make its first appearance in Ultima IV. Oh, Jaana. The Illusionist is a master of Cleric attack spells but she is somehow an even worse fighter than the Cleric! She cannot rez, so I would only take her if I want to go very deep into the RP aspect. 

Druid: He is Ultima's archmage. He is the best at having both books of magic. Unfortunately, his Wisdom and Intelligence cap out at INT/WIS 49, as opposed to INT/WIS 99 for the pure classes. He is phenomenal until late game, at which point he is one big detriment to the entire party. Can't really attack, can't use high-level magic, and can't take a hit.

Thief: The Thief is better in Ultima than in most RPGs! His ability to safely open chests will serve you for the entire game. He is a decent fighter in early game and he is quite accurate. He can steal in town and do so without alerting guards. But having no ability to use high-level weapons, high-level armor, or ANY magic puts him in Illusionist territory. Simply trade out low-level cleric spells for the Steal/Open command.

Lark: She can use all weapons and she has half the Wizard spellbook. THIS is what I mean by having a useful character! She does not become useless after her MP runs out. She can't use armor, however. That makes her as frail as a Wizard. But my songstress can use all the best long-range weapons, so she is able to make up for her greatest weakness. 

Ranger: He can do everything! He has access to all armor, which is rare. But other than armor, he has middling ability in everything else. He cannot use the high-level weapons and he can only use a THIRD of the Wizard and Cleric spellbooks. Since he only gets 1/2 of his Wisdom & Intelligence points added to his spellbook and he caps out at 37, he takes a while to get started. And then stops developing by midgame. Even the Druid will be a joy until late game! But the Ranger is still appealing, due to having that early game utility + fighting ability.

Alchemist: I love his sprite so much. He is so cool! But he can't fight, can't take a hit, has no special abilities and cannot cast Cleric spells. He gets Wizard spells that cap out at 49, so he is a worse Wizard. I assume that he is a bug in the game design. How can one class be the worst at EVERYTHING?!

As far as Races, I keep it simple. Bobit for WIS classes, Fuzzy for INT classes, Dwarf for STR classes, and Elf for DEX classes. 

Humans in video game D&D games are nearly always the best choice. Early D&D video games have level limits on non-Human races that are fine for tabletop campaigns. But those limits translates to video game characters that cannot advance, being that leveling becomes the point. Modern D&D no longer has the level limits for other races, but Humans get extra Feats that are too useful to ignore. 

Humans in Ultima 3 are worse. They cap out at 75 for all their stats, so the spellbooks would be limited to 37 MP. That is unacceptable for a caster class. Interestingly, the Human is a great class for a Ranger! Rangers don't have the ability to take full (or even half) advantage of their spellbooks, so why waste the points! Make them a well-rounded Occupation that exists entirely for RP. They can hang out with the Alchemist that doesn't even gets potions or bombs.

I am excited to play this game!

Ultima III: Exodus prep

I AM EXCITED! Ultima 3 has had a special place in my heart for decades. It was the first RPG that I ever played. I even have the original hint book! Back then, the hint book wasn't just a dry walkthrough. It gave HINTS, which is why they are called hint books and not walkthroughs. It is a lost art. Having this physical copy is a joy:

These next 2 pages are why I developed a lifelong fascination with Minax from Ultima II:

This awesomeness is what I am talking about! This hint book is more than just a hint book. It is also a manga and has its own narrative. A hint book that can be read like a book. This is what multimedia can do. It gives your mind and heart more things to embrace. And it increases the fun!  

Ultima 2. Day 2

I am trying again and playing the EGA upgraded version of Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress. I am ready to see what today brings! I am sure that this game will function flawlessly and I will totally love the gameplay, in spite of what 99% of retrogamers have told me about Ultima II.

Hmm...

At this point, I assume the universe is telling me to move on. I got nervous when I noticed that the upgrade hadn't been updated in 8 years. A lot of things happen in the world of computers in 8 years. Things that used to work will sometimes not work anymore. I could:

1) use a non-GOG version of the game or,

2) download it for free and fiddle with applying the upgrade there or,

3) try playing it on a different platform or,

4) a hundred other things. 

Or, I can admit that wanting to like a game and staunchly guarding my nostalgia is very different from actually enjoying the game in 2026!

It's ok. This means that this weekend is about Ultima III and my music! I look forward to both. I will make posts over the weekend to release next week. I also plan to get in some World of Warcraft. Discipline Priests are fun to play!

Ultima 2. Day 1

Booting up Ultima 2 and entering Sosaria!

This is a noticeable improvement over part 1. More sound effects, larger world, and I can interact with all NPCs now! These are smart improvements. The game world feels more alive and there are more things to discover. Bumping into what I can and cannot do.

But the game still feels very primitive and I am somehow disconnected from the experience. These are CGA graphics (for an RPG!) and easily the worst version of all the different U2 ports. 

Well, I did some digging and I found that there is an Ultima II upgrade project! It is called "The Exodus Project" and it introduces major QOL improvements. Since I don't have access to the FM Towns version of Ultima II, this is the next best thing. I am glad I found it! And I am grateful to the developer who built it. Otherwise, I was going to bounce off this game instantly. Now I can give it another chance. I will test out the upgrade tomorrow. 

Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress prep

The character of Minax has always fascinated me. The apprentice of the evil warlock Mondain. She grew even more powerful than her master and decided to take her revenge on Earth and its denizens. 

The story is now significantly deeper than Ultima 1. We have a narrative! This is no longer a one-off game, but a full world. The buildup to Ultima III grows and grows! Moral questions appear and some of them are quite relevant in 2026. I won't spoil the story in the manual. Please find it and read it for yourself!

Access the story of Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress HERE!

I have a surprise when we reach Ultima III/Ultima Exodus! I want to tie in what I love with these gaming adventures. Anything that increases both immersion and patience is a good thing! 

The manual was a joy to read. And back then, it was rare that an RPG hero got multiple modes of transport that they could use at will. The concern is always that you will leave your horse/ship someplace in the overworld and not be able to find it later! 

Tomorrow, I boot up GOG and give this game a spin! 

Buy Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress HERE!

Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness. Yes, I played it...

I experienced the magic! Actually, that is quite enough magic, thank you. It was like chewing gum where it loses its flavor after a few minutes. I wanted to love this game so much! Ultima is overall my favorite RPG series of all time. There are many games from 1981 that hold up. But I don't feel that Ultima 1 is one of them. Even for back then, the dungeon was disappointing and felt archaic. And this is coming from a guy that loves Pac-Man on the Atari 2600! [NOTE: I played the PC/Apple version. From everything I have seen, the FM Towns versions of Ultima I & II are good! Japanese game developers also saved Ultima III, which I will be playing sooner than expected. All of this reverses from Ultima V onwards, at which point the Japanese versions become significantly worse than the original American versions.]

"Ultima"tely, it was the complete lack of npc interaction that made Ultima I unpleasant for me, along with barebones combat. If I don't have anybody in-game to interact with and no illusion of sword fighting or spellcasting, then this becomes an action game. But then, it will be measured up against action games of that time period and fall far short. I don't judge games of the past by the gaming standards of the present, especially since I am older now. But action games in 1981 were a lot more fun than Ultima 1. It is wild to think about how this went from what I just played to some of the best RPGS of all time! Richard Garriott got better and better with each game. His imagination and love of his craft wouldn't let him quit.

But Ultima 1 aged like milk. If you see fun in that video, please let me know!



Otherwise, I am going to try Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress next. 

Until Ultima IV, these are going to be very fast dates! No fancy dinner, just coffee and "see ya!"

Christ, Be Our Light! A great day at church!

 

Yesterday was an absolute joy at Sunday Mass. The solemnity of Catholic Church service is special. To me, it is the equivalent of walking around inside a group meditation. "Christ, Be Our Light" (1993) by Bernadette Farrell always knocks my socks off! I remember when it first came out. Our church choir did it today as our Recessional Hymn.

The descant is pure fire! I sang it for the 2nd refrain, and I did not hold back. The excitement in the congregation went through the roof! People applauded at the end. That is not normal for such a solemn and ritual-laden space, but we felt the joy! The descant has a high G and I hit it... and then sat on it! We were all together with God at that moment, organist and singers and clergy and congregation.

Live music is magic.

Ultima 1 - Day 1 of the classic!

 

Day 1 of exploring Ultima 1 (1981)! With classic games, I must study the reference card first.

There is a certain charm to this artwork. This game is back from when 1 person would create an entire game by themselves. The reference card art packs in a dragon, sword, shield, burly dude, a devilish-looking tree, a ship, water, a castle, and a spaceship. There is a lot going on here! And it is signed "Laura Philips". Richard Garriott hired a friend to help him. The DIY adds so much value to the package!

The GOG version is the EGA upgrade, which is deeply appreciated. This is a beautiful splash screen. I always loved the font used for the title "Ultima". I wish I knew what the font is called!

I entered the castle of Lord British and tested out the different actions that I can do. As you will see, a valuable lesson was learned!