Ultima VIII



""You have been a thorn in my side for far too long, Avatar. Your two worlds will be crushed. Britannia first, then Earth. I shall parade you before their conquered peoples as the fallen idol of a pathetic ideal. I banish you to the world of Pagan. No one here knows of the Avatar!""

- The Guardian

Ultima VIII: Pagan (1994) is the eighth official installment in the classic Ultima series of Role Playing Games. After The Guardian banishes him to Pagan, a world of eternal twilight very different from the usual setting of Britannia, the Avatar is forced to find his bearings and learn in a strange new environment. The Virtues of the previous games are gone, and despite being a paragon in Britannia, no one knows of him here. None of his old companions appear in the game, nor does Lord British. Instead, most of the story deals with the four Titans, powerful demi-gods whose worshippers are capable of different powerful forms of magic. The Avatar travels this world learning the different forms of Elemental Powers, before ultimately facing off and defeating the Titans themselves. After his victory, he hopes to return to Britannia to deal with the Guardian.

Pagan occupies an interesting place in the Ultima series. While it was certainly enjoyable, Executive Meddling meant its production ended up being quite rushed, and many of the original planned elements were left out. The removal of party-based gameplay and the addition of various platform game features also got a mixed reception among fans of the previous games. It is still, however, much more fondly remembered than the Obvious Beta that was Ultima IX.

An expansion pack called The Lost Vale was announced and apparently completed, but the release was cancelled when Pagan didn't sell as well as was hoped. A full version is confirmed to have existed, but it was not archived and the game is thus Lost Forever. The only information we have on it are a bunch of screenshots and whatever can be reconstructed from previews and statements by the developers. A single, completed box for The Lost Vale (without the actual game) surfaced in 2005, and was sold on eBay for $1,923.


 * Aborted Arc: The Water Spirit turning out to be evil is never followed up on, due to the game being rushed out before the ending of that plot thread could be put in.
 * Accidental Public Confession: The Avatar and his friend Devon the fisherman are about to be executed for treason when the Avatar reveals information that he found in a book that was locked away in the dungeon and whose author was killed for writing it. Said book states that Devon is an illegitimate son of the previous Tempest and, being older than his sister, the rightful heir to the throne. Mordea's toadying seneschal Salkind reacts not by denying the existence of the book or claiming it is fake, but by saying that no-one could have read the book since he hid it too well. Cue a sheepish reaction once he realises his mistake and Mordea killing him in epic fashion for his idiocy.
 * After the End: the world of Pagan was devastated before the events of the game in an apocalypse orchestrated by the Guardian; centuries on, recovery has been very limited.
 * All Crimes Are Equal: In Tenebrae, the punishment for all crimes, from minor theft to murder, is death by combustion, or via a lightning bolt if you attack/offend the Tempest personally.
 * Cain and Abel: Queen Mordea of Tenebrae ends up fighting a magic/elemental duel with her older brother Devon for the throne. Let's say it doesn't end well for her. view a video of the whole "Fall of Mordea" scene here, the action starts at about the 4.45 mark.
 * Convection, Schmonvection: You can go as close as you like to molten lava, as long as you don't touch it without casting a heat protection spell first.
 * Darker and Edgier: Certainly compared to the earlier Ultima games. There are no Virtues, few truly good characters, some (for the time) pretty graphic violence and the world itself is literally immersed in eternal gloom.
 * Elemental Powers: The different types of magic featured in the game are all tied to the traditional western elements.
 * Necromancy involves manipulating Earth and, by extension, the dead.
 * Theurgy deals with air and has several healing spells.
 * Sorcery is the magic of fire and fire-related creatures such as demons.
 * Tempestry is the power affecting water, as well as the weather. The Avatar never learns this though, so all that we see of it is based on the actions of other characters.
 * Thaumaturgy encompasses a diverse series of spells, apparently all related to the mysterious element of Aether.
 * Gods Need Prayer Badly: The old Zealan gods are apparently heavily weakened by the fact that no one worships them any more.
 * Informed Equipment: Even when wearing no equipment at all, the Avatar's in-game sprite depicts him wearing a full suit of armour (complete with a face-obscuring helmet).
 * Lord British Postulate: While Lord British himself doesn't turn up, various techniques can be used to get rid of Beren, the normally invincible town sorcerer, by exploiting the game's Super Drowning Skills against him.
 * Nintendo Hard: Many of the platforming sections involve jumping between series of rocks over a body of water. If the fact that missing your target means instant death (thanks to Super Drowning Skills) wasn't bad enough, in the unpatched version many of the rocks will periodically sink underwater, meaning you have to be damn fast. The only saving grace (no pun intended) is your ability to save after reaching every new platform, although the length of time it takes to save/load games on the hardware of the time makes this less useful than you'd like.
 * Obvious Beta: The game features several useless areas and doors you'll never open due to being rushed out.
 * Power Glows: The Avatar's hands glow blue when he is casting a spell. Other characters' hands change to different colours when performing magic, such as red or orange. Enchanted weapons, armour, scrolls and other magic items have a blue glow around them.
 * Shoplift and Die: Get caught stealing, committing bodily harm or murder in Tenebrae, and Beren, the town sorcerer, will immediately teleport to where you are and graphically blow you up.
 * Super Drowning Skills: Falling into even the tiniest body of water means instant death. This includes water fountains in Tenebrae. To destroy any item or character, just drop it into water.
 * Towers of Hanoi: Turn up as part of a puzzle to get into the Zealan Shrine, although you can find another way to enter the place if you wish.
 * Walking on Water: Devon has this ability. After defeating his royal sister in an elemental duel, he takes a walk out to sea.