My mom once said she had a client who said he loved video games, and when she asked him which ones he liked he said he mostly plays ultima 4 and that she should tell her children about it, so that they'll be happy playing it for months. This wasn't in the 90s or the 2000s this was last month. I don't know what he was thinking but I respect his swagger
@@ntrefz You can find the video on UA-cam under "1980s Amiga UK TV Computer Advert." Now, what I've always wanted to know is where the song comes from!
@@Majuular It’s your cadence my man. You’ve got the passion, voice, personality, and your writing is like you’re remembering something fondly the whole way through, like you’re not even writing.
For about 3 years my analysis of Ultima IV was the second most popular video about it on UA-cam. It hasn’t yet, but, in a short while, this video will surpass mine… And I couldn’t be happier. Ultima IV is a very special game. The experience of playing it 3 years ago is one that had a tremendous impact on me. If this excellent video brings greater attention to it - far greater than it had in decades - there will be more people giving this game a shot and… maybe at least one of those people will discover in this game the same treasure I had. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this video. Thank you for keeping Ultima alive.
Humbled to see a comment like this. I've had more than a few people recommend your Ultima IV video to me since I started this series. I've put it off due to a personal rule where I CAN'T watch extraneous media about a game UNTIL I'm done making my video, for fear that I might subconsciously absorb other people's thoughts & feelings. Now that this video is out, I'm looking forward to taking a look at your Ultima IV analysis :) UA-cam can be a competitive place, but almost everyone in this space (whatever that means) seems to be on the same wavelength: it's all about the games. Cheers Georg!
I've been eyeing the series for weeks now because of these videos and IV is the one that stood out the most to me. I'll probably get a copy after watching this tbh; have me and cozy Sunday afternoon.
Dude you dropped this at 10:30 PM EST on a Saturday like we ain't got responsibilities, now the kids gotta starve tonight cause Daddy's too busy learning about Ultima
@@B.Fontraywhat a multilayered post. First he explicitly tells us of his willingness to be a bad parent. But dig a little deeper and we see within the subtext the further unconscious ways in which he is a terrible parent.😂
I played Ultima IV on the Atari system when it first came out on floppy discs, with the map printed on a "silk" cloth. I was about 30. My spiral bound note book soon filled with more and more handwritten notes. The constant challenge and reward, the small and large puzzles, the exploration were amazing. Lord British and his collaborators were genius storytellers, to get so much out of that new medium. Thank you for allowing me to re-live my Ultima IV experience!
Just wow. Near the end I couldn't stop being teary eyed, both hearing how Ultima IV affected people and how it affected the industry, as well as remembering Akira Toriyama, may he rest in peace, both for his contributions to the arts, and for lending his creativity to video games. While I DEARLY want to hear about how you cover the less fortunate Ultima titles, this was truly a remarkable piece Maj. Thank you for making it.
Thank you very much :) I tried to bring a lot of Ultima IV's positivity, optimism & innovation into this video, as we will need fuel for the journey through the less fortunate Ultima games. Thankfully, we've still got a ways to go.
Terrific video. I played this game an enormous amount when it was new, and it helped inspire me to write RPGs for a living. Two notes. 1. The Apple version I played had a cheat code which showed your levels in each virtue, a number from 1 to 100. 100 was full Avatar status. However, I found that if you were penalized in a way that dropped your level to exactly 0, it wrapped around to 100 and you got full Avatar status. I was speedrunning this game in 1986. 2. There WAS a clue to the final answer, infinity. When you got full avatar status at a circle, you briefly saw a single rune. If you wrote those runes down and translated them using the docs, you got letters that spelled "infinity."
Thanks for giving me a glimpse into a world I knew nothing about. It’s interesting to see how some of the ideas in this game reappear in so many RPGs decades after.
I think the biggest appeal of these videos is the history lesson as well as gaming lore. The contemporary footage adds a lot of vibes, especially the nice blizzard footage. Anyway, learning about the developers and where they were at while making the game, adds to the game section of the video so much. So often ive played a game and found myself wondering "what were they thinking?!," sometimes happily, sometimes with bemusement and sometimes even anger. I've seen the making of DOOM and the guys at id, including transdimensional weigher of souls, John Carmack. This is a lot like those videos but about way nerdier guys making weird fantasy rpgs
Curse you Civvie 11 now we can't even say the name of the space-time continuum anomaly and an actual rocket scientist John Carmack without adding long winded epithets to it
@@ThommyofThenn Anything for Hyperspace Cybernetic Intelligence and Juvenile Delinquent John Carmack. (there's a much darker timeline where he kills us all)
I'm truly impressed by the amount of footage and background info you've managed to find and gather for this series for the developer history parts, you're like a one man documentary crew. Bits like the Roe R Adams nod are invaluable gaming history, and things like that are often in risk of being lost to time when chronicling the 70s - 80s, early to mid 90s game history. Maybe you and Matt Barton could team up one day
Thanks so much for the comment. I couldn't do it without folks like Matt interviewing and archiving. His book 'Dungeons & Desktops' was actually the inspiration for this Ultima series in the first place.
@@cybercop0083 Yes, you can find them here: cronotripper.substack.com/p/roe-r-adams-iii-una-invocacion Hopefully that posted okay. I know UA-cam is weird about links sometimes.
This was my father’s favorite game ever. Love every minute. Thank you. He passed while on the last mission of Mass Effect Andromeda without finishing it. I’ve so many childhood memories of playing Ultima IX with him and so many others.
The revelation at the end of the game, where the '8' is a subtle clue for infinity and then the codex sign opens up to the infinity sign, was jaw dropping for me. I can only imagine how a teenager or college student, bareknuckling through the game by themself in the '80s, must have felt seeing that for the first time.
Thanks for doing Ultima justice. My favorites are 4 for the lore, 5 for the perfection of Ultima mechanics, and 6 for nostalgia of my childhood. Ultima Online gets an honorable mention for introducing me to the existence of the series.
Thanks very much for the super thanks! There's definitely some games I'm looking forward to in the series, but 5 is particularly interesting to me. It's like the bridge between old Ultima and new Ultima. And the vibes seem impeccable.
I'll be honest and say I really like "Majuular story time" at the start of every video. I'm a brainlet that uses youtube to eat dinner, and the history recap at the beginning is pretty fun stuff.
Seeing one of the creators of Ultima with a T-shirt of Bank of Brazil is a crossover of universes I was not prepared for. Not even the writers of marvel could come with something so wild
Okay, in case anyone else is curious, here's the scoop: The picture is from August of 1993, taken at the first annual EIRPG tabletop convention in Sao Paulo, in which Steve Jackson was the guest of honor. It looks like the convention space itself was a Banco do Brasil location in a mall nearby Ibirapuera park. My assumption is that special guests and staff were given the yellow bank t-shirts for recognizabilities sake. Mystery solved (I think)
Wouldn't be surprised if Banco do Brasil sponsored it in some way. It also makes sense to be at São Paulo, it's probably the "no brainer" location when it comes to something you'd consider niche 'round these parts.
Your description of the codex onward through the numerological and spiritual ties to 8 (roughly 1:31:34 onward) was really phenomenal. Your cadence, choice of imagery, build up of music genuinely gave me chills. Please, keep making your work!
@@TriforceElder08 and then I wasn't expecting them to be used here. I clapped. But in all seriousness, great work on this series, it's a wild ride with all the design choices and to see where we are now.
I think the documentary of the development of the game and the process that went into making it may be my favourite part of these Ultima videos. A game I've only heard the name of and I have been captivated by it's creation and the way you tell it's story. The market of game creation was such a fascinating place in the early days of the pc, and I had no idea how magical it was. An incredible documentary of a legendary game that only now I know of.
Just got home from my D&D night and this dropped. Thanks Majuular. This one is my favorite. I remember trying to explain balloon navigation using the wind change spell to my buddy when we were kids, ha ha.
I was going to say the same, but I did play this particular game....for about 15 minutes. I died after taking a few steps out of town. Like no warning or anything; just saw the game over screen right away lol
Listening to this while doing laundry and I hear "statue of Babe the big blue ox in Brainerd" and as a Minnesotan I had to sprint back to my PC to make sure I hadn't misheard you. What an esoteric pull, I love it.
I think the most interesting thing about Ultima IV is that it represents a unique path RPGs never really embraced. You have some elements of being put into a living world like a life sim, but have more of a clear goal in mind than in the genre while also not having a clear objective or end goal in a more typical CRPG. You aren't fighting a present physical threat or swept up in events larger than yourself, you're simply someone who embarks on a quest to solve abstract problems and become a role model for others to follow. I'm sure there are a few art games out there where your quest is to solve abstract problems afflicting the world, but you'd be hard pressed to think of other games like it. Even other games in the Ultima series have you dealing with more concrete and material problems. The closest example I can think of is in Mount and Blade you could RP as someone who recognizes the horrors of war brought about by Calderia being divided and embark on a quest to unify the land however you see fit, which wouldn't be entirely out of place given the writing and openness of the game.
Hoping the algorithm is picking up on this guy for everyone else like it is for me. This channel's ripe to explode, super high quality stuff with way less attention than it deserves
I started following you just because I wanted someone to talk at me about ultima, and fell in love with your content generally, so imagine my hype at seeing the greatest ultima video pop up
having just finished, I appreciate your inclusion of Scorpia's article. Hope to see her Ultima VIII review pop up in that video, it's delightfully brutal
This was the big one! Thanks for covering this fantastic game and giving a new generation of people a look at it. I was introduced to Ultima 4 back in high school (almost a decade ago!) when one of my teachers gave it to us as assigned reading. It was used to explore the Hero's Journey in narrative works beyond literature and film. It was a bit daunting, but I was one of two students in my year to actually finish the game. Despite this, my strongest memory of the game is the time when I managed to delete my ship by exiting it in the middle of the ocean to fight some foes, which spawned a treasure chest under me, which deleted my ship, which left me softlocked in the middle of the seas of Brittania. I also suffered through the game as a shepherd on my first (and so far only) playthrough.
Loved this. Ultima IV videos are instant clicks for me. As are Ultima V videos. So excited to hear you talk about how the Avatar gets PTSD. But in all seriousness, Ultima is one of those series whose impact on video games is nearly impossible to overstate. Would you consider doing a Wizardry series retrospective in the future? Or at least for Wizardry 6, 7, and 8? Your videos are always excellent, and this level of research and discussion would enrich many viewers' knowledge about such monumental titles in RPG history.
I honestly don't know how you are doing it, Majuular. The idea of putting out a video like this, beating a game that takes dozens of hours to play, doing research on the background of the game itself, writing a script that must be tens of thousands of words long, recording nearly 2 hours of commentary, editing it all together, and doing it all at this level of thoughtfulness and rigor... Even doing this twice a year would be wild. Doing it once a *month* feels nearly mystical. All I can say is that I really love the work you're putting out and I hope that however you're doing it, that you can keep yourself healthy and sane (and wealthy too) doing it.
Thank for your kind words! I was fortunate to be at a point where I could seriously invest myself into this channel. Playing, writing, researching... I love this stuff. It blurs the line between work & recreation for me, even if it's not always *fun*. Certainly there are times where I go a little too hard, but thankfully I have a girlfriend & family who can keep me in check even when I can't.
@@Majuular That's great to hear! It's obvious how much care and passion you put into the work, and I'm glad you've got people backing you up. Stay well, I'm looking forward towards you next video!
You have NO idea how excited I've been waiting for this video. Your retrospective on Ultima has been VERY well researched and I know you'll keep the standard up for the video on one of the greatest and most influential CRPGs, if not most influential video game PERIOD, of *all* time.
Yo dawg, you're producing feature length (and quality) documentaries at this point. Good job! edit- I have to admit, I'm really just watching and waiting for the RLM reference in each episode. You never let me down.
So for whatever it's worth, you so get a hint towards the final question at the codex. When you successfully attain partial Avatarhood at a shrine, you are shown a rune. The runes can be translated using the alphabet in the manual/reference card. Those eight runes in the correct order give you the answer. That side, this is a phenomenal coverage of one of my favorite games. Ultima 4 is fantastic, I can't describe how much it means to me after I played it. So thorough in mechanics and history, this really is maybe the best video on this game so far. Great job, keep up the great work as always!
3:56 As a Brazilian fan of yours, that photo hit me like a steel chair in the back Wishing you a ton of luck, Majuular. Love your channel and hoping to see you cover other series like Might And Magic and Wizardry in the future
I've never actually thought much of the ultima games until now, but wow is it awe-inspiring seeing how much it paved the way for so many ideas used in thousands upon thousands of games since... and the morality of the game is wonderful too! I do love a simple game where I just beat people up, but games and stories in general that speak to the goodness inherent in people and the world always have such a soft spot in my heart....
This is the episode I was waiting for, absolutely worth the wait. Encountering Ultima IV for DOS as a kid was a powerful experience and it’s satisfying having this richness of context for it
I don't want to dismiss the classics but I've watched the spoony retrospective a dozen times over the last 15 years and yet immediately this video was full of things I didn't know
I came up playing Ultima 7 in the early 90's when I was like 9-10. RPG's were tied for my favorite genre, and Ultima 7 was the defining game of that genre for me. This stayed true for me until maybe Baldur's Gate. In 2005 I decided to go back and play all those old games I missed because they just weren't available. Games which were important historical context for the ones I loved, but games I didn't expect much from. I played Catacombs Abyss, Wasteland 2, Wizardry 1-5. Stuff like that. I did them all blind with no walkthroughs. I figured that people didn't have that stuff back then, and I'd judge these games based on how they held up playing them as close to intended as possible. Once again, I didn't expect much. A lot of these games held up better than I thought they would, or kind of matched my expectations. When I played Ultima 1 and 2, it was right in line with what I thought I was getting into. Ultima 3 was the first Ultima game I enjoyed. Then I played Ultima 4, and my mind was blown. I couldn't believe what I was experiencing. This wasn't just the best of these old dated games, this was a game that was actually better than the game I was trying to give context to. Ultima 4's graphics, dialogue, and combat are dated. But the gameplay loop of exploration, clue hunting, note taking, and experimentation was so rewarding I was delighted the entire time. This old crappy game I played just to see the DNA of the good stuff that came later has ended up being one of my favorite games of all time. Ultima 7 presents better, and has more doodads to mess around with. But it is in every other way either a sidegrade, or a downgrade on the gameplay Ultima 4 has to offer. Ultima 4 gives you a big checklist of objectives, and sends you out to follow a couple dozen small breadcrumb trails at your own leisure, with a few others to stumble across along the way. You get a steady drip of satisfaction as you find the things you're looking for, and find your objective getting closer and closer, the checklist smaller and smaller. If you get frustrated with one trail, you have the freedom to go do others for a while to ease the friction. The result of all this is so satisfying that it's hard to think of a more modern comparison. I don't think I really recaptured the feeling of playing Ultima 4 in 2005 again until Elden Ring in 2022. I don't think Ultima 4 is the best RPG ever. But I do think it's the best Ultima game. A lot of love clearly went into it. I'm glad they had the courage to see their vision through. It demonstrated the truth of games as art at a time where that wasn't clear. I can honestly say it was an honour to play a game they must have sacrificed so much to create. It wasn't a spiritual experience or anything, but I have the humility to admit their valorous effort resulted in a game which did justice to the medium. If you have enough compassion to overlook what is dated about it, I think you'll find some wisdom in it too.
Brother I'll say this, your content must be damn good to have me happily sit through multiple hours on a game or franchise I'm not really into. Your content is simply more than: This is my favorite game and this is why. I can't explain it, but it's engrossing, and a joy.
I find your retrospective's on the Ultima series is endlessly even infinitly fascinating and entertaining to me, I don't have the patience or research skills to focus on finding all this information and having it digestable in a video series through a well spoken, well researched voice. I can't help but see the influence on all FF and DQ games, or RPGd on the whole that Ultima inspired, it's so interesting to hear so many things I've known FF to pioneer, to be found in Ultima.
That NES box art fro U4 is baller AF. Nice to see you continue the series. Getting to the more well known ones soon. Looking forward to 7 and the train wrecks of 8 and 9.
You're knocking it out of the park on this series. When I'm halfway through a long two hour video, but I immediately drop whatever I'm watching when a Majulaar vid comes out.
I watch and relisten to your retrospectives and videos over and over, had to eventually leave a comment. Your voice and cadence is just a pleasure to any ear and the quality of your writing and research, as well as the just slightly off kilter choice of material to cover make it easy to come back to. I understand these Ultima videos must be an immense amount of largely thankless work and time, but I appreciate it greatly and look forward to future instalments. You, my friend, truly have the flask of Tefnut. Thank you ❤
I never played any of the mainline Ultima games, but I did spend my teenager years in Ultima Online. I almost can't watch these videos because of how much they remind of that world and that I'll never get to experience it again in the way it was. It's a very heavy topic for me personally, and I'm finding myself on the brink between putting on rose colored glasses and complete melancholy of the "gone-ness" of it all. It's sort of crazy to think how much the world of Ultima affected my life and the trajectory of it, both in negative and positive ways.
Boolean Dragon here and a lot of this was obscure and/or new to me. Great editing and understanding of specific times and the connectedness of the shown games. I've seen a lot and this is top quality. All my respect.
These videos are seriously incredible. The amount of research you do, focusing not just on the game or its quality or archaic nature, but on the people who created it, on their lives, on the history and the state of the industry when it came out… these are super professional, even with the occasional gag or meme thrown in. You’re one of the best media historians on this platform and I hope you keep at it!
thanks so much for all of these man, its been wonderful having these games so readily accessible. this really feels like it captures the experience I'd have if I'd have the time. :)
You once again warm my dusty old bones full of green dust. 1:48:08 long video! Such a treat, been looking forward to the next Ultima Retrospective. Love yer content Maj!
I’ve never played an RPG, I’m in my 40s with three kids and I’m probably never going to play one. But, man, your writing is incredible and love listening to why an aficionado like yourself loves (or doesn’t) these games. Keep it up, sir.
Just as i was one day before coming back to college after weeks worth of day off Majuular uploaded a masterpiece. I can't ask for a better end of my day off than this, thanks Maj
I finish watching one video, go back to the homepage, and see this. Perfect timing! :u Really excited to hear your experiences/thoughts on IV. I played it, 5 and Underworld 1 almost a decade ago, but despite their age and clunkiness, the experiences are still stuck in my mind, all these years later.
As someone who played Ultimate Online but never any of the rest of the Ultima series, I see so much DNA of basically every other game in their early MMO. I enjoy these videos you're making because I can see Garriott's vision even better now. Without having to play all the games myself.
Honestly, my favorite retrospective channel. (Together with accursed farms/Ross' Game Dungeon. EDIT: Also Josh Strife Plays) They deserve so much more. More than a lot of the big ones imho.
As someone who plays a lot of old id software games, Roe R. Adams III reminds me of Sandy Petersen. An older member among a young team who's experienced with writing and rpg design outside of what the rest of the staff's familiar with. This is a bit of a stretch in comparison though. Adams sounds like he was critical, while Petersen is often just described as a necessary addition to the team (then again, he is credited as design lead, did a lot of both Doom's levels, and came up with Quake's major concepts when Romero couldn't deliver... maybe he deserves a lot more credit than he usually gets).
I've never played any of the ultima games, but between your and (back in the day) Spoonys own break down of the series, I feel like i know everything about the games, lore and dev cycle.
Good timing on that. Saw it pop up and had to stop myself from immediately clicking while I was gaming with friends, lol. Going to enjoy the video now while I relax.
A fantastic video, finally the kind of video that Ultima 4 deserves, showing that even people who did not grow up with the game can look back and see how incredible the game was and how frankly historic it was for videogames in multiple ways.
It's criminal these videos aren't getting as many views as your other ones - they're so in-depth and engage with the deeper themes of these games so well!
I swear we grew up playing and talking about the same games. Which is incredibly rare if everyone I know is to be taken as the standard. I'm always shocked to hear about a game from someone that I've never played or even heard about before but I'm always equally impressed by these videos about games I did play. I think it's because at any stage of my life I've maybe had a handful of friends, if you were to total them it would probably come out to maybe a dozen and a half different people in total and of those friends only three of them knew about Pokémon while one other was a DBZ fan. To think that there are at least 300,000 Ultima IV fans going by how many bought this game according to your video and I never met a single one in person. The internet really does make the world small.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
My mom once said she had a client who said he loved video games, and when she asked him which ones he liked he said he mostly plays ultima 4 and that she should tell her children about it, so that they'll be happy playing it for months. This wasn't in the 90s or the 2000s this was last month. I don't know what he was thinking but I respect his swagger
He probably dresses like a pirate and has crippling social anxiety but he is definitely the man
so.. naturally you listened to him and have been playing Ultima 4 for the last two months?
We need a follow up 😊
He rules
That "client" later became dad.
Please never get rid of this intro. It makes me so happy.
It honestly feels like the perfect encapsulation of fond nostalgia. It's excellent.
What’s it from?
@@ntrefz This youtube video you watched. You ok? lol
@@Cartograph176 I've never heard an objectively wrong opinion before. :)
@@ntrefz You can find the video on UA-cam under "1980s Amiga UK TV Computer Advert." Now, what I've always wanted to know is where the song comes from!
I think this guy might be the 100% best retro “RPG” UA-camr to ever do it.
That can't be true, but thank you nonetheless :)
@@Majuulardefinitely not bad and a very high quality
@@Majuular It’s your cadence my man. You’ve got the passion, voice, personality, and your writing is like you’re remembering something fondly the whole way through, like you’re not even writing.
"Rpg"
@@lliamthrumble fix the attitude
For about 3 years my analysis of Ultima IV was the second most popular video about it on UA-cam. It hasn’t yet, but, in a short while, this video will surpass mine… And I couldn’t be happier.
Ultima IV is a very special game. The experience of playing it 3 years ago is one that had a tremendous impact on me. If this excellent video brings greater attention to it - far greater than it had in decades - there will be more people giving this game a shot and… maybe at least one of those people will discover in this game the same treasure I had.
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this video.
Thank you for keeping Ultima alive.
Absolute Chad move right here.
Snooze ya lose.
Get back to finishing ultima videos. NOW
Humbled to see a comment like this. I've had more than a few people recommend your Ultima IV video to me since I started this series. I've put it off due to a personal rule where I CAN'T watch extraneous media about a game UNTIL I'm done making my video, for fear that I might subconsciously absorb other people's thoughts & feelings. Now that this video is out, I'm looking forward to taking a look at your Ultima IV analysis :)
UA-cam can be a competitive place, but almost everyone in this space (whatever that means) seems to be on the same wavelength: it's all about the games. Cheers Georg!
I've been eyeing the series for weeks now because of these videos and IV is the one that stood out the most to me.
I'll probably get a copy after watching this tbh; have me and cozy Sunday afternoon.
Georg.
OP of this thread. Makes pretty damn good videos.
I'd recommend them.
Ah yes. My favorite. A feature length film about a game that I have not played and have never thought of before.I can’t wait to watch it all.
Dude you dropped this at 10:30 PM EST on a Saturday like we ain't got responsibilities, now the kids gotta starve tonight cause Daddy's too busy learning about Ultima
Kids are excellent scavengers, they'll find a way to make it work.
Do you usually feed your kids after 10:30 PM
@@B.FontrayAs long as it's not after midnight
@@B.Fontraywhat a multilayered post. First he explicitly tells us of his willingness to be a bad parent. But dig a little deeper and we see within the subtext the further unconscious ways in which he is a terrible parent.😂
@@ens0246Not to mention a good parent can learn about Ultima IV while making dinner. 😂
You know someone's content is gold when you immediately click on a new video as soon as it drops
0:01 this intro is literally me watching this intro.
SAME @@realityvanguard2052
Even when it's 12:30 am where you are
Yup
True
I played Ultima IV on the Atari system when it first came out on floppy discs, with the map printed on a "silk" cloth. I was about 30. My spiral bound note book soon filled with more and more handwritten notes.
The constant challenge and reward, the small and large puzzles, the exploration were amazing.
Lord British and his collaborators were genius storytellers, to get so much out of that new medium.
Thank you for allowing me to re-live my Ultima IV experience!
Never have I asked the question, "I wonder if Rich Evans has ever played Ultima?" but that's the magic of a Majuular video, boyos.
50/50, but I'd like to believe that he finished it just before the Tums Festival from eating that juicy Shaq meat.
His acid resistance has to be through the roof by now.
I dont think Rich has the mental capacity for Ultima.
He has like 2000 hours on Mad Max tho.
Just got off work, had a long shit ass grinder of a day, and this hits literally the minute I clock out.
Thanks, king.
I made Saturday night my deadline for this reason. Take it easy and enjoy the video!
Just wow. Near the end I couldn't stop being teary eyed, both hearing how Ultima IV affected people and how it affected the industry, as well as remembering Akira Toriyama, may he rest in peace, both for his contributions to the arts, and for lending his creativity to video games. While I DEARLY want to hear about how you cover the less fortunate Ultima titles, this was truly a remarkable piece Maj. Thank you for making it.
Thank you very much :)
I tried to bring a lot of Ultima IV's positivity, optimism & innovation into this video, as we will need fuel for the journey through the less fortunate Ultima games.
Thankfully, we've still got a ways to go.
Terrific video. I played this game an enormous amount when it was new, and it helped inspire me to write RPGs for a living.
Two notes.
1. The Apple version I played had a cheat code which showed your levels in each virtue, a number from 1 to 100. 100 was full Avatar status. However, I found that if you were penalized in a way that dropped your level to exactly 0, it wrapped around to 100 and you got full Avatar status. I was speedrunning this game in 1986.
2. There WAS a clue to the final answer, infinity. When you got full avatar status at a circle, you briefly saw a single rune. If you wrote those runes down and translated them using the docs, you got letters that spelled "infinity."
Thanks for giving me a glimpse into a world I knew nothing about. It’s interesting to see how some of the ideas in this game reappear in so many RPGs decades after.
Thank you for caring despite your lack of prior investment in the subject. That's always my hope when I make these videos.
I think the biggest appeal of these videos is the history lesson as well as gaming lore. The contemporary footage adds a lot of vibes, especially the nice blizzard footage. Anyway, learning about the developers and where they were at while making the game, adds to the game section of the video so much. So often ive played a game and found myself wondering "what were they thinking?!," sometimes happily, sometimes with bemusement and sometimes even anger. I've seen the making of DOOM and the guys at id, including transdimensional weigher of souls, John Carmack. This is a lot like those videos but about way nerdier guys making weird fantasy rpgs
Curse you Civvie 11 now we can't even say the name of the space-time continuum anomaly and an actual rocket scientist John Carmack without adding long winded epithets to it
@TheSynthPunk You mean Jace Hall Asphyxiator and our only hope against an overwhelming alien incursion John Carmack?
@@kyon813 Ah, I see you're a humorous Carmack sobriquet enjoyer also
@@ThommyofThenn Anything for Hyperspace Cybernetic Intelligence and Juvenile Delinquent John Carmack.
(there's a much darker timeline where he kills us all)
I'm truly impressed by the amount of footage and background info you've managed to find and gather for this series for the developer history parts, you're like a one man documentary crew. Bits like the Roe R Adams nod are invaluable gaming history, and things like that are often in risk of being lost to time when chronicling the 70s - 80s, early to mid 90s game history. Maybe you and Matt Barton could team up one day
Thanks so much for the comment. I couldn't do it without folks like Matt interviewing and archiving. His book 'Dungeons & Desktops' was actually the inspiration for this Ultima series in the first place.
@@MajuularMay I ask, where you got the japanese magazine scans concerning Mr. Adams?
@@cybercop0083 Yes, you can find them here:
cronotripper.substack.com/p/roe-r-adams-iii-una-invocacion
Hopefully that posted okay. I know UA-cam is weird about links sometimes.
@@Majuular Thank you! Much obliged 🤩🤩🤩
This was my father’s favorite game ever. Love every minute. Thank you. He passed while on the last mission of Mass Effect Andromeda without finishing it. I’ve so many childhood memories of playing Ultima IX with him and so many others.
New Mangojuular on a Saturday night? Excellent indeed.
It's juice! JUICE!! Mango JUICE!!!
The revelation at the end of the game, where the '8' is a subtle clue for infinity and then the codex sign opens up to the infinity sign, was jaw dropping for me. I can only imagine how a teenager or college student, bareknuckling through the game by themself in the '80s, must have felt seeing that for the first time.
Thanks for doing Ultima justice. My favorites are 4 for the lore, 5 for the perfection of Ultima mechanics, and 6 for nostalgia of my childhood. Ultima Online gets an honorable mention for introducing me to the existence of the series.
Thanks very much for the super thanks! There's definitely some games I'm looking forward to in the series, but 5 is particularly interesting to me. It's like the bridge between old Ultima and new Ultima. And the vibes seem impeccable.
I'll be honest and say I really like "Majuular story time" at the start of every video. I'm a brainlet that uses youtube to eat dinner, and the history recap at the beginning is pretty fun stuff.
Those are my favorite parts to write!
Seeing one of the creators of Ultima with a T-shirt of Bank of Brazil is a crossover of universes I was not prepared for.
Not even the writers of marvel could come with something so wild
The circumstances of that picture led to me quintuple checking that it was in fact Steve Jackson when I finally dug it up.
Okay, in case anyone else is curious, here's the scoop:
The picture is from August of 1993, taken at the first annual EIRPG tabletop convention in Sao Paulo, in which Steve Jackson was the guest of honor. It looks like the convention space itself was a Banco do Brasil location in a mall nearby Ibirapuera park. My assumption is that special guests and staff were given the yellow bank t-shirts for recognizabilities sake. Mystery solved (I think)
Wouldn't be surprised if Banco do Brasil sponsored it in some way. It also makes sense to be at São Paulo, it's probably the "no brainer" location when it comes to something you'd consider niche 'round these parts.
‼HOLY FUCKING SHIT‼‼‼‼ IS THAT A MOTHERFUCKING BRAZIL REFERENCE??????!!!!!!!!!!11!1!1!1!1!1!1!
You know it's good content when youtube's notification actually works and notify you of an upload
This is an immensely reassuring comment 😅
It didn't for me lmao
Your description of the codex onward through the numerological and spiritual ties to 8 (roughly 1:31:34 onward) was really phenomenal. Your cadence, choice of imagery, build up of music genuinely gave me chills. Please, keep making your work!
Sneaky Maj participating in a video game / video game essay trivia and dropping an Ultima vid on the same day! You’re spoiling us all!!! 🎉
"The raven sing,
The raven saw,
and in the corn
he sayeth *'CAH'* "
just beautiful
Singsong's Bob Dylan era
Quoth the Raven... “CAH!”
Quoth the farmer after the raven ate all the corn: “Nevermore.”
New Majuular AND new Red Letter Media....some times good things do happen.
Thank you for the awesome, high quality videos. So much history.
Oddly enough, they reference 90s FMV point and click in the new RLM video lol
@@TriforceElder08it's like poetry, it rhymes
@@TriforceElder08 and then I wasn't expecting them to be used here. I clapped.
But in all seriousness, great work on this series, it's a wild ride with all the design choices and to see where we are now.
@@TriforceElder08specifically Darkseed, which makes it a crossover episode I think
Yooo, just as I plopped my plate of supper upon my desk, this video dropped its way into my recommended!
"my plate of supper upon my desk" such comfy words
Thank you, John Madjoler. With this video, you have saved my life.
I think the documentary of the development of the game and the process that went into making it may be my favourite part of these Ultima videos. A game I've only heard the name of and I have been captivated by it's creation and the way you tell it's story. The market of game creation was such a fascinating place in the early days of the pc, and I had no idea how magical it was. An incredible documentary of a legendary game that only now I know of.
Just got home from my D&D night and this dropped. Thanks Majuular. This one is my favorite. I remember trying to explain balloon navigation using the wind change spell to my buddy when we were kids, ha ha.
Oh boy, another Majuular video about a game I've never played! My favorite!
I was going to say the same, but I did play this particular game....for about 15 minutes. I died after taking a few steps out of town. Like no warning or anything; just saw the game over screen right away lol
Sir…. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us
The pleasure is all mine. Thanks so much for the super thanks, it is greatly appreciated!
Listening to this while doing laundry and I hear "statue of Babe the big blue ox in Brainerd" and as a Minnesotan I had to sprint back to my PC to make sure I hadn't misheard you. What an esoteric pull, I love it.
As a Manitoban whose parents loved road trips, we've got least 4 family photos in front of that damn ox.
Started watching this, and quickly got that it was really high quality content. By the time the Avatar yelled "Serenity now!", I subscribed.
I think the most interesting thing about Ultima IV is that it represents a unique path RPGs never really embraced. You have some elements of being put into a living world like a life sim, but have more of a clear goal in mind than in the genre while also not having a clear objective or end goal in a more typical CRPG. You aren't fighting a present physical threat or swept up in events larger than yourself, you're simply someone who embarks on a quest to solve abstract problems and become a role model for others to follow.
I'm sure there are a few art games out there where your quest is to solve abstract problems afflicting the world, but you'd be hard pressed to think of other games like it. Even other games in the Ultima series have you dealing with more concrete and material problems. The closest example I can think of is in Mount and Blade you could RP as someone who recognizes the horrors of war brought about by Calderia being divided and embark on a quest to unify the land however you see fit, which wouldn't be entirely out of place given the writing and openness of the game.
Hoping the algorithm is picking up on this guy for everyone else like it is for me. This channel's ripe to explode, super high quality stuff with way less attention than it deserves
I started following you just because I wanted someone to talk at me about ultima, and fell in love with your content generally, so imagine my hype at seeing the greatest ultima video pop up
having just finished, I appreciate your inclusion of Scorpia's article. Hope to see her Ultima VIII review pop up in that video, it's delightfully brutal
This was the big one! Thanks for covering this fantastic game and giving a new generation of people a look at it.
I was introduced to Ultima 4 back in high school (almost a decade ago!) when one of my teachers gave it to us as assigned reading. It was used to explore the Hero's Journey in narrative works beyond literature and film. It was a bit daunting, but I was one of two students in my year to actually finish the game.
Despite this, my strongest memory of the game is the time when I managed to delete my ship by exiting it in the middle of the ocean to fight some foes, which spawned a treasure chest under me, which deleted my ship, which left me softlocked in the middle of the seas of Brittania. I also suffered through the game as a shepherd on my first (and so far only) playthrough.
Loved this. Ultima IV videos are instant clicks for me. As are Ultima V videos. So excited to hear you talk about how the Avatar gets PTSD. But in all seriousness, Ultima is one of those series whose impact on video games is nearly impossible to overstate. Would you consider doing a Wizardry series retrospective in the future? Or at least for Wizardry 6, 7, and 8? Your videos are always excellent, and this level of research and discussion would enrich many viewers' knowledge about such monumental titles in RPG history.
Mom My favorite yt series is back. Keep up the good work man
I honestly don't know how you are doing it, Majuular. The idea of putting out a video like this, beating a game that takes dozens of hours to play, doing research on the background of the game itself, writing a script that must be tens of thousands of words long, recording nearly 2 hours of commentary, editing it all together, and doing it all at this level of thoughtfulness and rigor... Even doing this twice a year would be wild. Doing it once a *month* feels nearly mystical.
All I can say is that I really love the work you're putting out and I hope that however you're doing it, that you can keep yourself healthy and sane (and wealthy too) doing it.
Thank for your kind words!
I was fortunate to be at a point where I could seriously invest myself into this channel. Playing, writing, researching... I love this stuff. It blurs the line between work & recreation for me, even if it's not always *fun*. Certainly there are times where I go a little too hard, but thankfully I have a girlfriend & family who can keep me in check even when I can't.
@@Majuular That's great to hear! It's obvious how much care and passion you put into the work, and I'm glad you've got people backing you up. Stay well, I'm looking forward towards you next video!
You have NO idea how excited I've been waiting for this video. Your retrospective on Ultima has been VERY well researched and I know you'll keep the standard up for the video on one of the greatest and most influential CRPGs, if not most influential video game PERIOD, of *all* time.
Yo dawg, you're producing feature length (and quality) documentaries at this point. Good job! edit- I have to admit, I'm really just watching and waiting for the RLM reference in each episode. You never let me down.
So for whatever it's worth, you so get a hint towards the final question at the codex. When you successfully attain partial Avatarhood at a shrine, you are shown a rune. The runes can be translated using the alphabet in the manual/reference card. Those eight runes in the correct order give you the answer.
That side, this is a phenomenal coverage of one of my favorite games. Ultima 4 is fantastic, I can't describe how much it means to me after I played it. So thorough in mechanics and history, this really is maybe the best video on this game so far. Great job, keep up the great work as always!
3:56
As a Brazilian fan of yours, that photo hit me like a steel chair in the back
Wishing you a ton of luck, Majuular. Love your channel and hoping to see you cover other series like Might And Magic and Wizardry in the future
I've never actually thought much of the ultima games until now, but wow is it awe-inspiring seeing how much it paved the way for so many ideas used in thousands upon thousands of games since... and the morality of the game is wonderful too! I do love a simple game where I just beat people up, but games and stories in general that speak to the goodness inherent in people and the world always have such a soft spot in my heart....
Your coverage of the ultima series is incredible, thank you for giving this series the coverage it needs
This is the episode I was waiting for, absolutely worth the wait. Encountering Ultima IV for DOS as a kid was a powerful experience and it’s satisfying having this richness of context for it
WHOA a new ultima vid just dropped. Take THAT, random commenter in the other vid who said it was never gonna happen!
That commenter is CLEARLY not familiar with the intrusive Ultima-related thoughts I wake up with every day.
I don't want to dismiss the classics but I've watched the spoony retrospective a dozen times over the last 15 years and yet immediately this video was full of things I didn't know
I came up playing Ultima 7 in the early 90's when I was like 9-10. RPG's were tied for my favorite genre, and Ultima 7 was the defining game of that genre for me. This stayed true for me until maybe Baldur's Gate. In 2005 I decided to go back and play all those old games I missed because they just weren't available. Games which were important historical context for the ones I loved, but games I didn't expect much from. I played Catacombs Abyss, Wasteland 2, Wizardry 1-5. Stuff like that. I did them all blind with no walkthroughs. I figured that people didn't have that stuff back then, and I'd judge these games based on how they held up playing them as close to intended as possible. Once again, I didn't expect much.
A lot of these games held up better than I thought they would, or kind of matched my expectations. When I played Ultima 1 and 2, it was right in line with what I thought I was getting into. Ultima 3 was the first Ultima game I enjoyed. Then I played Ultima 4, and my mind was blown. I couldn't believe what I was experiencing. This wasn't just the best of these old dated games, this was a game that was actually better than the game I was trying to give context to. Ultima 4's graphics, dialogue, and combat are dated. But the gameplay loop of exploration, clue hunting, note taking, and experimentation was so rewarding I was delighted the entire time. This old crappy game I played just to see the DNA of the good stuff that came later has ended up being one of my favorite games of all time.
Ultima 7 presents better, and has more doodads to mess around with. But it is in every other way either a sidegrade, or a downgrade on the gameplay Ultima 4 has to offer. Ultima 4 gives you a big checklist of objectives, and sends you out to follow a couple dozen small breadcrumb trails at your own leisure, with a few others to stumble across along the way. You get a steady drip of satisfaction as you find the things you're looking for, and find your objective getting closer and closer, the checklist smaller and smaller. If you get frustrated with one trail, you have the freedom to go do others for a while to ease the friction. The result of all this is so satisfying that it's hard to think of a more modern comparison. I don't think I really recaptured the feeling of playing Ultima 4 in 2005 again until Elden Ring in 2022.
I don't think Ultima 4 is the best RPG ever. But I do think it's the best Ultima game. A lot of love clearly went into it. I'm glad they had the courage to see their vision through. It demonstrated the truth of games as art at a time where that wasn't clear. I can honestly say it was an honour to play a game they must have sacrificed so much to create. It wasn't a spiritual experience or anything, but I have the humility to admit their valorous effort resulted in a game which did justice to the medium. If you have enough compassion to overlook what is dated about it, I think you'll find some wisdom in it too.
Your coverage of Ultima IV and Koudelka left me in tears.
Brother I'll say this, your content must be damn good to have me happily sit through multiple hours on a game or franchise I'm not really into.
Your content is simply more than: This is my favorite game and this is why.
I can't explain it, but it's engrossing, and a joy.
I find your retrospective's on the Ultima series is endlessly even infinitly fascinating and entertaining to me, I don't have the patience or research skills to focus on finding all this information and having it digestable in a video series through a well spoken, well researched voice.
I can't help but see the influence on all FF and DQ games, or RPGd on the whole that Ultima inspired, it's so interesting to hear so many things I've known FF to pioneer, to be found in Ultima.
Just when I finish every Majuular video another appears, life is good.
I was pumped for this one
That NES box art fro U4 is baller AF. Nice to see you continue the series. Getting to the more well known ones soon. Looking forward to 7 and the train wrecks of 8 and 9.
Great video Majuular, you always were a kidder
You're knocking it out of the park on this series. When I'm halfway through a long two hour video, but I immediately drop whatever I'm watching when a Majulaar vid comes out.
Was just thinking to myself how I can’t wait for the next ultima video and here we go
1:13:15 - 1:13:23 The dulcet tones of Rich Evans. Music to my ears.
This is the perfect thing to watch on a very long and very boring 12-hour shift. Cheers for making my night much less boring!
I watch and relisten to your retrospectives and videos over and over, had to eventually leave a comment. Your voice and cadence is just a pleasure to any ear and the quality of your writing and research, as well as the just slightly off kilter choice of material to cover make it easy to come back to.
I understand these Ultima videos must be an immense amount of largely thankless work and time, but I appreciate it greatly and look forward to future instalments.
You, my friend, truly have the flask of Tefnut. Thank you ❤
Finally the Ultima IV,Ultima is one of my favorite series alongside the Wizardry series,good job on this one👍
I never played any of the mainline Ultima games, but I did spend my teenager years in Ultima Online. I almost can't watch these videos because of how much they remind of that world and that I'll never get to experience it again in the way it was.
It's a very heavy topic for me personally, and I'm finding myself on the brink between putting on rose colored glasses and complete melancholy of the "gone-ness" of it all.
It's sort of crazy to think how much the world of Ultima affected my life and the trajectory of it, both in negative and positive ways.
Boolean Dragon here and a lot of this was obscure and/or new to me. Great editing and understanding of specific times and the connectedness of the shown games. I've seen a lot and this is top quality. All my respect.
These videos are seriously incredible. The amount of research you do, focusing not just on the game or its quality or archaic nature, but on the people who created it, on their lives, on the history and the state of the industry when it came out… these are super professional, even with the occasional gag or meme thrown in. You’re one of the best media historians on this platform and I hope you keep at it!
thanks so much for all of these man, its been wonderful having these games so readily accessible. this really feels like it captures the experience I'd have if I'd have the time. :)
Awesome to hear, that's at least partially the goal :) thanks for the comment.
The amount of detail you put into these videos is just awesome. Thank you.
You once again warm my dusty old bones full of green dust. 1:48:08 long video! Such a treat, been looking forward to the next Ultima Retrospective. Love yer content Maj!
Ah, a fellow KotH fan!
I’ve never played an RPG, I’m in my 40s with three kids and I’m probably never going to play one. But, man, your writing is incredible and love listening to why an aficionado like yourself loves (or doesn’t) these games. Keep it up, sir.
I was thinking about when the next one of these would drop earlier today. Nice.
The first Ultima I ever played was VI. So I'm excited to go through the Avatar trilogy like this. Thanks you for your hard work!
Majuular best RPG UA-camr and Best voice to listen to before going to bed.
@@Cartograph176 I meat relaxing... heathen.
Just as i was one day before coming back to college after weeks worth of day off Majuular uploaded a masterpiece.
I can't ask for a better end of my day off than this, thanks Maj
I finish watching one video, go back to the homepage, and see this. Perfect timing! :u
Really excited to hear your experiences/thoughts on IV. I played it, 5 and Underworld 1 almost a decade ago, but despite their age and clunkiness, the experiences are still stuck in my mind, all these years later.
One of the GOATs of the genre, and now the following titles are going to get *very* spicy! Excellent series, looking forward to the rest.
More Ultima. LETS GOOOOO!!!
As someone who played Ultimate Online but never any of the rest of the Ultima series, I see so much DNA of basically every other game in their early MMO. I enjoy these videos you're making because I can see Garriott's vision even better now. Without having to play all the games myself.
was just digging for a video essay, thank god
Honestly, my favorite retrospective channel. (Together with accursed farms/Ross' Game Dungeon. EDIT: Also Josh Strife Plays)
They deserve so much more. More than a lot of the big ones imho.
I WAS WAITING FOR THIS
You've become my favorite channel, love your videos man.
Great blend of humor, information, and love for the topic.
As someone who plays a lot of old id software games, Roe R. Adams III reminds me of Sandy Petersen. An older member among a young team who's experienced with writing and rpg design outside of what the rest of the staff's familiar with. This is a bit of a stretch in comparison though. Adams sounds like he was critical, while Petersen is often just described as a necessary addition to the team (then again, he is credited as design lead, did a lot of both Doom's levels, and came up with Quake's major concepts when Romero couldn't deliver... maybe he deserves a lot more credit than he usually gets).
I've never played any of the ultima games, but between your and (back in the day) Spoonys own break down of the series, I feel like i know everything about the games, lore and dev cycle.
Good timing on that. Saw it pop up and had to stop myself from immediately clicking while I was gaming with friends, lol. Going to enjoy the video now while I relax.
Majuular, you did it again, you madlad. This video breathed pure quality. Thanks for being a real one yet again :)
🫡thank you bro perfect end to my week of hospitalization and work
I dropped what I was doing to come watch this as soon as I saw the title. This was my favorite Ultima game.
fun tip: if you let a monster drop a treasure chest on the Mandrake swamp spot. you can then stand there and never worry about getting poisoned
I have nothing to really add other than showing appreciation for these videos. They're so cozy.
You make the best videos for games i will never have the time to play
A fantastic video, finally the kind of video that Ultima 4 deserves, showing that even people who did not grow up with the game can look back and see how incredible the game was and how frankly historic it was for videogames in multiple ways.
Remember when we thought Spoony's retrospective was the gold standard for Ultima? Thank god for this seris.
We didn’t think that: it literally was. Now this series can take the mantle too, possibly even surpass it.
It's criminal these videos aren't getting as many views as your other ones - they're so in-depth and engage with the deeper themes of these games so well!
Ah, now, NOW we're getting into the great Ultima games (4-7,) and the real iconic stuff.
The quality and consistency of these videos is incredible. Keep it up!
Babe wake up, new Madjuular video just dropped.
I swear we grew up playing and talking about the same games. Which is incredibly rare if everyone I know is to be taken as the standard. I'm always shocked to hear about a game from someone that I've never played or even heard about before but I'm always equally impressed by these videos about games I did play. I think it's because at any stage of my life I've maybe had a handful of friends, if you were to total them it would probably come out to maybe a dozen and a half different people in total and of those friends only three of them knew about Pokémon while one other was a DBZ fan. To think that there are at least 300,000 Ultima IV fans going by how many bought this game according to your video and I never met a single one in person. The internet really does make the world small.
Hey babe, new Majuular just dropped and it’s the Ultima Pt IV Vid!!!