Ultima
released in 1981 by Origin Systems published by California Pacific Computer Co.Over a thousand years ago, the wizard Mondain, intent on world domination, created an evil gem which made him invincible and immortal. The protagonist, known as the Stranger, has to travel the lands in search of a time machine, go back in time to the days before Mondain created the gem, and then destroy him. The land of Sosaria is depending upon this lone warrior.
Considered one of the most influential progenitors of the role-playing genre, Ultima is a follow-up to Akalabeth. It utilizes a similar basic gameplay system, including graphical 2D world map and town exploration, and 3D vector-line maze-like dungeons. The player controls a single character who must complete a number of quests, vanquishing monsters and leveling up in process. Equipment and food are available for sale in towns. World map graphics are tile-based and have significantly more detail than in Akalabeth. The game mixes medieval fantasy and sci-fi elements, and includes a few space combat simulation segments.
- Genre: RPG
- Platform: Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128, FM Towns, MS-DOS, MSX2, Windows