Overview and Gameplay
The quest is not about hunting one final villain. In Ultima: Quest of the Avatar, the hero must become the Avatar by proving the Eight Virtues and reaching the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in Britannia.
This NES version adapts the computer RPG Ultima IV into a console-style adventure with menus, party travel, turn-based battles, towns, dungeons, magic herbs, equipment, runes, stones, and moral progress. The player explores Britannia, talks to citizens, recruits companions, gathers clues, improves the party, and works toward entry into the Stygian Abyss.
Controls And Mechanics
- The field menu includes talking, casting spells, attacking, using items, searching, and other party functions.
- Battle uses a separate turn-based screen with attack, magic, item use, movement, and automatic combat options.
- Character type is chosen through Hawkwind’s questions at the beginning of a new game.
- Inns restore the party and save progress through the cartridge battery.
- This is a solo RPG with no two-player mode.
Version Notes
The USA NES release is a localized console port of the 1985 computer RPG. Compared with the computer original, it uses a more menu-driven interface and simplified systems for NES play.
Release And Credits
- USA NES release: 1990
- Publisher: FCI
- NES port: Infinity
- Original platform: Apple II
- Original developer: Origin Systems
- Japanese title: Ultima: Seija e no Michi
