Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Let's Play Ultima VII...on the Super Nintendo - COMPLETED!

MetalCraze

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
21,104
Location
Urkanistan
Data4 said:
Blast me all you like, but I hate that viewpoint. I keep finding myself unconsciously tilting my head to the left.

That's the reason why I could never play Ultima 7 (and Jagged Alliance 1) for more than a few hours unfortunately - it's awful.
 

Elzair

Cipher
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,254
MOAR!!!1!

Play it so I don't have to!

BTW, what happened to all the screenshots?
 

Silellak

Cipher
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
3,198
Location
Tucson, AZ
Elzair said:
MOAR!!!1!

Play it so I don't have to!

BTW, what happened to all the screenshots?

Wow, thanks for the heads-up. Turns out my domain got suspended because the card I was using for billing expired and they never bothered to tell me the payments were getting rejected. All paid up now, so screenshots should return shorty.

I'd like to get back to this LP at one point, but last time I tried to do an update it just wasn't interesting enough. I may need to play through all or most of the game (shudder) in order to determine if there's enough material to justify a full play-through, or if you've already seen most of the ass-tastic console "features".

Edit: Huzzah, pics are back.
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Since this is not the authentic ultima VII experience, how can you conspurcate your future experience if you're installing exult (i assume to play for the first time)?
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Actually exult brings some things that the original BG hasn't like better paper-dolls (the keyring), bug fixes. But it looses some simple things like schedules - seriously, what's up with that?
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Maybe the optional digital sound downloads or the mp32 emulation?
 
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
1,875,975
Location
Glass Fields, Ruins of Old Iran
Ah yes, i didn't dl the optional sounds

btw, I'm not sure Ultima 8's patch actually worked or not. The avatar does shake his head if I tell him to jusm somewhere he can't and jumps exactly where I point the mouse and press the two buttons, soI guess it worked.

I hope windows 7 won't be so anal as vista when I start using it
 

SCO

Arcane
In My Safe Space
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
16,320
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Ultima 8 has a speech pack that is installed separately i think. I never could find it again though. Not much is lost.
 

thesheeep

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2007
Messages
9,939
Location
Tampere, Finland
Codex 2012 Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Haha... I remember palying this on the SNES and stopped after 5 minutes because the controls were just.. weird. At least that's what I can remember...
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
6,207
Location
The island of misfit mascots
Lord Sudaca said:
So if Christopher and Ilamo are kidnapped, so will be the gypsies and Alagner right?? So maybe you can rescue them at the end of the game???

Actually I suspect they end up with a far crueller, alhough maybe less intentional, death in this one - starving to death wherever their kidnapper placed them.
 

Silellak

Cipher
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
3,198
Location
Tucson, AZ
So if Christopher and Ilamo are kidnapped, so will be the gypsies and Alagner right?? So maybe you can rescue them at the end of the game???
Let's find out. Together.

That's right motherfuckers, this thread is coming back, inspired by Elzair's glorious Ultima Series LP and FeelTheRad's terrifying Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel LP

So who is ready for more nostalgic Ultima VII goodness?!?

As you may recall, last time, our valorous escape from the city of Trinsic was quickly cut short by the curse of unhittable guards.
Ultima%20VII%20-%20The%20Black%20Gate%20(U)_00056%20(Small).jpg


I will be working on the next update in the next couple of days. For now, enjoy this preview, proving that not all random NPCs in Ultima VII are invincible:
U7_Horsie1.JPG

U7_Horsie2.JPG

JESUS CHRIST EXPLODING HORSE RUN

If there are no objections (and even if there are and I'm just lazy), I'm going to assume everyone reading is somewhat familiar with the original game, and thus focus only on main plot/sidequest events and anything that shows off the fantastic SNES updates of the classic, without posting all of the NPC dialog.
 

Silellak

Cipher
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
3,198
Location
Tucson, AZ
Part 2: In which we investigate the "kidnapping", are taunted by a basement slime, and flee the city of Trinsic

Alright folks. Here we go.

First thing's first. I realized I never mentioned the sound effects - perhaps because I hoped to forget them. The whole thing is very console-ized. Imagine Final Fantasy menu sound effects glued onto Ultima game. If I figure out how, and stop being lazy, I'll record and upload a sample video on YouTube.

Now, as you may remember, we are currently trapped in Trinsic.
Ultima%20VII%20-%20The%20Black%20Gate%20(U)_00054%20(Small).jpg


Apparently the mayor can give us the password, so, we're off to see the mayor.
yellow_brick_road.jpg

It should also be noted that the map of Trinsic in the SNES version and PC versions are vastly different. The SNES version isn't just smaller, but it's organized entirely different.

Night has fallen. This is what night looks like.
U7_SNES_2_0.JPG

Since this is crappy for screenshots, I am going to use Magic Emulator Powers to speed up time and make it day again.

Here is the courthouse.
U7_SNES_2_1.JPG


I can "talk" to the fountain out front.
U7_SNES_2_2.JPG


I choose to drink some water.
U7_SNES_2_3.JPG


Riveting. Let's throw a coin in.
U7_SNES_2_4.JPG


It might have? I just threw a coin in. I sure fucking hope it did. Also, who is talking to me? Did the game's narrator suddenly decide to address me directly? Maybe this game is deeper than I thought.
U7_SNES_2_5.JPG

Sure enough, the "weight of my coin purse" has changed. I have...two more gold? What the fuck? How? Magic? An early attempt at a slot machine? Or is my coin teleported to the Britannian stock market and invested behind the scenes?

I try a few more times, but this is all I get on each attempt.
U7_SNES_2_6.JPG


Guess I've used up my luck. Or my magic. Or what the fuck ever. I take my anger out on a nearby horse...
U7_Horsie1.JPG

U7_Horsie2.JPG

...and apparently vaporize it. With Avatar power. Or something. The same animation played when the red moongate at the beginning vanished, so I can only assume this is how every NPC and object in the game "dies".

Okay, enough screwing around, time to talk to the mayor and solve this "kidnapping" (hint: I THINK IT WAS THE FUCKING BONES I FOUND IN THE FUCKING WELL)

There's a note on the door of the courthouse:
U7_SNES_2_7.JPG


Uh. Alright then. Inside, I find nothing but a book.
U7_SNES_2_8.JPG


Apparently they could only fit a couple of sentences of each of Ultima 7's books in the SNES version. Since the mayor is not to be found in the courthouse. I leave...
U7_SNES_2_9.JPG

...out the same door it told me not to go in earlier. And yes, before you ask, I still cannot enter the building using that door. Also note, on the edge of the screen, the horse that exploded a minute ago is back. I imagine "respawning creatures" will be another popular theme in this game.

Alright, guess I'll search the city for the mayor. I'll start in the tavern, where any good mayor should be.
U7_SNES_2_10.JPG


The tavern is empty. Could it be the SNES version actually has some form of NPC schedules? A minor bright spot, since surely even the SNES version would have a taken tavern employee NPC, right? I'll fast forward time to confirm my suspicions.
U7_SNES_2_11.JPG

Nope, not so much, but eventually Iolo comes in, despite the lack of any actual employees to serve him. Guess the poor fuck has nothing to do since he won't join my Goddamn party. Also, it's worth noting now that anytime I bump against a consumable, be it food or drink, it automatically vanishes and a brief sound effect plays. I presume if I had lower health, it would be restoring it. "Streamlining" at its best, I guess.

I return to the courthouse and speed up time to see if it makes the mayor appear. No joy. I leave and re-enter to see if that triggers anything...nope. Alright then. In fact, I search the entire town (an easy feat, considering it consists of less than a dozen buildings) but there's no sign of any "mayor".

I guess I'll start the "kidnapping" investigation at the scene of the crime and see if it pops up. Here is the "barn" the "kidnapping" supposedly took place in.
U7_SNES_2_12.JPG

It has room for maybe one horse to stay. Uncomfortably. Beyond that, I learn absolutely nothing.

It's time to question Petre, as Iolo suggested earlier.
U7_SNES_2_13.JPG

Apparently, the SNES only has room for a certain number of NPCs, so Petre gets to look like a Generic Fellowship Member from the PC version.

U7_SNES_2_14.JPG

Petre gives me the basic rundown: Christopher the Blacksmith and Inamo, his Trusty Gargoyle Sidekick, were "kidnapped". So I guess the skeletons I found in the well were really just random skeletons left down there from some earlier murder/kidnapping. Trinsic seems to have a far more serious problem on its hands, but really, I just want to "solve" this so I can move the fuck on. Petre mentions a note that I should inform the mayor of.

I have a bad feeling about this. I've now talked to the NPC Iolo told me to, and said NPC told me to seek the mayor. Does that mean, if I go to the courthouse, the mayor will finally have spawned?

...yup. I see him for a moment, and as I move to talk to him...he vanishes. Into thin air. What...the...fuck.
DoubleFacePalm.jpg

I get outside and find it's night again, so I guess the game must've triggered his "schedule" and teleported him home.

I finally track the fat fuck down and barge without warning into his house, in true Avatar fashion.
U7_SNES_2_16.JPG

U7_SNES_2_17.JPG

I'd just like to take this moment to note that I love how the option "Bye!" always has an exclamation mark. It's those sort of small touches that make a Good Game into a Great Game, and a Great Game into a Classic. And as we all know, Ultima VII is definitely a classic.

The mayor asks me to talk to Christopher's son, Spark, and a guard who was wounded the night of the *twitch* kidnapping. For some reason, only the Avatar can handle this. I guess that explains why the town wells are full of skeletons.

Time to visit Spark.
U7_SNES_2_18.JPG


Spark was a joinable NPC in the PC version, but I have a hunch he's just a throw-away character in the SNES version.
U7_SNES_2_19.JPG

Shocking. After being told the mayor sent me, he tells me had a dream that his father was hurt, and that he saw a Gargoyle and a man - not his father - leaving the barn. Which works in the PC version, when Christopher and Inamo were murdered. But were was Hook (OOPS SPOILER SORRY) and his own Trust Gargoyle Sidekick leaving the barn without the kidnap victims? Did they tie them up and come back later? Or take them and stuff them in a well then go back to the barn to hide their tracks? Or, perhaps, did the writers of this piece of shit just not care anymore? If so, I empthasize.

Spark tells me he found a note and some gold in a chest in his father's house. As I recall, in the PC version, Spark gave you a key and you actually got to find and open the chest yourself, but whatever. Anyway, the note explains that apparently Christopher had an argument with Klog, the local leader of the Fellowship, and was working on a "special project" for him, which should be over at his shop. The plot - what little there is - thickens. I guess. Whatever. At least the little shit gave me 500 gold, even if he didn't join my party.

The only thing I find at Christopher's shop are more blacksmith hammers, of which I know have five, so I decide to visit Klog. But, he's not around at the moment, so I do a little exploring.

I enter Conner, a local guard's house, who is in no way brainwashed by the Fellowship.
U7_SNES_2_20.JPG

Subtle.

His basement is dangerous as well, but braving the Evil Slime, I find a shield and some "skeleton keys" in a barrel. As in all great RPGs, there is no way to open a locked door besides using a universal "key" item that is dropped randomly and found as loot.
U7_SNES_2_21.JPG


As in all True Ultima games, the slime splits when attacked...
U7_SNES_2_22.JPG


...and taunts the Avatar by name when I "use" it.
U7_SNES_2_23.JPG

...fuck me this is going to be a long game.

I return to the basement a few times, killing slimes and finding a new shield and keys to loot each time. On the third visit:
U7_SNES_2_24.JPG

Booyah. Notice I now have two more hearts and ankhs, which I can now only assume are "mana". So much for my "heart container" theory.

With my newfound keys, I can loot the town basements more effectively. In true Avatar fashion, I loot every basement in town (all 3 of them) with no reprocussions, upgrading to leather armor and boots, as well as a mace. I should visit the provisioner, too, and find out if this game is actually terrible enough to let me sell the endlessly-respawning loot I'm finding, thus raping any possible chance at having a consistent economy.
U7_SNES_2_25.JPG


This is the merchant interface screen. There appears to be no dialog with merchants beyond this screen. "Streamlining."
U7_SNES_2_26.JPG

He's not interested in any of the Clothes or Cloth I found, but everything else he gobbles up happily, including weapons and armor that respawn whenever I leave a screen, thus guaranteeing I will never have money problems ever. Knowing this, I buy the sword (I have no idea if it's better than my new mace but it looks bigger) and a bedroll.

I do him a favor and clean out his basement as well, hitting the third level of experience (already?!) by killing a dozen or so rats, but sadly finding no respawning loot to exploit. In case you're wondering, there don't seem to be any stats besides health and ankhs. I can't even see how effective my armor or weapon is, as far as I can tell. Impressively, I can drop items, so I drop all the crap I can't sell. Anyone want to guess if it'll still be there if I leave and come back?
U7_SNES_2_27.JPG

U7_SNES_2_28.JPG

Shocking. I do discover, however, that I can assign any combination of weapons/shields to the A and B button, so I decide to dual wield the shield and mace, having no idea how shields work. Dual wielding! Fuck yeah! This game is so next gen.

I also decide to try out a bedroll...
U7_SNES_2_29.JPG

U7_SNES_2_30.JPG

Well, at least now I have a way to advance time without abusing the Emulator Fast Forward spell (Vas Fuk Dis). I am half-surprised to find the bedroll isn't a one-shot item. Always nice when a game is slightly less shitty than you expect.

Alright, I guess that covers everything in Trinsic except getting the fuck out, so it's time to talk to the Fellowship and the injured guard, get the password, and head northward.

The Fellowship "Hall". I guess that's accurate, since it's literally just a fucking hallway.
U7_SNES_2_31.JPG


I get no option to ask about the Note. He just gives his alibi for the night of the kidnapping and talks about Eliza and Abraham and how Christopher was going to leave the Fellowship...
U7_SNES_2_32.JPG

U7_SNES_2_33.JPG

Wait. Eliza and Abraham? REALLY?!? Did the SNES catridge not have enough memory for the full name Elizabeth? Anyway, he invites me to ask his wife, Ellen, about his alibi. Think the game will let me?

U7_SNES_2_34.JPG

Hey, whaddya-know. The game is now two for two in being "really shitty but still not quite as shitty as I've come to expect." It's all about lowering your standards, people. She offers nothing interesting, however, beyond confirming her husband was there. So, time to talk to our injured guard.

So we visit the "healer", who apparently just abandons his/her patients in a random bed until the heal of their own free will. I guess I should just be glad the healer doesn't have a basement full of monsters like everyone else in Trinsic.
U7_SNES_2_35.JPG

U7_SNES_2_36.JPG

Alfred explains he was on duty that night and knocked unconscious. When he came to, the Crown Jewel, captained by Captain Hook, had left for Britain. Guess we're headed north.

Time to talk to the mayor again.
U7_SNES_2_37.JPG


I love how "Lord British", "Hook", and "No fucking clue" are the only options. Not even the head of the Fellowship is an option, despite very briefly being a suspect. Anyway, if you've been following the LP, the answer should be pretty obvious by now.
U7_SNES_2_38.JPG

Oops. Guess it was the other guy.

U7_SNES_2_39.JPG

First quest COMPLETE. Too bad I have no in-game journal to indicate this is so. My sense of accomplishment is left wanting. I believe this part of the game also served as copy protection in the PC version, trapping you in Trinsic if you couldn't provide certain information located in the game's manual and/or cloth map. Ultima VI had something similar.

I drop the password to the guard.
U7_SNES_2_40.JPG

I love how NPCs randomly switch to and from Elizabethan English. This random character-switch mid-conversation reminds me of Oblivion, which seems appropriate, given how awesome and next gen this game is.

Finally outside the city walls! Next, I head north to Paws. Assuming Paws is in the SNES version, and Nintendo didn't just deem it Too Goddamn Depressing.
U7_SNES_2_41.JPG
 

ecliptic

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 11, 2003
Messages
915
Awesome. This is so painful. I can only assume some of the awkwardness is due to this being directly localized from a Japanese version of the game, thus imparting a double-whammy of 2x-translation abstraction, plus horrible consolization.
 

Silellak

Cipher
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
3,198
Location
Tucson, AZ
Horses are falling down from the top of the screen. This gives me nausea
I aim to please.

Paws is there.

not exactly the same but its there.
I'm sorry you know that. Have you sufferred through this as well?

I honestly don't get the problem some people seem to have with Oblique projection. Honestly, what is wrong with this?
I've never understood this, either. Folks are missing out on great games like this one just because they can't stomach the camera perspective.

Uh. Water shouldn't be tasty. Not even magic water. Specially water of a fountain full of dirty coins.

I think we just found out the bodies.
I suppose a magic fountain that eats and occasionally returns coins is a better place to hide bodies than one of the city wells. Though I wonder, if you dumped a body in the magic fountain and got "lucky", would you get three bodies back? Hmm. This game is deep.

Speaking of which, why does a town with a half-dozen buildings and residents need three or four wells, anyway? WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON IN TRINSIC?

Is everyone okay with the style of the LP so far? Screenshots a good size and the descriptions...descriptive enough? I could transribe all the dialog if people really care, but it's not been very interesting or even so-bad-it's-awesome. It's just been bland, especially since in true Ultima-style there's no "responses", just keywords to select.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom