Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (C64)

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

Platform:	Commodore 64
Year:	1985
Developer:	Origin Systems, Inc.
Buy:	Amazon

For other games in the series see Ultima.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar is a role-playing game where you play a person trying to answer the call of Lord British, monarch of the land of Britannia, attempting to embody the eight virtues and perform various other quests to become The Avatar, a true hero of the people. Ultima IV was original released for the Apple II, but was ported to several other systems immediately after including the Commodore 64. The graphics and sound are nearly identical between the two.

While Ultima III: Exodus (C64) defined many of the tropes that would we used by RPGs for years to come, Ultima 4 was the landmark which defined the role of a hero that embodies good. You actually had to walk the straight and narrow path of a hero; you give money to the poor, tell the truth, display honor and valor, resist temptation, and sacrifice everything in order to beat the game.

Screenshots

The title sequence.

The story that gets you to Britannia.

The world of Britannia.

Talking with Lord British in his castle.

Combat with some orcs.

An infested dungeon.

Music

Ultima IV features a completely unique music compared to its predecessor, but in a very similar style. It's a little disappointing that no strides were made to improve the fidelity of the sound, however, it's comfortable to hear a musical sound you're already familiar with. Once again, Thomas Arne's Rule, Britannia! makes an appearance.

If you watch the opening demo of Ultima IV it plays various tracks from the game's score in a semi-random fashion. It plays all the tracks that you commonly hear in the game, but it will not play Fanfare of Lord British, or any of the Unknown tracks.

Recording

#	Title	Composer	Arranger	Length	Download
01	Wanderer	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	1:48	Download
02	Towne	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	3:36	Download
03	Lord British's Castle	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	2:03	Download
04	Rule, Britannia!	Thomas Arne	Ken Arnold	1:26	Download
05	Shopping	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	1:18	Download
06	Combat	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	0:35	Download
07	Shrines	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	1:27	Download
08	Dungeons	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	2:08	Download
09	Fanfare of Lord British	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	1:37	Download
10	Unknown 1	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	0:18	Download
11	Unknown 2	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	0:18	Download
12	Unknown 3	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	0:18	Download
13	Unknown 4	Ken Arnold	Ken Arnold	0:20	Download