#“sorry man enlightenment ended at 6PM we're back to corruption”

[kirbyddd]

ultima 4 is sublime

it's unbelievable how well the gameplay has aged. it's not just notable for its place in history, it's a piece of art worth experiencing to this day

you MUST use a notebook though, every secret and puzzle in the game is solvable without a guide and surprisingly streamlined, but you MUST TAKE NOTES

they don't have to be detailed or anything, just when someone says "Some dude in this town can do X" or "I heard theres a hidden path behind the shop in town Y" write it down: "X guy in Town," "path behind shop in Y." Once you figure out the format of what you need to master the virtues it's easy to make a little organized list that basically becomes your guide for where to head next, so there's never really blind wandering around.

the whole game is a network of rumors and secrets, but unlike most old rpgs (and honestly many modern ones), every solution is discoverable in game just by talking to npcs. for everything else the game books literally give you maps and directions

also ignore the spellbook and class info theyre great atmosphere and imagination to read but theyre overwhelming if you think they actually describe the game mechanics as they claim (classes are mechanically meaningless and reagents are like 1g each so youll have infinite of them... meaning in practice spells work the same as in any other game) Ultima games are far simpler than their manuals make out, as is the case for most classic passion projects where instruction manuals were more canvases for the creators to share their dreams for the experience they wanted to create rather than technical reference guides

also dont run from battles it'll drain your Valor that's really the only regular annoyance, but battles only take a few seconds anyways once youve gathered your party so it's not that big a deal

also MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO EVERY SKELETON IN THE SPOOKY TOWN there are a bunch of generic ones who dont say anything but there's ONE skeleton who looks exactly like all the others who gives you a critical hint so make sure you dont miss him. i did and that was the one thing that got me stuck after completing nearly the entire game hgfvhsjsy. that was the only easily missable thing like that i encountered in the entire game so it threw me for a loop. but i guess the fact that it's the only easily missable clue in the game is testament to how thorough and thoughtful Ultima 4's design was compared to other rpgs of the time. JUST MAKE SURE TO TALK TO ALL THE SKELETONS