Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (C64)

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Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Ultima 4 - C64 - USA.jpg
Platform: Commodore 64
Year: 1985
Developer: Origin Systems, Inc.
Buy: Amazon
For other games in the series see Ultima.

Although Ultima III: Exodus (C64) defined many of the ingredients that would we used by RPGs that followed it, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar was the landmark which defined the role of a hero. Instead of merely walking through a dungeon killing monsters and getting gold, 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 to become the hallowed and sacred symbol of the people: The Avatar! The game doesn't feature the standard villain, but there are several tasks that must be accomplished. You must find the 8 rune stones of virtue, collected to artifacts of the three principles, find reagents, learn spell ingredients, cast the skull of Mondain into the Abyss, and find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.

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. The DOS version had better graphics, but it didn't have any music, which greatly reduced the game's mood.


Screenshots

Ultima 4 - C64 - Title.png

The title sequence.

Ultima 4 - C64 - Introduction.png

The story that gets you to Britannia.

Ultima 4 - C64 - Britannia.png

The world of Britannia.

Ultima 4 - C64 - Lord British.png

Talking with Lord British in his castle.

Ultima 4 - C64 - Combat.png

Combat with some orcs.

Ultima 4 - C64 - Dungeon.png

An infested dungeon.


Music

Ultima IV features a completely unique music compared to it's 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! make an appearance.

If you watch the opening demo of Ultima IV it plays various tracks from the 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

Size

Listen

01 Wanderer Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 1:48 1.5 MB
02 Towne Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 3:36 3.1 MB
03 Lord British's Castle Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 2:03 1.7 MB
04 Rule, Britannia! Thomas Arne Ken Arnold 1:26 1.2 MB
05 Shopping Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 1:18 1.2 MB
06 Combat Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 0:35 469 KB
07 Shrines Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 1:27 1.5 MB
08 Dungeons Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 2:08 2.0 MB
09 Fanfare of Lord British Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 1:37 1.6 MB
10 Unknown 1 Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 0:18 299 KB
11 Unknown 2 Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 0:18 299 KB
12 Unknown 3 Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 0:18 300 KB
13 Unknown 4 Ken Arnold Ken Arnold 0:20 356 KB


Credits

(Missing Source)


Game Rip

Format

Download

SID.png

Download

(Info)

The tracks have been recorded in roughly the order you hear them during normal game play. They were recorded with SIDPlay (Windows) v2.


Releases

  USA.svg   USA
Ultima 4 - C64 - USA.jpg
Title: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Platform: Commodore 64
Released: 1985-??-??
Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc.
  UK.svg   UK
Ultima 4 - C64 - UK.jpg
Title: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Platform: Commodore 64
Released: 1986-??-??
Publisher: U.S. Gold, Ltd.


Links