Ultima cover art

Ultima series

Ultima

Ultima (later titled, Ultima: The First Age of Darkness) is the first game in the Ultima series of role-playing video games created by Richard Garriott. The game was one of the first definitive commercial…

1 June 1981

Ultima is a role-playing (rpg), released 1 June 1981 on Apple II and Atari 8-bit. The main story takes about 15 hrs to finish.

Verified Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What Ultima is

Ultima was released in 1981. It was published by California Pacific Computer. It is available on Apple II and Atari 8-bit.

The premise, in the publisher's words

Hail, Noble One! Our land is in need of a stalwart hero, one who will brave perils too horrific to consider. A plague has befallen the Realm, a scourge is upon the land! Our villages lie sacked, ruinous mounds of ashes where once trod peasants stout of heart and sound of mind, where once lay fields of grain and fruit, where kine and fowl grew fat upon the bounties of our fair Sosaria. All manner of wicked and vile creatures prey upon our people and ravage the land. ‘Tis the doing of one so evil that the very earth trembles at the mention of his name. Mondain the Wizard hath wrought his malice well. Our nobles bicker amongst themselves, and each hath retired to the confines of his keep in…
Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are fantasy and open world. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component.

Where it sits in the Ultima series

Ultima is the second of 45 entries we hold in the Ultima series. It arrived 2 years after Akalabeth: World of Doom. The next entry was Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash in 1983.

See all 45 Ultima games in release order →

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 15 hrs. Completing everything takes closer to 31.4 hrs, roughly 2.1 times the length of the critical path.

Screenshots

All media

Dlc

Quick answers

Ultima — frequently asked questions

When did Ultima come out?
Ultima was released on 1 June 1981 for Apple II and Atari 8-bit.
How long does it take to beat Ultima?
The main story of Ultima takes around 15 hrs, or 31.4 hrs for 100% completion.

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