I'm glancing at the reviews here, and while I did buy it for under two dollars, I'm having to wonder what all those 5 star ratings are doing. Should GOG require reviews to have spent at least...30 minutes in a game in order to review it in order to remove nostalgia goggles?

I have a feeling they weren't really considering the combat and the food issue in their reviews.

(With that said, the first half of the game really seems to de-emphasize combat, resulting in that flaw not being as annoying as it *could* be. That still doesn't excuse it or the food issue, however.)

Which one is the one where the infamous image pops to mind of reaching into a bag fulla carrots and other junk?

It's got it's flaws, sure. As have been mentioned : Inventory management can be more work than it probably should be, combat can be a little annoying (save often, in case the sidekick AI gets them killed).

I patently disagree that food is too much of a hassle though. Unlike JRPG's, western CRPG's often had that (Dungeon Master was another with it).

The thing that's attractive about U7 in particular is that it's very close to a living breathing world. You can pick up obscure careers out of nowhere outside the game's story, the game doesn't gate you much beyond the first segment, so once you're out of the initial town you can pretty much go off and do whatever. There's a depth and a richness to it that's lacking in many of the newer "throwback" RPG's such as Pillars of Eternity.

My cousin was obsessed with it when it first came out. He's also a trend-whore, so I assumed that was why he was so into it; it's new, therefore "good". So, I steered clear and kept to my Ultima Underworld at the time and kept away from it for over 20 years. Then a few years ago I sat down with some extra time and really made a concerted effort to see what I thought of it, sans any trendiness that could be ascribed to it. I was blown away. I could finally see why it was such a phenomenon at the time. And still deserves attention today I'd say with no reservation.

For all its warts, many of which I consider unfair because they're judging them under the contrast of what came later, the game has enough quality to overlook said warts. And Exult makes a bunch of them go away. Whether or not you can forgive the graphics is probably the biggest question. If the graphics don't deter you, you'd probably be ok. If they do, well, then I'd say you're missing out.

Here's the thing: I am not judging the game against later games; I am actually judging it against earlier games in the Ultima series, which I would consider a perfectly fair way to judge the game. Sure, earlier Ultima games had food, but all you had to do was buy a bunch of food and you were set for a while, as it would automatically be consumed when needed. Ultima 4 and 5 had inventory management done in a manner that I consider ideal, and combat, while not the series's strong point, has never been as bad as in Ultima 7.

Also, Ultima 8 and 9 have their issues as well, I believe. For example, the lack of a party, the fact that the games (again) are in real-time, the fact that you are forced to play a male character (actually a dealbreaker for me, as I always play a female character in the Ultima series, except sometimes Ultima 3 with its third gender option), the fact that Ultima 8 had (from what I have read) an annoying jumping section, that Ultima 9's plot was changed in the middle of development (but FMVs had to be reused, which didn't always work perfectly), and other problems. (Note that I have not actually played Ultima 8 or 9; the lack of a female character option is the dealbreaker for me in those games.) I would not judge other games against Ultima 8 or 9.


Here is the important question: Would the game be better without food? If the answer is "Yes", then having food, and burdening the player with constantly having to worry about it, is a problem.

Also, Dungeon Master's inventory system wasn't *nearly* as bad; it was generally easy to find and click on the food item you wish to eat, and the food meter would fall slowly (unless you are practicing your magic heavily), so feeding was relatively infrequent. Also, you don't need to worry about reagents for spell casting in that game.

Well, since you consider it burdening the player, I think the discussion is moot. I don't. The end.

And, now you're conflating issues. The inventory system and the need for food. Both of which you clearly have issue with, so for you, it's a bridge too far. For me and many other people, it's a non-issue.

Furthermore, attempting to contrast against later games in the series and their corresponding issues is a ridiculous debate tactic. Just because something later had a thing does not somehow remove that thing or inflict that thing on an earlier entry. That's a complete logic failure. I'm entertaining no further discussion on these points.

OP, The bottom line is this : U7 had an interest in attempting to mirror aspects of the real world in a fantasy RPG. Those issues bear no additional investigation and I'm sure Spoony, as much as he's generally a hyperbolic crackpot, covered in exhaustive enough detail in the videos posted above to allow you to make an informed decision.

Here's the thing: I am not attempting to contrast against later games in the series.

I am attempting to contrast against *earlier* games in the series, which did certain things better.

Considering 8 was rushed and incomplete and 9 was a pile of crap... I don't see how anyone would want to contrast it with the later games.

---Light spoilers---

Inventory management can be learned and frankly, I actually prefer to it to the ridiculous nonsense of some modern, RPG-ish games like Mass Effect 1 or Deus Ex Human Revolution (and Mankind Divided I think). The same with food, graphics is no issue particularly with Exult. Combat could be somewhat mitigated as when I first tried the game I looked up a non-spoiler guide that recommended a secret portal you can open in the beginning that gave you great gear. Since combat, imo, shouldn't be a hurdle in a RPG I didn't mind it so I actually used it.

Unfortunately the biggest barrier for me was its immense world and the necessary time to put into it, I'm not going to play a game that big without making sure I've the necessary time and energy for it. Ironically as one's grows older I imagine both time and energy becomes even worse so it's possible I'll never really get into it.

Another reason I wasn't really prepared for it was at the time Exult had not fixed the object disappearing bug and then there's supposed to be a thief that literally steal your items which frankly sounded like one of the most interesting game feature I've stumbled upon, Unfortunately I would need some kind of strategy to counter that. Anyone who has played the game, can the thief disappear so your items are lost forever? Can he steal quest items?

Except for exactly that reason. IE - Weak argument.

I played through 1-3, and got to the end of 4 (miraculously), but goddamn the final dungeon of Ultima 4 is insanely hard. To the point where I kind of gave up.

Indeed, that's kind of why I enjoyed that guide I found that recommended the secret portal. Of course that won't last forever..

One thing Spoony really brought out when he was talking about it, that when combat starts your companions (if you have them and they are sufficiently decked out) will just finish the fight leaving you with cleanup.

Although apparently if you pause the game you can force-feed your enemies potions....

I played it already in the 90s, but even then I felt it had serious issues with user interface, as dtgreene points out. The inventory system was quite aggravating, as was combat. The times a friendly party member would shoot a fireball at my back...

However, if you can look past those, it had a pretty interesting story and exploration. Also please play it with Roland MT-32 music (Munt emulator) if you can, the music rocks with it.