MerlinGamer: Hi everyone!

I bought Ultima 1 + 2 + 3 and I've recently finished the first one. However the second game seems to have much worse graphics, I'm not sure what the technical name for them is, but it's the graphical style that uses a lot of magenta and teal!

I am guessing that that is how the apple II was and the Ultima 2 game is a lot more faithful to the original graphics, but I don't understand why there seems to be updated graphics for U1 but not the second one :/ I know that there is a version with similar art style to the first one because I've seen pictures and I was wondering if there is any way I could get that version as I don't really hold any nostalgia for that art style and I would much rather play it with the U1 graphics if possible.

Thank you for your time!

InfraSuperman: Apparently, Ultima 1 didn't get an IBM PC port until 1986, whereas the one for Ultima 2 was released alongside the original Apple II version in 1982, when they had to work with much heavier limitations on that kind of system. That's why it only has CGA colours instead of the nicer EGA ones.
Also, it's sadly known to be a somewhat shoddy port of the game all around.

The same also applies to the PC version of Ultima III, unfortunately.

Source: Hardcore Gaming 101

Tonnemaker: True, the colors in Ultima III are unattractive, but it's still a great game - leaps and bounds ahead of Ultima II. I have yet to play the ones after III but will get around to it sometime soon.

InfraSuperman: Personally, I don't even mind the graphics that much, I just based my post on what HG101 had to say about the games, and they claimed that the PC ports for both of them are pretty glitchy. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about either Ultima 2 or 3 to really have an opinion on that.