aschultz's Ultima: Warriors of Destiny review

Yeah. I definitely agree with this one...especially the easy combat bit. I remember fairly early in the game, I thought it'd have some challenge, as I remember going out of my way to avoid wisps after a bad experience or two.

A bit later on, I was just killing everything with no problem whatsoever, which meant that all I was really doing was going from one place to another to find people to talk to to get clues to go other places. Woo-hoo...fun for everyone!

Thanks...I guess it's a small mercy that there's not much substance to the game given how disappointing it is. I remember my first reaction was, they have all the items from the PC version, but it's really nothing like it. Took me a while to realize I had a right to those expectations.

I generally avoided combat altogether, because I could, and because I didn't want the game thinking it was still combat even after I was off my carpet. Combat could kind of pile up in the dungeons, and there were some force field squares that drained you for more damage than actual fights, but I didn't know how to fit that in the review.

Hi - my name is Joshua Riley. I co-host a NES podcast called The Nesessary Podcast where we aim play all the NES games - 5 randomly selected NES games a week and have a live conversation about our experiences. This "week's" draw was Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny. This game is ruthlessly dull and impenetrable. I have read your review which seems outrageously accurate. It is a part of this podcast project that we thank the heroes that do the hard work of explaining these things to the people and I draw on these reviews and walkthroughs constantly. So, thank you for your work. I really struggled with this title and it was a solace to read your review here.

https://anchor.fm/nesessary-podcast0

Hi Joshua, thanks and I'm glad I could be of help! Part of the reason I was so disappointed in U5 for the NES was that U5 for the Apple/PC was so good. I could rave on about U5 on other platforms.

I actually enjoyed making the maps for U5, but if I hadn't had any experience, it would have been tough.

However, on the bright side, some games that were prohibitively tough on the Apple or PC became much easier and fairer on the NES. Pool of Radiance and Might and Magic are examples. Bard's Tale was interesting because I had different maps and made for a somewhat different game, while Bard's Tale II got translated to Japanese and was very different but very fun for me. I think also the Wizardry games were easier, too.

At some point in the 80s game producers realized that they weren't the only game on the market, and they already had your money, so if they inflated the difficulty/grinding, the player/consumer would just but a more fun game the next time, as they no longer had the time.

Steal what you want of the above if you want/need. I do want to listen to your podcast. It's cool to know something I wrote years ago is still helping people.