Ultima™ 7 The Complete Edition

This is my favorite RPG. Well I suppose it's my favorite game of all time. I played the two parts with expansions a number of times since the 90s and I will probably play it again. There is a frontend for the game called Exult that fixes bugs, graphics, gameplay and other nuances. I recommend the game but not without the Exult engine. Writing about it is making me want to install this on the media system to see how it fares.

One of the all time greats. Cannot recommend this game enough.

Game of my childhood. Super story, dialogs, graphics (they call it "pixel art" in these days ;->), ...

2 steps forward, 1 step back from U6. And, by today's RPG standards, hasn't aged well. +Inventory GUI better than U6 + Graphics are better (obviously) + Fullscreen dedicated to map - Constantly getting stuck on things while trying to move - Inventory mgmt is still painful. No shortcut key to open your backpack, so you waste time "drilling down" into your character paperdoll just to open their backpack (and, then, possibly, a bag in the backpack). - Containers have artificial limits on how much they can hold, which impacts you most with backpacks & bags. You'll waste a LOT of time shuffling inventory between characters just to get new items to fit some place, even though your characters have plenty of STR to carry everything! This shouldn't be this difficult! - Clicking on items only shows a name, not weight or any other useful info. How much do those moonstones weigh? Won't say. But, each person can only carry about 4 until their backpack is full. Wut? - World map feels smaller & cramped compared to U6 - Most characters in a town repeat the same dialogue, just a little different. So, it wastes time talking to everyone. - Abusive puzzles were standard RPG fare in the 90's, and U7 is no different. But, by today's standards, they feel like they were designed by a petty dev that hates their target audience. They feel overly-complicated in a needless way, not enough (or obtuse) clues/hints, etc. Petty enemies that one-shot you. Traps that obliterate your party in seconds. In one puzzle, you have to sit on a chair to trigger something. BUT, you have to know to sit and WAIT long enough for it to happen. How are you supposed to know that? Be prepared to alt-tab to a walkthrough. When everything works, it's fun. Trucking through a dungeon, killing things, and solving problems; it's fun. But, you hit too many roadblocks, and get jerked around too much, by both the plot and the puzzles. There's more frustration then enjoyment here.

That all other CRPG's aspire to live up to. This game set the standard that they will all be compared to forever after. Ultima VII deserves every bit of praise it ever received. The only downside to this game is how disappointing and bittersweet Origin's follow up efforts were.