I've decided to replay U9 and be extremely optimistic about it, because no matter what the thing actually is, it was a big part of my childhood and I've never technically finished the damn thing. I have to say, if I don't look at it as the finishing chapter of Ultima (which would put too much weight on ANY creative work), it is a very good game (minus the actual gameplay/programming bugs, which haven't been a nuisance playing on old hardware under Windows XP). If it was released as anything other than Ultima, or even as a Worlds of Ultima or somesuch just to explain away the canon inconsistencies, I think it would have gotten a much better reception. I know many of you are writhing in your obstinate convictions while reading this, but I've also got the feeling that many of you have become more open-minded in regards to U9 over the years, like myself. Previously having played mostly without voices/speech until now, I must admit that the voice acting isn't as bad as I originally thought. On most of my play attempts I turned off the voices shortly after meeting "Lord British's seneschal," (points if you read that in that guy's voice) maybe turning them on intermittently and for very short bursts before inevitably giving up on them each time. Now that I've forced myself to keep them on, I am pleasantly surprised more often than I expected to be; The voice acting is really good for the most part! Graphics and animations are very impressive, especially with all the dynamic elements, such as seamlessly integrated different-climb-height animations, and visible armor pieces and weapons. The soundtrack is FANTASTIC. The gameplay is definitely different, but by no means bad.. In fact it's very streamlined and ahead of its time for being both computer- and controller-friendly (if you can get a controller to work). All the changes are understandable in light of the different presentation, and I think they're very well implemented overall. It's also not the first time Ultima has had major gameplay changes... For example, up until U7, everything was turn-based. In fact, over time I think I've realized that U7, which will always be my personal favorite, is where the seed of U9 gameplay took root. In many ways the changes we saw in U7 are the changes we see elaborated upon in U9. U7 was vague about stats (character and even more so armor/weapon) and had an even more automated/player-independent combat system. Following BG, SI was more linear for the sake of a more directed player experience. Though this is the time when creative control was being taken away from Origin, I have to think that they were still having the majority of input, at least in terms of initial design. In this context, U8 almost seems to play like an initial attempt at what would eventually become U9. (Think about the jumping and hitting!) I think this whole time I've held this game to an unreachable standard; That is, being the last Ultima, which has meant too much to too many people to be summed up in any single product, how could one game ever sum the whole thing up? Until now I've stood unswayed in my initial opinions formed a long time ago, which is what I think happened to most people devoted to something as foundational as Ultima. However, comparing it to all the other games of the time I have to say it's damn impressive. A wonderful game if taken with an open mind, and a true work of art that I have come to love. If you've made your mind up against it before, give it another open-minded chance! If you've never heard of Ultima before this, get it and enjoy! (P.S.: The only thing that I'm dead set against is that they pronounce Minoc as 'My Knock,' which I've never even considered. What in the hell is 'MY-KNOCK?!' Is that what Richard Garriott de Cayeux meant it to sound like?? That's the one thing I'll never get over...)
