Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar Play Online

Summary

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar landed on the Sega Master System in 1990 with a full visual overhaul that kept Origin’s spirit while giving the game a fresh, colour‑rich look. The cartridge comes with a multilingual manual, two colour‑coded books and a folded paper map, but keen eyes will spot a quirky mistake: the gypsy’s portrait shows a mustached man even though the text calls the character “she.” Critics of the era, such as Computer and Video Games, gave the version an impressive 89 % score, noting how the top‑down dungeon views foreshadowed later entries like Ultima VI.

What really sets this title apart is its ethical engine. Instead of grinding for power, you answer morally ambiguous questions at character creation, which assigns you a class linked to one of the Eight Virtues—Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility. Travel is a mix of foot, horse, ship, and moongate teleport, and you can recruit NPCs to fight alongside you, replacing the usual mercenary hires.

Combat unfolds on a separate top‑down screen while dungeons retain a first‑person, pseudo‑3D feel. New mechanics include mixing reagents for spells, puzzle‑filled rooms, and a system that rewards or penalises you for actions like donating blood or over‑paying a vendor. All of these layers combine to make Ultima IV on the Master System a uniquely moral adventure wrapped in classic RPG trappings.

Storyline

After the evil triad of Mondain, Minax, and the hellspawn Exodus is vanquished, Britannia enjoys a relative peace, though pockets of evil still linger in the land and in the hearts of men. Lord British declares a new age and the Quest of the Avatar, seeking a champion who will guide the realm from the Age of Darkness into the Age of Light.

Unlike the earlier Ultima titles, the story of Ultima IV focuses on the hero’s moral self‑improvement rather than a final monster. The player must master the Eight Virtues—Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility—by completing trials and locating several artifacts.

The ultimate test lies in the Stygian Abyss, where the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom must be retrieved. Mastery of all virtues and the codex crowns the hero as the Avatar, a spiritual leader and mythic figure for the people of Britannia.

Edited by Maya Carter