Truly incredible.

Holey crèpe.

Well, it's not THAT rare, heh.... 😜
There was actually one more(box and all), some 3-4 years ago, ending at $1900ish, if I remember correctly... 😵

.

Edit: just checked my archives, and it was sold on Nov 06 2005, for US $2437....

That's got me itching to pull out my Ultima I-VI Series DOS CD that my cousin found in a box and gave me like 10 years ago and try mounting it in DOSBox.

I also have a couple of the NES US releases w/boxes from eBay. I wonder how they compare to the PC versions?

I never got into Ultima, although I was aware of it. I'm generally drawn more towards sci-fi games (finally getting around to playing Wasteland in DOSBox now after completing Deus Ex for the 2nd time in ~8 years and not being able to get the sequel to run playably in Win7 RC1 😀)

Actually, from what I understand, most diehard Ultima fans don't really consider this an Ultima game (despite the name.) Sierra put it out on their own (w/o Lord British,) when they still had the rights to future Ultima games. That being said, I'm ashamed to admit that if I had the money I'd probably be in on the bidding myself. But not being exceptionally wealthy, I'm putting it in among the original Akalabeth that LB sold in little sandwich baggies. That is, I'd love to have one, but probably never will.

As for playing it now. I'd really suggest playing 1-3 on the C64. Though, if you have an Apple II with a Mockingboard installed, they play fairly nicely on that as well. I would really only advise playing 4 and above on the PC. Also, on the PC there are a total of 15 games (16 if you count a conversion of Mt. Drash, but the only way to get that is unacceptable on this board.) Because I'm sort of anal, I'll give you the complete list in chronological order along with my opinion of the best system to play them on 😀

1 - Akalabeth (originally released for Apple, but the PC version is good) [Updated version for the PC is best IMHO, it allows saving and restoring the game.]

2 - Ultima (only released for Apple II, updated version named "Ultima I - The First Age of Darkness" was released later for Apple, C64, Atari, & PC) [C64 or PC-DOSBox. In order to get the sound effects, DOSBox is needed to play the speaker sounds. The sounds are better on the C64 IMHO.]

3 - Ultima - Escape from Mt. Drash (Vic20 Only) [Again, many don't consider this a true Ultima. While it came out under the Ultima name that Sierra had finagled away from LB somehow, it really has absolutely nothing to do with the story line or world invovled. Also, it came out after the original Ultima, yet is even uglier than Akalabeth was in the beginning, and just like the original Akalabeth, there was no way to save your game.]

4 - Ultima II - Revenge of the Enchantress (Apple, Mac, Atari, C64, & PC) [C64 wins this one hands down IMHO. The PC version'c CGA is ugly, and again only speaker sounds. There is a downloadable upgrade that greatly improves the look, but slows it down such that you cannot use DOSBox to restore the speaker sounds any more. YOu can still use DOSBox, but you have to raise the cycles up too high to get the proper sounds.

5 - Ultima III - Exodus (NES, C64, Apple, Mac, Atari, PC, & Amiga) [I'd have to say Amiga on this one, or the C64. PC has the exact same problem as U2.]

6 - Ultima IV - Quest of the Avatar (NES, C64, Apple, Atari, Amiga, & PC) [I have to say that the overall best for this is PC DOSBox with the music and graphics update patch. Set your cylcles right and you get good music along with the proper speaker sound effects. The main point that pushes the PC to the top here is that your character can now migrate from one game to the next until U6. With the other systems, migration only works from 4 to 5, you have to start over in 6.]

7 - Ultima V - Warriors of Destiny (NES, C64/128, Atari, Apple, PC, & Amiga) [Again, the game is good on the PC in DOSBox with the music upgrade patch. The C64 version only had music if it was played on a C128. The Amiga version had 1 piece of music that none of the other versions had.]

8 - Ultima VI - The False Prophet (Amiga, Atari, C64, PC, & SNES) [PC with DOSBox. While the C64 got its music back, the PC version also had better music depending on your midi card. You could also use the same character you built in 4. One thing to note here, while 6 had drivers for better midi devices, the music was designed aroung an adlib card, and it actually works best on the adlib. All the other, are taking adlib code and trying to force them onto other devices.]

9 - Worlds of Ultima - The Savage Empire (PC only) [Guess I don't have to suggest the best system for this one]

10 - Worlds of Ultima 2 - Martian Dreams (PC Only) [Ditto. Both of these use the same engine as 6 did, and they both play best in DOSBox with proper cycles settings to get smooth game play with proper speaker sounds. Also, some don't really consider these Ultima as they take place on real(ish) earth and not Sosaria.]

11 - Ultima Underworld - The Stygian Abyss (PC only) [Ditto. This one, and all that follow, finally got rid of the speaker sound effects. You can now set it for multiple sound cards.]

12 - Ultima VII - The Black Gate (SNES & PC) [Just to note here, all the Nintendo versions were crap in my opinion, clunky, slow, and a nightmare to play right. All the Ultimas after this one were PC only. There was also an expansion for this one called "Forge of Virtue" which added to the game play]

13 - Ultima Underworld II - Labyrinth of Worlds (PC Only)

14 - Ultima VII - Serpent Isle (PC Only) [Yes, there are 2 Ultima VII's. This one also has an expansion called "The Silver Seed." While both 7's play best in DOSBox, IMHO, there is a replacement engine called Xult that plays them both very well in a variety of different OSes.]

15 - Ultima VIII - Pagan (PC Only) [Again, I feel they play best in DOSBox, but there is an engine replacement being worked on. Don't know the name off hand, but last I heard it was still in its infancy.]

16 - Ultima IX - Ascension (PC Windows Only) [The final Ultima. I suggest you look around for some balancing and improvement patches though. EA rushed Origin Systems to release it before they were really ready too. The original story line got hacked to bits and even after numerous patches was still very buggy.]

While both 7's play best in DOSBox, IMHO, there is a replacement engine called Xult that plays them both very well in a variety of different OSes.

It's called Exult and can be found at http://exult.sf.net

15 - Ultima VIII - Pagan (PC Only) [Again, I feel they play best in DOSBox, but there is an engine replacement being worked on. Don't know the name off hand, but last I heard it was still in its infancy.]

That engine is called Pentagram and can be found at http://pentagram.sf.net - It's not as polished as Exult but U8 can be played through with this.

you forgot a fairly important one, I always thought the sega master system version of Ultima IV was the best, the graphics are really crisp and well drawn with realistic colour, the sound is nice and the music is melodic.
Even today with the fan made additions for Ultima IV I still prefer this one not just for nostalgia but because it has what no other version has, the ability to click on keywords and conversation topics etc saving a lot of typing and making for a streamlined and more enjoyable playing experience, there were no more Ultimas on Sega as far as I know.
Also Ultima was ported to the gameboy, and there is a dodgy game called runes of virtue II on snes and I think it is a seperate game, not an expansion, something to do with a duke or baron being kidnapped from british's castle by blackthorn because he says he is bored.
the SMS version deserves a mention in any list, it is a remarkable game for it's time, it still looks and plays beautifully today.
I used to rent it again and again from the local suburban video store when I was a kid. It also came with a huge manual listing all the spells and reagents that actually had a few illustrations, but unfortunately no stones or cloth maps.
I don't know if this version is rare or valuable...

Well ack... I forgot all about the SMS version of U4. Don't think about it much as I never had a Sega, and it didn't come with any collectables. As for Runes of Virtue, I forgot those as well. There were actually 2 games. Runes of Virtue on the GameBoy, and Runes of Virtue II for GameBoy and SNES. There was also a Japanese only game called Ultima Gaiden for the Super Famicon (the Japanese version of the SNES.) I'm going to have to look into that U4 version, though I also have no idea how rare it is.

FeedingDragon wrote:

There was also a Japanese only game called Ultima Gaiden for the Super Famicon (the Japanese version of the SNES.)

I think you will find that is actually the Japanese version of Runes of Virtue II. There was also a port of Savage Empire.

Jorpho wrote:

FeedingDragon wrote:

There was also a Japanese only game called Ultima Gaiden for the Super Famicon (the Japanese version of the SNES.)

I think you will find that is actually the Japanese version of Runes of Virtue II. There was also a port of Savage Empire.

Well, that makes me feel better 😀 Was afraid there was an Ultima game out there I woul never (ok, will most probably never,) be able to play (don't speak or read Japanese.) I haven't actually played any of the Runes of Virtue. I don't have a gameboy first off, and I've never really been all that interested in the Nintendo versions of the games anyways. The ones I've tried have been clunky and a real pain in the tail to play anyways. I also seem to recall there being an Ultima game put out for cell phones recently, but cannot seem to find the information on it any more, and not sure if it's a LB production anyways. May have been thinking of a different game though.

While I'm a very avid Ultima fan, I welcome any correction or further information that anyone gives me 😀 Heck, until about a year ago, I had never even heard about Mt. Drash.

AFAIK Ultima Underworld (I) and Ultima 3 - Exodus might have been released for cell phones.

I have some unique information regarding the Sega Master System version of Ultima IV. In addition to the instruction manual, there were two extremely rare (bonus, or promotional?) booklets (too large to fit into the game's plastic case) titled The History of Brittania and The Book of Mystic Wisdom.

I say "extremely rare" because the ones that I own are the only ones that I have ever seen (and I've been ebay'ing for a LONNNNNG time). I don't know if the booklets were limited-release "promotional" or "bonus" items, or mail-order extras...or what. But you just *never* see these offered for sale with the SMS version of the game. ( Oh. Except for the time when I bought my copy, of course! 😊 )

The booklets are bound in light blue heavy-paper covers, and definitely "go with" the SMS version of the game, as they are imprinted with appropriate SEGA/Origin Systems insignia on the booklets themselves.

I thought the music in U6 for the Amiga was the best I heard.

The game was fine and I even have it for the PC, as well as most of the collection.

I didn't get too much into the Ultima Series, I was more of a Bards Tale and Might & Magic fan 😉

FeedingDragon wrote:

11 - Ultima Underworld - The Stygian Abyss (PC only) [Ditto. This one, and all that follow, finally got rid of the speaker sound effects. You can now set it for multiple sound cards.]

Actually, this game was also released for the Playstation in Japan.

Several Ultima games were also released for the FM-Towns (the same computer that got some spiffy versions of the Lucasarts adventures), in versions apparently superior to those on other platforms.

But really, why am I writing all this?
http://www.ultimacollectors.info/

A few years ago Stanford University inherited large collection of video games. There was a piece of video in the news showing many boxes of stuff like PC versions of Pacman and Frogger... I was almost ready to stop the video and forget about it when they pulled another item out of the box and that was Escape from Mount Drash. You can watch the video here: http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-6174194.html?pa … -0-20&subj=news

vasyl wrote:

A few years ago Stanford University inherited large collection of video games. There was a piece of video in the news showing many boxes of stuff like PC versions of Pacman and Frogger... I was almost ready to stop the video and forget about it when they pulled another item out of the box and that was Escape from Mount Drash. You can watch the video here: http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-6174194.html?pa … -0-20&subj=news

IMG!! It looks like its still in the shrinkwrap too.... An opened version sold for almost $2000.... Ok, where's my ninja suit...... 😀

Wow that's great, it seems appropriate for such collections to wind up with universities and the like rather than in private hands. That way we also get a copy preserved for posterity that has never even been touched or damaged.

I recently discovered a port of ultima III onto the gameboy advance which looks great, it is complete and it may be one of the prettiest & easiest to operate versions of the game due to the 6 button interface, also there is a remake of III for apple mac, but it is not free, and doesn't seem to have been ported to pc yet, but could perhaps be emulated on pc, also of note are the remake of ultima IV for the Neverwinter Nights engine on pc, and the massive remakes of ultima 5 and 6 for the Dungeon Siege: Legend of Arianna engine also on PC, and two fan made versions of ultima IX using the rpg2000 game creation engine, one is a remake using the original origin employee plot called "Alter U9" and one which i think is adding new content called "Eriadain".
There are also many tantalising unfinished remakes and demos to be found & seeing as there are seemingly no plans for more Ultima games and public interest keeps growing as the years roll on I thought I would mention some of these gems as they may interest some of you, they are fairly easy to find on google.

I've always wondered and pehaps somebody could tell me roughly how much it would cost to buy a complete set of all the ultima cloth maps and runestones, coins etc that came with Ultima I - IX and the dragon edition/ultima online these days? Did anything come with Mt Drash?

P.S I found a great fanmade Mt Drash the rogue-like if anyone want's to check it out....

Did anything come with Mt Drash?

Please look just a few more posts further up (5 - Jorpho's last post), there is a link which is really informative.
If you want to know how much it would roughly cost these days, look at ebay and add the "buy it now" prices...