Ultima: Runes of Virtue II



Ultima: Runes of Virtue II was developed by Origin and published by Fujisankei Communications International for the Nintendo GameBoy in 1993. A port for the SNES followed in 1994.

Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Runes of Virtue, this is mostly an action-adventure game similar to the Legend of Zelda and offers basically the same gameplay. The land is however much bigger this time, with actual cities to explore and more NPCs to see, and longer dungeons.

Like the first episode, this game is again capable of multi-player.

Release
Ultima: Runes of Virtue was poorly received when it was released, with the Gameboy version receiving a 3.525/5 from Nintendo Power on 11/01/93, and the SNES version receiving a dismal 2.525/5.0

Included with the game
The GameBoy version only comes with an instruction manual, and nothing else in the box. The SNES port additionally has a paper map of Britannia

Differences between the ports
The Gameboy version of Runes of Virtue II features multiplayer, character portraits, and a somewhat larger play area than the SNES version, which sacrifices these features for a superior graphics and sound support

The Story
After his defeat by the one of the Avatar's Companions in Ultima: Runes of Virtue, the Black Knight become bored, and returns to kidnap the mayors of the eight cities of Virtue of Britannia. Lord British summons the Avatar to deal with this threat once and for all.

Trivia

 * Ultima: Runes of Virtue II was released in Japan as Ultima Gaiden.
 * While the player is clearly identified as the Avatar and summoned through a blue moongate by Lord British, he still get to play one of the Avatar's companion that he choose at the beginning of the game. Interestingly enough, the companions are depicted with a visible ankh on their clothes, as if they indeed were the Avatar.
 * The game most likely takes place 10 or 15 years prior to Ultima VI given that it shares many NPC names (including the mayors) with that game. Specifically, Quenton is still alive in Skara Brae, and his daughter Marney is only a child.

Other box art: