Console Ports of Ultima IV

Ultima IV was an interesting case, in that there actually existed two console versions of it. Nintendo wasn't happy that Origin had developed a port for Sega as well, and the threat of going to the courts delayed the Sega port. However, the threats proved empty, creating the interesting situation of comparing two console versions of the same game.

The two ports were very different, and both games were released in 1990.

The Nintendo Version
The Nintendo Version for the NES was practically the same conversion idea as the NES-Port of Ultima III. The graphics were a little less colorful this time, but still very anime-like. The interface, like the last conversion, was completely removed from sight, apart from the moon phase-indicator.

The sound of the game was changed, with none of the music of the original remaining. The new music was not as repetitive as the port of Ultima III, but after some time still reportedly tempted players to mute their TV. Sound effects were the standard of the time.

The game had content changes, which included:


 * Complete removal of the intro, meaning that the game jumped directly to the virtue test.


 * No option for a female Avatar, unless the player's chosen class was represented by a female character; also, the name could only be 5 characters long.


 * Gamplay was changed at the shrines and after finding the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.


 * Monsters were invisible on the map until the player encountered them.


 * The battle system became very slow.


 * Many tiles, like water, had no animation.


 * The party size was reduced to four. The game's goal of showing leadership to all professions was lost with this.
 * You could still recruit all the available characters for your profession, but only three (plus yourself) could be in your adventuring party at any one time. The others waited for you in a special area of Lord British's castle, and only here could you rearrange your party.

The Sega Version
The version for the Sega Master System was very different, since unlike the Nintendo port, it stayed more faithful to the original. This already started with the game box, which not only used the original box art, but also included a paper map of Britannia similar to the the original. The History of Britannia and The Book of Mystic Wisdom, only reduced in size, and a detailled manual are also included. This is opposed to the NES port, which only had a short instruction booklet.

The game itself was very much like the 16-bit versions on the computers, only with improved "western-style" graphics. The music was the same as the original, but improved in quality. The game also included the complete introduction.

There were essentially only two changes in the game:


 * The first was the dialogue system. The player could only ask things they know about (as in Ultima VII).


 * The second concerned the dungeons. While it would have been possible to show them in 3D, all the dungeons were 2D from the top, which made navigating in them easier, as they resembled dungeons from Ultima VI.

Additionally, the game was mostly released for the Master System in Europe and only a few units reached the USA.

There were French, German, and English versions of the game released.