Ultima: Runes of Virtue



Ultima: Runes of Virtue was developed by Origin and published by Fujisankei Communications International, Inc for the Nintendo GameBoy in 1991.

Gameplay
Unlike the other games of the Ultima universe, this is more of an action-adventure game, similar to games such as The Legend of Zelda, with a strong focus on solving multiple puzzles throughout dungeons. No party members are available, and the main character is one of the four companions of the Avatar, either Shamino, Dupre, Iolo, or Mariah

Interestingly, the game is capable of multi-player, making it the first Ultima to offer this option.

Release
Ultima: Runes of Virtue was poorly received when it was released, receiving a 3/5 from Nintendo Power and a 54% rating from the German magazine Power Play.

Included with the game

 * Game cartridge
 * Instruction manual

Differences between the ports
Ultima: Runes of Virtue was developed solely for the Nintendo Game Boy. There are no other official ports.

The Story
The mysterious Black Knight has stolen all the Runes of Virtue and threaten Britannia. The Avatar's companions must travel to all eight dungeons of Britannia and retrieve the Runes of Virtue in order to defeat the Black Knight.

Trivia

 * This is the first multiplayer Ultima that was released (five years before Ultima Online).
 * The map of Britannia bears very little ressemblance to the land seen in the core series of games.
 * Dupre is described as a "swordsman from Jhelom", instead of a paladin from Trinsic.