Runes of Virtue Walkthrough

WORK IN PROGRESS!

 Ultima: Runes of Virtue (1991)

Game Background
Story (Taken from the Manual) "Through the mystic moongate you have been transported to the land of Britannia, where a world of magic and adventure awaits you. Ruling over the lands he united, Lord British guides his people as they seek to master the eight virtues of the Avatar. It is your quest to recover the runes, symbols of these great virtues by the Black Knight."

Starting up the Game
Insert the Ultima Game pak into the Game Boy and turn on the power. Press the START button anytime during the opening screens to begin your game. If this is your first game, choose Begin a New Game with the control pad (more about that soon.) and press START. You then get to select which character to play and enter your initials.

Difficulty Levels
You can choose out of three difficulties.


 * Easy

When you're defeated, you're restored at the start of the level.


 * Medium

When you're defeated, you're returning to the surface at the entrance to the cavern you were in.


 * Hard

Just like Medium, BUT you also lose ALL your gold, food and potions!

Save / Load
As you may have noticed, your Ultima Game Pak has a battery and automatically saves your game and high scores. Do not worry; you can turn off your GAME BOY at any time. BEWARE: It will ONLY work during a ONE-Player game. Playing a TWO-Player does NOT affect your saved character. It does NOT save your character during a Two-player Game.

The next time you play, choose Journey Onwards and you will begin at the start of the last level you entered. If you select Begin a New Game, it erases your old game, and lets you choose a new character.

Two Player Game
If you connect two GAME BOYS with a Game Link Cable BEFORE turning them on, you and a friend can explore 80 new levels! You can choose Journey Onwards to use a saved character from the One-Player game, or Begin a New Game to play with a fresh character. Either way, it won't affect your saved game. You won't be able to bring any items from the one player game with you, Except Runes.

This game has the same number of dungeons as the main game, though they have different names and another 83 levels of mazes. They are all easy to map and have linear paths. Since it's a two-player game, you'll find two runes at the bottom of each Cavern.

Overview of Controls
 [Movement Keys] Moves party / scrolls through menu options. [Start] Starts up the game / Inventory Screen / Pauses the game. [A] Use whatever items you have in this hand / Changes weapons or items. [B] Use whatever items you have in this hand / Changes weapons or items. [Select] Drops Item.

Inventory Screen
 : Shows, which armor you use. [Your Picture]: Yes. That's YOU. : Stands for Strength. Show many you can have. Strong characters can take a lot of damage. : Stands for Dexterity. Shows how fast you can move. Faster character can dodge monsters much better. : Stands for Intelligence. Shows how many you can have. Intelligent characters can use magic items more often before running out of energy. : The Selection Box. To change weapons and items, move it over an item and press A or B to put it in your hand. IF you already have an item in that hand, the old item goes back into your inventory.
 * Hint: Food potions, cheese and the ankh are used immediately when you press the button.

It will teleport you back to Lord British's Castle, and restores ALL your hearts and stars. NEVERTHELESS, you'll lose ALL your hammers, keys and boots!

Interaction To pick up items, walk over them. To pick up items in shops, you must have enough gold to pay for them. You can talk to people, flip levers, open chest, etc. by bumping into them.

Combat As you explore Sosaria to find the missing Runes you will find out soon that not all creatures are a friendly lot. Driven by hunger or hatred they’ll attack you. Press [A] or [B] to attack them.

Combat

 * Hold down the [A] or [B] button to attack repeatedly with the same weapon.
 * In some places you can get the monsters to shoot each other so you don’t have to fight them all yourself.

Interaction

 * To get through some levels you may have to use the same lever or pressure plate more than once.
 * Many levers can be flipped back and forth. See what they do in each position.

Shops

 * In the shop east of Lord British’s castle you’ll daggers, swords, flasks of oil, bow and arrows and armor. More powerful weapons and armor can be found or purchased later in the game.
 * While exploring caves you’re to bound to expend Life Hearts and Magic Stars. Pack food to refill Life Hearts or buy Hearts and Stars at the southern shop before venturing forth on your quest.

Other

 * Don’t quit exploring a Cavern once you’ve found a Rune in it. Most of them have special weapons and magic items in them as well.
 * Buy some food and potions before you go into a really tough Cavern.

Choose of the Hero
Your quest begins by picking on of the four champions, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses.

Mariah


Strength: 15 Intelligence: 18 Dexterity: 15

Biography: A member of the Council of Mages, Mariah is a student of ancient languages. After playing her magic trumpet, she can always create another by using her ankh.

Pro: Mariah the Mage is a well balanced character who excels at the use of magical items. Her strength and dexterity will rise quickly.

Con: