Ultima: Runes of Virtue II

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This article is about a game for the Game Boy. For other uses, see Runes (disambiguation).

Game box art – Game Boy

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

Gameplay[edit]

Title screen (SNES)
The wilderness (Game Boy)
A dark cave
Entering a dark cave SNES

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 player can push and break objects, collect items, open doors, solve puzzles and attack enemies. 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 – but only on the Game Boy, not on the SNES. Also like in the first part, the player can chose between Iolo, Mariah, Shamino and Dupre.

The Story[edit]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.


After his defeat by the one of the Avatar's companions in Ultima: Runes of Virtue, the Black Knight 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.

Spoilers end here.


Differences Between Platforms[edit]

There are significant differences between the two versions of the game on the Game Boy and the SNES.

The Game Boy version of Runes of Virtue II features multiplayer gameplay, character portraits and a somewhat larger play area than the SNES version. Additionally, the graphics of the game are drawn more in a western-style, leaning more onto the aesthetics of Ultima VI. The SNES-port on the other hand sacrifices all these features for a superior graphics and sound support. However, the attempt to emulate the perspective of Ultima VI while at the same time using cartoonish graphics hurt the game and the missing features are very noticeable.

Release[edit]

Ultima: Runes of Virtue II was well received when it was released on the Game Boy, with the handheld version receiving a 3.525/5 from Nintendo Power on 11/01/93, with 3.0/5 for graphics and sound, 3.3 for play controls, 4.0 for challenge, and 3.8 for play and fun, praising the game's story, cutscenes, and plot, while stating the graphics were small and the gameplay was overly complex for some players.[1]
The SNES version received a dismal 2.525/5.0 from Nintendo Power when it was released in late 1994, with 2.8/5 for graphics and sound, 2.8 for play controls, 2.5 for challenge, and 2.0 for play and fun, praising its story, graphics, and plot, while criticizing its controls and game view.[2]

Included with the Game[edit]

More Game-Related Information[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • 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 gets 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.
  • In the SNES version a sign saying "Welcome to Origin" may be found in the well in Jhelom. This is fashioned as Origin’s headquarters located under the town of Jhelom where there are several staff members of Origin who worked on Runes of Virtue II; Raymond, Marc, Heather, Alan, Scott, Martin Galway, Sam, Gnu Gnu, Terry the Adventurer, Karl and Nathan.

Gallery[edit]

  • Runes of Virtue II SNES (North America) box art

  • Runes of Virtue II SNES (Japan) box art

  • Runes of Virtue II Game Boy (Japan) box art

  • Sign that says "Welcome to Origin"

  • Martin Galway

  • Runes of Virtue II advertisement

  • Clean version of the Game Boy cover art

External Links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑  "Now Playing". Nintendo Power (Ultima: Runes of Virtue II). Nov. 1993. Pages 106–107.
  2. ↑  "Now Playing". Nintendo Power (Ultima: Runes of Virtue II). Oct. 1994. Pages 105, 107.
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