Ultima: Runes of Virtue

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

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Game box art

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

Gameplay

Select character

The wilderness

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.

The Story

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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The mysterious Black Knight has stolen all the runes of Virtue and threatens Britannia. The protagonist must travel to all eight dungeons of Britannia and retrieve the runes of Virtue in order to defeat the Black Knight.

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Spoilers end here.

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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

• Runes of Virtue manual
  • Includes Runes of Virtue map of Britannia
• Game cartridge

More game related information

• Runes of Virtue map of Britannia
• Runes of Virtue items
• Ultima: Runes of Virtue II
• Runes of Virtue walkthrough
• Cheating in Runes of Virtue

Trivia

• This is the first multiplayer Ultima game ever released (five years before Ultima Online).
• The map of Britannia bears very little resemblance to the land seen in the core series of games.
• Dupre is described as a "swordsman from Jhelom", instead of a paladin from Trinsic.
• The 4th Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, released two years later for the same handheld console, uses the same control scheme (in particular, the possibility of assigning any item to the A and B buttons).

Gallery

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  Back cover

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  Runes of Virtue advertisement

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  Clean version of the cover art

External Links

• The Notable Ultima – Ultima: Runes of Virtue
• Runes of Virtue (YouTube) – Gameplay Video
• Instruction manual (PDF)

References

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Ultima Games
Age of Darkness	Akalabeth ☥ The First Age of Darkness ☥ The Revenge of the Enchantress ☥ Exodus
Age of Enlightenment	Quest of the Avatar ☥ Warriors of Destiny ☥ The False Prophet ☥ The Savage Empire ☥ Martian Dreams ☥ The Stygian Abyss
Age of Armageddon	The Black Gate ☥ Forge of Virtue ☥ Labyrinth of Worlds ☥ Serpent Isle ☥ The Silver Seed ☥ Pagan ☥ Ascension
Online	Ultima Online ☥ The Second Age ☥ Renaissance ☥ Third Dawn ☥ Lord Blackthorn's Revenge Age of Shadows ☥ Samurai Empire ☥ Mondain's Legacy ☥ Kingdom Reborn ☥ Stygian Abyss ☥ High Seas ☥ Time of Legends
Others	Escape from Mt. Drash ☥ Runes of Virtue ☥ Runes of Virtue II ☥ Lord of Ultima ☥ Ultima Forever ☥ Shroud of the Avatar
Canceled	Arthurian Legends ☥ The Lost Vale ☥ Ultima Online 2 ☥ Ultima X ☥ Ultima Reborn ☥ 25th Anniversary Edition