Ultima V, first thoughts

I never played, or even saw, Ultima V back in the day. I went from IV to VI. So playing it now is an interesting thing.



- That cover art accurately depicts the opening of the game.

- not being able to get free healing from Lord British is an issue. My characters get hit a lot in combat, mixing "MANI" spells is a pain, and they don't always heal very much at all. I end up paying 65 gold per person at Empath Abby to get healed after doing a few fights.

- Speaking of spells, I hate learning the spells by Ultima language. (And translating signs is a pain.) It's just a pain. "C" for "Cure" and "H" for "Heal" beats AN NOX for Cure and MANI for "Heal." We went from weird spell names to prosaic descriptive ones after Wizardry and then Ultima V goes right back.

- I'm grinding bridge trolls. It's the only way I can keep from going broke. I kill them, sell their clubs and so on, pick up their food, and just hope I get ahead at the end of the day. It sucks when we sneak by them . . . waste of a fight I am actually looking for.

- I have a pocket watch, but it would be easier if the time was just displayed. I don't like having to check the time manually.

- FOR THE LOVE OF LORD BRITISH PLEASE MOVE! I actually got boxed into a corner next to a table by two NPCs and after 5 minutes of holding down "PASS" I gave up and re-started the game. And yes, I tried using "Push." They "Won't Budge!"

- Attacking foes on the diagonal? Amazing.

- Can't move on the diagonal? Sigh.

- Chests block movement? Sigh. Why I need to loot them on the combat screen is also beyond me.

- I still remember, roughly, where everything is in Britannia. But the graphics make it really hard for me to see impassable mountains vs. passable rough, and where secret doors are, and so on. I wonder if there is a patch or color swap out there?

- Overall, so far so good. I picked up Jaana, so it's me, Shamino, Iolo, and Jaana the wizard. Iolo's spouse is probably out there somewhere, she was in VI if I recall correctly.

- I like that there is an loyal opposition fighting to bring Lord British back. And that I don't really need to convince them I'm on their side with silly quests. At least so far. Being the Avatar (even if I need to re-up my karma) and having loyal companions helps.

- Good game based on what I see so far. I guess once I've done enough grinding to not feel broke and about to die I'll head out and see what's waiting for me in the bigger cities.