Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
| Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar | |
|---|---|
Cover art by Denis Loubet | |
| Developer(s) | Origin Systems |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Richard Garriott |
| Artist(s) | Denis Loubet Patricia Hunter Marsha Meuse |
| Writer(s) | Richard Garriott Roe Adams |
| Composer(s) | Kenneth W. Arnold |
| Series | Ultima |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM Towns, FM-7, MSX2, Master System, NES, PC-88, PC-98, X1, X68000 |
| Release | September 16, 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, first released in 1985 for the Apple II, is the fourth in the series of Ultima role-playing video games. It is the first in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy, shifting the series from the hack and slash, dungeon crawl gameplay of its "Age of Darkness" predecessors towards an ethically nuanced, story-driven approach. Ultima IV has a much larger game world than its predecessors, with an overworld map sixteen times the size of Ultima III and puzzle-filled dungeon rooms to explore. Ultima IV further advances the franchise with dialog improvements, new means of travel and exploration, and world interactivity.
In 1996 Computer Gaming World named Ultima IV as #2 on its Best Games of All Time list for IBM PC compatibles. Designer Richard Garriott considers this game to be among his favorites from the Ultima series.
Ultima IV was followed by the release of Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny in 1988.