Ultima VII: The Black Gate Retrospective | Peak of the Golden Age
Following the lousy performance of two Ultima spinoff titles, 1991 had been a lean year for Origin Systems, which had stayed afloat thanks to the success of Wing Commander. With Ultima Underworld and Ultima VII set to release within a month of each other, 1992 was going to be the year of Ultima's redemption.
With Underworld, Blue Sky Productions had skillfully executed on a lofty concept, and acted as a pioneering force in the burgeoning world of 3D games. How could Ultima VII's all-too-familiar 2D Britannia compete?
This is the story of The Black Gate: the difficulty and outrageous ambition behind its creation, its many strengths (and many missteps), and its indelible legacy.
Thanks to Lazarus De Lis for creating the thumbnail for this video. Lazarus can be found here:
https://x.com/LazarusDeLis
Thanks to the following people for lending their voices to this video (in order of appearance):
@Tehsnakerer (Lasher the Unicorn)
@IFinishedAVideoGame (Shamino)
@dungeonchill (Smith the Horse)
@MysticBGaming (Teregus)
LINKS:
/ majuular
/ majuular
/ majuular
/ @majuularcade (2nd channel)
This is the 9th video in my Ultima Retrospective series. Watching earlier parts isn't necessary to enjoy this video, but it is recommended. Here's a series playlist:
• Ultima Retrospective
Music used in this video (with timestamps):
https://pastebin.com/LqDDDBYL
Running list of sources used in the Ultima Retrospective:
https://pastebin.com/Nri8p0jy
00:00 - Betting It All on Ultima
8:30 - The Black Gate Appears
15:12 - Crisis in Trinsic
23:39 - Rule, Britannia
33:43 - Introducing the Fellowship
39:54 - Dungeons & Combat
51:55 - Compatriots & Changes
57:06 - The Avatar/Player Relationship
1:05:24 - Side Quests, Social Unrests
1:11:12 - The Joy of Exploration
1:19:48 - Clockwork Britannia
1:31:20 - Searching for Wisps
1:36:53 - Player Responsibilities
1:41:34 - Skara Brae
1:48:59 - The Literary Ultima
1:54:05 - The Guardian
2:04:48 - The Generator Hunt Begins
2:07:20 - Presentation
2:17:58 - The Generator Hunt Continues
2:23:45 - The Forge of Virtue
2:37:06 - Player Freedom & Limitations
2:42:54 - Avatar Isle
2:49:51 - Conclusion
2:55:59 - The Reception of Ultima VII
3:02:46 - The SNES Port & Revisited
3:07:46 - What Now?
3:09:27 - Credits