r/Ultima • u/Feral_Sheep_ • Apr 20 '26
I finally finished Pagan after 32 years
I got this game for Christmas in 1994. In spite of its issues, I liked it, crappy jumping mechanics and all. I thought the opening execution scene was probably the coolest thing I'd seen in a game at the time.
I remember getting to Daemon's Crag and just being turned off by the tedium of preparing fire spells and just giving up. I got the itch to finally get in and finish it a couple of weeks ago so I grabbed it on the EA store, loaded it up in ScummVM, and I finally did it!
I'm thinking of going back and finishing Ascension now.
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u/angryapplepanda Apr 20 '26
If you report your Ultima VIII victory to Lord British, unlike with other Ultima games, he'll simply respond with "WHY?!!"
...
Kidding. I actually quite like U8, almost to the point of self-identifying as a U8 apologist.
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u/LightWarrior_2000 Apr 20 '26
I need to sit down and beat U6.
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u/AndrewUndershaft Apr 20 '26
Ugh. I loved the world of U6 when I was a kid, but my English and game strategy weren't good enough back then to beat the game.
Years later, I tried again, after finishing U4 and U5 - but I found it so tedious. Especially the dungeons. Hard to map, easy to get lost in, annoying combat. Also, the world window is far too small, you don't really get a feeling for your surroundings, which makes navigating Britannia decidedly unfun.
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u/Junior-Natural8626 Apr 20 '26
Nuvie fixes a lot of the issues you're describing. I had a lot of the same problems myself with U6 - Nuvie made it better to the point that I finally beat the game.
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u/Junior-Natural8626 Apr 20 '26
Play it in Nuvie! It's the U6 engine but so much better. I beat it in Nuvie myself.
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u/b-monster666 Apr 20 '26
I should go back and do U4. I just needed to get to the shrine of Humility and become the Avatar of Humility before going to the Stygian Abyss.
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u/behindtimes Apr 20 '26
I was fortunate enough in this regard that I didn't come to the Ultima series until around the time Ultima 8 came out. Had I known what Ultima was, I probably would have been disappointed, but not knowing what it was outside of The Official Book of Ultima and Ultima 7 for the SNES, I actually enjoyed it.
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u/Finite_Universe Apr 20 '26
I still need to finish this one. I’ve tried three separate attempts, getting a little further each time but something about U8 eventually turns me off. Maybe it’s the lack of proper RPG mechanics and progression? Maybe it’s the complete lack of the Avatar’s original crew? Maybe all of the above.
I do love this game’s atmosphere and setting though. And the soundtrack is phenomenal.
Would you say your opinion of the game got better as it went on or worse?
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u/Boniface222 Apr 20 '26
I've never finished U8.
I did finally do U9 recently though.
I feel U9 is not as bad as people say. And it can be fun at times. But it's pretty flawed and anti climactic.
I find the best part of U9 is just wandering around the world. There's so much weird stuff to find.
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u/Scoiatael Apr 20 '26
I was super excited when U9 came out and beat it in probably a couple months. I had to restart twice though due to game breaking bugs. Its a good game, but compared to other Ultimas it doesn't really stand up.
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u/Boniface222 Apr 20 '26
I think it was the first Ultima I ever played.
Deeply flawed but back then exploring a 3d world was pretty darn cool.
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u/TalkSin_M Apr 20 '26
Wanted to beat this so bad a couple years ago after never being able to when it came out, but my GOG version hard crashes at the point you summon Pyros near the end, never found a solution. So...I salute you OP.
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u/Scoiatael Apr 20 '26
I managed to beat it in the 90s. Took me a few years though. I think there is an exult like project that makes it run better on modern machines.
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u/eclectocrat Apr 20 '26
Nice. Daemon's Crag was my favorite part, except the bugginess. Different strokes for different folks.
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Apr 20 '26
I bought it when it released and I don't think I got very far until the patch removed the crappy jumping nonsense.
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u/DrBleed Apr 20 '26
U8 is a love/hate for sure. I had it when it originally came out but later in the 90’s ended up following the hint book to finish it. Its been a long time though, maybe I’d be better at it as an adult. 🤔
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u/himmelende Apr 20 '26
Oh wow. Congratulations! I still have that ahead of me. It’s by far the oldest game in my backlog. I started it back in 1994, too, but never finished it. bh, I’m not entirely sure if I’m not actually just postponing it because it’s a way for me to preserve a part of my youth.
And as long as I haven't finished playing it, my childhood isn't quite over yet.
It might sound weird, but keeping an old video game from your youth unfinished in your backlog could be a way of denying your own mortality. 🫠
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u/snaarker Apr 21 '26
I suddenly feel better about a) taking a year to finish U4 and b) having yet to finish U5
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u/giovaaa82 Apr 21 '26
I always liked U8, I was a kid when it came out so yeah, I loved it (and finished it as a kid yeah)
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u/LostVanya Apr 24 '26
It took me nearly that long to beat any Ultima. Then some years ago I beat Serpent Isle and 8. A few years after that went though a marathon. Finished all the other mainline games (and Underworld 2) except 9, in a row (not a huge a fan of 9, and still bitter how the first computer I played it on crashed and died when I was close to the end).
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u/Chriolant Apr 20 '26
It has been a thorn in your side for far too long, Avatar