Posted December 15, 2016
Currently playing the NES version of Ultima 4. I should point out that, while the SMS version is mostly faithful to computer versions, the NES version is not.
What I like about the NES version:
* No need to worry about food
* Don't need to mix spells in advance (but, unfortunately, still need the reagents)
* Can actually buy Mandrake Root, if you have the money (but not Nightshade, which is called Fungus)
* Combat has less RNG (attacks usually hit and do consistent damage)
* Combat is more explicit; the game tells you when an enemy is casting a spell and how much damage your attacks are doing
* In dungeon rooms, once you kill all the enemies, the game switches to overworld mode
* The game limits your party size to 4, and can be beaten without having to recruit everyone (in fact, you *have* to solo the final dungeon, though that dungeon is much easier to compensate)
* (The changes to combat and spells make me more likely to use magic in combat, making the game more strategically interesting)
What I don't like about the NES version:
* Dungeons are simplified
* Dungeon rooms are simplified, and some have been replaced with copies of other rooms
* In combat, the first option is "Auto", which doesn't always use ranged attacks when it should, and it also sometimes wastes your reagents on Missile spells
* Money is a bit harder to get; dungeon rooms have fewer chests and the trick of selling mystic weapons/armor isn't an option
* Dialog seems to be a translation of the Japanese translation, and is therefore quite poor in comparison to the original English text.
* Bard can't use the Magic Wand, for some reason.
* Main character's gender is determined by class, which you don't get until after the initial question sequence (while you have to name your character first). Also, the game uses male pronouns to refer to your character, even if she is female.
* Why did they replace Julia with a man named Julius, anyway?
What I like about the NES version:
* No need to worry about food
* Don't need to mix spells in advance (but, unfortunately, still need the reagents)
* Can actually buy Mandrake Root, if you have the money (but not Nightshade, which is called Fungus)
* Combat has less RNG (attacks usually hit and do consistent damage)
* Combat is more explicit; the game tells you when an enemy is casting a spell and how much damage your attacks are doing
* In dungeon rooms, once you kill all the enemies, the game switches to overworld mode
* The game limits your party size to 4, and can be beaten without having to recruit everyone (in fact, you *have* to solo the final dungeon, though that dungeon is much easier to compensate)
* (The changes to combat and spells make me more likely to use magic in combat, making the game more strategically interesting)
What I don't like about the NES version:
* Dungeons are simplified
* Dungeon rooms are simplified, and some have been replaced with copies of other rooms
* In combat, the first option is "Auto", which doesn't always use ranged attacks when it should, and it also sometimes wastes your reagents on Missile spells
* Money is a bit harder to get; dungeon rooms have fewer chests and the trick of selling mystic weapons/armor isn't an option
* Dialog seems to be a translation of the Japanese translation, and is therefore quite poor in comparison to the original English text.
* Bard can't use the Magic Wand, for some reason.
* Main character's gender is determined by class, which you don't get until after the initial question sequence (while you have to name your character first). Also, the game uses male pronouns to refer to your character, even if she is female.
* Why did they replace Julia with a man named Julius, anyway?