Busy busy busy the last week or so, but
I’m finally back and we’re almost done with Ultima Underworld. We recently left
off with me having swept through the mages’ college in the Abyss, amassing all
eight talismans of Cabirus, and trudging down to Level 7. What dangers awaited
me? Boy howdy, it sure was a lot.
Curveball
Level 7 did not start well when I noticed
my mana, represented by the blue vial, drained itself down to nothing immediately
after exiting the stairwell. This was obviously part Tyball’s devious plot and
made it apparent I was going to have to solve the entire area without access to
any magic. Luckily, I had only been using magic to heal myself and generate
food so the loss of this ability did not have much of an impact. I can imagine
it being a HUGE problem for players who had focused only on magic and had not
put any skill points into weapons since this disadvantage comes along with no
warning. I would say this is questionable game design; much like giving players
of Deus Ex: Human Revolution the option of being completely passive and then
throwing them into an unavoidable boss fight.
Exploring the level turned out to be just
as much of a hassle as not having access to magic. I emerged from the stairs in
a grey room with several exits, but most of them were obstructed either by
sheer cliffs, locked doors, or just dead ends. I spoke briefly with an escaping
prisoner on his way upstairs who told me that the only way to access these
areas was with a talisman of Tyball’s army. This turned out to not be exactly
true as I could also be jerks to the soldiers and they would open the gates to
attack me. Unfortunately, this tactic carries the disadvantage that doors may
randomly close and lock themselves leaving me stranded. Learning this, I made
it a priority to seek the talisman.
The
only series of unlocked doors led me to a mine that had been abandoned by slave
workers because of a gazer I easily dispatched. I found an amulet, maybe
belonging to a dead guard, that I could use to access every part of level 7
opening up more possibilities. The entire area was basically a fortress with
check points, encampments, and mines being tended to by slaves of Tyball. After
gaining access to the mines to the northwest, I entered a prison where I was
trapped by the troll guard in a small transfer room. In order to escape, I had
to bribe him to release me. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I
didn’t have any extra money on me. The prison contained some helpful prisoners
and a few locked doors, but nothing of immediate interest. Unlocking an escape
tunnel, I worked my way back to the entrance through a molten cavern filled
with fire elementals which are, no doubt, the toughest creatures in the game.
Even at level 15, they could still kill me with several fireballs which I used
to my advantage by respawning back at the entrance to the level.
This
route also led to one of several quick diversions down to three isolated parts
of level 8 including: a key cheekily hidden behind a skull, an abandoned mine
containing ‘orbstone’ a wizard told me could be used to restore magic to level
7, and a treasure trove guarded by an imp and several golems that I will
discuss later. I immediately took the orbstone and key to open most of the
remaining doors in the level.
The
key brought me to a lava pit containing what looks like a jumping puzzle. A
nearby map indicated the solution was actually much simpler as a teleportation
square brought me to the locked door at the top off the cliff. Entering the
door, I found myself at the entrance to a deadly maze that will cause instant
death if the incorrect path is taken. “How can we know the right path?” you
ask. Well, aside from extensive trial and error, inscriptions and hints around
the level refer to a crown that can be used to reveal the way. This brings me
back to the treasure trove I had found before. The stockpile contains several
crowns, all except one of which have a ruby in the middle. The obvious choice
for the one piece we are allowed to take according to the imp’s instructions is
the crown with the white gem. This is the Crown of Maze Navigation that can be
worn to reveal the golden path to victory.
Game of Death
After
following the long, circuitous path, I found myself abruptly face to face with
the evil mage Tyball who instantly started frying me with electric bolts and
fireballs. I was able to back him into a corner of the arena to prevent him
from casting spells and wailed on him with the Sword of Justice until he went
down. Even though it sounds easy, I only had a sliver of HP left. Afterward, I
was given a troubling speech:
Thinking
quickly, I took the keys on Tyball’s corpse and returned to the prison to
access the doors that were still locked. Each of these contained a prisoner
willing to help me find one piece of the three part key to access the sealed
room where the Slasher was held. One simply gave me a key, another drew a map
on the back of a picture of a guy named Tom, and the last simply left me with
the instructions to deliver the password Folanae to Illomo at the mages’
college.
Using
the provided key, I unlocked a door at the far northwest of level 7 to ascend
through three floors of monsters finding the first part of the key at the top.
I returned to level 5 to deliver the picture of Tom to the mourning mage Judy
who shed a single tear that turned into the second part of the key. The last
part of the key was very interesting. After delivering the phrase ‘Folanae’ to
Illomo, he urged me to check the library for more information. At the library,
I found a book titled ‘Folanae Fanlo’ which Illomo told me could be utilized at
shrines. Speaking the word fanlo at the shrine yielded the final part of the
key which I combined with the rest to complete my access to the Slasher of
Veils. But how would I defeat him? Resting gave me one final vision from
Garamon in which he told me his brother, Tyball, had killed him in a
disagreement and left his bones unburied on level 8. If I could bury his bones
properly, Garamon would help me think of a way to defeat the demon and save
Britania once again.
Packing
my things carefully, I set off for level 8 and the final part of Ultima
Underworld. I was almost done.
What’s next?
Sorry
about the lack of analysis, but, aside from a few missteps, the game is
mostly the same solid design throughout all eight floors. I hope to provide a
short diary of what I did to complete each level, but it’s beginning to
resemble a walkthrough. Hopefully I can scrape together some stuff for my final
impressions.
As
for now, I am trying to complete Dark Souls again and hope to finish some other
games before I play the next one for the blog which I have already decided on.
I won’t reveal it yet, but I am looking forward to this independently developed
action game a lot. I also may try to finish Dishonored in the mean time since
my wife bought it for Christmas and I’ve still only played thirty minutes of
it. Anyway, join me next time for the conclusion of Ultima Underworld!
--Backlog
Killer