Akalabeth & Ultima I Retrospective | The First Age of Darkness

From the crowded University of Illinois computer labs to the visionaries at home on their Apple II computers, the mid to late 1970's were a formative time for the RPG video game genre. In this video, we'll take a look at one such focal point: The life of Richard Garriott, and the creation of his "Ultima" series - a work of imagination whose influence can still be easily felt today.
Thanks to:
vilsonpistori (Table & Chair models)
Klaas Nienhuis (Bicycle model)
maypassamon (Pizza box model)
Richard Garriott (For making Ultima)
Ultima Codex, Matt Barton, Andrea Contato (For cataloguing so much valuable history)
/ majuular
Music Used:
Queen of the Harpies - Uncle Willy (Original Video Music)
Giorgio Moroder - Chase (Cover by Rones)
Shadowgate 64 OST - Lakmir's Tower
Garriott's Theme - Uncle Willy (Original Video Music)
Fable OST - Summer Fields
Metal Gear Solid 2 OST - VR Intermission
Evil Islands OST - Kania
Kingdom Come Deliverance OST - Town Atmosphere (Various)
Chrono Cross OST - Earth Dragon Isle
Runescape 2007 OST - Baroque
Runescape 2007 OST - Book of Spells
Fate OST - Town (Various)
Starfox 64 OST - Menu
Panzer Dragoon Saga OST - Rest
Walking Away - Uncle Willy (Original Video Music)
00:00 - Introduction
2:12 - The Beginning of the CRPG
5:00 - Enter Lord British
11:00 - Akalabeth
24:40 - Everything Changes
28:16 - Ultima
46:37 - The Triumph of Ultima
50:20 - Credits

[@danielgehring7437]

The fact that Garriott was originally a frustrated astronaut explains _so much_ about the earliest Ultima games.

[@alexandreturcotte6411]

Nobody: Dupre in Ultima 2: [propose you a duck on Jupiter] ...I f*cking love the lore and sprite art of those games, would be REALLY glad to play them one day.

[@MotiviqueStudio]

Holy shit... It REALLY does...

[@kellinwinslow1988]

Of course he finally did follow in his dad's footsteps and go into space which pleased his dad I'm sure.

[@gadellomagnollo1810]

It was probably helped that early D&D games were a lot less miserly with sci-fi elements than modern ones. Lots of weird shit going on in Blackmoor.

[@greyish7212]

@@gadellomagnollo1810 Dragonriders of Pern also existed which is a science fantasy book series

[@HammerspaceCreature]

Making a game in under nine months by yourself, making $150,000 and being like 'this is bullshit I need to get a real job' is absolutely wild.

[@NirielWinx]

It's crazy. As a teen, I was writing games in BASIC on my Amstrad for my friends. But even then, my games were way behind professional games of the era. Still, my wireless mazes, text adventures, tile-based platformers and space sims were half decent. But kids grabbing Godot now are compared to AAA billion-dollar games. It's hard for them. Heck, it's hard for me. The expectations are so high that I don't even have fun writing simple games in PyGame.

[@brotherbeans1589]

i cannot wait to watch this video like 15 times over and over again

[@agni-kai132]

Oh honestly mood. Majular is def one of my go-tos for comfortable voice to listen too.

[@RayGuitard]

Yes

[@ogrodeden]

Me too

[@t.j.8388]

Same

[@matthewkisner5386]

*raises hand*

[@WhoMightThis1Be]

Some nerd making his dream RPG with his mom drawing the little artbook is very nice and wholesome

[@elegantcat1496]

Damn, I remember watching Spoony's retrospectives of Ultima. That feels like an age ago, thank you for the time warp.

[@AL-lh2ht]

Spoony one was so good. He really was the best of that era of video essayists, and basically pioneered this genre for people like mandilore gaming and civie11. Hell his videos hold up pretty well even today.

[@danieladamczyk4024]

That was age ago!😭

[@Littleandr0idman]

I never watched Spoony in his hay day. I only saw all the drama surrounding him then I watched all his ultima videos and they fantastic. It’s interesting to look at it as a sort of man outside looking in

[@amelialonelyfart8848]

It almost feels like Spoony is as synonymous with the Ultima brand nowdays as British himself. You can't discuss the games without mentioning him in some part. I myself got into western RPGs (and tabletops as an extension) through his coverage of the Ultima games. I don't think it's a stretch to say that at least 1/4th the amount of people who learned of the Ultima games post-Ascension Trilogy probably did so because of him.

[@BetaAceX]

I feel nostalgic for this video purely because of spoony

[@Slop_Dogg]

Strangely despite the series being extremely influential & me being someone that loves in-depth videos about games, the only person I’ve ever watched talk at length about Ultima is Spoony like 10+ years ago. It’s always seemed like Ultima is just… too old, like the people that really appreciated it just aren’t around games anymore. At 43 years old, even Spoony was just a baby when Ultima I released. Maybe it’s just highly impenetrable for later generations of gamers. I’ve honestly got no clue, but I’m interested to see what you say!

[@Majuular]

I think you're onto something there. There is something sort of obtuse about these games (even in their simplicity), which makes sense considering the circumstances under which they were made. It was one young guy taking for granted that people would spend many long hours at their computers, dying in-game and restarting until they understood. The ebbs & flows of the early games are strange. You can't really write an effective walkthrough for Akalabeth, or even Ultima to an extent, because you just win by... playing. It's sort of a silent-movie era for games. The best way to develop an appreciation for it is growing up with it. Short of that, you kind of have to just "put up with it" until you can immerse yourself in the time when it was made. Understandably, the average adult gamer, with such limited free time in the day, doesn't want to "put up" with a game until they appreciate it - they want to play something and enjoy themselves. That may part of the reason why the appreciation for early Ultima remains more of a distant tip-of-the-cap, rather than something we have 800,000 videos on already.

[@brynnplant]

I'm 26 and these sorts of games speak to my soul. My dad was really into programming in the 90s, and he taught me QuickBasic as a kid - so I used to spend hours on our Windows 98 making fantasy rpg text adventures. Ultima is so obviously born from that exact same creative desire - so I totally connect with it, on a deep level, it's just the logical outcome of a kid who loves roleplaying fantasy having access to a programming language. So I completely appreciate this kind of game, the passion in them is so clear, it's messy and imperfect but it is a true labor of love and I think we don't get to see that as much with the way games are produced right now.

[@jackburton1455]

@@brynnplant your comment gives me hope for the future youngling. 👍

[@SkyBlueFox1]

It was mentioned in the replies as well, but speaking from experience, impenetrability is absolutely the biggest hurdle facing the Ultima games - though I'd argue the earlier games (3/4/5) are actually a little easier to digest than the bigger, fancier ones (like 6 and 7)! A big part of the issue is that the controls are, for all intents and purposes, a completely different beast. Moving around with the arrow keys is fine, and using the text parser is intuitive enough, but it's everything else that really takes a lot of time to figure out. The GOG releases actively provide you with a PDF of a reference card, just so you can easily check your hotkeys, and if that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does. Wandering aimlessly around the map is nice, but actually trying to navigate and accomplish things? That's where the trouble begins. The fascinating thing to me is how the exploration aspect is actually *more* manageable in 4 and 5, compared to later games. Those games keep world-maps and town-maps separate, so going in and out of areas is relatively distinct. 6/7 use a more... "Morrowind"-esqe system, where the entire overworld and its towns are accessible with no interruptions. Buuuut that also means the camera is more zoomed-in, and in general it just felt harder to play for me. It's weird.

[@napoleonfeanor]

The later games, especially 7 were much more accessible and popular. I was born in the late 80s and when my brother got a computer in 96, we also got copies of 7 and 8. They had quite an amount of floppy disks.

[@dbztothemax9041]

As an Okie, anytime Oklahoma comes up in a not entirely negative light I get a little warm feeling inside.

[@NerevarineKing]

It's a good state for meth addicts :)

[@edward.constantine]

Same here, bro. I'm from Tulsa.

[@andrewmarull5288]

Same here my dude.

[@Arrestedrabbit]

Jesus how are you keeping such a good upload schedule? Incredible work man

[@Majuular]

Thank you! I try to be very efficient with my workload. It's also very satisfying work for me, so I don't have an aversion to writing, recording & editing with a lot of my free time (much to my girlfriend's chagrin).

[@aliasv6964]

Seriously though... you are taking care of yourself I hope!

[@lesserspottedmugwump.363]

The history of the Might and Magic games would make an interesting video.

[@rallion1545]

@@lesserspottedmugwump.363 And what mods have achieved over the years. Its still awe infront of the fact that they can be completely interconnected.

[@mr.bulldops7692]

​@@Majuularwhen you start having "editing dates", you've passed the point of no return.

[@ThugShakers4Christ]

The first thing I think of when I hear Ultima is "Betrayal!"

[@patrick888881]

I was introduced to the Ultima series through Spoony, whose own childhood with technology reflected my own. It is so wonderful to see a more indepth retrospective that Noah probaby didn't have the time or resources for, so thank you!

[@simondaniel4028]

That whole series is a pretty substantive review in terms of minutes and content, with additional effort for unrelated comedy bits (for better or worse) and a truly personal revelation at the end of the series. Someone throwing up an XX minute longer vid than another one from a decade ago when the entire landscape was different hardly constitutes as "didn't have time or resources for". But, I get that KZbin comments about Spoony have to be negative. It's like part of the sign up process or some shit. You did your part.

[@spademagna2672]

​@@simondaniel4028Where was any negativity towards spoony in that comment? Get the stick out of your ass man

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@simondaniel4028spooky one, without a single bit of exaggeration, was the best of that era of video essayists. He was like mandilore gaming or civvi11 before they existed. Literally the majority of his videos hold up today.

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@simondaniel4028real talk. Spoony one’s controversy’s was not big of a deal. He basically burn out and crashed hard due to a obsessive hatedom he has that still harassing him today. It’s a shame. If he didn’t crash that hard he would likely of benefited from the TTRPG renaissance happening now and succeed through patron.

[@patrick888881]

@@simondaniel4028 I didn't mean it as a slight to Spoony or his series. He gave an excellent overview and I still enjoy them to this day, along with his other series of reviews and wish nothing but the best of him. Noah is a happy cornerstone in my memories of youtube and I am happy to see him branching out with the Phantasmagoria actors. I hope that clears up some misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what I had typed.

[@DaftSheep]

3 videos in a span of a month! Nice! Also, I remember Spoony the Experiment covering the Ultima series, so it's nearly nostalgic going into this!

[@xDerickJamesx]

yeah also thinking about Spoony ✨

[@AndrewBluett]

This was a wonderfully measured look at the foundations of the genre. Definitely a bit removed from your normal style, but when discussing the games themselves your little asides and commentary brought it in line with the rest of your content. I hope this video does well, because I'm very intrigued to hear you discuss the history of this series in an equally grounded way. You have a knack for it.

[@Majuular]

Thanks so much Andrew. I'm always a little nervous making something outside of my wheelhouse, but I feel like it's helping me become a better writer (and a more thorough researcher).

[@craftycatgirl3939]

You've got a way of telling the stories of games and the development behind them that breathe some real life into their history and the experiences you have with them, and seeing you branch out into something that'll be this sort of long-form multi-video series retrospective is extremely exciting. This is a good one, and I'm pumped to see where it goes!

[@Majuular]

Thank you so much. I'm excited too, it's very fulfilling to shine a light on gaming history (for myself AND others)

[@DeadwingDork]

I just watched Spoony's retrospective from back in the day, so this was a pleasant thing to find this morning. Fits nicely into my CRPG binge of late. You make these ancient games seem fairly intriguing, when it's always felt like they were too frustrating and archaic to ever bother with. Even the Spoony videos gave that impression, as funny as they could be. But this video put into perspective how cool some of that stuff actually was, like the ladder spell to go between floors and circumvent puzzles, or the weird space section with entirely different controls. It's no easy feat for me to look at a video about a game from the early 80s and wish modern releases had some of those features. Where's the extended space sim Freelancer segment in Baldur's Gate 3, you hacks???

[@patknight4319]

I just want you to know how much I appreciate this video. Spoony's Ultima reviews are a classic, but they're hard to watch these days. I would kill for you to someday go through them all. Instant fan of the channel.

[@Majuular]

Thanks Pat, I'm working on part 2 of this Ultima series as we speak!

[@Blarglesnarfe]

So excited for Ultima 7-9 and the Underworld Duology!!

[@Pasakoye]

9's music was put into UO eventually. Great town themes.

[@Khardankov]

Me too - Ultima Underworld is one of my top 5 PC games of all time :D

[@Jammet]

BETRAYAL! ;3

[@GeorgGreat_GameReviews]

Dude! What a cool retrospective. As a fellow Ultima nerd it always makes me happy to see the series get the recognition it deserves. Great job!

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I can't hear "Adventure awaits!" without my Joel Haver memories flooding back.

[@DemonBlanka]

Oh this is wonderful! I've never had experience with Ultima or Akalabeth in particular but I've played my fair share of text based adventures and MUDs even as a teen in the 2000s and there's something really magical about that experience. When the systems are so primitive the imagination absolutely sores, you really do get that tabletop style immersion. It's also so cool to see how the first person dungeon crawling translated across the world to games like Megami Tensei almost 1 for 1. (Also this comment section is awesome right now, so cool to see so many people talking about such old, games)

[@safebox36]

Well here's two games I did not expect to see anytime soon. Saving this for my lunch break tomorrow.

[@panelsofDOOM]

It's amazing to me that you could create a deep dive of this length on these games. The first page of your script probably doubles the word count of both games combined. As a rapidly aging gamer, I'm very excited.

[@Majuular]

Hahaha, Akalabeth & Ultima 1 are indeed games-of-few-words. I have a feeling that will change quickly in this series. Thanks for watching!

[@PlipFibonichi]

Always a good day when Majuular uploads. I also wanted to tell you that because of your King's Field video I ended up finally sitting down and playing through Dark Souls 2 for the first time. I hated it the first time I played it, but just like you said in the video, I went back to it and it was one of my favorite gaming moments this year. Thanks Maj.

[@Majuular]

Thank you so much for the support Plip, I really appreciate it 😄 Sometimes it helps to have a certain lens or angle to respect something in a way you didn't previously (sometimes begrudgingly). I was never the biggest fan of the first Metal Gear Solid, but coming back to it recently, I had so much fun playing it that I immediately started again after the credits rolled. Time does strange things to our tastes & preferences. Anyway, thanks again!

[@llab3903]

@@Majuularmetal gear solid was my very first video game. It took me a very long time but it definitely made a mark on me in both the arts and personally

[@cybercop0083]

I played DS2 during the great quarantine of 2020. Saying, that it was one your gaming highlights of 2023 must be high praise beyond measure.

[@damearstor2120]

If only I could share the same sentiment when it comes to DS2. I still hate it with a passion no matter how many times I try to give it a genuine chance and with different viewpoints/mindset.

[@thesidneychan]

​@@damearstor2120maybe in another decade. I've had experiences where I replayed old favourites as a kid and started hating it as an adult.

[@TheTogoRojo]

Not the comedic showyness of the spony retrospective but defibitely the best and most complete review of this great game.

[@s0urp0wer5]

I honestly prefer this series. Spoony has good takes but the skits etc get really irritating

[@TheTogoRojo]

@@s0urp0wer5 yeah the bits from the early 00s get old but that series did come with a Richard Gariot Interview I hope fans of this channel check out. Both great for different reasons really.

[@MysticBGaming]

You can always count on learning something new every Majuular video.

[@Funko777]

Let there be Crab

[@TheChronozoan]

This was a delight to watch, and i even learned something new about Garriot. He's always been a celebrity in my eyes, and yet somehow, I missed that he's from my home state.

[@EisenKreutzer]

The influence of Dungeons & Dragons on video games and pop culture as a whole cannot be overstated.

[@miersdelika5016]

Probably sounds a bit weird but your videos feel like the home I never had somehow. Thanks for putting in the effort! 👍

[@Majuular]

That is a very gratifying comment to receive. Thank you!

[@billyflanks13]

I gotta agree. The comfy levels are pretty high.

[@AWearyExile]

I'm in love with the gremlins. Peak character design.

[@Mugthief]

I have to drop everything to watch new Majuular video.

[@thatsafactjacksampson]

This was a really, REALLY well-done documentary! I like your sense of humor a lot. A+!

[@hamburgers140]

I'm pretty critical when a video starts talking about some of the great ancient classics of my youth, but this is definitely one of the best I've watched. Garriott's cultural contributions to gaming are incalculable.

[@Kris451]

First Spoony, then Finntrovert, and now Maj? Will the Ultima retrospectives ever stop? No... Will I keep watching them? Yes...

[@Epicname333]

Same here, what a treat. You missed the Voidbrand retrospective lol

[@AdriftForWeeks]

Nice to hear you referencing Matt Barton. I own his book "Dungeons & Desktops", great read! And great video! Also nice to see you doing a very thorough take on an Ultima retrospective. I enjoyed Spoony in the day but those vids didn't age that well in my opinion. Can't wait to see what's next.

[@parvanaturalia]

Man, Ultima 7 was my childhood. Amazing video! I would absolutely love to see a retrospective on all the Ultima games and their development, even if the later games (from 5 onwards, iirc) aren't exactly groundbreaking in all respects anymore as the earlier ones might have been.

[@muticere]

This video was a nostalgia trip, but not for these games specifically, but for listening to Spoony talk about his experiences with this series. Nice to hear your more detailed accounting now.

[@Awoken_Remmuz]

Same, just seeing the thumbnail and title made memories of Noah's coverage of the Ultima franchise flood back into my mind.

[@muticere]

@@Awoken_Remmuz it was pretty cool that it culminated with him getting to hang out with Richard Garriott. It was a nice, wholesome capstone to the video series. I don’t think those videos are up anymore. The review videos are mostly up, but him going to Lord British’s estate I think are long gone.

[@artworkofvanwilliamson7694]

I don't pop into the comments as often as I should, but I just had to say this was a killer video. Especially the origin story and seeing the influence of tabletop on the creator. It was kind of heartwarming! I was introduced to dnd later than I would've liked and hearing about someone else's experiences fueling their creativity just reminded me of my dnd group and how grateful I am to get to have that shared interactive fantasy. Seriously, great work on the video, and looking forward to the next installments!

[@BeanMonsterr]

Wow, what in the world? Very recently I have... 1) Run out of Majuular vids and thought "Hope he updates soon." 2) Been wistfully thinking about the early Ultima games and considering a revisit. Then this vid drops? Crazy.

[@reyelkhaert]

The intro is so satisfying to listen to, i have to play the first 10 or so seconds multiple times before i can actually start the video. I will be watching this entire video multiple times, just like the King's field video.

[@Monticello24]

I’m currently on my first play through of Baldur’s Gate 3 - seeing how far CRPGs have come from Akalabeth to BG3 is WILD. Great and informative video. I’ve been binging all your content over the last couple of weeks and love it! Thanks!

[@heat_zr]

You are releasing videos too fast for me to start rewatching them because I have no new videos of yours to watch. You're filling the Running Shine shaped hole in my heart, Maju-ular.

[@Majuular]

That's very high praise, I will try to live up to that expectation 🫡 Hope you enjoyed the video!

[@yubbnubber3245]

Yesss! A new quality Ultima retrospective is upon us! For the past, I don’t know, 10 years I’ve been listening to Spoony’s over and over again. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the rest of the games in the series!

[@tronguy93]

I can’t wait for the eventual Majuular movie after the Ultima retrospective is complete! Wait I think that might have been another guy…

[@damjanmozetic]

Just stumbled onto these documentary series, and I love them. Great work Majuular! 💚

[@Neon-Sky]

I'm going to sleep so soundly to this and then listen to the bits I missed on my walk to work. Thank Mr Majuular for your hard work and consistent quality! Always look forward to these

[@Majuular]

Hope you had sweet dreams!

[@wyatthall2142]

Nothing, compares to that feeling when i find a majulaar video i forgot to watch. Keep it up fella, ive watched a lot of youtube in my time, but you sir are quickly becoming my favorite.

[@SerosNym]

I would pay a million love units for some modern attempts on Ultima-style games... my old favorite holdout of the genre Spiderweb Software has long since shifted its aesthetic and design away from those origins, and that has left a void unfilled. Edit: This is a lovely look at Ultima '0' and 1 but also a fascinating glimpse of the early days of the burgeoning CRPG genre. It's inspiring to see someone like Garriott find success by following his passion and exploring new ideas. This stuff is right up my alley, I can't wait for more!

[@s3n4]

The use of RuneScape music is so on point, always considered that MMO as a close approximation of a modern version of this kind of game.

[@Majuular]

I'm glad you think so. The games do share so much whimsical spirit with one another, seeing the fun & color in medieval fantasy.

[@Doshirrosden]

I have had a very not great day, so logging in to find a video from one of my favorite creators on a topic I’m always interested in has been just the win I needed.

[@sharmatmammoth]

Man, seeing those massive boxes of rpgs struck me with such nostalgia, I really wish to see something like that today (too bad game pricing is absolutely bonkers nowadays). I was really happy when I found my boxes of BG1, Fallout, and PS:T.

[@Songbearer]

Drooling for the inevitable Ultima Underworld coverage, absolutely ballistic content output

[@Majuular]

I'm not even on Ultima II yet and even I'M already excited about Underworld...

[@KingOfHeartsTANK]

Like i said in your stream, i find Ultima endlessly facinating as it is such a huge an obvious inspiration for many modern RPGs. I love Finak Fantasu and it's creator Sakaguchi constantly references Dragon Quest and Ultima as inspirations for his games (interesting fact: D&D and football were also inspirations for combat). It interesting to see how this series branched and influenced future games and how they evolved ideas presented in Ultima. Great video as usual Majuular. Edit: Great use of the starfox 64 stage selection music

[@born2hula325]

Holy shit. About 4 hours ago I saw Akalabeth in my GoG list and though "I wish someone I followed would make a vid on that so I don't have to play it." And here you are!

[@nifftbatuff676]

These retrospective videos give me so much joy that I forgot the shitty life I am living in this moment.

[@Noon3rs]

I’m only 18 minutes into this but I’m hoping you have plans to talk about even more Ultima. Spoony’s Retrospective is fine, but I’m jonesing for something new and different and your style is the best of those who’ve talked about Ultima. Excellent work, keep it up!

[@alexandreturcotte6411]

Majuular talking aobut Ultima?! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO! Watching Spoony's retrospective on the series (mainly the compilation version of it) was what make me greatly hyped on this series beyond knowing that it existed, was influencial, that Ultima Underworld gived birth to the Immersive Sim genre, and that the Savage Lands was an Ultima game who exists. Even if don't have enough focus (or potential pc space, I think) to buy at least some of those games, I'll be really glad to play some of them one day. Reading the Ultima Codex wiki and look at the pictures on it is a trip, ngl. I even did pixel art in a style inspired by the graphical style of the Ultima series up to 4 with a preference to Ultima 3 for the hud. Good luck on the rest of the Age of Darkness and beyond, Majuular!

[@jackdavis4657]

Would love for this to continue. Ultima has always fascinated me (I stumbled through 4 and 7) and you brought a really refreshing comprehension to it all. Cheers!

[@organMike]

What a beautiful tribute to the game I've absolutely loved destroying as a speedrunner. :D Here's to the rest of the series. Really enjoying your work.

[@DogiTheWallcrusher]

The SCA section was surprising. A friend of mine from high school got really into SCA and still fights occasionally today. I knew the name of Lord British but not in this context. Them SCA boys aren't fighting with foam swords, they're fighting with rattan sticks wrapped in foam. Those babies hurt even with layers of leather and chainmail on

[@actionvestadventure]

While i never joined the SCA, i was definitely fascinated by it. There was a park in Phoenix back when i was living in AZ there would be gatherings. But they used PVC pipes wrapped in foam for their training weaponry. Which i had fun making for camping trips heh.

[@DogiTheWallcrusher]

@@actionvestadventure His group would use PVC sometimes but those would break more often on the shields. And since they tended to be lighter than wood people would swing them harder then they realized.

[@Killamajigg]

It's that most magical majuular time!

[@ciscornBIG]

These were comfy times back then and this is going to be a comfy video right now. Thank you, Majuular.

[@theflyingpen]

Hell yeah. This hit just as I finished the Tales of Symphonia video

[@CRAETION_]

Going to watch this like 5-6 times while going to bed, slowly progressing through til the end. Thanks for your work!!

[@Clancyism]

I've watches many videos about Ultima over the years, ok maybe not that many, but this is the first where I actually learned more about the game then just the story itself. It's always a pleasure to learn with your videos.

[@Rozonkomo]

This really made me look forward to further episodes in this series. Great job trying something a little new with this one.

[@MaverickKaiser]

I always remember how insane the Ultima series can be with Spoony's retrospective way back in the day.

[@chrisbent5734]

Great! As always, the new Majuular video drops in the middle of the night for me. I'll have to watch it right now, as per usual.

[@EliseGray-rx5dl]

I just foudn this video. OMG, I am SO HAPPY to see a video talking about how mind-blowingly influential and legendary the Ultima series is to RPGs as a whole. Like yes, several hour-plus videos are absolutely what it would take to describe everything that went into that series and how many ways it advanced the genre, videogames as whole, and our ideas of fantasy.

[@MRDLT00]

*sees video pop up on KZbin home screen gets nostalgic for the ol Spoony Ultima retrospectives from the years of old

[@seaotter7927]

I haven't heard of 75% of the games Maj reviews. He's really doing God's work.

[@jazzylady2366]

Another amazing vid as always! Your retrospectives are so informative, especially for games I've never seen before.

[@Cowables]

Really loving these long videos, keep up the great work!

[@sbfh014]

My man you are on a roll with these, keep em up!

[@nickg9340]

Love your videos man, just found your channel randomly one night and hooked ever since. Keep up the good work brother

[@rockstickcomics]

Takes me back to the old days of Spoony. You've done ultima justice

[@lesbianmareep]

So excited for this! Your videos are some of my all time favorites on KZbin, keep it up!

[@daanthedoctor]

I only found your channel last week or so but you've already become one of my favorites!!

[@swempytimes]

Maj, great video. Loved hearing the story of Richard Garriott and how the themes of Ultima are all about an Ultimatum. 👏 Also, I would highly recommend looking into the story of Jim Walls, creator of Police Quest, entering Sierra and how he based the series on his life. I can imagine you doing a great video on that too. Keep it up!

[@Majuular]

I'm intrigued, I'll look into it! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@ScoobyMcBoobies]

Ultima with Majuular on a cloudy day? The perfect lazy moment.

[@ScoobyMcBoobies]

Thank you for the heart, my good man. 🙏

[@yungoldman2823]

Always an intense joy to see you pop out another absolute masterpiece, keep it up majjy

[@kirbykiller4]

Majuular your output is insane dude, but I am not complaining. Thank you for making all these vids so often :]

[@masonbritt4602]

This is the best retrospective for these games I have ever seen. I can't wait to see the next part.

[@justinjanicki6561]

Damn you really about to outdo Spoony’s legendary retrospective right out the gate

[@FenixPJ_]

Majuular's videos feels like I'm listening to a seminar of a well-respected college professor talking about his favorite subject and that subject happens to old or forgotten Role-Playing Games.

[@Kerdukie]

You're the man! Another game / series I have no connection with but feel nostalgic for it because of your great way of narrating and presenting your videos / themes 😊

[@Rakshasaka]

Absolutely in love with your retrospectives, keep up the amazing work!

[@glue7225]

Please please please don’t stop making videos like this and kings field.

[@mr.typhon7997]

Just discovered your channel last weekend, been hooked! stoked for this. thanks dood.

[@iansmith8783]

Truly ultimate video! Look forward to further adventures in the series 😊

[@Silverman160Zero]

I'm really glad your going through the Ultima series. The only other one I saw was the Spoony Experiment one, and time has not been kind to him.

[@SamuelAna4Ever]

This was a perfect documentary. Thanks so much for making it.

[@s0urp0wer5]

When he said fifty years ago and then I heard 1975. I was frozen in shock 😂

[@torinriley7569]

Damn, this video genuinely captivated me all the way through. You made 50 minutes feel like 15 with how smoothly you mixed showcase and narrative.

[@Ganjabeard5000]

Man your videos are SO RAD. Thank you!!!!

[@trustytrest]

I really appreciate all of your videos. It feels less like being told a story, and more like being shared an experience.

[@tsuju9258]

Another great Majuular video to go into the infinite rewatch playlist, good work as always

[@DirtyMike124x]

Excited for this. The darkseed video rocked!

[@ironicrown]

Just when Spoony put down his crown, a new king comes along to pick it up.

[@hoggo3789]

Love your videos Mr. Majuular. Thanks for your hard work

[@bekir51500]

Amazing work as always, can't wait for the next video !