A Look At Classic RPGs in 1Up's Essential 50
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Although they're not even half done, the article takes a thorough look at classics like Zork, Rogue, Dragon's Lair, King's Quest, Gauntlet, Dragon Warrior, and Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, making it a worthy read for anyone interested in learning more about the origin of video games. Here's a snip from their Ultima IV section:
Garriott's earliest Ultima games had been rather inconsistent, from his amateurish freshman effort to the wildly overambitious Ultima II (which included travel across both time and space). Ultima III: Exodus managed to reign in the excesses of its immediate predecessor while refining the quest structure into something more focused and challenging. But even though Exodus was easily one of the best games of its day, with an intricate character-creation system and a complex "Moongate" mechanism that revealed hidden portals based on the phases of the world's twin moon, Ultima IV truly brought Garriott's creation into its own. The unprecedented sophistication of Ultima IV didn't merely redefine the series -- it revolutioned the RPG genre altogether.
What made Ultima IV so unique? For starters, there was a new and unique objective built into the game. Though it began with a fairly standard prologue as Lord British lamented the great crisis facing his kingdom, the ultimate challenge was a far cry from the usual RPG goal. Rather than seeking a great treasure or facing down a malevolent evil oppressing the world, the Avatar's quest was of a more spiritual nature: to better himself and become an uplifting inspiration for the people of Britannia, whose hearts had grown weary and jaded.
