By Joseph Walter
I came across Ultima III (sans its amazing NES port-exclusive music) on a collection of "MacHome Game Discs" for our old Mac computer. Unfortunately, the game never seemed to work past the title screen.
However, despite the constant crashes and freezes, I still managed to find myself totally immersed in the game due to the promise of its enthralling title screen, which seemingly had its own narrative (and my overflowing imagination was quick to fill in the details.)
Ultima III's title screen, which features an ill-fated dragon duel and eventual battle against overwhelmingly mighty demons captured my imagination like nothing else and made me fall deep into this mysterious and dangerous world that I could only speculate about, rather than actually play in.
Allow me to tell you the tales of legend that my childhood imagination crafted as we take a look at this phenomenal and unique title screen, and see if it contains as much magic for you as it did for me!
Here is the exact version of Ultima III from my youth (skip to :48, bypassing the drawn-out dragon bout, for the main sequence!):
There was a castle and, to its south, was a lovely port town. Towards the West were tall and proud mountains. At the foot of this grand range was a mysterious enchanted forest (with legends describing an enigmatic, magical doorway to another realm). To the East of the kingdom and port town was a large lake and, on the opposite shore, a foreboding, volcanic mountain range with an ancient, perilous cave leading deep within.
One day, the demons long-rumored to live within the dark cave emerged, and a band of brave warriors from both the Kingdom and the port town joined together to stop this threat.
They sailed across the great lake and, after a fierce battle, vanquished the demons. Their victory was short-lived, however, as a deadly Red Dragon, the master of the demons, soared forth from the mouth of the cave.
Attacking from well beyond the range of the heroes, they retreated into their ship. Before they could make their getaway, however, the ship found itself engaged with the encroaching dragon. Bursts of flame soared across the sea, searing the ship, as it retaliated with volley after volley of cannon fire.
Skillful seamanship by the crew allowed the ship to miraculously dodge a would-be fatal attack by the Red Dragon and, with luck on their side, the ship fired one final time, killing the destructive beast.
The party returned home, but before they could celebrate, a ship filled with foreign invaders landed near the castle and unleashed an army of marauders. A brave knight and wizard stood strong against this invading force and, with the help of a powerful spell, the enemies were forced to retreat.
With the defeat of the devils, dragon and invaders, it was believed that peace would finally reign in the kingdom. Alas, it turned out that the cursed, evil cave had another secret, deep within its wretched halls: a horde of skeletons.
The warriors set forth once more, and with the power of the Priest, the skeletons were repelled, retreating back into the depths of the caverns. Even as a sea serpent would not be able to stop our heroes now, as they finally returned home.
Time passed, and that hated, legendary cave of evil hid one final force of malice, a skeletal monstrosity that seemed to hail from Hell itself.
The warriors of legend did not engage this foe, but rather a knight who, using that legendary, mystical portal within the forest, teleported to the opposite shore, and slew the creature.
It was clear that something foul still awaited within that cave and, after much discussion, the kingdom finally made a decision about what needed to be done.
They sent their finest, holiest warrior through the magical gate and into the treacherous cave. Soon, the source of evil, a powerful devil, emerged, followed closely by the sacred warrior.
In a final duel to the death, the almighty warrior swung his sword and... died? Holy crap.
The malicious and cruel devil returned to his cave and, after some time, the cycle of began again..."
This title screen set my imagination ablaze. It seemed like anything was possible in this world (particularly as I had no idea what the gameplay was actually like). Its straightforward, simple, no-frills approach to graphics, (perceived) gameplay and storytelling, coupled with its at-once somber and adventurous tone helps it remain a source of inspiration to me, even to this day.
When seeking out this title screen I stumbled across the one for Ultima IV, which features its own little narrative (and some genuinely great music). Despite the lack of nostalgia, it still got my creative juices flowing, so if you liked what you saw with Ultima III, be sure to check out IV below!
If you do end up watching it, I'd be absolutely thrilled to hear what your interpretation of its story is, so be sure to let me know in the comments!