Ultima IX: Ascension

Ultima IX: Ascension closed out one of the longest and most influential RPG series in history in 1999, making the transition to a fully three-dimensional world. The player once again takes on the role of the Avatar and returns to Britannia, which is gripped by the influence of an ancient enemy and giant columns that have corrupted the lands tied to the series' virtues. Progress is organized around a journey between individual regions, purifying shrines and solving local problems, while the game combines exploration, simple real-time combat, and the classic item and inventory handling the series was always proud of.

Technically it was a very ambitious project: a seamless open world with no loading screens between areas, a day-night cycle, weather, and fully three-dimensional cities were extraordinarily demanding for 1999. This is precisely what became its main weakness, since the game required a powerful computer with a 3D accelerator on release and still suffered from performance drops and bugs. Visually, though, it offered regions that looked picturesque and inviting to explore, and the orchestral music ranks among the best the series ever had. Voiced dialogue and the ability to search houses, pick up items, and fiddle with small details kept the spirit of the older entries alive even in a new coat.

Contemporary reception was mixed. Some players and reviewers criticized the technical state, the simplifications compared to previous entries, and a story treatment that did not always respect the rules of the world, while other voices praised the atmosphere and the boldness of translating such a vast franchise into three dimensions. The series effectively ended with this entry, and the game became a symbol of an entire era's transition from two-dimensional worlds to three-dimensional ones. Today it is a title mainly for fans and genre historians: with patches and modern fixes it runs more stably than it once did, offering one last look at the Britannia the Ultima series built over almost two decades.