Ultima: The Black Gate

"Take everything good about the DOS version, throw it away, and you get this..."

The SNES port of Ultima VII: The Black Gate... wasn't really a port at all. At first this game seems quite similar to the original, however you'll soon find out otherwise after playing.
Ultima VII for DOS is one of my favorite games of all time, and the same can be said for many others. It should come as no surprise then how many people were infuriated with this SNES "port". Given a fair shake however, this game is actually a decent way to pass time.

Graphics: 5/10
For the SNES, the graphics are merely mediocre. Compared to it's DOS counterpart, they've devolved radically. People look fairly similar, but everything else looks much worse. The font they used was lacking I thought, and the character portraits just didn't do the NPCs justice.

Sounds: 5/10
Again, mediocre, and worse than the DOS version of course. Not nearly as many sounds and melodies as the DOS version had, but you'll still hear some familiar songs throughout the game.

Controls: 10/10
I found the controls to be pretty good, there wasn't a single moment were I was angry due to control lag or timing issues. Guiding the Avatar around Britannia is pretty easy in this game.

Gameplay: 5/10
First of all, if you are looking for DOS style playing, don't play this game at all - you will be so angry you'll probably end up breaking the cartridge. Seriously.
Gameplay is completely different from the usual. In the SNES version, there seems to be more emphasis on being an action/RPG which really changes strategies. What really angered me was that they wiped out SO much NPC interaction. In the DOS version you could basically do whatever you wanted to do. In the SNES version, there's no baking bread, there's no stealing from stores, there's no robbing the bank, there's no reagents (infact you learn spells automatically now), hell - there's not even a PARTY! You're alone the whole time.
I think the only reason I actually got enjoyment out of this game was because they changed everything so much, there was no way I could actually associate this game with the DOS version. The only thing that's really left is the main storyline - there aren't any side quests. They DID leave the dungeons in however, which allows for some action outside the main plot. You can always just run around killing things as well. There's still a little open-ended play left to feed your hunger.

Replayability: 3/10
There's really nothing different you can do a second time around, except for maybe having different equipment. You can't set up your own forts or base camps, so there's little variation.

To summarize, the SNES version of this game got stripped to the bare bone necessities. They could have done a much better job on this game yet they didn't. I for one am disappointed. If you want the REAL Ultima VII experience, buy the version for PC.
You might like this game though, so rent or buy? I'd say rent it, and if you like the game - buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/04