Ultima IX: Ascension is a fantasy and sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) from the Ultima series. The game released in North America on November 23, 1999 and in Europe several months later. It is available for Microsoft Windows. It was developed by Origin Systems and published by gaming giant Electronic Arts.
The game received mixed reviews compared to the previous titles in the series. Fans and critics felt the game lacked the polish of earlier Ultima games. Since the game was meant to attract a wider audience, including people who had no knowledge of the franchise, many previous details and events were disregarded. The game was commercially unsuccessful as well, selling only 75,000 units in the U.S. within the first year.
Ultima IX: Ascension Premise
The game, like most of the series, takes place in Britannia, a land in the world of Sosaria. The evil the Avatar expelled from their body to reach their enlightenment and avatar title has taken its own form known as the Guardian. Now with the help of Lord Blackthorn, the Guardian has forced himself into Britannia.
Since the Guardian can now use his immense powers as he wishes, he creates a series of eight large columns to erupt all over the planet. These eight columns shift the balance of the eight virtues and have caused citizens to turn on each other, morals to flip, famine, plague, and other natural disasters. The columns also slowly drag the moons down until they collide with the planet and destroy everyone. It is up to the Avatar to not only cleanse each column and meditate at the Shrines of Virtues but to also stop the Guardian from spreading even more unbalance.
Unlike previous games, Britannia is a lot more linear. Players have less control on which path they can take in the game. Most of Britannia is blocked off until specific objectives are completed. And certain areas are also smaller overall, like the capital Britain which is now just a few buildings.
Ultima IX: Ascension Main Character
Players control the Avatar, also known as the Stranger from Another World, a recurring character in the Ultima series. While the games take place in Sosaria, the Avatar is from Earth. The Avatar follows a set of eight ethic guidelines called the Virtues. They are honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality, and humility. The Avatar wears a chain mail shirt, tunic with a golden Ankh symbol, and a red cape. Unfortunately unlike previous games, in Ultima IX: Ascension the Avatar is not customizable. They are a blond male with blue eyes. And in this game they are voiced by J.C. Shakespeare.
This divine warrior has no limitation on weapons or armor. They also have several options on their original class. Players can be a mage, bard, fighter, druid, tinker, paladin, ranger, or shepherd. The class is chosen by a series of questions asked at the beginning of the game that determine which Virtue players relate to more. The class you get impacts your starting stats and skills. And your stats impact your skills as well. For example, your Britannian magical ability is dependent on your intelligence stat.
Ultima IX: Ascension Series
This game is the ninth and final installment in the main Ultima series. Ultima is one of the longest running RPG series in computer gaming history. It has several spin-off series and standalones, like the Ultima Underworld series. That spin-off series is in a first-person perspective unlike the main story which is in a topdown, third-person view. If you want more of Ultima, check out the full franchise below.
Ultima Video Games
| Release Year | Title |
| 1979 | Akalabeth: World of Doom |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness |
| 1982 | Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress |
| 1983 | Ultima III: Exodus |
| 1983 | Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash |
| 1985 | Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar |
| 1988 | Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny |
| 1990 | Ultima VI: The False Prophet |
| 1990 | Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire |
| 1991 | Ultima: Runes of Virtue |
| 1991 | Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams |
| 1992 | Ultima VII: The Black Gate |
| 1992 | Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss |
| 1993 | Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds |
| 1993 | Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle |
| 1993 | Ultima: Runes of Virtue |
| 1994 | Ultima VIII: Pagan |
| 1997 | Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss |
| 1997 | Ultima Online |
| 1999 | Ultima IX: Ascension |
| 2010 | Lord of Ultima |
| 2013 | Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar |
| 2018 | Underworld Ascendant |
| 2019 | Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues |
Ultima Collections
There are also several collections that combine some of the Ultima games from the main storyline.
| Release Year | Title | Content |
| 1989 | Ultima Trilogy | The first three Ultima games were released for the Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS by Origin Systems. |
| 1992 | Ultima: The Second Trilogy | The second three Ultima games were released for Commodore 64 and DOS. |
| 1992 | Ultima I–VI Series | The first six Ultima games and published for DOS. Includes reprints of the instruction manuals and original maps. |
| 1998 | Ultima Collection | A collection of the first eight Ultima computer games for DOS and Microsoft Windows 95/98, including the expansion packs, a complete atlas of each game’s map, a PC port of Akalabeth, and a sneak preview of Ultima IX |
Other Media
The franchise has also spawned several novels and manga.
| Release Year | Title |
| 1988 | Ultima: EXODUS No Kyoufu (The Terror of EXODUS) (Manga) |
| 1988 | Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (Manga) |
| 1990 | Ultima: Magincia no Metsubou (The Fall of Magincia) (Manga) |
| 1991 | Ultima: The Maze of Schwarzschild (Manga) |
| 1991 | The Forge of Virtue (The Ultima Saga Novels) |
| 1992 | The Temper of Wisdom (The Ultima Saga Novels) |
| 2001 | Machinations (Ultima: The Technocrat War Novels) |
| 2002 | Masquerade (Ultima: The Technocrat War Novels) |
| 2002 | Maelstrom (Ultima: The Technocrat War Novels) |
Ultima IX: Ascension Cheat Codes
Ultima IX: Ascension has several cheats that let players enable god mode, change the in-game time, and more. These cheat codes require players to edit the game file before activating them. In case you are worried about messing up your game, you can be extra safe by making a backup of the file.
| Effect | Code |
| God Mode | In the game file, add alt+shift+a = toggle_avatar_invulnerable below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + A |
| Move Time Forward One Hour | In the game file, add alt+shift+b = pass_one_hour below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + B |
| Move Time Backwards One Hour | In the game file, add alt+shift+c = unpass_one_hour below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + C |
| Toggle Sunrise and Sunset | In the game file, add alt+shift+d = sunrise_sunset below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + D |
| Move Time Forward One Minute | In the game file, add alt+shift+e = pass_one_minute below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + E |
| Move Time Backwards One Minute | In the game file, add alt+shift+f = unpass_one_minute below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + F |
| Toggle the Sun | In the game file, add alt+shift+g = toggle_sun below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + G |
| Toggle the Wind | In the game file, alt+shift+h = toggle_wind below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + H |
| Toggle the Storm | In the game file, add alt+shift+i = toggle_storms below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + I |
| Make the Avatar Faster | In the game file, add alt+shift+j = toggle_avatar_fast below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + J |
| Make the Avatar Fly | In the game file, add alt+shift+k = toggle_avatar_fly below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + K |
| Recharge Mana | In the game file, add alt+shift+l = recharge_mana below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + L |
| Fill Spellbook | In the game file, add alt+shift+m = fill_spellbook below the “[Cheat Commands]” heading Then during gameplay, press Alt + Shift + M |
Additional Exploits
The game also has several exploits for players to try out.
- Invisible to Monsters: Press B to open your backpack and attack monsters. They will ignore you as long as the backpack remains open.
- Bind Spells for Free: Place the reagents and scroll for the spell you wish to bind onto the pentagram and proceed to light the candles. When the dialogue box to enter the incantation pops up, place the scroll and the reagents back into your backpack and recite the incantation.
- Cheat the Arena: Place a weapon in the arena before you fight, then you can use it in your battle.
- Infinite Magic Bags: If your backpack is full when you are thrown in prison, you will find an extra magic bag in your backpack that contains the excess items. Do this as many times as you want to gain extra magic bags.
- Loot Locked Chests: When you use the X key to examine objects, you can use it to loot locked chests. Hold X and slowly move the cursor over the seam between the two parts of the chest and you can find the chest’s contents through the small gap and pull it out.
- Loot the Guild Shop: Draw the Gringolet sword while inside the shop. Its effects cause the display cases to vanish and allow you to pick up all of the cool items.
Ultima IX: Ascension Cheat Code FAQ
Does Ultima IX: Ascension have any cheat codes?
Yes! Ultima IX: Ascension has several cheats that let players get advantages like a god mode, refilled mana, and more. The game also has several exploits that can make the game even more interesting like how to loot locked chests or get infinite magic bags.
How long does it take to beat Ultima IX: Ascension?
According to HowLongToBeat.com, if you are only focusing on the main story the game can be completed in 47 hours. Compared to even modern RPGs like Dark Souls or Borderlands 3, Ultima IX: Ascension is definitely not lacking content. And if you are a completionist looking to 100% the game, the game will take you around 130 hours to finish. For even more reference, Octopath Traveler can be 100% completed in around 106 hours.