Ultima – The Ultimate Collector’s Guide

IMAG0301

Ultima – The Ultimate Collector’s Guide was written by Stephen Emond and as you might expect is a guide to all the Ultima games, books and paraphernalia every Ultima fan like myself feels a deep-seated need to own. It weighs in at a hefty 826 pages and an even heftier 1973 items. I always knew there was a lot of Ultima out there but this is going some. I thought I owned my fair share but I totalled up that I have maybe 60-70 of the items in here. That’s less than 4% and I’m writing this from a room where the walls are nearly entirely obscured by piles of games. I’m not sure if a guide like this inspires or makes a complete collection look insurmountable.

Thankfully, I’ve never aspired to a complete collection. Apart from anything else, I like being able to move around in my house too much. That doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in what is available though and this provides the perfect way to cherry pick and see what I’m missing out on. While doing so, it gives a glimpse into the history of one of gaming’s most significant series.

It’s organised by game with each release and variation getting a photo and content list. If you wanted to know what the contents of the Italian budget edition of Ultima 6 were, this is the place to look. Each of the variations of manual and media are covered separately with brief descriptions of the differences. Aside from the games, there are magazine adverts, books, soundtracks, and so on. All the games and spin offs are included, with the exception of Ultima Online which warrants its own book. UO is still covered in brief right at the end but without all the detail.

There are check lists for anyone who wants to keep track of what they need to look for. Some of the items included seem a little unfair such as unreleased games and one-off items like the Lost Vale box. Good luck to anyone trying to get hold of anything along those lines. The most interesting items for me are in the miscellaneous category. All the slight variations on games are all very well but there is no way in the world I’d attempt to collect them all. However, who could resist an Ultima 4 writing kit, or an Ultima phone card to pick out 2 from the multitude.

IMAG0302

As a contributor (purely cash rather than content), I get an added extra book containing lists of everything Origin which I’m just as interested in as the Ultima stuff. This is far briefer and doesn’t have all the photo’s unfortunately but does contain lists of near enough everything Origin that was ever put out. Apparently there was a second Wings Of Glory guide that I’ve never heard about, although I can’t find any evidence of it having searched in the usual places. It’s gone straight to the top of my wanted list. A previously missing System Shock guide is in the post.

Inevitably, no collector’s guide can be 100% complete and I would imagine that the mere act of publishing a book like this will draw new items out of the woodwork. Largely thanks to the stuff I picked up before Christmas, I’ve got some bits and pieces that aren’t in there myself. Looking at the monumental list it is hard to imagine that there could possibly be all that much missing though and this is as complete and thorough as you could wish for and then some.

Having recently discovered an interest in scouring Japanese auction sites, my main use for the book is going to be identifying all the bits and pieces that come up when I search for Ultima. Assuming I still have a job in a months time (which isn’t a foregone conclusion), I’m planning on something of a shopping spree.

Ultima – The Ultimate Collector’s Guide is a fantastic resource and every bit as collectible as all the items it describes. I can’t imagine the time that must have gone into collating everything and it’s a true labour of love. This is aimed squarely at the collector rather than the casual fan but if the number of people prepared to contribute to the project is anything to go by there are clearly a lot of us out there. It’s not the sort of book you sit down and read cover to cover, and mainly consists of lists but if you have an interest in Ultima it’s a must have.

You can pick up a copy from Amazon among other places. It gets 5 out of 5 from Warren Spector himself which can’t be bad as endorsements go.

7 thoughts on “Ultima – The Ultimate Collector’s Guide

  1. I’m planning on buying this next month (I’m almost out of money this month…). I hope amazon does send copies to Spain. I never had any problems buying TV shows DVDs,but I had problems with games in Amazon.com, and with books on amazon.jp in the past…

    I wonder, is the book just lists? or does it have other things besides lists?

    And btw, just curious, but does it mention Ultima Pack from Spain? I don’t think I have ever saw that on any list around the net. It’s a pack that was released in Spain that contains u7, u7 part 2 and u8 translated to spanish (no expansions, and no final patch or speech pack for u8).

    • You can buy it on amazon.de if that would be any better. I doubt you will have any trouble with amazon.com. They have a strange policy about not exporting games but are fine with books.

      It’s 95%+ lists. There are some historical & technical notes for each game but they only add up to a couple of pages and there isn’t much in there you won’t already be aware of. The entire U4 chapter is downloadable on ultimaaiera which should give you an idea what to expect if you’ve not already had a look.

      I can’t see your Spanish Ultima pack so it looks like it’s missing. Trying to track down every foreign version must be nearly impossible.

  2. Pingback: Pix Reviews Ultima: The Ultimate Collector’s Guide : Ultima Aiera

  3. Thanks for the review Pix! We’ll have to talk about those missing bits & pieces 😉

    Natreg, thanks for your interest 🙂 I originally planned to include more history & background, but as it was the book is the absolute maximum size that they can publish. I decided rather than to rehash things that were covered so nicely in the Official Book of Ultima (among many other places) I would focus on the things that HAVEN’T been covered.

    I haven’t heard of any problems ordering the book from Amazon.com yet but let me know if you encounter any and I’ll give you a hand. Just send me an email: cmdrfalcon@hotmail.com

    BTW, that Spanish collection IS in there – Page V42 😉

    • Not a problem. Thanks for all your efforts with the book. I’d love to see another for all of Origin’s other stuff if you ever have the inclination. Sorry about missing that Spanish compilation by the way – I was clearly looking in the wrong section. There is so much in there that I’m still finding my way around.

      Always happy to discuss Origin collectibles. If you wait long enough, I can more or less guarantee anything I own will end up on here but there is no telling when. The only definite plan I have is that I’m holding onto the Underworld 3 plot outline for my 1000th post.

  4. Pingback: » Pix Reviews Ultima: The Ultimate Collector's GuideThe Ultima Codex

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *