Ultima IV: NES vs SMS ~ which reigns supreme?

[courtesi96]

I know the SMS version might get knocked down a few points for control. But other than that, which one is the better version?

[Blitzwing256]

as for acuracy to the original, i'd say sms, but for overall playability on a console its the nes version hands down, the sms was (like pretty much any sms port) just a bare bones port from the original, where the nes turned the game into a console rpg, doing away with the clunky pc control and making it a wonderfull game (they did the same with exodus).

[Bojay1997]

Not to be overly critical of your premise, but neither the NES nor the SMS are capabile of doing an Ultima game the way it's meant to be played. You're much better off seeking out the Apple 2 or Commodore 64 version.

[Ze_ro]

Not to be overly critical of your premise, but neither the NES nor the SMS are capabile of doing an Ultima game the way it's meant to be played. You're much better off seeking out the Apple 2 or Commodore 64 version.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v634/marvinthemartian10/FUTURAMA/scruffy.gif

Second.

--Zero

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'll agree that joypadding one's way through Ultima IV is automatically going to give you a somewhat crippled version of the game, but having played both the NES and SMS versions, I have to give the SMS version full props. I've never liked the NES version, and expected little better from the Master System, but I was blown away - it's a much better version of the game with, for my money, much more intuitive controls. Once I got used to it, the SMS edition's menu system was very easy to navigate and got me through the game very speedily. It's as close as a console version of Ultima IV is going to get to playing it on my old Apple II.

[j_factor]

I didn't like the SMS version's tile-by-tile movement, but it's superior in every other way.

[James8BitStar]

Being someone who first cut my teeth on the PC version of Ultima IV...

Go with the SMS version. The NES version is playable but its not much of a game in its own right, certainly isn't a good port.

[Valhalla]

I'd say the SMS version, it is very, very good and a lot more than I would expect from a console version of the game. I played this version so much, navigating the menus became second nature, and I pretty much had the whole game memorized anyway, able to blast through the game in half a day of serious gaming. Though, I should mention my experience with the NES version is only limited to emulation as, as far as I know, it wasn't released in Australia, like pretty much any other NES rpg.
Also, I view Ultima IV as pretty much the best RPG ever made.

[Adol]

Clearly the SMS version win hands down.