Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle

Did You Know?

• Unlike the four previous Ultimas, companions in Serpent Isle do not take issue with theft or murder; only witnesses outside the party matter.
• A clue-book titled Balancing the Scales was published for the game.
• The game was re-released in 2012 on GOG.com with support for Windows and macOS via DOSBox.

Plot

The Lands of Danger and Despair, a region from Ultima I, vanished after that game and became Serpent Isle, separated from Sosaria. The original inhabitants, the Ophidians, had a serpent-centered culture that polarized into Order and Chaos, leading to a war that destroyed their civilization. Order won by destroying the Chaos Serpent, but this upset the natural balance, causing the universe to unravel. Later, humans who left Sosaria voluntarily or were exiled resettled Serpent Isle, calling it New Sosaria. Many referred to Lord British as Beast British and held a low opinion of him. Unlike Britannia's eight virtue-based cities, Serpent Isle has three city-states with warped versions of Truth, Love, and Courage: Moonshade, where mages rule and seek power; Fawn, which champions beauty over love; and Monitor, a warrior culture rife with feuds and betrayal.

The Silver Seed expansion

The Silver Seed expansion adds a story arc where the party visits a subterranean keep in the ancient Ophidian civilization during their war. The Avatar receives an amulet from the Xenkan Monks on Monk Isle, and using it at a Serpent Gate begins the subquest. Powerful magic items such as a keyring, a ring of unlimited reagents, a magic axe, and an enchanted belt can be found. The expansion was not properly finished due to a rushed release by Electronic Arts; its story does not properly conclude and barely connects to the main Serpent Isle plot. It concerns acquiring and planting a magical silver seed to maintain balance. If completed after the Banes are released, Karnax tells the Avatar that those killed by the Banes will be resurrected once Balance is restored.

Items included in the box

Serpent Isle and its expansion originally came with cloth maps and in-universe manuals, but no trinket. Ultima VII: Complete Edition included all items, while The Complete Ultima VII CD replaced cloth maps with paper maps. Most other compilations included electronic documentation. The box contained a cloth map of Serpent Isle and the book Beyond the Serpent Pillars, plus a Silver Seed Play Guide pamphlet.

Reception

Computer Gaming World's Scorpia in 1993 called Serpent Isle much more complex than The Black Gate but with major problems, criticizing the inventory system, manual feeding, slow disk access, and several puzzles. She concluded it was a good story gone wrong with poorly designed puzzles. Cnet stated it is often considered the best Ultima ever, offering a huge quest and fascinating characters. The Free Lance-Star called it an improvement technologically, visually, and in story. PC Magazine said enhanced sound and speed made it the best Ultima yet. Scorpia recommended The Silver Seed only to those playing or replaying Serpent Isle, noting the storyline did not amount to much and that planting the seed in the past did not change the present. She reported improvements like the keyring and lockpicking but warned of new bugs. In 1994, PC Gamer US named Serpent Isle the 13th best computer game ever, calling it the pinnacle of the game cycle. PC Gamer UK ranked it and The Black Gate collectively the 39th best, praising its enormous size and complex sub-plots.