Ultima VII has quite possibly the most fully-featured debugging tool ever, and you don't need to download an external program or even modify the game in any way to access it. All you need to do is start the game with the command line paramater "abcd<ALT-255>" (where <ALT-255> is a special character created by holding ALT and pressing 255 on the numeric keypad. It looks like a blank space, but isn't.)
This video shows off the debug mode, as well as some of the more interesting hidden elements in Ultima VII.
Ultima VI has a similar debug menu as well, though it's not quite as impressive as this one...
There is also a third hidden entrance to the cheat zone, located just outside the Gargoyles' house in Britain.
Set a chest at the foot of the tree and step onto it and you'll be there.
And for a complete overview of the teleporters in the cheat room, check this link.
We're off to the Isle of the Avatar to confront Britannia's would-be invader.
And the "bad" ending for those curious:
The big underlying message of Ultima VII
Rather than a lesson about virtue being its own reward, or the self-defeating nature of virtue as law, or the futility of racism and being blinded to it by faith, Ultima VII has a far simpler message: Electronic Arts is pure evil.
No really, let's take a look at the major plot elements of the game.
Britannia is threatened by an entity called the Guardian, known as a "destroyer of worlds" (as highlighted in this game and later entries). This stands contrary to Origin's slogan of "we create worlds."
Several murders in the game were carried out, at least in part, by Elizabeth and Abraham (E and A). One of their victims was Inamo the gargoyle, whose name means "Create Love" in Gargish. So in essence, EA kills love.
But the real kicker are the Guardian's three constructs which he utilizes to wreak havoc on Britannia: The Cube, the Sphere and the Tetrahedron. Sound familiar?
Bingo.
Ironically EA bought out Origin before the game was completed and apparently approved the game for release despite its underlying message. Though they did have a degree of petty revenge later, as we'll see in Ultima VIII. And of course there's Ultima IX, which is revenge against an entire franchise and fan base at its bloodiest...
Mysteries A few odds and ends I've never figured out.
Is there a key that opens the locked gate in the jeweler's shop in Britain? Lockpicks won't open it, and Sean the jeweler doesn't have it either on his person or in his house...
Does the key in Gregor's house in Minoc unlock anything? If so, what?
Does the key in the western room of Serpent's Hold (under a pile of clothes in the corner) unlock anything?
Is there any butter in the game? You can sometimes spawn it with the Create Food spell, but I don't recall ever finding any of it placed in the game world...
Port Information
The SNES version of Ultima 7 is perhaps the most notoriously butchered "port" in the entire series. Cutting Ultima VII down from a 20 megabyte DOS game to a mere 1 MB cartridge meant nearly all of the dialog was trimmed, the graphics and music were greatly simplified, the game world was greatly scaled down (albeit with more dungeons added) and the gameplay was reworked into a solo Zelda-styled adventure game rather than a party-driven RPG. As per Ultima 6, it also underwent heavy censorship due to Nintendo's "family friendly" policies at the time, resulting in many aspects being changed or cut entirely (enemies instantly vanish when killed and the numerous murders throughout the game are changed to kidnappings, for example). The end result is a dreadfully mediocre game that bears only a faint resemblance to the original...
If you want to see me attempt to play it, I posted a video here.
We take down the Cube and uncover a boatload of evidence in Buccaneer's den, as well as a very important key.
Just one more sidequest to go.
Two old pirates in Buccaneer's Den named Blacktooth and Mole have fallen out in recent years, but have come to miss one another's company. However, you can talk to them and tell each other what the other said, and they'll patch up their differences.
The noteworthy thing about this quest is that you can "complete" it as many times as you wish by selecting the proper dialog option, getting ten experience points each time. So if you're up for a couple hours of clicking the same option over and over again, you can max out your entire party's level without fighting a single monster. Not a very efficient way of going about things, but it's on the table...
Oh, and what became of Sullivan, the Avatar's impostor?
He's locked up in the catacombs of Buccaneer's Den, having gotten on the Fellowship's bad side. (Take the north path to find him).
Alagner's apprentice Anton is here too. He got caught collecting evidence against the Fellowship...
You can free both of them if you wish (the troll outside has both cell keys), but you don't really gain anything from doing so.
We finally manage to put a sizable dent in the Guardian's war engine. But at a cost...
And for our off-camera goodies this time:
You can find another Magebane sword in the ruins of Stonegate, but it's a bit tricky to get there. Travel along the path to Minoc through the swamp until the road turns right. Continue going up and you'll see a series of wooden planks going to the left across a narrow muddy path. Follow those a short way in and you'll find the ruins, and Magebane within them.
Moonglow has a few sidequests for us to tackle. Might as well, right?
There is a group of three farmers in town - Cubolt, Tolemac and Morz. Cubolt is suspicious of the Fellowship and wants you to talk Tolemac into leaving the fellowship (and Morz into not joining). So talk to all three of them (easiest during the morning hours when they're all working the field).
Tolemac refuses to leave (and will refuse to speak to you again after you bring it up), but Morz will agree not to (just as long as you don't offend him by mentioning his stutter). That's all there is to say about that.
(This earns you 10 experience)
Speak to Brion about his telescope and his orrery, and about his collection of crystals. He'll mention that he can create a portable orrery viewer for you, but he'll need a special crystal to do it. Talk to Addom (usually found in the pub) and he'll just happen to have such a crystal. Buy it from him for 20 gold, then take it to Brion and he'll make the viewer for you.
The alignment is just a rough measure of how close you are to the end of the game, since the Guardian plans to come through on the day of the alignment. It's a bit pointless, really, but it's a sidequest nonetheless.
Speak to Phearcy the bartender and he'll tell you some gossip about Zelda. Talk to Zelda at the Lycaeum to find out that she is attracted to Brion. Then talk to Brion, who will admit that he has no feelings for Zelda.
His brother Nelson (also at the Lycaeum) does, however, so you can report that to Zelda as well and she'll agree to give him a chance. Return to the pub and talk to Phearcy to get some experience and a small amount of food (five pieces of jerky and five bottles of beer).
The third and final entry in what has come to be known as Quintet's "Resurrection Trilogy" and the only one that did not get a North American release. However, it was translated to English and got a limited release in Europe, and as a result that version of the game is now sought by collectors and quite expensive. As I don't really have the funding to spend over $150 on a single game, though, I'll be playing this one emulated.
