Play Ultima : Runes of Virtue Online

Game Overview

Ultima: Runes of Virtue is one of those Game Boy RPGs that feels bigger than it has any right to be. You pick from four classic Ultima characters—Iolo the bard was my go-to, though Mariah’s magic comes in handy later—and dive into eight dungeons, each themed around a twisted version of the series’ virtues. (Honesty’s dungeon? Full of liars and traps, naturally.)

The Black Knight’s stolen the runes, so you’re basically dungeon-hopping to kick his minions around and take them back. It’s simpler than the main Ultima games, but there’s something satisfying about the bite-sized puzzles and combat. And yeah, you’ll bump into weirdos like Dr. Cat and Chuckles if you’ve played the others—nice little nods for fans.

Fair warning: the difficulty spikes hard in later levels. You’ll want to hoard those healing items.