Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash

Last updated: January 17, 2026

Overview

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash is an exceptionally rare dungeon-crawling adventure game released in 1983 exclusively for the Commodore VIC-20¹². Developed by Keith Zabalaoui and published by Sierra On-Line, the game holds a unique and controversial place in gaming history as an Ultima-branded title that was created without the knowledge or involvement of series creator Richard Garriott (Lord British)²³. Originally intended to be part of Sierra’s SierraVenture series of games, the title was marketed as “A real-time, fantastic adventure” in its sole advertisement in Compute! magazine¹³.

The game has achieved legendary status among collectors not for its gameplay quality, which has been widely criticized, but for its extreme rarity¹²⁴. It is often referred to as the “HOLY GRAIL!” among Commodore VIC-20 collectors.⁴ With approximately only 3,000 units manufactured, complete copies have sold for thousands of dollars on eBay, making it one of the most sought-after collectibles in vintage gaming¹³. The game’s obscurity was so complete that Sierra On-Line itself denied the game ever existed until Zabalaoui personally confirmed its completion and retail distribution¹³.

Sierra’s skepticism about the game’s commercial viability proved well-founded, as they only manufactured the minimum number of copies required to meet contractual obligations¹. The combination of a declining VIC-20 market and the requirement for an expensive memory expansion cartridge severely limited the game’s potential audience¹. Despite bearing the Ultima name, the game has very little connection to the other entries in the celebrated RPG series²⁵.

Game Info

Developer: Sierra On-Line¹ Designer: Keith Zabalaoui¹³ Publisher: Sierra On-Line¹² Engine: VIC-BASIC with assembly language routines¹ Platforms: VIC-20¹²³⁶⁷ Release Year: 1983 Series: Ultima Protagonist: Unnamed Prisoner Sierra Lineage: SierraVenture

Story Summary

The premise of Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash centers on the player character who has been imprisoned within the depths of Mt. Drash by malevolent creatures known as “garrintrots”¹³. The player’s sole objective is to escape from the treacherous dungeons that lie within the mountain¹³. The name “Mt. Drash” itself carries significance within Ultima lore, as it is named after one of the dungeons featured in Ultima I².

Interestingly, the name “garrintrots” may have been derived from Richard Garriott’s own name, representing a playful—if unauthorized—connection to the series creator³. However, beyond this nomenclature and the mountain’s name, the game shares virtually no narrative or thematic elements with the mainline Ultima series².

The setting takes place entirely within the dungeon depths of Mt. Drash, offering no connection to Sosaria or any of the established locations, characters, or lore of the Ultima universe²³. The cover artwork, which depicts a castle presumably meant to represent Mt. Drash, is actually a detail taken from the lesser-known half of the Ultima II box art, further emphasizing the game’s tenuous relationship with the main series³.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash utilizes keyboard-based controls for all player input². The game employs a hybrid perspective system that combines first-person dungeon exploration with top-down combat views². The gameplay is described as real-time, requiring players to make decisions and react to threats as they encounter them rather than in a turn-based fashion¹.

The game features an unusual copy protection system in which the ‘Run/Stop’ and ‘Restore’ keys are disabled, preventing players from easily interrupting or resetting the game during play³. This served as a rudimentary anti-piracy measure for the cassette-based software.

Structure and Progression

The game is structured as a dungeon escape, with players navigating through the levels of Mt. Drash while avoiding or fighting the garrintrots that have imprisoned them¹³. Players must collect gems throughout the dungeons, though the game’s interface provides poor feedback about whether items have been successfully collected².

• Dungeon Navigation: Players explore labyrinthine corridors in first-person view²
• Combat Encounters: Battles occur in a top-down perspective when monsters are encountered²
• Gem Collection: Items must be gathered for progression, though collection is poorly communicated²

Puzzles and Mechanics

The core gameplay loop involves navigating the dungeon’s maze-like structure while engaging in real-time combat with the garrintrots¹³. The game utilizes the VIC-20’s standard set of graphical characters to render its environments and creatures¹. Sound is provided through the 4-voice capabilities of the MOS Technology VIC video chip¹.

The 3D first-person view has been criticized as being “nearly useless” since it fails to display monsters or gems, forcing players to rely primarily on the top-down combat view for meaningful gameplay information². The lack of visual feedback for item collection compounds the difficulty of understanding one’s progress through the game².

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Computer Gaming World reviewed the game in 1983, notably praising its unique graphics and musical score³. However, the publication did not provide a specific numerical score in its assessment. The game received only a single advertisement in Compute! magazine, marketing it as “A real-time, fantastic adventure”¹³.

The title was listed in the Sierra On-Line Consumer Price List for the First Quarter of 1984 at a retail price of $19.95 with stock number 40245202¹. Despite this official listing, the game’s minimal marketing presence and the declining VIC-20 market ensured extremely limited commercial exposure.

Modern Assessment

Modern retrospective reviews have been overwhelmingly negative, with the game valued primarily for its rarity rather than its gameplay merits. The MobyGames community has rated the game 2.4 out of 5 based on 6 ratings and 1 review².

One particularly damning modern review from user Pix stated: “This is one of the single worst games I’ve ever played”². The reviewer further elaborated: “Without the Ultima brand on it, this game would be justly long forgotten”². They concluded: “It’s got Ultima in the title so I had to play it. There is a reason this title is so rare though - no one wanted to buy it in the first place”².

Aggregate Scores:

• MobyGames: 2.4/5 (6 ratings, 1 review)²

Development

Origins

The game was originally conceived and developed by Keith Zabalaoui, one of Richard Garriott’s friends, in Coarsegold, California for Sierra On-Line in 1983¹³. Sierra initially planned to publish the game as part of their SierraVenture series of adventure games³. The Ultima branding was applied to the game without Lord British’s knowledge or approval, creating what would become one of the series’ most controversial entries²³.

Sierra harbored significant skepticism about the game’s commercial prospects from the outset¹. The VIC-20 market was already in decline by 1983, and the game’s requirement for an 8K or 16K RAM memory expansion cartridge further limited its potential customer base¹. This combination of factors led Sierra to manufacture only the minimum number of copies necessary to fulfill their contractual obligations—approximately 3,000 units¹³.

Production

Development took place using VIC-BASIC as the primary programming language, supplemented by assembly language routines for performance-critical sections¹. The game was designed to run on the Commodore VIC-20 with expanded memory, utilizing the platform’s standard graphical character set for visuals and its 4-voice sound chip for audio¹.

Development Credits:¹³

• Designer/Programmer: Keith Zabalaoui
• Publisher: Sierra On-Line, Inc.

Technical Achievements

The game attempted to create a hybrid perspective system combining first-person dungeon exploration with top-down combat views, an ambitious technical goal for the limited VIC-20 hardware². Computer Gaming World praised the game’s “unique graphics and musical score” in its 1983 coverage, suggesting that the audiovisual presentation achieved some merit within the constraints of the platform³.

The 4-voice sound capabilities of the MOS Technology VIC video chip were utilized for the game’s soundtrack, which received positive notice despite the overall negative reception of the gameplay itself¹³.

Technical Specifications

Cassette Version:¹²

• Media: Cassette tape
• Memory Required: 8K or 16K RAM expansion cartridge
• Input: Keyboard only
• Players: 1 Player
• Perspective: 1st-person / Top-down hybrid
• Graphics: VIC-20 standard character set
• Audio: 4-voice MOS Technology VIC chip

Cut Content

No documented cut content has been identified in available sources. The game appears to have been completed and shipped in its intended form, despite Sierra’s limited enthusiasm for the project¹³.

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
1.0	1983	VIC-20	Initial and only official release123
Unofficial Conversion	2003	Various	Fan-made conversion for preservation purposes2

Technical Issues

The game suffers from significant design flaws that hamper playability². The first-person 3D view is described as “nearly useless” because it fails to display monsters or gems, critical gameplay elements². Additionally, the game provides no feedback when collecting gems, leaving players uncertain whether they have successfully picked up items or not².

The copy protection system that disables the ‘Run/Stop’ and ‘Restore’ keys could be considered a usability issue, as it prevented players from using standard VIC-20 system functions during gameplay³.

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• The name “garrintrots” may have been derived from Richard Garriott’s name, creating a subtle wordplay connection to the Ultima series creator³
• The castle depicted on the game’s cover, presumably meant to represent Mt. Drash, is actually artwork taken from the lesser-known half of the Ultima II box art³
• Mt. Drash shares its name with one of the dungeons featured in the original Ultima I²
• The Ultima branding was applied without Lord British’s knowledge, making this an unauthorized use of the franchise name²³
• One persistent rumor claimed that Sierra buried remaining stock at the foot of a mountain, similar to the infamous Atari video game burial¹
• A retailer near Vancouver, B.C. reportedly dumped unsold software over a cliff, possibly including copies of Mt. Drash¹
• Sierra officially denied the game ever existed until Zabalaoui personally confirmed its completion and distribution¹³

Voice Cast

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash does not feature voice acting, as was standard for games of this era and platform.

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

Approximately 3,000 units of Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash were manufactured, representing only the minimum quantity Sierra needed to meet their contractual requirements¹³. The game’s commercial performance was dismal, with poor sales resulting from the declining VIC-20 market, the expensive memory expansion requirement, and minimal marketing support consisting of only a single Compute! magazine advertisement¹³.

The game was listed in Sierra’s First Quarter 1984 Consumer Price List at $19.95, but this official acknowledgment did little to boost sales¹. Ironically, the game’s commercial failure has transformed it into an extremely valuable collectible, with complete copies commanding thousands of dollars from collectors seeking to own one of gaming’s rarest titles¹⁸⁹.

Collections

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash has never been included in any official compilation or re-release. Its status as an unauthorized use of the Ultima brand, combined with its poor reputation and Sierra’s reluctance to acknowledge its existence, has kept it absent from the numerous Ultima collections that have been released over the decades²³.

Fan Projects

In 2003, an unofficial conversion of the game was created by fans seeking to preserve this obscure piece of gaming history². More recently, a Commodore 64 conversion has been developed, bringing this forgotten Ultima title to a new platform and making it accessible to a wider audience of retro computing enthusiasts.¹⁰ These conversions allow the game to be played on modern systems and have helped ensure that this rare title remains accessible for study and historical documentation, even as original cassette copies become increasingly scarce and expensive.

Related Publications

• Sierra On-Line Consumer Price List (Q1 1984): Listed the game at $19.95, stock number 40245202¹
• Compute! Magazine Advertisement: The sole advertisement describing it as “A real-time, fantastic adventure”¹³

No official hint books, strategy guides, or novelizations were produced for the game.

Critical Perspective

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash occupies a peculiar and instructive position in gaming history. It serves as a cautionary tale about brand licensing and the potential consequences of attaching a prestigious name to an unrelated product²³. The decision to apply the Ultima brand without Richard Garriott’s knowledge or approval resulted in a product that satisfied neither Ultima fans seeking a genuine series experience nor general consumers looking for quality VIC-20 software².

The game’s historical significance lies not in its gameplay contributions—which have been universally criticized—but in its status as a collector’s item and a curious footnote in the Ultima franchise’s otherwise distinguished history¹². As one reviewer succinctly observed, “Without the Ultima brand on it, this game would be justly long forgotten”². Instead, the combination of extreme rarity, controversial origins, and the enduring popularity of the Ultima series has ensured that Escape from Mt. Drash remains a subject of fascination for collectors and gaming historians alike, commanding prices that far exceed what Sierra ever hoped to earn from its original $19.95 retail release¹².

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Not currently available on any official digital distribution platform

Download / Preservation

• MobyGames - Database entry and screenshots
• 2003 unofficial conversion available through various abandonware preservation sites²

Manuals & Extras

• Original documentation is extremely rare due to limited production run

Series Continuity

Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash occupies an unusual position within the Ultima franchise. While it bears the Ultima name and references Mt. Drash (a dungeon from Ultima I), the game was developed without the involvement or approval of series creator Richard Garriott²³. It shares virtually no gameplay mechanics, story elements, or thematic content with the mainline Ultima series². The game is typically considered a non-canonical entry or spin-off rather than a true series installment.

The only concrete connections to the broader Ultima universe are the Mt. Drash name borrowed from Ultima I and the possible derivation of “garrintrots” from Garriott’s name²³. The game’s cover art was even repurposed from Ultima II promotional materials³.

Note: Ultima III: Exodus was not published by Sierra On-Line and is therefore not included in this archive. Ultima II and Escape from Mt. Drash are the only Ultima titles published by Sierra.

• Related: 1982 - Ultima II - The Revenge of the Enchantress

References

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – release date, developer, publisher, technical specifications, sales data, trivia, development history, advertising information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³

2. MobyGames – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – platforms, publisher, technical specs, player ratings, user reviews, trivia, gameplay issues, 2003 conversion ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³

3. Ultima Codex Wiki – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – development history, designer credits, Computer Gaming World review, sales figures, trivia about garrintrots and cover art, copy protection details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸

4. The Digital Antiquarian – The Legend of Escape from Mt. Drash – detailed history, collector information, auction records ↩ ↩²

5. Ultima Fandom Wiki – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – series context, gameplay description ↩

6. MyAbandonware – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – platform information, screenshots, download availability ↩

7. GameFAQs – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – game database entry, VIC-20 platform listing ↩

8. Giant Bomb – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – game database entry, collector information, development background ↩

9. IGDB – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – game database entry, platform information ↩

10. The Oasis BBS – Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash – C64 conversion, preservation efforts ↩