In the end, the Avatar casts Armageddon on himself and the Guardian, fusing their energies together and creating a new life form of energy, saving Britannia for a final time. The Avatar returns for the last time to prevent this disaster and destroy the Guardian once and for all. At the same time, the columns are also drawing the Moons toward Britannia, which will end all life on it. The Guardian has created eight huge columns, which have ripped Britannia apart and have begun to corrupt the virtues of the people, leading them to act contrary to their beliefs. It was, in short, an extreme disappointment for long time fans.
While many elements of the previous Ultima games were brought back, many details of the continuity were also ignored, wrongly interpreted or simply retconned which lead to disappointed fans accusing the development team to have had little experience with previous Ultima games. The game also faced some criticism for its simple story and poor voice acting. Also, while the game's graphics and music were praised, many other aspects were harshly criticized by some fans of the series, such as the lack of a party and the inclusion of action gameplay elements.
It was released incomplete and buggy, requiring patches to function correctly. Ultima IX is one of the most controversial of all the Ultimas released.
