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A quick look at a classic game.
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Read the The Elder Scrolls: Arena – A Complete Retrospective essay here: />
Sources:
OpenTESArena: a
Arena mods: a
The Wayward Realms: /
Most footage has been edited to fit a 16:9 ratio for a better viewing experience. The game is best played in its original 4:3 ratio.
Sections
Part 1 – The Making of Arena
Analysis Intro 0:00
Early Bethesda 1:10
The Original Idea 4:23
A Team Based RPG 14:46
Cancelled Features 19:20
Art & Marketing 22:25
When was Arena released 29:36
Bethesda never changes 37:09
Critical Reviews 43:04
Part 2 – The Gameplay of Arena
Character Creation 50:17
Dungeon Crawling 1:10:00
Difficulty & Combat 1:23:50
Thievery 1:38:13
Magic & Spell Maker 1:44:01
Part 3 – The World of Arena
Living in the World of Arena 1:51:52
The Wilderness 1:53:09
The Cities 2:01:15
NPCS 2:16:38
The Bestiary 2:18:54
World Conclusion 2:27:06
Side Quests Intro 2:29:00
Types of Quests 2:32:02
Artefact Quests 2:38:50
Critique of the Quest System 2:48:12
Ambience 2:50:21
Part 4 – The Story and Lore of Arena
Part 4 introduction 2:56:11
The Last Minute Story 2:57:31
Lore Differences 2:59:50
Our Role and Goal 3:05:41
The Main Characters 3:09:26
Setting the Stage 3:14:18
Why Split the Staff 3:19:55
Assembling the Staff 3:21:30
Facing Tharn 3:56:25
The Ending 4:00:52
Story Critique 4:04:21
Part 5 – The Age of Arena
Part 5 intro 4:07:44
Mods 4:09:10
Graphics & Sounds 4:14:21
Arena’s Legacy 4:17:25
Analysis Conclusion 4:20:40
Outro 4:22:28
“I started at Bethesda right as Arena came out, and when I first played it I was thinking — sweet — this is a really nice dungeon-hack game. The game starts you in a dungeon where you spend your first few levels. And then I got out into the wilderness and I was like, “You have to be kidding me. I can go anywhere? Do anything? This. Rules.” I came across a river, walked along it, found a boat, sailed it to a small island where I found a crypt, went in, killed skeletons, and found a great magic item. It was that single small experience that hooked me.”
Todd Howard, 2004
The first Elder Scrolls, a game forgotten to time by many. With Daggerfall having a second wind in the last couple of years, finding new fans amongst those who joined the series at a later point – Is it time for the first game to have its chance at redemption?
Over the next few hours, I will be trying to answer that very question by deconstructing and analysing everything this game has to offer, from its tumultuous development to its gargantuan game world.
This is the Complete Retrospective and Analysis of The Elder Scrolls One: Arena.
This Elder Scrolls analysis series is inspired by PatricianTV.
Thanks to I Finished A Video Game and Once Lost Games for their incredible support.
#elderscrolls #arena #jwlar