TES I: Arena - A Complete Retrospective

The first Elder Scrolls, a game forgotten to time by many. With Daggerfall having a second wind in the last couple of years and 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?
This is the Complete Retrospective and Analysis of The Elder Scrolls One: Arena.
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Watch more retrospective analyses and reviews:
• Retrospectives
Read the full The Elder Scrolls: Arena - A Complete Retrospective essay here: docs.google.com/document/d/1b...
Sources: docs.google.com/document/d/1p...
OpenTESArena: github.com/afritz1/OpenTESArena
Arena mods: www.nexusmods.com/tesarena
The Wayward Realms: www.waywardrealms.com/
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
TES I: Arena - A Complete Retrospective
#elderscrolls #arena #jwlar

[@Jwlar]

I hope you enjoy this look back at such a pivotal game (even if they didn't know it at the time). Thanks for watching, and thank you so much for your amazing support over the last year! There is 1 (one) stutter left in the final edit, extra points goes to those who can find it ;) (totally not left in by accident 🗿)

[@vine01]

we all know it's a dungeon crawler but repetitio est mater studiorum :D great vid Jwlar thanks for all the immeasurable time and effort you invest in all these videos, thank you! love it!

[@Tanuvein]

I think I've been following you since your first Elder Scrolls video, and your content only keeps getting better! That's very impressive, considering your initial videos are already far higher quality than you'd expect from older, more established channels.

[@azeDevs]

4:03:37 (loved the vid btw)

[@Jwlar]

@@Tanuvein Thank you!

[@Makujah_]

Great work on the vid. Admittedly I'm not interested in Arena too much, but it still was a great watch/listen! 4 hours at work flew by 😄

[@thebestbuckethead]

I was doing a permadeath run at some point, and I was poisoned by some rogue. After running around the town, trying to find a cure poison potion, I remembered that I found an enchanted item, then ran to the Mage's Guild to identify it, in a last ditch effort, and once it was identified, it was a Holy Tome that cured poison.

[@emarskineel]

Awesome gaming moment

[@dustgraystone9448]

That's really cool. That's definitely a tabletop infused moment.

[@maccaswam]

Bro forgot about temples 💀

[@thebestbuckethead]

@@maccaswam Guess I did, didn't I?

[@niaure6516]

That's so awesome!

[@jeremieh5009]

I love how with the retcons taken into account it means the protagonist in arena waltzed into the red mountain, didn’t see dagoth ur or the second Numidium, grabbed an ancient artifact that assumedly not even dagoth ur himself knew about and then just left

[@sambeckettcat]

Maybe there was more than one cave in the mountain? Arena guy went into one which had the artifact, everything else was in another section, and the former collapsed sometime after and was left there ever since.

[@jeremieh5009]

@@sambeckettcat right but it’s still funny because dagoth ur had already been in the mountain long enough for it to start bearing his name, and he didn’t notice the cave nor did he notice the person going inside

[@Mephilis78]

Actually kinda cool really. I mean, it's kind of implied that Dagoth Ur was formerly dormant in some way, in morrowind. Like he was just chilling or napping lol. It does certainly seem like all the sixth house/dreamer stuff is a pretty recent development. If not dormant, then he was at least ignoring his own followers.

[@jeremieh5009]

@@EpslionBear may be

[@justinayers3589]

It could have been that Dagoth allowed the EC to grab the artifact without interfering, he saw Tharn as a competitor to his plans/the artifact had nothing to do with his plans. If I am looking to dominate the world, do I give a single shit that some guy came into my area to steal a broken piece of a staff? Got bigger things on the plate.

[@wondertownfunk6858]

Pretty neat that names from the first game persisted and developed more in other games. For instance: I love that there's Dagoth-Ur, the god, living in Dagoth-Ur, the building, which is located in Dagoth-Ur, the mountain.

[@joshjames582]

It's like when a band, song and album all share a title.

[@ElSopo]

@@joshjames582 Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)

[@carly7596]

reminds me of vegeta, son of vegeta, of planet vegeta

[@nononoohfuck]

Like Bad Company the song by Bad Company off the album Bad Company

[@Lightsign01]

Some are terrible placeholders like Elsewhere

[@edwright6994]

Love how the character creation section ends every point with 'But a mage can just use a spell for that so they can ignore it'. Wish some of this utility was brought back in the series.

[@eatmynutsarchmage4883]

;-;

[@Lilybun]

Would be cool if they brought back things you would use those utility things on as well. Pretty sure skyrim even removed the "open" spell which allowed you to bypass locks. Probably because keys are abundant and lockpicking is universally available... Roleplaying in general would be cool to bring back.

[@tylercoon1791]

@@Lilybun Anniversary Edition added it back. Fenrik’s Welcome.

[@AuxCart]

​@@Lilybun Reminds me of the time I made an aoe unlock spell in Morrowind. That was... a very effective way to aggro an entire town.

[@ironwolf56]

@@tylercoon1791 Technically vanilla launch edition had it too it was the Tower stone's ability if you were attuned to that.

[@yunaka_gaming]

Being able to skip entire dungeons through the use of Destroy Wall and Open Lock was a highlight of the game for me. Another was... losing an entire character to getting the Plague and not being able to leave a dungeon. Always carry a Potion of Cure Disease, kids. Arena was a huge surprise to me. Sure, its old and clunky, but it oozes SOUL. The dialogue, the art, the freaking RIDDLES, its such a fun game. I really want to encourage that anyone with an interest in Arena tries it. There are maps and extra resources in UESP for those who need it, but Arena is way easier to get into than it seems.

[@KopperNeoman]

Blasting through walls was a common feature in older blobbers. The Bard's Tale trilogy has a few instances where it's mandatory.

[@hitomisalazar4073]

You know with Tharn... I kind of like the story implications as is that he just wanted to sit on the throne, hookers and blackjack, and basically hedonistically live it up with what he thought he deserved. Didn't need to be some deeper plot about Dagon's constant attempts to invade Tamriel or doomsday plotline in general. In fact it's honestly kind of refreshing in retrospect. As most of the other games do lean on those a bit too much. The idea that the original villain stands out because "He's some asshole who wanted power and all the trappings of it"... and not being revealed to be part of some millennia old conspiracy and apocalyptic cult and such? Yeah. That's nice.

[@reyo6353]

I mean it's kind of more realistic? Just look at Mugabe and the Kim Jongs - not all rulers know how to rule or do so for the benefit of their people. They just want gallons of Hennessy and to wear huge diamond watches and watch while the world burns.

[@gravesidepoet5405]

People really can’t compliment something without bringing something else down can they

[@hitomisalazar4073]

@@gravesidepoet5405 No tear down intended there. Well unless you count attempts to retcon things to say Tharn was actually some long con pawn in Mehrune's Dagon's repeated attempts to destroy Tamriel. Which I feel is just unnecessary and the story works fine with him being jealous and desiring power.

[@Fullmetalnyuu1]

​@@gravesidepoet5405How was anything in that comment a takedown?

[@ahuzel]

​@@Fullmetalnyuu1" Didn't need to be some deeper plot about Dagon's constant attempts to invade Tamriel or doomsday plotline in general. In fact it's honestly kind of refreshing in retrospect. As most of the other games do lean on those a bit too much." I guess thats what he meant as a takedown. Ironic.

[@forestforthetrees7173]

I'm 35 and from DC - my dad and I actually went to the Bethesda building to pick the game up when it came out. I remember it being fairly popular in the area; I had a couple friends who played it, and we'd talk about it at school or pour over the strategy guide it came with, the Codex Scientia. I'm not really a huge Elder Scrolls fan, but I have very fond memories of Arena and Daggerfall, largely because my friends and I played them together, running out of the room shrieking when we heard scary monster sound effects. One thing we really loved to do was run around buildings and cast Passwall on walls, playing the game like it was Minecraft but 20 years earlier. Arena is only one thing, and that's a dungeon crawler. Every other element of the game exists to facilitate dungeon crawling; dungeon crawling is the only thing the game does, and in that regard it is probably the best in the series. The dungeons are huge, fun, mostly sensical, challenging. They also play somewhat differently depending on the kind of character you're using. They're not sprawling monstrosities like Daggerfall, tiny, interconnected rooms like Morrowind or linear corridors like Skyrim. They're simple, sometimes monotonous, but they offer real exploration. Later games in the series add a lot - guilds, quests, characters. It's fun to do guild quests or play dress up or do whatever in these games, but they don't fundamentally change or enhance the dungeons. So I guess, overall, Arena is my favorite game in the series. It doesn't overextend itself, it doesn't branch out into things that ultimately amount to very little, it doesn't distract you. It has dungeons, that's it, and it does them well. Oh, brief addendum. At 2:14:00, you say it doesn't matter what size room you get, but it actually does. If you're doing an escort quest and get a single bed, guys will try to break into your room and beat you up. No idea why. This idea stuck with me as a kid and made me think that hotels were some kind of lawless murder zone.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

"Arena: mostly sensical dungeon-crawler with lots to do" is actually a great nugget description that absolutely nails what would appeal to the kind of fans the genre still has, at any resolution. Also that addendum made me simultaneously laugh & want to travel back in time to give Kid You an "anti-murderer nightlight". Kid Fears are SO REAL at the time, so I can't shake the empathy even when the fear is one of those funny innocent misapprehensions of the world from a child-sized view. Some essay I read ages ago refers to gaming/games/fiction as "practicing extreme states of emotion" & your comment makes me want to find that essay again or at least reflect on it more. Your comment was meaty & thoughtful. Thanks.

[@matthew1182]

You ever been to an extended stay? Yes they're murder zones.

[@adamcatley4784]

Jesus christ man, do you still have the Codex Scientia???

[@grimace4257]

@@adamcatley4784 _the scriptures_

[@JoshSweetvale]

Nono, that's Motels. Hence the 1-bed rooms getting you whacked.

[@abelfabro807]

Im very excited for this one! I remember when I saw the Daggerfall retrospective. It had like only a few thousand views, and now its 4 million! It was nice watching your channel grow, keep it up!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you :)

[@donovanromanski]

Lol i remember that video when it came out, along with that one 12 hour long morrowind by some other guy saw both those real early

[@therandomdickhead5744]

@@donovanromanski fun to see em get some attention isn’t it? Always nice when long form analysis gets the attention it deserves

[@rubycosmo6279]

​@@shanehenson315 he's got a really good 12 hr oblivion analysis and a skyrim one as well. I highly recommend.

[@Mephilis78]

​@@shanehenson315 definitely patrician.

[@BradPrichard]

It's important to remember that at the time, the box art was so embarrassing that some of us couldn't ask our parents to buy it for us.

[@metaleggman18]

Tbf many teens couldn't get oblivion because a stupid skin texture netted it an M-rating from the ESRB.

[@Elenrai]

@@metaleggman18 Ah yes, I once had that happen with a +12 rated PC game, so effing laughable considering ESRB ratings rated the Ratchet and clank series +7

[@NinjaRunningWild]

Seriously? My parents couldn't care less.

[@tacoman736]

@@metaleggman18it would probably be M either way, it’s centered around death and violence, as well as touching on mental illness and suicide

[@jordanrock3494]

​@Tacoman 736, and aren't there hanging bodies in dungeons and spicy dialog, too?😂

[@Einejoru]

I hope this one does as well as Daggerfall retrospective did; it was brilliant and listening it during work made it not only bearable but almost pleasant. Thank you for this!

[@SebiBubble]

Man your compliments are shit

[@andrewg1210]

Once in a while, you can run into a higher-level enemy during randomly generated quests. I somehow got a rescue quest somewhere between levels 5 and 10 that required me to go to a vampire's lair. The vampire was the only enemy in the dungeon, but, obviously, that's more than enough to deal with, especially at a low level. I eventually managed to kill it by using Passwall and bob-and-weaving around the corner I made while using Fire Dart over and over. It was definitely the hardest fight I've ever had in an Elder Scrolls game

[@jacobfaro9571]

I remember gargoyles at level 3 once in Skyrim. Im curious how this compares.

[@error_macro3513]

@@jacobfaro9571 Arena is no joke, especially when you’re starting out and learning the controls

[@igotno_username1739]

Not many people can make a video essay longer than the fellowship of the ring and have people watch the whole thing. Damn good job.

[@codemonster8443]

There's like one other KZbinr called PatricianTV that has made 3 Elder Scrolls retrospectives. And (bear with me) combined they are 40 hours long...

[@theonlybilge]

MauLer is great.

[@igotno_username1739]

@codemonster8443 yeah I checked those out but somehow they're not very good. The morrowind video was ok but the skyrim video was total garbage. I find the difference between this channel and that to be that J here is talking about everything he can think of in depth, but only if it's something that adds to the whole picture. P TVs skyrim video is insufferable due to the pedantry in what and how the information which is often not important is presented. If P TV could make a video where he reads the program of Skyrim line by line for 10,000 hours he totally would. At least J man here provides a filter of "ok this is actually worth bringing up"

[@notthatjonesshow9551]

Indigo Gaming is the only other one

[@notthatjonesshow9551]

@@theonlybilge shit I always forget about Mauler I need to catch up on his stuff I have the next week off I should be able to get through one of his videos at least

[@mikedrop4421]

Oh man seeing Todd Howard in that Photon laser tag helmet hit me with so much 80's nostalgia. I had that set and played with it constantly. I almost forgot what a scuzzball he is.

[@Mephilis78]

He's not really a scuzzball. Honestly the guy willingly takes the blame for all the mistakes the studio makes, regardless if it was him, or even a completely different studio under Zenimax than the one he actually oversees. Sounds like he's looking out for his workers.

[@TooCool4You69]

He’s scuzzball for not remake Morrowind or Definition edition Morrowind.. I hate it when Skyrim has met 3 console generations.. just wow! 💀 Glad Todd decided to give oblivion a 2nd chance a Skyoblivion! ❤️💯

[@Mephilis78]

@@TooCool4You69 todd has nothing to do with Skyblivion. Also Skywind is a similar mod for Morrowind also being worked on.

[@ahuzel]

@@TooCool4You69 The day morrowind get more profit than skyrim you will get new morrowind versions. By becoming so popular the series stopped appealing to the 90's target.

[@todd2.08]

@@TooCool4You69 Todd says the reason he doesn’t remake or remaster morrowind is because the game should be experienced in the current state that it is

[@MCEnderbornGaming]

It’s funny, I remember my friend and his dad showing me Skyrim for the first time. They were in Whiterun, look up to at the Throat of the World and said you could climb the mountain if you wanted to. That the main quest even took you up this mountain in particular. Then they turned to then west, towards the mountains surrounding the Reach. “If you see it, you can explore it.” I had played Fallout 3 and New Vegas before this, but neither of them captured this feeling of…freedom? That’s not quite the right word but I can’t think of a better way to describe it

[@alicemuguet6947]

I felt this same way when my friend let me play Skyrim for the first time on their Xbox, upon finding out you could take the clothing off of NPCs.

[@SexyFace]

examsiveness, maybe. I feel like one can achieve the same feeling looking out at new vegas from goodsprings as they can seeing high hrothgar from whiterun hold

[@tilofuder5182]

"If you can see it you can explore it", when it comes to Skyrim, is probably the biggest lie in gaming. Remember that the game puts invisible walls to prevent you from going to Cyrodiil, leaving a message that says "you cannot go that way".

[@SexyFace]

@@tilofuder5182Lol it's called a border. The game isn't titled "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Cyrodiil"

[@tilofuder5182]

@@SexyFace i know, but yet I can see the other side of the road and I still can't get there. So "if you see it you can go there" is objectively false wether you like it or not

[@GNOMESARECOMINGFORYOu]

Regarding the "Placeholder Names" you mentioned as existing the Elder Scrolls to this day, I've actually been working on something of a list of where the province names have been borrowed from: Summerset Isles: As you mentioned, borrowed from Summerset, England. Valenwood: I think this one is from "valenwood trees", giant trees that people built cities within in the Dragonlance campaign setting, present in the earliest modules. Elsweyr: Shares the name (down to the same spelling) with a far-off country mentioned in the Elric of Melnibone stories by Michael Moorcock. Morrowind: One of the most blatant, this comes from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks, where there is a volcanic island populated by elves named "Morrowindl". Bretony: Like the Summerset Isles, this one's also a real location. Argonia: Along with the name of the Argonian race, I suspect this might have come from the infamously bad novel "the Eye of Argon", based on the fact one of the early games that was planned (but never made) was to be titled "Eye of Argonia". The only wholly original province names appear to be: Skyrim, Hammerfell, High Rock, Black Marsh, and the Imperial Province. And three of those are incredibly generic anyways, and the alternate names for two are borrowed from elsewhere.

[@MISOFOREVERRR]

Don’t forget about silt striders we’re lifted from the dark crystals land striders. And the cliff racers are definitely inspired by skeksis

[@MISOFOREVERRR]

Melniboné (/ˌmɛlˈnɪboʊneɪ/ mel-NIB-o-nay), also known as the Dragon Isle, is an imaginary country, an island among the Young Kingdoms. Centuries before Elric's birth, Melniboné ruled its world through sorcerous might and sheer power. By the time of Elric's birth, it has slipped from its preeminent place, being one of many nations. The Melnibonéans are not wholly human. They are skilled with magic and beautiful, though psychologically similar to cats, with a callous nature. They are bound by many ancient customs. Sounds like this is the inspiration for Khajiit to me 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@MISOFOREVERRR]

This is also familiar: The Eternal Champion is a fictional character created by British author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his speculative fiction works. -- The Eternal Champion, also known as Talin,[1] was a hero born in 3E 370.[2] He is best known for ending the Imperial Simulacrum by killing the impostor emperor Jagar Tharn in 3E 399 and rescuing the true emperor, Uriel Septim VII, and the general of the Imperial Legion, Warhaft,[nb 1] from a realm of Oblivion where they had been imprisoned for ten years. The hero was then given the title of "Eternal Champion" by the emperor himself. The Champion was also credited with obtaining several Aedric, Daedric, and mortal-made artifacts.[3]

[@ChoiceOfIllusion]

Ted Peterson can correct you on the source for a few of those names: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJC8mat5oKtjb7s

[@joeflosion]

Just out of curiousity, how about Resdayne?

[@GhostOfSnuffles]

I first played Arena on a PC so old it had a monochromatic screen, it was almost 6 months before i borrowed a color monitor from a friend and i was completely blown away by how amazing the graphics looked. I blame Area for my crippling addiction to cheesy video games.

[@monkeysk8er33]

Dragonstrike is one of the greatest things ever made. That was my introduction to D&D. I watched that VHS religiously as a kid. Ended up using it as a module for my homebrew D&D campaign, and no one (all my players are 10 years my senior) recognized what it was, hilariously enough, and they're all nerds.

[@sergentharker7182]

Man I love the style of Arena and Daggerfall, the pixelated dungeons and wilderness

[@samiamtheman7379]

3:57:45 The Champion getting drunk off his ass before charging into the Imperial Palace sounds like an incredibly funny scenario.

[@Ghostcharm]

You are a legend my friend, so proud and happy for you that this behemoth is complete!!!

[@Henri-email-archive]

Weird how nostalgic the Arena tune makes me feel, even though this game is almost twice as old as I am.

[@uriel7395]

2:24:07 Iron Golems are one of the iconic D&D monsters, so it makes sense that they'd take it. Interestingly, they changed the thing Iron Golems are actually known for. in D&D, it's fire damage that they heal from. This is mainly notable because the signature big damage spell in D&D is fireball.

[@Yordleton]

It also looks like a lot like a Warhammer 40k model, which makes sense considering they used them for reference.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

No beholders?

[@Fullmetalnyuu1]

​@@haruhisuzumiya6650As he says in the video, they were considered and even had art made for them but ultimately got cut

[@MrGutty117]

I'm in awe of the scale and leg-work/research you've put into this. I'm a Morrowboomer that has had a lot of trouble getting into Arena and Daggerfall, but it's nice to digest videos like this and your Daggerfall video to get a sense of the history and development of this series I love so much. Cheers friend.

[@Jwlar]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video 😊

[@kubli365]

hey it's a pfp from that one coming of age anime where a teen has a crush on a middle-aged man elegant taste, friend. Brought back good memories. I can't believe that was so long ago. I can't even remember the name.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

"Morrowboomer" should have an official dictionary status; fantastic term! Thanks for introducing me to it, &/or coining it.

[@MrGutty117]

@@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 I certainly didn't coin it, but I've come to accept my place as a Morrowboomer. I'm glad you like it because it certainly feels pertinent these days.

[@twoodall88]

Thank you for the Rockville shout-out. I was born and raised there. It always seemed strange to see a building with the name of the wrong city on it (before I got in on oblivion).

[@Mephilis78]

One town in each province? Go to Dragonstar, then go to Sentinel. Or go to Riverwood, then to Winterhold. Dragonstar, and other Eastern Hammerfell towns are green and lush. In the western part of the province it's a brown desert. Likewise, in Southern portions of Skyrim are green Forest, and Northern parts snow even in summer. I didn't even notice this until recently. I just happened to spawn in Northwestern High Rock, and noticed it was snowing in early Autumn, went to Daggerfall and was green and warm. So I started testing different locations in places I knew had vastly different climates in lore. I forgot about comparing central Elsweyr to the southern coast. I think I'll check that now, actually.

[@jackhazardous4008]

What did you find

[@Slimynewtballs]

@@jackhazardous4008 kittens

[@xenoka1]

I'm glad you mentioned the dungeons being unique and interesting. I found that, while most other parts were not very good, the dungeons were better designed than any of the other games. They really feel like a big dungeon you have to explore and find things within (unlike later games where they were just straight shots) which makes sense in the world why other people couldn't just grab what is within. They are varied as well and have their own flavor which later games basically abandoned too.

[@SensoryTheater07]

I wish they would bring the riddles back in the newer games.

[@bootyspoon4675]

Just a minor note since you didn't mention it in the video but it's worth keeping in mind if you plan on playing Arena: do *NOT* chose Knight as your class if you intend to acquire all the artifacts, since their ability to automatically repair their weapons/armor effectively prevents you from using the blacksmith exploit.

[@Mephilis78]

I didn't think of this at first, so I restarted my knight. I had accepted a quest for an artifact that I didn't actually want right before I read your comment. I'm going to try for the Ogma Infinium before I try to find anything else. Btw, in this game I recommend leveling Luck when starting, it seems to really effect the loot in the imperial prison.

[@vokery2590]

Artifacts don't repair themselves even if you are playing as a Knight. Normal weapons and armour do, but only if you rest.

[@bootyspoon4675]

@@vokery2590 that is simply untrue.

[@vokery2590]

@@bootyspoon4675 Yes it is. I just logged onto my Knight, he has Chrysamere which is in used condition. I took it to the blacksmith and it was eligible to be repaired. I went to ask a random person for rumours, and got the dialogue response to initiate another artifact quest.

[@anthonytamez170]

​@@bootyspoon4675don't speak on shit u don't know

[@TheCateon]

Just like how Bethesda mastered immersion with The Elders Scrolls, Your videos have done the same for me. Very well done and presented!

[@theonlybilge]

Do you think after Uriel got out he was like "Fuck me, it took him ten years? If something this big happens again I need to make sure it's dealt with in a few months at most"? I think he did.

[@Mephilis78]

Thus why he hired the Agent from Daggerfall, the Nerevarine, and the Hero of Kvatch. He knew they'd get the job done. Wow, Skyrim really is the oddball of the main series. No Uriel Septim, no tabletop mechanics.

[@HerohammerStudios]

​@@Mephilis78 also the best one. Interesting

[@aetherkid]

​@@HerohammerStudiosbest? Haha. In what way?

[@williamblazkowicz5587]

@@aetherkid pure cracklike mindless fun, ive got 2k hours for a reason. also modability, people have turned skyrim into entirely different games.

[@reyo6353]

@@williamblazkowicz5587 I love how out of one side of your mouth you say skyrim is the best and out of the other you say you play it modded until it's a different game. Like Gucci god Sheogorath says, wash all your faces.

[@zillablazethelegend5431]

The retrospective on Daggerfall was absolutely amazing and even taught me things I never noticed while playing it, and tbh after hearing you say that you were gonna do a video on arena it compelled me to revisit the game and its story since. I can't wait to see everything you've found and put in this masterpiece, love these vids its great to see the old elder scrolls getting attention!

[@loernius]

you made me start my TES anthology. Always had problems starting playing Arena, now I have 20h in. And I still have 5 pieces of the staff. this game is amazing

[@MemeLordCthulhu]

So dagoth ur has always existed. I can't believe they'd discard it after morrowind. Is this how they treat the 6th house unmourned?

[@MumboChumbo]

What a grand and intoxicating innocence

[@MemeLordCthulhu]

@MumboChumbo come, moon and star, come, and look upon the heart of lorkhan, and wonder why so many nords are pretending they have any rights.

[@allenmercant8]

I played the game but what I remember most was the HOURS I spent on the original demo. There was no save and it was brutally difficult. I kept playing just trying to survive as long as possible. I loved loved the passwall spell, disintegrating dungeon walls to make shortcuts and escape enemies. If there was an actual end or exit to that dungeon I never made it that far.

[@etgripper]

Fantastic work as always, thanks for all you do!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you!

[@jello6451]

4 and a half hours later and I now know everything about Arena. Incredible.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Honestly this comment section is a goldmine too. I love seeing peoples' reactions, recollections, & tips. It's an additional testament to the quality & craft & love Jwlar put into the video, that the comment section reflects it back in how much thoughtfulness, emotion, + memories Jwlar's vid evoked in so many different people.

[@Jwlar]

For sure! This community is the best 💜

[@adamcatley4784]

Recently, I finished my journey of playing through every TES game, and I mean all of them. Including spinoffs, and the mobile ones, Shadowkey, Dawnstar, Stormhold etc. I must say with arena, despite games like Skyrim dominating the series obviously, there's something very very cosy about it. The soundtrack is simple yet blissful, walking through Winterhold in the snow with that lovely theme playing. Crawling through every uniquely designed dungeon and being absolutely tacken back by the attention to detail at the time, and the overwhelming amount of rooms and hidden chambers to explore, seeing random paintings on the wall, finding secret chests, and having to actually tactically plan and retreat when fighting monsters. Then that sense of relief when you finally find the dungeon item after scrambling around 4 whole floors, and sprinting your way back to the entrance to get to an inn as soon as possible just to realised you were diseased. The immersion of having to repair your gear, buying drinks and renting rooms at inns, being able to explore each individual building in each individual town and being welcomed with flavor text each time, asking NPCs for directions etc. Like most I started out with Skyrim, but If you like the lore, it's so interesting going back and seeing early concepts of things you recognise in the later games. I always said I'd never try arena, but now I'm addicted and go back to it at least once a year, each time finding new things I hadn't known about before. I can't recommend it enough

[@alexackayak1]

You can't ask for much more than this, an extremely long, very high quality, well edited and well researched video. Keep up the great work

[@sentinowl9207]

Why didn't this come to my Sub Box, youtube!? I can't be missing these uploads!

[@LostAndDimCarcosa]

The amount of work at each of your videos must be insane ! Your retrospective are the best ! Thanks from France !

[@Jwlar]

Thank you! 😊

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Ça va bien? Don't know if you're originally from France, or what languages you've gamed in, or if you played Arena or other Elder Scrolls games, but if you or anyone else wants to share their experiences with the game-world's back-story --- I had no idea about the lore difference between the English + French translations & I'm so curious about French players' perceptions of the lore! I'm Canadian, so it also made me wonder if the same translation was used between France + Canada; our French localizations can be unique sometimes.

[@ironwolf56]

20:48 the Beholder is one of the few D&D specific concepts that is under individual copyright. Like any fantasy game can use their version of halflings and orcs, character classes, D20s and Vancian casting etc, but a few SPECIFIC things are under (at the time TSR but now WotC) copyright and Beholders is one of them so I'm betting that would be why they had to remove it.

[@CaptainLekirk]

Yeah, Beholder and Githyanki are specifically D&D only, I think.

[@landin_legend9247]

@@CaptainLekirk a p

[@jiaan100]

Its not copyright, that's a joke word like transphobe or antisemite. It's copy restriction. You have a god given right to copy, and these laws restrict that right.

[@johanloubser8138]

​@@jiaan100and why are those other words jokes?

[@jiaan100]

@@johanloubser8138 semite refers to all arabs and some other groups in addition to jews. transphobe is very rarely used accurately, trans disliker is usually what they mean.

[@alexello1189]

Before your series I only had the LGR reviews of the elder scrolls to go off of. But thanks to you I’ve started playing daggerfall unity and I’m having a blast (and realizing why I gotta find a levitation mod for skyrim). Thank you for all your hard work!

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

Good job. I loved your Daggerfall video and this was just as good. I’ve suggested it to several content creators, but I think a video with this level of depth deconstructing The Elder Scrolls Online would be super interesting and doesn’t exist anywhere online to my knowledge. Just something to consider. Thank you for all of your hard work.

[@Jwlar]

Thank you so much! I do plan on making an ESO analysis one day, but it is one hell of an undertaking, so it won’t be for a while haha

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

@@Jwlar I’ve always been super interested in it, just not interested enough to play it. I’m not a big fan of the MMO grind (although I did recently pick up the FFXIV free trial again for the first time since 2013) but I’ve always wondered what kind of story ESO is telling, what meaningful contributions it could add to the lore, and it’s implications on the future of the main TES series. There’s definitely enough there to extrapolate for a video about it, I just don’t make videos. As far as I can tell a video of the quality you or PatricianTV make doesn’t exist for ESO so it’s a pretty untapped market.

[@travisporter5222]

Thanks for donating! Thank to you great content is being made.

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

@@travisporter5222 👍

[@sirellyn]

Honestly if you do a retrospective on Ultima or Might and Magic that would be amazing too.

[@justaguy8104]

Agree whole-heartedly. We’ve got sseth and spoony for those, but with our man Diamond here, I can actually show friends what I love about classic crpgs without the ….. extra stuff.

[@Dhalisos]

This Vid was expected to be released at november 2022, but Bethesda push it forward to Q1 2023 due to Jwlar Quality concerns.

[@Jwlar]

🤣🤣

[@vokery2590]

He missed the christmas 2022 release and instead delayed it until March. Kind of fitting for an Arena video really.

[@Jwlar]

@@vokery2590 lmao

[@theflightlesspig8991]

I was really really hoping jwlar was gonna make this video but I wasn't sure if he was, doesn't seem like a game a ton of people enjoy but jwlar's passion makes them very enjoyable

[@bentoaican]

I couldn't be happier to watch this, as a fan of the new games it's wonderful to see where it all started with such depth without having to suffer through an old game that i have no patience to play myself, thank you very much!!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😊💜

[@justinkroboth360]

Oh man, I haven't thought about "warez" groups in decades! Thank you for this trip down memory lane, friend. The rest of the video is incredible, of course, just like your Daggerfall epic, but this one might be even better. Cheers, mate!

[@Jwlar]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@Valdaur]

1:00:56 This difference is even less important if you just grab the Oghma Infinium a few times to max out all your stats.

[@JoshSweetvale]

Not since 2012

[@flickflack]

Maybe he broke the staff because he was a big fan of Bard's Tale 2.

[@MorningAndEveningStar]

I started watching this video a few minutes after it launched, but I took some breaks and only just now finished this more ambitious sequel video about the preceding game to the preceding video about the more ambitious sequel. So excited for what's next! The Daggerfall video is something I especially love to rewatch, although the Alone In The Dark one I keep coming back to frequently as well.

[@GenghisKhanBruseySkyz]

This is such a high quality and comprehensive video on Arena. Kudos and props to you Jwlar.

[@jeffrapier947]

An excellent essay on one of the most important games ever made. I remember well buying it when it came out, having to uninstall games from my whopping 40MB hard drive in order to have room to install this one, then having to create a new boot floppy to reconfigure the RAM because the game required a RAM format different from my computer's default. But, it was most definitely worth it. Arena was a huge leap forward in RPGs, and that's speaking as a veteran of the Ultima's, Wizardry!'s, and SSI gold box games. Interesting side note, when EverQuest first came out, I had friends and co-workers trying to get me to play it. I resisted them for a few months until I happened to be at a friend's place while he was playing it. He turned in a quest and I heard the familiar Arena level up fanfare and suddenly I was interested. Bought EQ the next day. So, Arena is ultimately responsible for my longtime MMO addiction.

[@SMK-bp1zr]

I am so happy to see someone finally wanting to look at battlespire. I am not sure why but ever since I heard it's main theme I have been mildly obsessed but unable to get it to run properly

[@misterfuzzyflippers]

Fantastic retrospective. I remember playing through as a spellsword and having some trouble at the start, but by the end when I got a firm grasp on the spellbuilder I laughed at how fast I took down Jagar Tharn, and since I had the shadow key I walked right in and finished. Anticlimactic, but deep down I loved the game.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

3:29:48 lol the cheek of teasing the devs about "throbbing", then minutes later stumbling into "touching the jewel"

[@ellieswagaye]

this is such perfect timing on your end, i just discovered your daggerfall retrospective and now we get 4 more hours of high quality analysis

[@MBM1117727]

The static npcs do provide unique dialogue. You even show some of the thug right when you say that. The jesters have reams of unique dialogue.

[@TheGregoryodd]

Appreciate all the time and work you put in to capturing the history of these games; I can still remember that Arena box just boldly standing out from everything else on the shelf.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I've seen enough comments on the box art on this page to want to encourage Jwlar to take a relatively easy Win on as a next vid, maybe a Short even, just about the box art.

[@auserneamebetween6and31let9]

Wake up honey, new 4 hour video essay about an old Bethesda game just dropped

[@Chewieon24th]

Your videos are the reason that I checked out the older series. Thank you for making these ultimate videos for the video game. I don't think I could have gone through the tutorial of daggerfall without this video😅.

[@Jwlar]

Glad you like them! 😊

[@DonutSwordsman]

I cant wait for another in depth analysis. You did a great job and are very talented on doing a critique/playthrough like perspective.

[@octocat592]

Absolutely amazing video. Four hours of your voice talking about the details of an old game like Arena is amazing, you make a great narrator. Can't wait for your next big video!

[@33elkyeet91]

Very nice and cool Video. Now make a retrospective of the lusty argonian maid.

[@Jwlar]

😂

[@fresh2182]

Another amazing video Jwler! Your retrospectives are of exceedingly high quality, and your covering games like Daggerfall and Arena that are kinda' forgotten gems is really great, and important in that they are incredibly influential games. I personally just recently started playing Daggerfall Unity with a bunch of mod from your mod list, and I'm really enjoying it man. Keep up the great work.

[@anarchysoftworks4592]

this was a crazy effort on your behalf, mad props. i really enjoyed having this one while working on my own projects :) thank you!

[@TheLeageOfAwsome1]

Literally have been hunting for an in-depth look at Arena, so thank you for this absolute classic. Fantastic video and I'm sure ill be watching again soon

[@Jwlar]

😊💜

[@johnlastname8752]

This is gonna be epic.

[@TheStowAway594]

I wish games still had awesome box art like that. I remember when I was little I would copy Frazetta, San Julian, Enric Torres stuff over and over, it was so inspiring and really made my sparked my imagination. Where as now days most artists are to scared to show half their stuff because someone, somewhere will take offense, it's really sad.

[@TheStowAway594]

Also the Japanese magazine "anime cover art" really looks like something from "Gate of Hell" / "Darkseal"/ "Wizard Fire" arcade game especially with the ninja in the background.

[@biggestastiest]

hi im an artist. it's really not a "yOu CaNt DrAw AnYtHiNg ThEsE dAyS" type issue. it's because cover art is so much more censored than back in the 90s, and you have to follow a certain eye-catching trend if you're an artist in the industry, since corporate overlords get what corporate overlords demand.

[@ZenoDovahkiin]

Bro it's 2023, corporations have long since decided taht "dude with gun" or "main cahracter with weapon" is the only acceptable cover art to exist.

[@CptCarnage777]

Congratulations on finishing this man! Can't wait to dive in. I dipped in a few times during the premier and had a blast.

[@toxenzz]

Absolutely adored your Daggerfall video! Thank you so much for the amazing work you do with these videos! Can’t imagine the amount of editing.

[@benjaminharmon6541]

Fantastic video! I loved the details from contemporary reviews and dev interviews, that really made the quality of the essay stand out. I've only played an hour or so of Arena, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was. I'm closely following the progress of OpenTESArena. Very excited for a playable release of that!

[@propain6404]

Amazing video! I'm glad someone like you gives the old Elder Scrolls games the respect they deserve.

[@trohnjon7944]

I absolutely love arena, thanks for giving it the best review it could have. Without it, a big stepping stone would be missing, daggerfall plays the same role, albeit a much larger scope.

[@monnie2514]

Dude your content is so well-made! Big props! Very entertaining and informative video ^^ I'm a huge Morrowind nerd and it's fun to now see such an in-depth look at the first Elder Scrolls :)

[@ArniesTech]

What a journey. Leading to my favourite masterpieces Morrowind and Oblivion ❤

[@leonwolf4]

The dungeon crawling in Arena was so satisfying. It's bizarre how they shot themselves in the feet with Daggerfalls dungeons right after.

[@nobodyspecial1553]

I can't believe this dropped as I was on a elder scrolls retrospective binge. Just see it in my recommended "1 day ago."

[@thegrayknight71]

Great video. Thx. I bought this game and played it a lot. I loved it. The atmosphere in the cities as the snow fell was amazing. The best part of the game was that you could write notes on your map. I wish more games would use that function. But in the end the game felt too big and I felt lost after some time. The game was massive but awesome.

[@olafharlender]

Here's to another sleepless night watching Jwlar talk about one of my favorite video game series! But seriously, love your work man. Great stuff. You've got a bright future ahead, I'm sure of it! Keep it up!

[@energydome4542]

Finally a legit retrospective of this gem thank u so much I can't wait for open tes arena

[@callumdonnelly1718]

this is such a goddamn fantastic video, I've always had a fascination with how much of the future lore it sets up even if in name only. despite the runtime it really doesn't feel that long

[@Diode_Alt]

Had a good time watching this while playing Daggerfall and Oblivion. great to brush up on the history of TES while experiencing it.

[@belisariussmith9095]

Another work of master craftsmanship from a master craftsman. Thank you Jwlar!

[@Poopaloony]

0⁰

[@claudejohnson-kq7ih]

Thank you so much for making this. I love your long-form content so much. Especially for older games.

[@johnhorton4489]

Bro I've been waiting on this for months. So happy its out. Keep up the good work

[@EphemeraEssays]

There is an incredible amount of detail in this retrospective. Rewatched it a good few times already, fantastic work!

[@Jwlar]

Thank you. That means a lot, truly :)

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

@@Jwlar hi, have you checked my comments correcting some mistakes you have made in this video?

[@Jwlar]

@@dontspikemydrink9382 Hi! Sorry, I must've missed them; I just replied to them. You were correct to point them out, and I only wish KZbin still had an annotation system so that I could highlights these errors in the video itself after publishing.

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

i am aware you replied to them ty

[@stephengibbons4771]

I got this game in late 94 and spent a good 300-400 hours playing my Dark Elf Spellsword, and I'm pretty sure I only ever collected like 5 of the Staff of Chaos pieces. Had too much fun creating spells and grinding random dungeons for loot. Great video, I haven't thought about this classic game in years!

[@geraltofrivia2570]

wtf is there to get? I'm full ebony trinkets 30 hours in the game and you can't get more than chainmail as a spellsword.

[@thedecisiveraindrop4868]

Tbh, I love listening to each of these essays, hoping for more in the future!

[@Scythlin]

Another video to slog through at the gym. Thank you, haven't finished the daggerfall one quite yet. _chef's kiss_

[@ItsyoboyJordy]

I just binge watched both this video and Daggerfall and man this is so well made and quite the undertaking. I look forward to seeing any more of these deep dives and this really renewed my love for the elder scrolls and wanting to jump back into it despite its age, Arena does have its own charm for sure and it really can become whatever you want it to be. I thought the ideas behind the game even if slightly upscaled and presented today as an open world rogue like would become quite a cult classic in it's own right. All it needs is fun and a since of completion for every dungeon you come across. I find myself going around the wilderness and writing my own notes about locations dotted around that in-house generated terrain. Anyway, keep doing what you are doing man, you definitely have the gift of keeping the viewer's interest with how you display the information and how you pace and structure the whole thing.

[@Jwlar]

Thank you for watching and for your kind words! 😊💜

[@hunterbruce]

This was a documentary! So in depth, I just loved everything about it. Would love to see one on Redguard!

[@olivercorrodi3340]

outstanding work. really hoped for a long form arena video essay. keep it up ❤

[@emarskineel]

Your daggerfall retrospective got me interested in daggerfall so thank you for that. I didn’t think I would be interested in arena when I clicked this video but I’m an hour in and loving it

[@milokadamus7721]

Thank you for this. Arena is one of my favourites but it still comes behind Underworld. I played nearly every RPG back in the day. Knightmare is a very honourable mention also. So many great games with epic size quests and areas. Loved every other Elder scrolls from daggerfall (although dungeon maps a nightmare) and onwards also the MMO. Don't know how many times I have redone Skyrim. Check out the Nolvus 5 mod pack and auto mass mod updater to Skyrim. Yes I have started again. Love this video. TY again.

[@xHeigoux]

arena was really fun to play. I only did a few radiant dungeons and focused on the main story dungeons. the combat is actually pretty sweet. I loved the mouse movement. Spell crafting is really broken. I created 2 spells that would max out all my stats for a really long time and it barely cost any mana. that's when I looked it up on the internet, thinking this was a bug lol.

[@Joseph-wh5of]

Thank you so much for this amazing video. I was eagerly anticipating this video after watching your take on Daggerfall. Ever since I have been subscribed. I hope you know that now we all expect a retrospective for all the Elder Scrolls games, lol.

[@Yt4ddict]

binge watched the vid like a good old movie ! And the work is massive, congratulation to you !!

[@morsletum5348]

2:26:22 The skeleton key can open doors in main quest dungeons that can't be lockpicket or opened with spells and would need a key or riddle.

[@lynnharlow903]

So crazy, I'm buying my first computer at the age of 29. Last night I was day dreaming about playing Oblivion and Marrowing. I was looking up Arena and Daggerfell. I didn't even know about Arena and I'm excited to see that it's free. Very serendipitous that i stumbled upon your video. 💞