Big Download Loves the 90s

Big Download is running a series of “We Love the 90s (for PC Games)” features this week, in which they highlight some of the stand-out PC titles released during the 20th century’s final decade. The first and second installments don’t cover any RPGs, but the third installment spotlights The Elder Scrolls: Arena, System Shock, and X-Com: UFO Defense.

A graphically rich RPG game on its own terms, The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first game in Bethesda Softwork’s hugely successful Elder Scrolls series of fantasy games. Its release in 1994 led to several highly acclaimed follow-ups.

The original game wasn’t supposed to be an RPG, but a combat game. However the switch to create a massive fantasy world for the player to explore set the formula for other games in the series.

The Elder Scrolls: Arena reportedly sold a modest number of copies, but the 1996 follow-up, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, was more successful. Even so, it wasn’t until the release of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in 2002 that the game series really caught on with a wide audience and truly put Bethesda Softworks on the map.