The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion follows on from its predecessors in that it's an open-world RPG. However, The Elder Scrolls did not originate as an RPG series, and the first game in the series, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was originally conceptualized as a gladiator game where players would travel from city to city across the Empire and fight in arenas. As development progressed, and the side quests began to take prominence over the arena concept, The Elder Scrolls: Arena evolved into something that more closely resembles The Elder Scrolls that players are familiar with today.
Oblivion takes The Elder Scrolls' earliest story concept and honors it with an arena storyline that is fun, charming, and even heartbreaking at times. The Imperial City Arena features ranked gladiator combat where the Hero of Kvatch rises through the ranks to become Grand Champion. Gameplay limitations forced the limitation of only one arena in Oblivion, but its visual references to The Elder Scrolls: Arena still remain clear, resulting in a storyline that is rewarding for both veterans and new players.
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The Arena Questline in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Explained
The arena questline in Oblivion originally looked closer to its The Elder Scrolls: Arena counterpart. Each city had its own arena, and the Hero of Kvatch would originally travel from city to city in Cyrodiil, much like the different guild quests, and fight against the champion of each city. This proved to put too big a strain on the resources of Oblivion, and so the arena questline in Oblivion was cut down to a single arena in the Imperial City. The arena used in Oblivion, however, is not actually located in the Imperial City, and was the original arena that was intended for the city of Chorrol, as the data assets for the Imperial Arena all have the prefix "Chorrol" attached.
The Imperial City in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion pays tribute to The Elder Scrolls' earliest roots with its arena. The Hero of Kvatch can participate in ranked gladiator matches and fight their way through the ranks to eventually become Grand Champion of the Imperial Arena. The armor of the Imperial arena reflects this with its distinctive style reminiscent of the Roman gladiators. There are two teams, the Blue Team and the Yellow Team. The Hero of Kvatch joins the Blue Team and fights on behalf of their team until they attain the title of Grand Champion of the Arena.
Callbacks to The Elder Scrolls: Arena in Oblivion
Aside from the return of the first-ever quest in The Elder Scrolls, the sign for the Imperial Arena is another homage to The Elder Scrolls: Arena as it is a play on Arena's cover art. The sign follows the same visual design, with the word "Arena" in large, bold letters above four combatants of different classes who are posed and ready for battle. Players familiar with The Elder Scrolls: Arena would likely have recognized the reference in Oblivion.
The Elder Scroll: Arena's name made sense when the game's story still primarily concerned fighting in arenas across Tamriel, but became less so when the plot's focus shifted to a more serious storyline. Oblivion's homage to arena gameplay, alongside a traditional RPG side quest with the Gray Prince's storyline, is the perfect callback to the first game in The Elder Scrolls, both for veteran players and those who have never played Arena.
- Released
- March 20, 2006
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- havok, speedtree, gamebryo
- Franchise
- The Elder Scrolls
WHERE TO PLAY
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition presents one of the best RPGs of all time like never before. Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game-world ever created. With a powerful combination of freeform gameplay and unprecedented graphics, you can unravel the main quest at your own pace or explore the vast world and find your own challenges. Also included in the Game of the Year edition are Knights of the Nine and the Shivering Isles expansion, adding new and unique quests and content to the already massive world of Oblivion. See why critics called Oblivion the Best Game of 2006.
