i like the idea of daggerfall. enough so that i've tried playing it numerous times, keen on trying to understand what its most fervent enjoyers find so magical about it. i've always come out of it feeling like, well, the time i might have appreciated this game has long passed me by. or even more accurately, that time has never truly existed and likely never will. i was playing chrono trigger, quake, and super mario 64 while a much nerdier friend of mine pretty much only cared about daggerfall (so much so that he sold me his fairly new playstation with a handful of games like resident evil and king's field really cheaply). given that i still love the games i found more interesting back then—especially when most of the praise i see for it nowadays is "it's very, very big and full of endless copy-pasted npcs who give you the dullest quests imaginable" or perhaps "tits"—it's ever more difficult for me to imagine an alternate timeline where i switched places with my friend.

so, again: the core idea of daggerfall really appeals to me. a vast, open world with enormous and labyrinthine underground crypts full of screaming skeletons. crude 3d environments with even cruder prerendered sprites. let's go. but then it becomes clear just how empty it is both spatially and in terms of character. morrowind is a fucking revelation compared to this. morrowind is one of my very favorite games. daggerfall, though... it's practically a barebones prototype (and i'll grant it due credit there) for what would become an actual game with an actual soul and vision. if you were to ask me: play ultima underworld instead of this monumental time-waster and then skip ahead to morrowind (perhaps stopping along the way for deus ex, arx fatalis, etc).

Their ambition paid off with the even more systems-driven world of Daggerfall, a diligent update of Arena that revealed their knack for unusual quest scenarios. Visual upgrades (to towns, overworld, dungeons, menus, NPCs, etc.) match functional (movement and command shortcuts) and QoL upgrades (town maps, mounts, storage), while surrounding mechanics (from character creation to dialogue systems) evolve into far more sophisticated features. But its best evolution is perhaps the least visible one. Use-based EXP - that previously only refined spells, expands FFII's weapon-oriented approach to many aspects of gameplay (e.g. running, climbing, conversations, mercantile, and others beyond combat and magic). While prone to repetition & exploits, this is perhaps their most significant idea, a gradual leveling system that treats gameplay's habits like a muscle: The more you use it, the better it gets. Its effect was to instill a new, parallel sense of purpose to decisions. For example, Arena's overworld doubles as a training ground here, as its vacant, prop-y layout helps build movement skills while random encounters (on rest) hone others, adding impetus to open-world roaming that the original lacked. Dungeons also deserve mention for incorporating seamless staircases, monster closets, underwater sections, teleports and many other additions from the classics, while remaining lengthy, dense, maze-y networks.

Much like their debut, though, the main quest could benefit from some editing, although one admits that the side content (the collective moments and not the journey/destination) forms the lifeblood of the game this time. Incidentally, one feels a lot more 'immersed' in this land as a mercenary trying to make profit than as a venturing hero.

The scale of this game and the fact that basically everything outside of story dungeons and certain locations is randomly generated for each playthrough is absolutely insane, but that leads to a lot of weird dungeon layouts. It feels more Elder Scrollsy than Arena did with more books, a bunch of different factions that have relationships with each other (even if they basically all serve the same purpose as randomized quest givers) and retroactively being one of the weirdest games in the series narratively thanks to its Numidium-powered reality warping shenanigans. Sometimes the dungeons can be downright noneuclidian in their design, but overall a fun time and easier to get into than Arena. I would recommend checking out Daggerfall Unity instead of trying to play the original through DOSBox, though.

It is a much more cohesive game than Arena. I admire what it tried to do, with a world map that has still to be topped in size and its attempt at making a living, breathing fantasy world simulator. The problem is it's just not fun to play. The story is irrelevant. Even if you beat the main story, the game goes on like nothing happened. Nothing you do feels like it has consequence. And don't even get me started on those controls, which make System Shock 1's controls look efficient in comparison. If you can get past all the jank, there is a worthy game here. I just can't be asked to do it, especially when I have other games to play. Maybe the Unity remake fixes the problems I had.

Daggerfall is, in the grand scheme of things, fairly middling, and solves very few of the problems Arena had. The combat is still stiff, the automatically generated dungeons and landscapes make exploration feel tame and pointless yet again, and many mechanics still feel included purely for quantity's sake, which is not great. There is one massive improvement that really helped mitigate the damages the stiff gameplay caused thoguh, and that's the added control options, allowing for easy rebinding of keys and adjusting the game to look and feel way better. The map screen is also way better.

While the interaction part of the game has eged rather poorly, Daggerfall is actually not bad as an excercise in worldbuilding. Unlike the first game, the world exists and breathes outside of the main quest. There are different factions to interact with, history books to read, and a more dynamic core story that makes everything feel just slighty more cohesive and thought through. A lot of it is still very dry, but I can applaud the effort. However, all the design flaws largely make these things more fun to think about than actually play through, and it doesn't help that the game frequently breaks down and refuses to let you advance, requiring one to google the right console commands. The game is overall a less miserable experience than its predecessor, but that's largely by default.

A really interesting specimen of a dungeon crawler, especially with the procedural generation of 88,745 square miles of land. It can be very unforgiving at times (especially in the early stages of the game), but there is a lot of room for creativity with character builds and custom spells, etc. It's super interesting to go back and play especially if you're a Skyrim or Oblivion fan. A huge amount of the lore started to show itself in this game, as well as some familiar faces. It might be worth a play for some people just for that fact. Otherwise, if you're into mid 90s dungeon crawlers, this is basically a must. If you are thinking of playing it, PLEASE play Daggerfall Unity rather than a DOS version of this game. It's a fantastic port with years of development and a cultivated modding community. It's an experience in and of itself! There's a page on Backloggd for it if you're curious!

Daggerfall: A maior prova de que o tempo leva tudo embora

Esses dias eu tava jogando umas partidas de Lol e de repente me veio uma enorme vontade em explorar RPGs antigos, e o primeiro que apareceu na minha cabeça foram os Elder Scrolls da era 2D, até pensei em começar pelo Arena, mas como vi que o jogo tava bem mais datado optei pelo Daggerfall já que com o Mod do Unity ele fica com um jeitinhos mais moderno e agradável pra se jogar (Não tente jogar a versão de DOS desse jogo pelo bem da sua vida.)

Enfim, tava la eu piriripompom animado começando minha primeira aventura em um RPG Old School, apesar de eu ja ter jogado Diablo 1 eu nunca dei tanta atenção pra esses RPGs da época de matusalém, então po eu tava hypadao e não vou mentir pra você não, me diverti MUITO nas primeiras horas desse jogo e a musiquinha das vilas e cidade dele ficou até na minha cabeça.

Só que o inferno começou quando eu entrei em uma dungeon.. com esse jogo eu descobri DEFINITIVAMENTE que eu não gosto de Dungeon Crawler, pelo amor de deus, é labirinto demais e chega até a dar uma certa dor de cabeça enquanto você caminha repetidamente pelo mesmo lugar em busca do objetivo da sua quest.

Até tem uns trambiques que você pode habilitar pra facilitar sua caminhada nas dungeons como por exemplo a opção ''Smaller Dungeons'' que como diz o nome, deixa elas mais curtinhas e fáceis de serem terminadas, e essa opção ajuda bastante.. o problema é que ela não funciona nas dungeons de quest principal que são ENORMES e complicadíssimas, papo de tu passar ai 8 horas do seu dia tentando terminar uma simples dungeon.

Pra mim esse é o maior problema do jogo, o seu resto eu gostei de tudo, ambientação é um tanto fraquinha mas pra um jogo de 96 até que da pro gasto, seus efeitos sonoros e trilha sonora são PICAS e fica muito na cabeça, as missões secundárias são mais ou menos mas da pra tirar umas coisas boas dali.

Enfim, vou engavetar esse aqui mas vou ser sincero que foi uma experiência maneira de se ter e me ensinou bastante sobre meu gosto pessoal a respeito de generos especificos. Relaxa Daggerfall, isso não é um adeus, é um até logo, um dia eu ainda vou resolver meu assunto com você.

It's definitely an improvement over Arena, but I still hate the time limit in quests. This game's story missions for some reason are scrambled to the point where you can choose one of 3 quests but if you accidentally choose the one that is supposed to be the ending, RIP the other two and it was very frustrating. The story is just royal families drama for the most part, which I'm never a fan of. Nonetheless, I appreciate how the ending part of the game deviates from that and how the endings were acknowledged in later entries. Overall; it's ok. The gameplay is great and enjoyable once it clicks with you, but the story.. idk it never clicked with me lol

Do yourself a favor and play this with the Unity version because you CAN get softlocked due to random generation.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, released in 1996, was a groundbreaking RPG for its time, boasting a colossal open world that was revolutionary for its era. While it laid the foundation for the iconic Elder Scrolls series, it comes with both commendable strengths and notable weaknesses.

One of Daggerfall's most impressive aspects is the sheer scale of its game world. Covering a staggering 62,000 square miles, it offers an unparalleled sense of exploration and freedom. The procedural generation of cities and dungeons adds to the sense of vastness, ensuring that no two playthroughs are exactly alike. The scope of this ambitious undertaking is undoubtedly commendable.

The character creation and role-playing mechanics in Daggerfall are also noteworthy. Players have the freedom to shape their characters' backgrounds, selecting from a wide range of races, classes, and skills, providing countless possibilities for customizing the hero's journey.

Moreover, the depth of lore and world-building in Daggerfall is exemplary, with rich storytelling and immersive quests that keep players engaged for hours on end. The political intrigue, factions, and various storylines contribute to a captivating experience, especially for those who appreciate intricate narratives.

On the other hand, Daggerfall's vastness and procedural generation come at a price. The game's graphics, even by 1996 standards, are outdated and lack the polish seen in modern RPGs. The massive game world can also lead to a daunting and often confusing experience for new players, who may feel lost or overwhelmed without clear direction.

Furthermore, Daggerfall suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues that were prevalent in games of its time. Although understandable given the era's limitations, these technical shortcomings can hinder the overall enjoyment of the game.


TL;DR: The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a pioneering RPG with an enormous open world, offering freedom and exploration. Customizable character creation and rich lore contribute to a captivating experience. However, outdated graphics, technical issues, and lack of guidance may deter some modern players. A classic gem for RPG enthusiasts interested in gaming history.