The Elder Scrolls series began humbly with The Elder Scrolls: Arena in 1994. By evolving the series with each entry, eventually Bethesda hit perfection with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim in 2011. It, of course, was like an amalgamation of every entry that came before it, capitalizing on the leveling-up system, combat, and world that had been established previously.
However, there are some other games that Skyrim was likely inspired by, as well. While these may not be direct inspirations, it’s easy to draw a line between these classics directly to the systems in Skyrim, even if they aren’t other entries in The Elder Scrolls franchise. Without these games, perhaps Skyrim would have never existed, or at least not in the form that has become so inconic to the gaming industry.
Baldur’s Gate
DnD Basics
Baldur’s Gate is a classic PC RPG based on Dungeons & Dragons, a series that all RPGs owe their life to. The tabletop version of D&D set up standardized rules about classes, stats, monetary systems, quests, and so on, and these have bled into virtual RPGs from every gaming era.
There are many things that Skyrim drew on regarding Baldur’s Gate, in particular, building characters that could use dual-wielding, which did require the right stat build and skills. Thankfully, it’s much easier to dual-wield spells or weapons in Skyrim without penalties than it is in Baldur’s Gate, which was a positive evolution.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
A First-Person Action RPG Legend
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
- Released
- March 21, 1992
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Animated Blood, Mild Violence
- Developer(s)
- Blue Sky Productions
- Genre(s)
- First-Person, RPG, Dungeon Crawler
Ultima is another ancient RPG series that many have probably never played, but it was formative for many RPG developers. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss was a spinoff that was considered to be revolutionary at the time, largely because it was an action-based dungeon crawler featuring one character going through said dungeon in first-person.
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The character’s build was constantly displayed on the right side of the screen, along with their other stats, and the window for combat and exploration was relatively small compared to the rest of the UI. It’s a bit archaic display-wise now, but it was an important step for all first-person action RPGs. Thankfully, Skyrim fully displayed the world for players to take in as they explored, and gave them the option of a third-person view, too.
Diablo
Love That Loot
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The first Diablo game was a top-down action RPG that transformed the way players find loot in their games. Destroying a monster and then being able to pick through the wreckage to find new gear or weapons was always a fun treat, which got even better in the sequel. Between the first two Diablo games, many RPGs saw the value in randomized loot drops, and Skyrim is definitely one of those RPGs.
Players won’t find colored versions of the same gear or weapons like they might in more modern loot games, but treasure is plentiful on everything that players kill in Skyrim. Spiders might have crafting materials, while bandits can be stripped almost to the nude for gear, and anything unwanted could be sold off for profit.
The Legend Of Zelda
Open-World Origins
The Legend of Zelda
- Released
- February 21, 1986
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
The Legend of Zelda was a huge hit on the NES, and it led to many iconic sequels, a cartoon, toys, and even cereal. It’s thought to be one of the touchstones for how the open-world genre was formed. It was almost non-linear, as most dungeons could be tackled in a random order and players were essentially dropped into the game, given a sword, and then were nudged into a wide world of adventure without guidance.
Skyrim has plenty of guidance to offer between the main story and random quests, but what players still love about it is how freeing it is to explore the open-world environments seemingly without limitation. It’s a huge evolutionary step from The Legend of Zelda, but the ties are definitely there when tracking the evolution of open-world games.
Final Fantasy 2
Everything You Do Levels You Up
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Square
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Final Fantasy 2 is a black sheep in the franchise, but not because it’s bad. The progression system was just odd, as characters level up their stats and spells depending on their usage. Using a Fire spell will increase its power over time, while getting hit by enemies can increase HP and Defense stats. This led Squaresoft to create the SaGa series, which uses the same progression system, albeit tweaked.
It is perhaps better to say that Skyrim, and The Elder Scrolls series overall, learned from the SaGa games instead of Final Fantasy 2. When players use spells continuously in Skyrim, the school from which those spells hail levels up. The same goes for doing other tasks such as blacksmithing or lockpicking. There is traditional leveling up as well through killing enemies and gaining XP, so it’s a nice mix, but players are especially fond of the way Skyrim organically builds their character based on the actions they take.
Breath Of Fire
All Hail The Dragons
Breath of Fire is a Capcom series of RPGs that were like Final Fantasy in the 90s, as each sequel was its own standalone thing. There were familiar systems and characters in each game, though, such as the hero always being a blue-haired male named Ryu. Ryu was part of a dragon tribe, allowing him to transform into various dragon forms during battle.
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How each game handled these transformations was different, but they may have provided the inspiration for the Dragonborn in Skyrim. Players couldn’t transform into dragons in Skyrim, but they could learn their language and gain new abilities, like everyone's favorite shout, “Fus Ro Dah!” Which quickly became a meme after Skyrim’s 2011 launch.
Shadow Of The Colossus
Fearful Titans
Shadow of the Colossus is still one of the best games on the PS2. It technically has an open world to explore, although it’s empty save for the Colossi roaming around in specific areas. The game was essentially a boss rush with a lot of set dressing in between, where players had to find these titans, climb them, and then destroy their weak points.
In Skyrim, there were no dynamic battles against colossal titans, but there were creatures that towered above players in frightening ways. Seeing a Giant for the first time and watching them club players to death in one hit is a memorable experience. Even the Mammoths are frightening, as they are hard to take down. Skyrim learned from Shadow of the Colossus that adding terrifying and towering enemies to the mix helps to create a more engaging world.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
- Released
- November 11, 2011
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
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