From: PartOfYourWorld | #164
Since we've got all manner of gaming discussion going on here, I'm wondering: does the Elder Scrolls (specifically Oblivion and Skyrim) have more in common with Zelda than it does with Final Fantasy? I find it interesting that a series so different from the popular jRPGs of the 1990s-early 2000s can take their place as the quintessential RPG series of the day. As far as I know it, The Elder Scrolls does not feature parties, turn-based combat, or plots that are even that character-driven (no Elder Scrolls character has even made a contest). If the series shares a lot of Zelda elements, however, that would help explain it.
A lot of it has to do with a prevailing sense of staleness from JRPGs which are increasingly viewed as limiting in a gaming world in which the majority want to be able to go where they want to go, do what they want to do, and they're more than willing to sacrifice linear plot cohesion for the opportunity to smack someone instead of automatically agreeing to their demands. In that sense I'd say TES has more in common with Zelda than Final Fantasy, for sure, but not to the point that they're all that similar. Zelda still has more plot guidance involved.
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