Why do some consider Morrowind a better game than Oblivion?

[Yokai]

Okay, before I even say anything, I would like to make it very clear that I am not bashing Morrowind. I think it's a good game. (also I apologize if this thread has been done before and recently.)

Anyhow, I notice a lot of people talking about how Oblivion was crappy and that Morrowind was way better. I've played both pretty extensively, and I'm not sure I see what elements of Morrowind make people consider it better. It's an excellent RPG, for sure, but what does it have that Oblivion lacks? Please, Morrowind lovers, offer your opinions on the subject.

 

[FranzTyphid]

Oblivion was a fantastic game
i have never played morrowind and i dout that i ever will

 

[RedPandaMan]

More in-depth world and story. Better quests. While it unfortunately has worse combat, its due to it being based more on stats, which many people like.

 

[Radeonx]

I enjoyed it far more than Oblivion.
I found it to be superior in every way other then graphics, and that's due to age.
And I don't care about graphics.

 

[Methos12]

Because in a sandbox game the main rule is "Give us more sand!".
Morrowind has more sand in a form of: more skills, more guilds and more gear.

 

[Necrofudge]

Oblivion is too easy. It has a leveled monster system. Any level 5 character could beat the game. I preferred Morrowind because of the challenge of it (and because I preferred it to Oblivion's plot)

I still play both games but I've enjoyed Morrowind far more.

 

[Brotherofwill]

It's deeper, the athmosphere is better, it doesn't have that too easy to use quicktravel system.

It's just the whole 'being in another world' aspect is much stronger in my opinion. I'm not sure if enemies level with you, but that really pissed me off in Oblivion.

 

[Eldan]

For me, Oblivion lacked two things Morrowind had:

An exotic setting and an interesting story.

The main quest in Oblivion was mostly standard fantasy fare, while in Morrowind, I was actually interested in what was happening. With all the books, the many viewpoints on ancient history offered by the different NPCs and the interesting BBEG, Morrowind fascinated me.

And the setting? Well, it's gigantic mushroom forests, swamps, depressing volcanic landscapes and cities in the shells of crabs vs. what I see in front of my window.

 

[Soren91]

I'd say because other than graphics, it's better in every way. I love both games, I've played through Oblivion more times than I can count. This doesn't change the fact that to me Oblivion was only a piece of the Morrowind pie, prettied up with current graphics.

They took my favorite spells from Morrowind out for Oblivion!

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Yo, OP, whoaaaaa...... I literally just typed out an answer to your question on another forum about an hour ago. Here's a copy and pasting of that answer:

Well, for me, the reason Morrowind hooked me better also had to do with gameworld, but not the graphical side. Rather, it was the thematic content of Vvardenfell and the art design that backed it up. There was the clash between encroaching imperialism and local resistance and the struggle between the two religions that mirrored the politics. At the same time, there were the great house rivalries and the inter-guild rivalries. Finally, on top of that there was the main quest, which touched upon and linked up with all of the other themes.

Oblivion didn't really have that. They pared down the factions (you can see what Bethesda cut out of the game when you note the special 'faction' badges you get for helping out some of the towns) thus limiting the possibility of creating complex conflicts that would seem natural in a 'real' world. At the same time, the overarching theme (destruction from another plane) was so fantastical that it became somewhat cliche and difficult to relate to. In Morrowind, by contrast, the main storyline was tied to the idea of resurgent local nationalism versus the imperialists as much as it was about Aedra and Daedra.

To sum up, Morrowind had more 'human' themes and was therefore more relatable to, while Oblivion relied too much on fantasy and a 'dark threat' scenario.

Also, Oblivion had no levitation, jump, or slowfall. In addition, fast travel sucked compared to Morrowind.

 

[Woodsey]

Because Morrowind is better then Oblivion. In every way

This, unless you prefer Oblivion (like me).

There's no mystery about it, the mechanics are actually quite different so people will prefer one or the other, as with all things.

I find the combat in Morrowind dreadful, so I much prefer Oblivion (as well as for other reasons).

 

[SimuLord]

I have Oblivion and Morrowind ranked #5 and #6 on my list of favorite games, in that order, but they're more like 5A and 5B. Each had merits that the other lacked.

Oblivion was better than Morrowind because:
- Once you modded it out, it was just plain more fun.
- Gameplay was better balanced. The only really effective way to play Morrowind is as a tank because of the way the game mechanics are but I've had great Oblivion characters in magic, stealth, AND combat.
- The graphics are better. I hate to bring this up, but Oblivion is beautiful, which helps when you're just wandering the forests hunting animals and gathering alchemy ingredients. Morrowind doesn't give me that same feeling (and I suspect it wouldn't even with Oblivion's texture quality.)

Morrowind is better than Oblivion because:
- In vanilla, it's not even close. If you don't mod Oblivion's leveling system, both in terms of player-gained levels and enemy/loot leveling, it's a very weak game. Morrowind stands on its own (in part because you can level up higher so missed points are a bit less of a hangup.)
- The story's better. The overarching themes in Morrowind are more colorful and complex than are those in Oblivion. Even when DLC and expansion packs are figured into it, Morrowind still holds up better.
- The weapons and armor are more varied and interesting, especially with the weapon- and armor-compilation mods.

Overall, though, and especially since I have a good mod loadout, I just like Oblivion a little bit better. They're both worthy candidates for best Western RPG of the decade.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Morrowind is better. At the core. But Oblivion's leveling system encourages replays more, with everything leveling with you. And the combat was better. Especially for mages. Because MP regenerated slowly.

 

[Eldan]

Yes, Combat in Morrowind was dreadful, especially if compared to Oblivion. Yes, NPCs looked like they were wearing cardboard masks, always stood in the same place and all the dialogue was written not spoken.

And you know what? None of that mattered to me. It's still my second best RPG after Torment. Because the world was fascinating and immersive, the story was great, the world seemed ancient and vast and intimidating, the conflicts were deep, the politics felt real, the factions were fascinating, the missions engaging.
Oblivion had a few really interesting missions, and The Shivering Isles saved the game for me by bringing back some of what I missed, but overall, the combat system and graphics, even after downloading ~100 mods, don't make up for story and world.

 

[almostgold]

While I havent decided which I like more, I'll try to simplify the Internets pro-Morrowind leanings into a few points for you:

1) This seems to be the main one; a more original setting & gameworld. Cthulu faced nix hounds instead of wolves, giant riding insects steered by manipulation of brain organs instead of horses. Fungi forests instead of... regular forests. A fnanatic cult at odds with a gov't sanctioned church. A physical god reigning as emporor of the land.

2) Mored varied world. Goes with the above. Everything from swamps to fungi forests to vine cities to barren wastelands to grasslands, to mountains, and with expansion snowy areas and a metropolis. As opposed to Oblivion, which was pretty much either forest, snowy mountain, or marsh.

3) Ability to become uber. It was relatively easy to have skills in the several thousands of many different areas, leading to playing the whole game in levitaion mode, jumping across the entire gameworld, etc.

4) The story. Take your place as a god-emperor of old and defeat rival gods > save the kingdom.

5) Nostalgia.

Hope this list helps

EDIT: Few more: was generally seen as more ambitious, focus was one being a jack-of-all trades instead of a specialists, and importantly, MANY, MANY MORE PLAYABLE FACTIONS, most of which put you at odds with another playable faction or two

 

[Eldan]

What Morrowind really lacked? An expansion which continued where the main story left of.

Now that I have crushed Dagoth Ur and slain the false gods of Almsivi, I will unite the Dunmer, house by house, and drive the heathen empire from my sacred shores!