You’re not the only one who prefers Arena to Daggerfall, believe me. I myself prefer the second game, but I did enjoy running through the non-CD version as a Breton spellsword, the only time I finished the game.
You nailed the atmosphere of Arena: it punches way above its weight in effectiveness, even now. Musically and sonically, the towns and dungeons make you FEEL, which is good because the towns are otherwise relatively boring slogs. It’s amazing how powerful music can be.
I think these old midi soundtracks generally do a good job of matching medieval sounds with catchy melodies. I was quite partial, to the extent of having tried recreating it in music notation, to the medieval piece from the Lost Vikings 2 ost (called Dark Ages) which I think is also from around 1994. These pieces that you linked actually seem better than that LV one. I always wonder where these video game composers come from, they're typically totally unknown to me. Are they amateurs with an interest in midi music or just people who studied composition at a music school?
I may be wrong, but I think it is more typically the case that they are music school graduates (or at least rejects!) who weren't able to establish more prominent careers in the world of "academic" music, or perhaps rejected that path consciously for the benefits of extra creative freedom that work on video games offers in comparison to other venues (at least, that's the way it might have looked like before video game companies started morphing into their own corporate monsters). I haven't been able to find any info about Eric Heberling's background, but Glenn Stafford (the composer of the Lost Vikings ost you're referring to) is at least said to have "studied classical music", whatever that means.
I think you didn't comment on the idiotic cover image of the porn model next to the three barbarians. Given that it's the first thing you might see when you get the game it's a pity they elected something that would immediately date the game to not just a period of different technical capabilities, but one of seemingly different values.
Oh, I think the "values" in question were still very much appreciated in 1994, but you're right, the cover is totally misleading. I think the concept of the cover dates back to the timeframe when the "Arena" concept, with staged gladitorial battles etc., was still relevant for the game, and then they decided to keep it in order to boost sales. Who knows, there might still be some veteran players out there exploring every last dungeon in hopes of actually finding the cover model!
You’re not the only one who prefers Arena to Daggerfall, believe me. I myself prefer the second game, but I did enjoy running through the non-CD version as a Breton spellsword, the only time I finished the game.
You nailed the atmosphere of Arena: it punches way above its weight in effectiveness, even now. Musically and sonically, the towns and dungeons make you FEEL, which is good because the towns are otherwise relatively boring slogs. It’s amazing how powerful music can be.
Awesome review man.
I think these old midi soundtracks generally do a good job of matching medieval sounds with catchy melodies. I was quite partial, to the extent of having tried recreating it in music notation, to the medieval piece from the Lost Vikings 2 ost (called Dark Ages) which I think is also from around 1994. These pieces that you linked actually seem better than that LV one. I always wonder where these video game composers come from, they're typically totally unknown to me. Are they amateurs with an interest in midi music or just people who studied composition at a music school?
I may be wrong, but I think it is more typically the case that they are music school graduates (or at least rejects!) who weren't able to establish more prominent careers in the world of "academic" music, or perhaps rejected that path consciously for the benefits of extra creative freedom that work on video games offers in comparison to other venues (at least, that's the way it might have looked like before video game companies started morphing into their own corporate monsters). I haven't been able to find any info about Eric Heberling's background, but Glenn Stafford (the composer of the Lost Vikings ost you're referring to) is at least said to have "studied classical music", whatever that means.
I think you didn't comment on the idiotic cover image of the porn model next to the three barbarians. Given that it's the first thing you might see when you get the game it's a pity they elected something that would immediately date the game to not just a period of different technical capabilities, but one of seemingly different values.
Oh, I think the "values" in question were still very much appreciated in 1994, but you're right, the cover is totally misleading. I think the concept of the cover dates back to the timeframe when the "Arena" concept, with staged gladitorial battles etc., was still relevant for the game, and then they decided to keep it in order to boost sales. Who knows, there might still be some veteran players out there exploring every last dungeon in hopes of actually finding the cover model!