The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's main story is a masterpiece
Sean Clark reviews The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's main story.
During the past few weeks, I have been going through The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered’s Thieves, Mages and Fighters Guild, thoroughly enjoying the guilds of Cyrodiil while strengthening my character. Finally, I decided it was the perfect time to play the main story that has been praised by many since the game’s original release in 2006. I was excited to discover why friends and family told me that Oblivion’s main story was way better than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. After finishing the story, I not only understand the hype, but also am still buzzing over the experience. Major spoilers ahead.
Oblivion starts off with a narration from the Emperor of Tamriel, Uriel Septim VII (voiced by Patrick Stewart). He has dreamt of a Daedric invasion from the realm of Oblivion and has foreseen his death. The Mythic Dawn, a cult that worships the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, has plotted to assassinate Uriel Septim. To start the adventure, the Blades are escorting Uriel out of the Imperial City through a secret passage in the prison, which goes through the cell of the player.
As the player follows the Blades, the Emperor, who has seen the player in his dreams, entrusts the player with the Amulet of Kings, which is worn by those with the Septim bloodline that helps seal the gates between the mortal world and Oblivion. He must deliver it to Jauffre, the grandmaster of the Blades before tracking down Uriel’s illegitimate son, Martin Septim (voiced by Sean Bean). Martin is in Kvatch, which is destroyed after an Oblivion Gate unleashes daedra on the city. The player, now titled the Hero of Kvatch, closes the Oblivion Gate and liberates the city from the rest of the daedra.
I will go into more specifics during this review but essentially the rest of the story boils down to the Hero and Martin Septim working together to retrieve the Amulet of Kings that the Mythic Dawn stole from Jauffre, close Oblivion Gates that threaten the cities in Cyrodiil and prevent Mehrunes Dagon from returning to Tamriel.
There are three aspects that make the main story phenomenal: the urgency of the situation, the sinister Mythic Dawn and one of the best video game endings I have ever seen.
First, Oblivion Gates are a magnificent way to establish the threat of an end world scenario. At one point in the story, a gate appears outside of every city. The Hero needs to close them to stave off the threat before other cities can come to the aid of Bruma, which is being targeted by the Mythic Dawn for a Great Oblivion Gate. Going into the realms of Oblivion to close gates is a thrilling experience. Climbing up tall towers, defeating Daedra and grabbing Sigil Stones make it even more satisfying.
In Kvatch, the Hero sees the destruction the gates can cause, highlighting the urgency of recovering the Amulet of Kings as soon as possible since the Hero does not want that to happen to any other cities. Bruma is being targeted and gaining aid is crucial. When the big gate is open, there are guardsman from each city helping Martin hold off the swarm of Daedra while the Hero grabs the Great Sigil Stone. I will never forget the anxiety I had due to the time limit to close the gate before a Siege Crawler exits it. While inside, I sprinted past every enemy and grabbed the stone as fast as possible, feeling relief upon doing so.
This is where Skyrim’s main story truly fails. Dragons do not attack the Dragonborn in cities, dragons do not cause damage to populated places and they attack as a nuisance more than an actual threat. Whenever I play Skyrim, I enjoy so much else the game has to offer, and I care little about the story because I feel zero urgency. Yes, I did questlines before Oblivion’s main story, but once I got into it, I was captivated, wanting to save Tamriel from Daedra.
The final quest of Skyrim’s main story has the Dragonborn going to Sovngarde, away from the people in the mortal realm that we actually care about. During Oblivion’s ending, Oblivion Gates are invading the Imperial City and causing destruction. On top of this, even before the Battle of Bruma, I once went to the Imperial City to organize my gear and was attacked by several Mythic Dawn members in the middle of town, catching me off guard. I wonder which game has more stakes involved?
Let’s discuss the Mythic Dawn. During Skyrim’s Pieces of the Past quest, the Dragonborn learns of them causing “Oblivion Crisis” and how the Mythic Dawn brought the empire to their knees. Since I knew Oblivion was the game with the crisis, I was eager to see the Mythic Dawn. I was more than satisfied with the portrayal of the Mythic Dawn. It is a fantastic representation of how terrifying and evil cults can be. The Mythic Dawn worships destruction, proclaiming that Mehrunes Dagon is more powerful than the Nine Divines, wanting to “cleanse the world” by murdering everyone.
A cult cannot be a cult without a powerful cult leader. In Oblivion, the leader of the Mythic Dawn is Mankar Camoran (voiced by Terrence Stamp). He is fanatical, spreading the propaganda of the Daedric Princes to his vast number of followers. After collecting a Great Sigil Stone, Great Welkynd Stone, the armor of Tiber Septim and a Daedric Artifact, Martin uses the Mysterium of Xarxes to create a portal to Camoran’s paradise. There, the Hero defeats him to retrieve the Amulet of Kings, but not before seeing Camoran’s paradise of lush, beautiful and peaceful landscapes. This is notable as it occurs while the Daedra are torturing people in caves underground. This represents how truly power-hungry Camoran is, making his defeat satisfying.
However, the Mythic Dawn are still a threat after defeating Camoran, leading us to the ending. As High Chancellor of the Elder Council, Ocato, is proclaiming Martin as Emperor, Oblivion Gates are opening up in the Imperial City. Eventually, the worst-case scenario has occurred: Mehrunes Dagon is physically in Tamriel. He is taller than most buildings in the city, giving him a terrifying presence on top of his strength. Alas, with the amulet, Martin reaches the Temple of the One where the Dragonfires are usually lit.
With Dagon loose, Martin commits the ultimate sacrifice. Since the amulet is made with the blood of Akatosh (divine who created the dragons and dragonborn), Martin turns into a dragon and in an epic cinematic kaiju-style battle, Dagon is driven back to Oblivion, closing the gates of Oblivion forever. The dragon becomes a statue, ending Martin’s life. The Septim line is ended but the “Oblivion Crisis” is over.
I am forever grateful that I was never spoiled on how the “Oblivion Crisis” ends because experiencing that ending for the first time was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only was Camoran defeated in his own paradise, but his claims about Dagon being more powerful than the Nine Divines was proven wrong in glorious fashion. The main theme of the game is “Reign of the Septims,” meaning Martin was the hero, not the Hero of Kvatch. This works because unlike Skyrim where the Dragonborn was the hero of legend, there was another character other than the protagonist that was equally important to saving the world. It is satisfying because it is more complex than the lone hero simply killing the monster and grabbing the artifact as in Skyrim. As an aside, the theme kicking in right as Martin turned into the dragon sent chills through my whole body.
Also, I appreciate the consequences of the event. The Septim dynasty ends with Martin’s sacrifice, causing chaos to the Empire that is still being felt in Skyrim. Since gates were opened all over Tamriel, the Thalmor rose to power because of how they closed gates in the Summerset Isles, a massive issue in current Tamriel affairs. The Mythic Dawn struck as big of a blow to the Empire without winning as they could have, making the crisis a serious event in Elder Scroll lore.
Overall, while I still prefer Skyrim’s gameplay, character relationships and open world over Oblivion, experiencing the “Oblivion Crisis” as the Hero of Kvatch was an unforgettable journey. This effectively made Oblivion one of my favorite video game stories of all time. All I have left to finish is the Dark Brotherhood questline and the Shivering Isles DLC. My headcanon is the Hero retired after Martin’s sacrifice, the events of the Dark Brotherhood questline are nightmares of the Hero from Mehrunes Dagon after acquiring his razor and a method of revenge from the prince.