History YMMV / TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind

* FranchiseOriginalSin: ''Oblivion'' and especially ''Skyrim'' get criticized for "dumbing down" the series' mechanics and complexity, removing skills and simplifying gameplay. ''Morrowind'' itself actually began the series trend of removing content and mechanics compared to its predecessor, ''Daggerfall'', which included numerous skills (languages, climbing, etc.), the ability to buy a ship, use a wagon for storage, knightly orders, and more. While ''Daggerfall'' at times resembled a "fantasy life simulator" rather than a conventional RPG due to its gargantuan size and scope and role-playing possibilities, ''Morrowind'' had a much more modern game design philosophy, coming down on the opposite side of the [[SlidingScaleOfVideoGameWorldSizeAndScale Game World Scale]] and [[SlidingScaleOfContentDensityVsWidth Content Density Scale]] (while still being ''much'' larger than other contemporary [=RPGs=]). But unlike ''Oblivion'' and ''Skyrim'' which clearly dumbed down various mechanics to make the games more mainstream and appealing to console gamers, ''Morrowind'' was still a hardcore RPG with ExponentialPotential and content density, while also having a unique and exotic world. Although ''Morrowind'' was still less ambitious than ''Daggerfall'' (a game which, without exaggeration, may be the most ambitious RPG of the 20th century) it still managed to be a sophisticated RPG with deep mechanics. Future ''Elder Scrolls'' games, however, would dumb things down and remove skills/mechanics for no reason other then to be more appealing and accessibilty to casual fans, which upset many long-time series fans.

--> "Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Together we shall speak for the law, and the land, and shall drive the mongrel [[FreudianSlip lizards]] of the Empire-[[LastSecondWordSwap DOGS]], [[DiggingYourselfDeeper I meant dogs.]]"

* SpecialEffectsFailure: On some ATI video cards, the sun is ''black instead of white''. Fortunately, there's [[http://mw.modhistory.com/download-55-6374 an easy fix.]]

** Caius Cosades, the absolutely shredded, skooma addicted spymaster of the Blades

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: By modern standards, it's hard to believe that ''Morrowind'', with its obtuse quests, cumbersome map, lack of NPC AI, and Nintendo 64-era graphics, was cutting-edge at its time. This is especially common among fans of the series who started with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' or ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' and then went back to try to play ''Morrowind''. Most heard veterans of the series (particularly on the official forums) hyping the game up but were underwhelmed when they went back to play it in comparison to the newer games. Most of the complaints were toward the obtuse quests (''Morrowind'' laughs at your desire for quest markers), [[UsefulNotes/RandomNumberGenerator dice-roll oriented]] combat system, and graphics which look rather outdated by the standards of not only later games, but even games that were already out at the time. Luckily, at least for those who complain about the combat and graphics, there are GameMod solutions. (most notably, the ''[[https://tesrenewal.com/morroblivion-download Morroblivion]]'' total conversion makes the combat more like ''Oblivion'''s)

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: By modern standards, it's hard to believe that ''Morrowind'', with its obtuse quests, cumbersome map, lack of NPC AI, and Nintendo 64-era graphics, was cutting-edge at its time. This is especially common among fans of the series who started with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' or ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' and then went back to try to play ''Morrowind''. Most heard veterans of the series (particularly on the official forums) hyping the game up but were underwhelmed when they went back to play it in comparison to the newer games. Most of the complaints were toward the obtuse quests (''Morrowind'' laughs at your desire for quest markers), [[UsefulNotes/RandomNumberGenerator dice-roll oriented]] combat system, and graphics which look rather outdated by the standards of not only later games, but even games that were already out at the time. Luckily, at least for those who complain about the combat and graphics, there are GameMod solutions. (most notably, the ''[[https://tesrenewal.com/morroblivion-download Morroblivion]]'' total conversion makes the combat more like ''Oblivion'''s and the ''[[http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36945 Morrowind Graphics Overhaul]]'', with over a ''quarter of million'' downloads, which significantly improves the quality of the graphics.)

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Oblivion and especially Skyrim get criticized for “dumbing down” the mechanics and complexity, removing skills and simplifying gameplay. Morrowind itself began the series trend of removing content and mechanics. Compared to Daggerfall, Morrowind removed numerous elements such as language skills, the ability to buy a ship, knightly orders, and various other things. While Daggerfall at times resembled a fantasy life simulator rather than a conventional RPG due to its gargantuan size and scope and role-playing possibilities, Morrowind had a much more conventional design philosophy. But unlike Oblivion and Skyrim which clearly dumbed down various mechanics to make the games more mainstream, Morrowind was still a hardcore RPG with a lot of possibilities and content and also had a unique and exotic world. While Morrowind was still less ambitious than Daggerfall (a game which, without exaggeration, may be the most ambitious RPG of the 20th century) it still managed to be a sophisticated RPG with deep mechanics. Future Elder Scrolls games however would dumb things down and remove skills and mechanics for no reason other then to be more appealing to the mainstream, which upset long-time fans.

*** [[StupidStatementDanceMix What, no love for]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-K2rUP86M Dagothwave]]? Shame on you, sweet tropers.

* CommonKnowledge: The idea that the Sixth House would have been joinable but was not finished or was removed is a prevailing claim in the community. While there are some in game suggestions about the idea of joining, as well as code snippets visible in the Construction Set (and utilzed by modders for various "Join the Sixth House" mods), the developers have been coy when asked and have only implied that it was going to be a joinable faction. Naturally, it remains a prevailing theory/claim because, in game, there are allusions to the idea that you could have joined them due your status as TheChosenOne, and because Dagoth Ur has a large DracoInLeatherPants status in the fandom, but regardless the widespread acceptance of this idea usually is followed by the idea that the player could have joined him without issue.

%% * MemeticMolester: Crassius Curio. How he speaks, what he writes... Just everything about him screams this, really.

* MemeticMolester: Crassius Curio. How he speaks, what he writes... Just everything about him screams this, really.

** The silt strider is a gigantic arthropod used as a means of public transport throughout Vvardenfell. A bit odd so far, but not too out of place for the setting. However, in order to allow for passengers, cargo, and of course the driver, parts of the creature's shell are hollowed out. The driver then controls the strider by DIRECTLY MANIPULATING THE CREATURE'S INTERNAL ORGANS. Fortunately the silt strider doesn't seem to mind.

** Slaughterfish are the watery equivalents: the player needs to barely dip their toe in the water, and it'll be snapped out by a ravenous hungry piranha. It is almost impossible to enter any river, lake, or sea, without the battle music starting and soon getting swarmed. Thankfully, much less of the game is spent in the waters, they die easier than cliff racers, and of course can't follow to the land, leading into them being rather overshadowed by their flying cousins - but in any other game, they would still be the worst enemy ever.

* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Prior to ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' coming out, it was ''Morrowind'' that was considered to be "the symbol of all the bad trends in the industry" by the VocalMinority of "hardcore" fans. And mostly for the alleged reason of "dumbing down" for console players. Ironically since then, it is now considered the last ''good'' ''Elder Scrolls'' game by mostly the same crowd.

*** [[StupidStatementDanceMix What, not love for]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-K2rUP86M Dagothwave]]? Shame on you, sweet tropers.

--> "Look, I'm sorry, I was just really expecting a Dunmer...'Why?' Because you were a Dunmer the last eight [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] times, that's why!"

** Dagoth Ur meetings various non-Dunmer Nevarines using an AI voice generator - particularly the Argonian.

* SignatureScene: Stepping off the boat at the very beginning of the game. It's a bright day where, unless you've dallied in the boat, the orchestral swell of the main theme hits as soon as you step outside adding to the "epic" feel. One of your first views, letting you know that this isn't going to be a run-of-the-mill MedievalEuropeanFantasy like the previous two games, is the Silt Strider against the far bank of the river.

* FakeLongevity: To some, the Hortator and Nerevarine quests. Do they make the player interface with the world and the customs of Vvardenfell before you can complete the main quests? Or do they just artificially lengthen the play time? Fortunately for those who think the latter, there is an intended way to skip these quests, but only if you have a high fame stat, which is only gotten by completing other questlines.