That's because it's text based dialogue. It's impossible to have that much dialogue depth (I found 90% of dialogue in Morrowind is just waffle however) in a game with voiced dialogue. I find voiced characters a lot more "immersive", to use that word, than text based characters.

yeh because no one ever plays old games they like because of nostalgia

Nostalgia aside, the fact is morrowind is simply a better game than both oblivion and skyrim. All the kids who can't handle morrowind should go play something more dumbed down and easy. I recommend the sims 3 (best graphics!), dragon age 2, new call of duties, oblivion, fable 3 etc

If you explained this point of view in any sort of depth, instead of with an air of superiority and vague references to games you think inferior, you wouldn't come across as a typical Morrowind troll.

I suspect this is the big reason.

I've played all of them since Daggerfall. I also played Redguard and BattleSpire which were action games set in the TES universe.

Morrowind was my least favorite TES RPG and the only one I didn't finish because I found it too boring to stand.

You prefer a nearly naked guy in a mask over an awesome dragon?

There are plenty of intelligent people out there who have already written paragraphs about why morrowind is good. If you want I'll go search some for you as you probably can't work the search bar.

For me it's probably all of the diversity in the world, among other things. And the huge amounts of info and lore you could get out of all the NPCs. Those are some of the things that I thought Morrowind did and were better than Oblivion. But Oblivion did improve over Morrowind in other areas of the game. Also, for Morrowind, it does take a few hours or so to start getting into it, partly (or mostly) because of how the combat works and depending on which weapon skills you chose as Major Skills. (And this is especially true if you played Oblivion, and now probably Skyrim too before you ever played Morrowind) As for Skyrim, I haven't explored that much but I'm liking what I see so far and it's got some interesting locations.

And sure for Morrowind, part of it's probably nostalgia, but I also believe that since games in general and the style of them and how they play change from "generation" to "generation" that if you didn't grow up with those kinds of games, then you might just not be able to get into it because video games change so much after a number of years. (of course it's a case by case basis and it won't be true for everybody) I think part of what makes it hard for people to get into and play an older game they've never played before is because in newer games there's a lot more updated features that make it easier to do things or make you able to do stuff in a different way. And there's probably some other stuff like that too.

So I don't believe it's solely nostalgia. (And for pretty much any other video game too)

Forgive me if I can't be bothered to sift through fifteen pages of posts like the one you made that I initially responded to. If it's as abundantly obvious as you made out, I'm sure it'd be no trouble for you.

The people who chock love of Morrowind up to nostalgia are really ridiculous. Morrowind withstands the test of time, and I still play it to this day. It's not all about mods either, the only mods I use are graphics/texture mods and the big unofficial patch, which is, gameplay wise, essentially vanilla. Why do I think it's still such a great game?
The graphics are beautiful(even without texture and graphics mods). They're pixely and old, yeah. They're blocky, yeah. But they feel alive in a way that Skyrim and Oblivion never quite captured. Every part of the world feels different and new, whether it's walking through swampy marshlands or jumping across the tops of giant mushrooms. It was a world you wanted to walk across, instead of fast traveling to avoid the endless trek past the same five arrangements of trees.
The gameplay forced you to make decisions, and create a specific character. You had to roleplay. You had a massive list of very specific skills with major and minor categories, and they gave the game a real depth. Finding the best set of armor, getting the best weapon, was something you had to work for. Some pieces of armor that are common in the later games(deadric, for example) can be one of a kind in Morrowind, and if you wanted a full suit, you hunted it down. There isn't really a combat system, but at the same time there isn't really supposed to be. The game is a traditional RPG and the combat is based on that. If you can get into that kind of thing, the combat is as good as Skyrim and worlds ahead of Oblivion.

You may not like Morrowind, but you also may think it's [censored] phenomenal. It probably won't be anything in between. Go to the Morrowind forum, make a thread about good mods to fix the bugs but not [censored] up the core of the game, and give it a shot.

it was the first game most tes fans played. Morrowind has its own unique feel, its weird, with mushroom towers, ashlands, and living gods walking around, doesn't mean the combat didn't svck, the npcs were ugly and very awkward moving. It also had really pretty water

I still recoil at the notion that Morrowind rides on nostalgia. If a person plays it as much, if not more than Skyrim, than clearly there's something there - you could make that argument if I or others only played it once a year, for a few minutes, but that's just not the case.

Dismissing Morrowind-love to Nostalgia is not only disrespectful and dismissive of those who still enjoy the game, it's also not an intellectual argument.

I think it is a matter of nostalgia. Nostalgia for the game that introduced most of our forumgoers the true joy of an amazing series. The fact that it all started there and it was truly a marvel in it's time and that it was unique in the amount of content it offered made it, to many, the greatest game they had EVER played up until then and perhaps beyond. I think Skyrim is actually better, but for a lot (not all) MW fans, it all started there and saying anything is better is sort of like blasphemy towards Talos

No.

It's not nostalgia because that implies a mistaken fondness that exists because the passing of time has dimmed objective perceptions. This is not the case, because many of us still play Morrowind just as often as Skyrim, meaning that we still have current, up to date perceptions with which to judge Morrowind, and compare it to Skyrim.

There are those of us who feel that Skyrim just has not been a worthy spiritual successor to Morrowind, great game though Skyrim might be if taken by itself. People can disagree, but even whispering the word nostalgia is a buzzword for belittlement.

Morrowind really nailed the feeling of being dropped in the middle of a strange and alien culture, and having to find your way around. I found the main quest interesting and immersive, and at the end of it, I felt as though I had actually accomplished something in that world. This was pretty much the exact opposite of Oblivion, in which the main quest pretty much consisted of finding someone, escorting him around a bit, playing fetch while he sat around flipping through books, and then watching him become the hero. Oblivion wasn't bad, I just don't think it was very memorable. Shivering Isles was pretty much it's saving grace for me.

As for Skyrim, so far I'm really enjoying it. I'm not very far along the main quest yet, but I've already seen a few twists I wasn't expecting, and I'm looking forward to more.

nostalgia is the reason although i will admit there are some things morrowind did very well. like npc interactions and displaying the culture of the people however zealous and xenophobic it is. also very rewarding exploration and barely noticeable leveling. also if your very lucky you may just stumble across a very legendary item by chance. legendary items weren't all gotten from quests like they are in oblivion and skyrim. also the voice acting was very good in morrowind but still the main reason people insist morrowind is so great is nostalgia. i came into this series with morrowind thankfully nostalgia hasn't blinded me from seeing the progress oblivion and skyrim made for the series. although in some ways they where a step backward in the respects of npc interactions culture showcasing and weapon variety. but still the main reason most people insist morrowind is the best is because it was there first game.

I think you're just trying to annoy me now...

But, we can all at least agree that Morrowind did Dunmer voices the best, right?

To all the people who say Morrowind's combat system is horrible...

You're wrong.

Morrowind was based on RPG mechanics. You can tell your character to swing their weapon, but that doesn't mean you'll actually HIT anything. Anybody who has played pen and paper games understands and accepts this. Unless you're actually skilled with a weapon you will not land hits except by pure chance. Combat was based on your character's performance, on their weapon skill, on their fatigue level. In Oblivion and Skyrim, that is lost completely. You swing, you hit, you block, it's all YOU. Not your character. There is no sense of progression from prisoner to hero because the only thing that changes along that timeline is the color of your weapon and how much damage it does. In Morrowind you cannot start a character who has no weapon skills and then expect to fight everything and win with fancy footwork. Even a lousy mudcrab will kick your butt if your Killing Stuff skills are only 15, just like any other non-militant villager.

And then there's all the ways that Morrowind does not hold your hand.
* Your journal is complex, huge, descriptive. A long running game will easily push your journal past 100 pages of information, and you will have to actually USE it to keep track of what your objectives are. When something you were told three months ago suddenly becomes relevant, and you're leafing through your journal, you see all that you've accomplished and there is a strong sense of "This is my life here in Vvardenfel, this is what I have done".
* Weapons and armor wear out. This is good. It makes a skill useful, requires strategic planning (Do I keep going deeper into the cave or do I retreat and maintain my gear?), and is immersive.
* Fast travel is "in game" and actually MAKES SENSE. Want to go from Balmora to Tel Mora? Well, the mage's guild can teleport you, but if you really distrust the guild you could take a strider to Vivec and then a boat. And then there's the propylon indices, mark-and-recall, two different kinds of one-way teleportation, scrolls of windwalking... Getting where you going required five seconds of thinking to look at the most efficient way of doing it. You can't even really opt out of fast travel now in Skyrim because there's only one form of "in game" fast traveling to Morrowind's half a dozen, and it's horribly limited in its destinations.
* Health and magicka do not regenerate. Want to be healed or refreshed mid way through the dungeon? I hope you brought potions then. You DID plan ahead, right?

Etc.

Basically Morrowind offers more challenge, more immersion, and more options than TES4 or TES5. And that's why many still love it. Sure the graphics are pretty bad now unless you pimp the heck out of the game with mods, and sure it's not as polished as later games, but it has a stronger self identity and is ultimately a more rewarding experience when you triumph.

Morrowind was a great game, i just don't agree it's this almighty game which is lightyears better than Oblivion and Skyrim.

I'll agree from a pen and paper perspective Morrowind's combat system makes sense. But from a gameplay perspective it is one of the most cumbersome, frustrating combat systems I've ever played. I thought so in 2004, and I still think so now.

Because it is.

Yes, because standing right in front of someone and hitting them square in the face with a sword yet somehow missing makes for a great combat system.

/sarcasm

It makes for a better RPG combat system, but a poorer action game combat system.

TES games should be more about roleplaying than action.


Just ignore them. They're making themselves look like complete idiots by dismissing it as nostalgia. I bet a lot of them haven't even played the game, or they tried it for an hour or so and gave up. People often try and dismiss or belittle things they just don't "get" ... especially when the thing they just don't "get" is widely regarded as being better than something they like.

"Creative Vision", thats why morrowind is great.

It is a beautiful, exciting, rich, and well-written game, once the political intrigue of the factions, lore, and the main quest pulls you in, it just dosent let go.

^^

Basically. Morrowind's combat was atrocious, but its not an action game its an RPG based on a stats system that actually factors in to how well you do in combat. Not for everyone, but it doesn't make Morrowind a bad game because its not suited for your tastes.