Who else here is a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls/Fallout series? I'm talking about the main series of games in each franchise (Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 1, 2, 3, New Vegas, and 4 for Fallout). How would you rank each game and why?
For me it'd have to go:

Elder Scrolls
1. Daggerfall
Absolutely astonishing for a 1996 game and a game in general. The story, political tensions, and character building/RPG elements are all there making for the ultimate fantasy role-playing game. The world is enormous. Think of any open world game other than Daggerfall and multiply it by 10. Daggerfall has THE largest world I have ever played in and you will probably ever play in. It's that huge and this is only the 2nd game in the series. The world itself isn't the best but the vastness of it makes for a great exploration experience. It has that iconic fantasy feel with the incredible lore of the Elder Scrolls in there and this is before Bethesda messed up all the lore.
2. Morrowind + expansions
Amazing game. If Daggerfall has the largest open world, Morrowind has the most unique open world. Lacking completely in size, the surrounding and ambiance of Vvardenfell are unmatched. Morrowind keeps the classic RPG character creation elements but lacks the more unique and complex mechanics from Daggerfall, which is a bit of a setback, making speech a little less engaging. The magic and alchemy, however, is great. The combat is a little tedious but gets better when you level up. STICK TO THE SKILLS YOU WANT.
3. Skyrim + expansions
Another great game. Skyrim's world is the best for me. Nothing can top the scenery in the planes of Whiterun or the mountains of the Reach. Exploration is also really great, with caves and dungeons requiring almost no backtsuffer. The combat, magic, and alchemy suffers due to the need to bring in newer audiences, which is understandable, but the feel of combat is much better than the previous titles, with weapons and spells having REAL impact. The radiant quests are a bore, however. The addition of mods brings this game to whole new levels though.
4. Oblivion + expansions
A fun experience but it definitely falls flat on many areas. The world itself was more dull but still fun to roam, especially in the cities. The quests and dungeons just weren't as enjoyable as those of Morrowind or Daggerfall, especially the main quest. The Shivering Isles does make up for that a little. The combat overall was a step-up from Morrowind but many of the more advanced aspects were taken out in favor of ease of use for new RPG players. The potion creation and spell-crafting are still great though and having a spell key was better than requiring to have a free-hand in Skyrim.
5. Arena
it's good for what it was. It started the series obviously. It introduced the lore and races/provinces of the world, but overall it's not much more than a standard dungeon crawler. There is definitely some enjoyment to be had since it does feel like a classic fantasy RPG in a first-person, 3D environment.

Fallout
1. New Vegas + expansions
Incredible experience. The dialogue and variety of quests are unmatched, even for the Elder Scrolls. There is a reason why this game is so beloved by Fallout fans both new and old. The newer fans can play it for the first person action-RPG that it is and the older fans will notice something similar in that it takes the storytelling of the first two Fallout games and brings it into a 3D world. The lack of black/white choices are what makes this game better than its predecessor (Fallout 3), with the only truly BAD faction being the Fiends but even they are subject to the effects of drugs (chems). The gunplay is an upgrade from Fallout 3 though still dated and the perks/skills have more variety/cater towards a unique character build.
2. Fallout 2
This may have been my number 1 pick if it weren't for the gameplay. I'm generally not a fan of top-down/isometric games in general (just not my style of play) but the story, dialogue, characters, and quests kept me playing, as well as the weapon variety. I began to warm up to the shooting eventually to the point where I didn't mind the turn-based combat all that much. The choices you make truly matter, just as they do in New Vegas and the fact that creatures like Super Mutants aren't just feral monsters and have functioning societies is really cool to see for the first time. The Enclave added an extra layer of awesomeness to the game that was missing from the first Fallout.
3. Fallout 3 + expansions
This was the first Fallout game I played so I may be a little blinded by nostalgia, but I can turn this game on any time of the day and just play. This game introduced me to Fallout and it definitely has things going for it. A lot of the dialogue can be quite hilarious and some of the characters are memorable. The quests were all really fun to play through and the abandoned ruins were great to explore. The world itself was a bit dull and the main quest itself was as well. The enclave was given this "evil" persona that didn't work well and the Lyons Brotherhood of Steel was just Knights in Shining Armor. Despite its flaws, I can't bring myself to dislike this game in any way. A very fun experience.
4. Fallout 4 + expansions
It's a fun game, people. The exploration is great. The ruins of Boston and their abandoned buildings are a blast to go through and are honestly much more varied than in previous games. The problems with this game, in particular, come from the mediocre plot, characters, and dialogue, which were an extreme let down after I had played Fallout 2 and New Vegas. The gunplay was improved however but the weapon variety was terrible, even worse than 3's. Definitely not a bad game by ANY means, just not the best Fallout game.
5. Fallout
Truth be told, I haven't played enough to give it a thorough review. I just can't get into this after playing Fallout 2. It has the same overall gameplay but the story just doesn't grip me as much and the time limit just adds an unnecessary urgency to the game. I did quite enjoy what some of the Brotherhood members had to say but I thought a lot of the dialogue was a bit bland, although I heard great things about the Super mutants and the Master, so I'll have to just try again for this one.

For one, AMAZING post!!! I absolutely love both franchises and I'm always pumped for the next entry in both universes. I can't really rank them all since I haven't played all of them, but I can say that the list (of games I played) would go like this...


1. New Vegas + Expansions
2. Skyrim + Expansions
3. Fallout 3 + Expansions
4. Oblivion + Expansions
5. Fallout 4 + Expansions

You really owe it to yourself to try Morrowind. The overall feel of the game is unlike any other. Getting into Daggerfall may be a little more daunting as it was for me the first time. It is possible to EASILY mod Morrowind if you’re a newcomer by getting an overhaul that modernizes the games a bit and provides some better textures. With Daggerfall, you’re on your own. There aren’t any mods that I know of but there is a WIP Unity version of the gamethat’s supposed to make the graphics look less like a 90s Wolfenstein game.

Also what did you like about New Vegas the most cause I personally consider it and Daggerfall to be among my favorite games of all time. Up there with Deus Ex and Metal Gear Solid II.

I just loved how weird, fun, and awesome everything was. Similar to Deus Ex (assuming you mean the first one(one of my personal favorites as well)), the game has the ability to ground you back into reality after killing a deathclaw with a sequoia while in that HOT NCR veteran ranger armor. I felt like I could get lost in that game for hours, which I did (on my Xbox). When I was younger I would just patrol the Mojave, looking for every easter egg and gun that I could find with Rex and Boone as my aides. The DLC was probably where I enjoyed the game the most. Old World Blues had something in it, and no it wasn't the bonus tracks they added in the radios, but just the atmosphere of the world. Every DLC for New Vegas contrasted each other and was beautiful in their own ways. I won't forget the places/times I played the game either. New Vegas is just an amazing game and I feel like I can't glorify just one piece of it because all of it was just wonderfully put together and always kept you craving more.

Fallout 4 reminded me a lot about Dead Island instead of an RPG style Fallout New Vegas brought.

Old World Blues was definitely the best add-on. It had humor, weapons, and the most unique characters; And they were all robots for crying out loud. I felt that Dead Money was way better than many think. It may not have been as open as the others and you had to complete it before you could leave but it felt like its own little horror exploration game and the villa was a blast to go through.

You have a point there. It was definitely more “action exploration game” than a full-blown RPG, even more than Fallout 3.

This is how I'd rank all 10 of them based on overall enjoyment/amazingness.
1. New Vegas + expansions
2. Daggerfall
3. Morrowind + expansions
4. Fallout 2
5. Fallout 3 + expansions
6. Skyrim + expansions
7. Oblivion + expansions
8. Fallout 4 + expansions
9. Arena
10. Fallout

Since I am a big ED-E fan, i gotta recommend Lonesome Road.

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Lonesome Road was a good DLC but it just wasn't the best to me.