TLDR: If you haven't played FONV or FO3, then you should.AtlAg05 said:
What makes FONV better than FO4? I've only Ed played 4 and have always heard that NV was the best, so I'm curious.
FONV is good, but I think the sentiment towards Bethesda games really comes down to when you played them. From my experience, most people rank the first one they played over the others.
My first Bethesda game was Morrowind on Xbox, back in 2004-05. That was the first open world game I had ever played, and you could literally do anything you wanted. You could create any spell, become a vampire or a werewolf... it blew my mind. The sheer freedom the devs gave the player in that game were above and beyond anything since. They have only added restrictions for the player, since then.
The main quest was by far the best, in any Bethesda game, as far as story. I remember honestly being excited to find the next NPC to learn more (and when I say "find", I mean like an honest to god manhunt without a dog to help you track them). Also, you had so many freaking factions you could join, with some factions blocking you from joining others because they were rivals.
However, Morrowind has many quality of life issues because it was such an early game. The mechanics are clunky as hell, and it is definitely a slog to get started. However, where you end up vs where you begin really does feel like you have become a true hero.
Oblivion was also fantastic, but the main quest wasn't as good as Morrowind. However, Oblivion had without a doubt the best faction questline in all of Bethesda games. To this day, I still find myself thinking about the first time I played through the Dark Brotherhood quest in Oblivion. Nothing they have done before or after has touched that questline. Damn, it was so good. Overall, Oblivion has a lot of great other side quests, as well.
Skyrim is great. I have probably played Skyrim more than any other Bethesda game. However, I would say what makes Skyrim great is the gameplay, mechanics, and exploration. It is the most modern Elder Scrolls game, so it is the one I go back to the most for ease of access and playability. The quests in Skyrim are all mediocre to simply not that good. I would say anyone who thinks Skyrim quest lines are great really needs to go play some other games.
How would I rank all 3? When ranking games, I usually try to place myself within my own memories, and rank them based on my enjoyment of them and how they affected me at the time I played them. For that reason, I rank Morrowind as #1. Do I go back and play it all the time? No. I don't feel like spending hours on mods to make it palatable for 2024 me.
With FO3, FONV, and FO4, there are definitely varying qualities of quests, but my biggest issue for replayability comes down to quality of life mechanics. I have replayed FO4 more than FO3 or FONV simply because of all the quality of life and enhanced game mechanics. I also prefer the FO4 leveling system over FO3 and FONV. I don't play FO4 for questlines and stories. I play it as an exploration RPG, which makes it great for me.
At the end of the day, it depends on what you are looking to get out of the game. Want story? FO4 isn't gonna win out. You want exploration and modern mechanics? FO4 is superior to me, though that is admittedly subjective. And if you've never played FONV or FO3, then they are definitely worth the playthrough because they are both great games.
