{"id":1562220,"date":"2026-04-25T08:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/RssrTTz55KwQMQmKKDACC5"},"modified":"2026-04-25T08:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:03:12","slug":"this-composer-just-remade-the-entire-soundtrack-of-the-first-elder-scrolls-game-it-really-gives-you-a-sense-of-wonder-and-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/this-composer-just-remade-the-entire-soundtrack-of-the-first-elder-scrolls-game-it-really-gives-you-a-sense-of-wonder-and-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"This composer just remade the entire soundtrack of the first Elder Scrolls game: ‘It really gives you a sense of wonder and adventure’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first game in the series, and has an OST composed by Eric Heberling (who would also be on audio duties for The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.) TES: Arena shipped in 1994 on MS-DOS, meaning that Heberling’s orchestral-style compositions had to be compressed to fit the technology of the time, something he bemoaned in a 2011 interview<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“The Elder Scrolls games used an ‘orchestral’ palette,” said Heberling. “I mainly used the instruments offered by General MIDI. That said, I composed with a Roland Sound Canvas, when few players owned anything remotely similar. Inevitably, I had to convert them for FM Sound Blasters, etc. All the tracks suffered as a result. Especially the arrangements that relied on the timbre of the GM samples. Those I reinforced with counter-melodies fared better.”<\/p>\n

More than 30 years later, an enterprising young composer called Ryan Zachariah Martin (YouTube<\/a>, Bandcamp<\/a>) has taken it upon himself to compose a remake of the entire OST, and has released it across various platforms including Spotify<\/a>. I’m a total sucker for cover versions of classic videogame music, purely because it’s always great to hear the original compositions break free of their technological limitations:, and this is a wonderful example.<\/p>\n

In another interview Heberling had highlighted the song Oversnow<\/a> as one of his favorite tracks, and I can see why: it quickly builds layers into a beautiful crescendo before looping back on itself. In Martin’s version, the counter-melodies of Oversnow have been gorgeously re-done. <\/p>\n

“Arena has always been a game that I hold close to my heart,” Martin tells PCG. “Not only is it the first entry of my favourite series, The Elder Scrolls, but a time capsule in both old-school RPG game design & music. It was actually released the year I was born, and I discovered it by working my way slowly backwards from Morrowind. When I read that the game featured all of Tamriel, I had to try it. I felt an odd nostalgia for it and it was a wonderful experience.”<\/p>\n

As for the qualities of the Arena soundtrack itself, Martin says it “has many similar motifs and elements that feature in the Daggerfall soundtrack and I think it’s important that fans of The Elder Scrolls have the opportunity to hear a modernised version of the music, using software that wasn’t available at the time.”<\/p>\n

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\"Arena's<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Bethesda)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I ask Martin what he likes most about the Arena OST, and the remake track he’s proudest of.<\/p>\n

“My favourite thing about the Arena OST is that it perfectly fits the retro-RPG vibe,” says Martin. “It’s grandiose and varied, with eerie, atmospheric dungeon tracks & powerful, orchestral pieces for the intro & outro. It really gives you a sense of wonder and adventure, helping the player fully immerse themselves in the experience.”<\/p>\n

I have to concur: it must be decades now since I last turned on Arena, but I’ve had this remade OST playing in the background for the last hour or so and the ’90s stylings are undeniable. That “retro-RPG vibe” Martin references is a perfect description, and at times it almost felt like I was back on my dad’s PC playing Arena with a slideshow framerate in a nook of the dining room.<\/p>\n

“I am most proud of the character creation track,” says Martin. “I loved the tribal & orchestral mix and it was a challenge trying to recapture that in a more modern setting, whilst staying true to the original. The intro theme is another piece I was quite proud of. I think I captured the feel of what the intro was originally aiming for, with an emphasis on the beauty & simplicity of the melodies, rather than a bombastic orchestral piece.”<\/p>\n

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