The start of the legendary Elder Scrolls series is no letdown, and for its time, it was a great game.
The game can be downloaded for free off the Elder Scrolls website. Yes, it is legal. However, the game came out in 1994, and, thusly, requires you to use DOSBox to run it. If you are new to DOS emulators, you may want to google DOSBox, as well as a nifty program called "D-Fend", which is a GUI for DOSBox. Arena is a very slow game if it runs on DOSBox's default of 3000 CPU cycles. I run it at 15k cycles for a decent speed. Onward with the show now, yes?
-= Graphics =-
The graphics of Arena are decent for its time. How are the graphics? They are only slightly lower in quality than RS1 (aka RuneScape Classic)'s graphics. Most of the game has good graphics, though there is the occasional npc or enemy that looks like it could have been drawn in MS Paint.
-= Sound =-
The music can get annoying after a while, as with some sounds. Regardless, the sounds are good enough for a DOS Game. There is a little bit of voice acting, though it is nothing to get hyped up about.
-= Gameplay =-
I am new to the Elder Scrolls series. As a result, the combat system at first seemed a bit odd. You use the right mouse button to swing your weapon. Also, navigating dialog can be a bit annoying. I was also surprised that, on my second character, any enemy I killed had about a 40% chance to drop a staff! How strange. You will find yourself running around town buying items and doing chores more often than doing any combat. The day/night cycle is also painfully slow, and even the towns are monster-infested when the sun is down. This almost forces you to spend money on an inn so that you can sleep until the next dawn. The game is harder than it seems. Combat with a monster can sometimes be very tricky, and you will find yourself dying often. Since there is no ressurection if you die, it will be a common "Save and Load a LOT" scenario.
-= Story =-
The story is not as strong as that of the other games. After a quick introduction, you find yourself in a dungeon, and a pretty tricky one at that. You will find yourself dying in the starting dungeon quite often. After that, the story is a basic "find the pieces of the shattered artifact and defeat the bad guy" scenario.
-= Closing =-
In closing, The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a decent game for its time, but should never be placed in comparison with one of the newer games. If you have the time to configure DOSBox, and get used to the controls, then you will enjoy the game.