Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV

Systems:

• SNES
• PS1
• GBA
• PSP
• DS (3D Remake)
• iOS (3D Remake)
• Android (3D Remake)
• Windows (3D Remake)
• Releases:
  • SNES: 1991
  • PS1: 2001 (JP: 1997, EU: 2002)
  • GBA: 2005 (EU: 2006)
  • PSP: 2011
  • DS: 2008 (JP: 2007)
  • iOS: 2012
  • Android: 2013
  • Windows: 2014

ESRB Rating:

• E10+ to Teen (T)
• Reasoning:
  • Mild Fantasy Violence
  • Suggestive Themes
  • Mild Language

Graphic Style:

• Detailed Pixel Art
• Cartoon 3D (3D Remakes)

Gameplay:

• RPG
• Turn-based combat
• Third-Person
• Single-player

Final Fantasy IV was the second Final Fantasy game to be released outside of Japan, which lead to it being released in North America as Final Fantasy II.

In this game, the player controls Cecil, a dark knight in service of his country Baron. When the orders he receives from his king clash with his conscience, he defects and teams up with a slew of friends from across the Earth and beyond to stop the machinations of the evil powers driving his world into darkness.

General Comments

This review was compiled based on the US SNES release of the game. Names used for enemies will be based on this version; please note that different releases have different enemy names.

Content that is exclusive to later releases has not been reviewed.

Due to the random nature of combat, players can reasonably expect to come into contact with any mentioned enemies; very few of them are avoidable.

Alcohol

Some NPCs make offhand comments about alcohol in bars and pubs.

In some versions, an item called Bacchus Wine can be used to cause the berserk status effect which causes characters to behave independently.

Animal Death

The first quest of the game involves Cecil and Kain going to the Village of Mist. On their way they kill a dragon who is defending the village who turns out to be the familiar of Rydia’s mother.

Aquatic Violence

While there are many aquatic-themed enemies, they are encountered just as regularly while walking on dry land as they are while wading through water. The party does not swim and is in no danger beyond standard random encounters.

At one point, the party is attacked by a sea monster while on a ship at sea. This causes the boat to capsize, and the party to become separated.

Avians

Raven and Roc enemies are based on large dragon-like birds.

Eagle, Cockatric [sic], and Rocbaby enemies are based on birds of prey.

Marion, Sorcerer, and Conjurer enemies have some sort of bird perched on their back.

Chocobos are large birds used as mounts in the Final Fantasy universe. Yellow chocobos are land-bound and can be ridden, white chocobos restore MP when interacted with, black chocobos can fly and be ridden, and Fat Chocobo stores items for the party. These are largely avoidable, but black chocobos are required to enter the Magnetic Cave near Toroia.

Body Horror

The boss Milon Z encountered on Mt. Ordeal is a grotesque undead creature with exposed bones showing through his skin and tentacle-like growths coming from his torso.

Edge’s parents are kidnapped by Rubicant and turned into strange, grotesque monsters by Dr. Lugae. The aftereffects of this are depicted, but not the transformations themselves.

The final form of the final boss Zeromus is a bizarre monstrosity: a framework of bone-like structures connected with red musculature and glowing blue eyes.

Bones

D.Bone, D.Fossil, and D.Lunar enemies are all skeletal dragons.

Skeleton, RedBone, and Skull enemies are animate skeletons.

The Milon Z boss is an undead creature with visible bones.

In the Magnetic Cavern, a few low-resolution skeletons are used as tiles for the floor in several rooms, as well as a few torch sconces that appear to be constructed from bones. These cannot be interacted with and simply exist to visually establish the danger of the area.

The final form of the boss Dr. Lugae is a skeletal robot.

The final form of the final boss Zeromus is a bizarre monstrosity: a framework of bone-like structures connected with red musculature and glowing blue eyes.

Brainwashing

Edge’s parents are kidnapped by Rubicant and turned into monsters by Dr. Lugae. They are hostile to the party when first encountered. Seeing their son again breaks them free of the control, and they chose to die rather than live further as monsters with no sense of themselves.

Claustrophobia

During an unavoidiable cut scene after defeating the boss Kainazzo, the party triggers a booby trap which locks them into a small hallway and begins to close the walls down around them. Two party members sacrifice themselves by casting a spell to turn themselves to stone in order to keep the walls from crushing the other party members.

Clowns

Marion, Sorcerer, and Conjurer enemies are clown-like puppeteer characters.

Dead Bodies

Characters are not killed when their health is depleted, but they are depicted as a fallen-over version of their sprite and have the status effect Swoon until healed.

When characters die outside of the battle screen, their corpses are depicted as lying-down sprites, and certain dead characters’ bodies will flicker and disappear when they die.

In the Magnetic Cavern, a few low-resolution skeletons are used as tiles for the floor in several rooms, as well as a few torch sconces that appear to be constructed from bones. These cannot be interacted with and simply exist to visually establish the danger of the area.

There are many undead enemies which are animate corpses. See also: Bones and Undead/Zombies content tags.

Death of Family/Friends

Rydia’s mother is killed during the beginning of the game.

Tellah and Edward both are depicted as struggling with the loss of Anna, Tellah’s daughter and Edward’s lover.

Over the course of the game, the party struggles with the deaths of several of its members, though all but one end up surviving.

Edge struggles with his parents’ deaths.

Depiction of Disaster

The first quest of the game involves Cecil and Kain traveling to the Village of Mist to deliver a package. This package is, in reality, a bomb that wipes out the village and kills its inhabitants.

There are several episodes throughout the game in which Baron’s forces are depicted attacking various cities, often by aerial bombing. The immediate effects and the aftereffects of these attacks are depicted.

After the death of her mother, Rydia summons Titan which creates an earthquake that separates Cecil and Kain and blocks the pass to her now-destroyed home village.

Depiction of War

Cecil was the leader of the nation of Baron’s air force, and the game opens with him on a mission to steal a magical crystal from a neighboring country. Baron’s military features repeatedly throughout the game and is often depicted attacking various cities through both ground action and aerial bombardment.

The dwarves of the Underworld make use of tanks to fight Baron’s air force and the Giant of Bab-il.

Disease

When Cecil discovers Rosa after leaving Baron, she is ill and the next quest involves going off to seek a cure for her disease.

Disruptive Home Life

Rydia’s mother is killed at the beginning of the game, leaving her an orphan.

Tellah raised his daughter Anna alone and, as a brilliant sage himself, is implied to have had very high hopes for her. Given the fact that Anna eloped with Edward because Tellah was angry at her for wanting to marry someone he assumes is just a lowly bard, this implies that Tellah was likely verbally or physically abusive when she attempted to go against his wishes.

Dolls

Puppet and EvilDoll enemies and the sub-bosses Cal and Brena resemble ball-jointed puppets.

The boss Calbrena is a giant doll.

Drowning

At one point, the party is attacked by a sea monster while on a ship at sea. This causes the boat to capsize, and the party to become separated. The party spends a good portion of the game under the impression that the missing party members have drowned, but this is not the case, and Cecil is eventually reunited with everyone who was lost.

Electrocution

Electric magic can be wielded by the party’s mages, Rydia’s summons, and the enchantments upon certain weaponry. Many enemies can also cast lightning spells.

Existential Despair

Kain and Golbez both struggle with guilt and despair when they realize that they have been mind-controlled into committing some terrible atrocities. They struggle with the philosophical hurdles of their responsibility for the things they did while under the mind-control.

Explosions

Several of the Fire spells and the Nuke spell usable by Tellah, Rydia, and FuSoYa and many different enemies throughout the game create damaging explosions. MegaNuke spell, usable by several bosses, creates explosions that damage all party members.

Bomb, Gray Bomb, Balloon, and Grenade enemies can Self-Destruct and cause heavy damage to one party member. This is depicted with a synthesized explosion noise and a puffy explosion sprite.

The MomBomb boss explodes at the party as it leads up to its third phase. This damages the entire party and is depicted the same way as the Self-Destruct attack used by other Bombs.

The Red Wings of Baron are depicted dropping bombs on several cities throughout the game. These explode with synthesized explosion noises and puffy explosion sprites.

Eye Horror/Eye Trauma

FloatEye, Red Eye, FatalEye, and Plague enemies are large winged enemies with a single large eyeball dominating their face. Attacking them doesn’t provide any different animations than attacking any enemy, but their huge eyes could be unsettling.

Felines

Panther and BlackCat enemies are based on big cats.

Ice Beast enemies and, despite the name, FlameDog enemies resemble large burning feline-shaped monsters.

Chimera and Mantcore [sic] enemies have a lion head.

Fire

The Dragonborn and enemy mages can use fire-spells.

Dragons and the Dragonborn both have fire breath attacks.

As the plot of the game heavily involves fire-breathing dragons returning after hundreds of years of slumber, dragon-attacks become a common occurrence, and the Dragonborn can often find ruined villages and homes which were burned as a result of dragon attacks.

In the ruins of Morvunskar, a mad-scientist mage killed several humanoid test subjects with fire.

Some traps shoot fire, while others involve hanging jars full of flaming oil, which can be shot down and explode on impact with the ground.

Flammable materials will often appear in dungeons. (See Explosion section for further details)

Ghosts

Ghosts appear in many places throughout the game, both friendly and hostile. They are usually depicted as transparent, glowing blue versions of normal NPCs.

Gore

Certain skeletons, especially those which appear in the dens of vampires, bears, trolls, or anything else that is liable to consume a human, are often covered in blood and still contain damaged eyes.

When beheaded or decapitated, both the head and neck of the slain character show the inner musculature of the neck.

The Dragonborn can also locate several varieties raw animal meat in the world, usually by looting it off of killed animals. The Dragonborn can also find the alchemy ingredients human heart, human flesh, giant's toe, Falmer ear, and sabre cat eye which are somewhat gory remains of the various beings and creatures and are used for alchemy.

Graphic Violence

The combat in the game is graphic enough to warrant its M rating: attacks produce visceral sound effects, blood stains weapons after combat, and humanoid enemies can be decapitated.

Guns

Dwarven sphere constructs have very powerful crossbow attacks which are vaguely gun-like. Large crossbow weapons which shoot explosive bolts are sometimes rigged up as traps within Dwemer ruins.

Heights

The player can climb cliffs, mountains, and buildings which can rise extremely high. They can fall from any of these and be damaged or die.

Incest

The seven book series “Poison Song”, added by the Dragonborn DLC, features an incestual relationship between adult siblings. The pair did not know they were related when they began their relationship but continued it after they discovered this information. The relationship is used to showcase the evil and unnatural nature of the couple and the family from which they descend. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this series can easily be avoided.

Insects

The chaurus are large insects which commonly appear in areas themed as dwellings for the subterranean Falmer enemies. When playing Skyrim on the PC, fan-made mods exist that turn the chaurus into rats. One can be found here. This mod also turns spider monsters into bears.

Spriggan enemies produce a sound like buzzing bees, and, when defeated, release a swarm of glowing particles which attack the player and could be interpreted as insects.

Butterflies, moths, bees, and fireflies can be harvested for alchemy ingredients.

In some places, tiny ants can be spotted crawling on top of large tree stumps.

Jump Scares

As the game is largely in first person and the camera stays very close to the player even in third person, it is very likely that enemies can appear and attack, seemingly out of nowhere, from behind the Dragonborn. This happens most commonly with wild animals like bears, wolves, and sabre cats.

In Nordic ruins, Draugr will often be interred in coffins which will, when approached, pop open suddenly, and the Draugr will emerge. This isn’t usually startling if it is anticipated, but can be startling when not. Similarly, in Dwemer ruins, Dwarven Spiders and Spheres can be dispensed from pipes in walls suddenly when the player approaches, and in Falmer dens, the Falmer enemies can jump down from their nests which are often suspended high in tunnels.

Dragons can appear suddenly while traveling in the world, and encountering them triggers special battle music, which can be startling if unanticipated or if the audio is on too loudly.

Shalidor’s Maze near the location Labyrinthian features very tight spaces and potentially startling encounters. With a narrow path, high walls, and many blind corners around which occasionally hide skeever enemies who jump out and attack the Dragonborn, traversing the maze can be unnerving. The maze is entirely avoidable, and the reward for completing the Maze, the Diadem of the Savant, can be found at a different location via a bug.

In all of these situations, spells such as Detect Life/Detect Dead or the shout Aura Whisper, can be useful to prevent jump scares. These spells cause auras to appear around entities, and the auras are even visible through walls, which makes spotting a potential scare early, possible. Playing with the audio off can also prevent some of the sudden loud sounds which could be triggering.

In the Dawnguard DLC, gargoyle enemies are introduced which appear as stone versions of themselves until they detect the Dragonborn or are triggered by an action, like pulling a switch, at which point they burst to life suddenly and likely startlingly. In their stone state, they cannot be detected with Detect Life/Detect Dead or the Aura Whisper shout. Casting spells at them in their stone state can trigger them to awaken on the player's terms, however.

Kidnapping

Throughout the game, the Dragonborn rescues many kidnapping victims and is even, occasionally, kidnapped themself. The following list is not necessarily comprehensive:

• Following the quest “Innocence Lost,” the Dragonborn will receive a mysterious letter. The first time they sleep after receiving this letter, they will awaken in a strange location and be given the quest “With Friends Like These...” which will give them the option of either being inducted into the assassin’s guild (to do so they must kill at least one of a set of three people who were kidnapped along with the Dragonborn), the Dark Brotherhood or of wiping out the assassins. This can be avoided by not completing "Innocence Lost."

• During the Companions job quest “Rescue Mission,” the Dragonborn must rescue and subsequently escort home a random, named villager who had been kidnapped by bandits, Falmer, Hagravens, vampires, or wizards.

• During the quest “The Heart of Dibella,” a young girl was kidnapped, and the Dragonborn must rescue her.

• During the quest “The House of Horrors,” a servant of the Daedric prince, Boethiah, was captured, and the Dragonborn is charged to rescue him.

• During the miscellaneous quest “Extracting an Argonian,” Derkeethus was captured and imprisoned and must be rescued by the Dragonborn.

• The Hearthfire DLC adds "Bandit Attack," a quest in which the Dragonborn's spouse can be kidnapped from any player-built home and must be either rescued or ransomed back. This can be avoided by marrying specific spouses who cannot be kidnapped (see the "Bandit Attack" link for the list) or by moving your spouse into one of the pre-built homes.

Mind Control

Vampires can create human thralls who are living humans who are merely bent to the vampire's will. One notable example is the vampiress Alva in Morthal, who, during the quest "Laid to Rest," has the villager Hroggar under thrall. When the Dragonborn encounters vampires in other areas, they will often have NPCs called Vampire Thralls who fight for them.

The ghostly denizens of the dungeon Rannveig's Fast will tell you how sorry they are for attacking you. The necromancer controlling them has stripped them of their will, forcing them to attack you, but they have enough sense of self and of morality to feel remorseful over it and will tell the Dragonborn "I'm sorry," and "This isn't what I want."

Murder

The Dragonborn can kill nearly any character in-game, and many must be killed over the course of the game. Certain quest-required non-player characters, as well as all children, are unable to be killed.

The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of assassins which the Dragonborn can join. The quest-line for the guild features the Dragonborn committing several murders.

The city of Windhelm is plagued by a string of murders perpetrated by someone known only as the Butcher.

When the Dragonborn first enters the marketplace in the city of Markarth, they have the opportunity to prevent a murder, though quick reflexes are necessary to kill the murderer Weylin before he can assassinate his target.

Mutilation

During the quest “Blood on the Ice,” the Dragonborn must track down a murderer in Windhelm who mutilates his victims to, as is later revealed, harvest parts of their bodies to perform a necromantic ritual. One such body is depicted, with large gashes in various places on the body.

During the quest “The Break of Dawn,” the Dragonborn must investigate ruins which are being controlled by a necromancer. Throughout, the dungeon, the player encounters failed necromantic experiments which appear as burned, desiccated corpses which flop about in unnatural ways when interacted with.

The book “16 Accords of Madness, v. XII” features the unintentional mutilation of a young woman by a warrior wielding a cursed blade. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.

Needles

In Nordic ruins, certain traps shoot needle-like poisoned darts when triggered.

Nudity

The game does contain partial nudity. The Dragonborn can remove all of their clothes, leaving a female Dragonborn in a bra and underwear and a male Dragonborn in a loincloth. This applies to most other humanoid character including their corpses; when all of their armor or clothing is removed, whether via pickpocketing or looting of a corpse, they will wear the same pre-set underwear as the Dragonborn.

Offensive Language

There are many instances of offensive language in the game. Below is an alphabetical lists of the ones that appear. This list is not exhaustive.

• Ass:
  • Vex of the Thieves Guild asks that the Dragonborn “not make her look like an ass in front of the Guild” by messing up any of the jobs she offers.
  • Maul of Riften will tell the Dragonborn to “watch [their] ass around” the city, if they fail a Persuade check against him when they first arrive.
  • Galmar Stone-Fist of Windhelm will taunt enemy Imperial soldiers in battle with the phrase, “The Emperor can kiss my ass!”

• Bastard:
  • “Bastard” is used in several places as the actual term for an illegitimate child; these uses will not be listed here.
  • During the introduction cinematic, when one of the captured rebel soldiers is beheaded, one of his compatriots calls the Imperial solders who have captured them “Imperial bastards.”
  • In the “Smuggler’s Journal,” which is found in a cellar at Mara’s Eye Pond, the smuggler who penned the book calls his employer “that bastard” after discovering the contents of his cargo: human bodies, which, some time after the journal was written, turn out to be sleeping vampires. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.

• Bitch:
  • Vex of the Thieves Guild uses the phrase “son of a bitch” in reference to a guild traitor.
  • Vipir the Fleet of the Thieves Guild, while under the impression that a particular character is a traitor to the Guild, calls her “that Dunmer bitch.”
  • Jarl Idgrod of Morthal uses the phrase “traitorous bitch” to describe a female vampire who had persuaded people to kill a woman and the woman’s young daughter.
  • Mjoll the Lioness of Riften may call Maven Black-Briar a “cold, unfeeling bitch,” when they walk past each other in town.
  • Galmar Stone-Fist of Windhelm describes the Stormcloaks as “the meanest, toughest sons of bitches Skyrim has to offer.”
  • During the quest “The Lover’s Requital,” Sibbi Black-Briar will call his estranged former fiancee a “bitch” and threatens violence against her.

• Piss:
  • Delvin Mallory of the Thieves Guild uses the phrase “piss-drunk mad” in one of the early dialogues with him.
  • If the Dragonborn is not a member of the Thieves Guild, Molgrom Twice-Killed, an imprisoned member of the Guild, will tell them to “piss off” when they speak to him.
  • Malus Maccius of the Honningbrew Meadery will tell the Dragonborn to “piss off” if they don’t want to buy anything from the meadery.
  • The Dragonborn expansion adds the book “The Poison Song, Book 1,” in which a character, discussing whether someone’s cursed, uses the phrase “Piss on the faerie and they piss right back on you.” None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.
  • Ungrien of Riften has a conversation with the beggar Sniff when asked for money, telling him, “If I even had a pot to piss in, I’d gladly share. Sorry.”
  • The book “The Argonian Account, Book 2” includes the use of the phrase “Hist piss” to describe a foul-rain that falls in the province of Black Marsh. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.
  • Maul of Riften will tell the Dragonborn to “piss off” after the conversation he will begin with the Dragonborn when they first enter the city.
  • Jarl Siddgier of Falkreath will send the Dragonborn on a quest to get quality mead, specifying that he wants “none of that local piss.”
  • General Tullius of Solitude will, during the main quest “Season Unending” complain during the negotiations about being metaphorically handed “a mug of sheep’s piss.” This quest can be avoided by completing the civil-war main plotline before working on the return-of-the-dragons main plotline.

• Multiple Uses of Offensive Language:
  • During the main-plot quest “A Blade in the Dark,” the Dragonborn’s companion, Delphine uses a number of swears during a fight with the dragon Sahloknir. She calls him “that bastard,” “you son of a bitch,” and “the damn dragon.”

Parental Abandonment

The orphans Francis Beaufort and Samuel of Riften’s Honorhall Orphanage were both abandoned there by their parents, who, as far as they both tell the Dragonborn, are still living. The Dragonborn has the option to adopt the children with the addition of the Hearthfire DLC.

The vampire Serana, though an adult, deals with her absent and abusive parents.

Physical Abuse

In the book “Mystery of Talara, Part 4,” a patron of a brothel is depicted as regularly abusing the prostitutes he hires. He is brutal enough to them that the text describes his regular favorite prostitute as “still healing from [his] appointment with her last week.” None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.

The residents of Riften’s Honorhall Orphanage are beaten by their caretaker, whom the Dragonborn has the option to kill as part of the quest “Innocence Lost.”

Sissel of Rorikstead is a young girl raised by her single father, Lemkil, after her mother died giving birth to her and her twin sister Britte. Sissel reports that Britte and her father both beat and abuse her regularly.

Psychological Horror

Many of the game’s locations could be considered unsettling. Many dungeons are dark, silent ruins full of undead and various other enemies, often of a frightening nature. A few notable potentially frightening locations include:

• Shalidor’s Maze near the location Labyrinthian features very tight spaces and potentially startling encounters. With a narrow path, high walls, and many blind corners around which occasionally hide skeever enemies who jump out and attack the Dragonborn, traversing the maze can be unnerving. The maze is entirely avoidable, and the reward for completing the Maze, the Diadem of the Savant, can be found at a different location via a bug.

• During the quest “The Break of Dawn,” the Dragonborn must investigate ruins which are being controlled by a necromancer. Throughout, the dungeon, the player encounters failed necromantic experiments which appear as burned, desiccated corpses which flop about in unnatural ways when jostled.

• The cavern of Blackreach which must be entered during the main plot can be unsettling. It is a dark, subterranean cave filled with desolate ruins, skulking Falmer enemies, and, at nearly 4 square miles in size, is very easy to get lost in.

Psychological Trauma

Farkas of the Companions accompanies the Dragonborn on two different quests. During the first, the pair of adventurers encounter large spiders, and during the second Farkas has to bow out of the exploration of a crypt, thanks to the phobia of spiders he developed thanks to their first delve together.

Cicero of the Dark Brotherhood is an assassin who went mad following his assassination of a jester. The jester’s laugh haunted Cicero for the rest of his life, especially so when he was faced with not receiving an honor he deemed himself worthy of: the position of Listener, the sole person able to communicate the wishes of the Night Mother, the assassin guild’s leader.

The Daedric prince of madness, Sheogorath, is in charge of the mentally ill and even works to make people insane, often leading them to commit many atrocities. For example, during Sheogorath’s Daedric quest “The Mind of Madness,” the Dragonborn must enter the mind of a long-dead mad emperor and help purge his mind of the traumas that drove him to insanity.

The book “16 Accords of Madness, v. IX” features the Daedric princes of dreams and madness, Vaermina and Sheogorath, respectively, making a bargain regarding which of them can make a mortal man the most hated by other mortals. Their methods turn the man insane. Vaermina gives the man horrific nightmares for ten years, and he becomes a both loved and reviled writer of horror books. After this, Vaermina stops interacting with him as per the contract, and Sheogorath ignores the man for the next ten years, leaving him to steep in the traumas left over from the nightmares and the abandonment he feels when his patroness stops talking to him. The man then turns to writing sacrilegious materials and is eventually put to death for his writings.

The use of the Daedric artifact the Ebony Blade is described in the “Admonition Against Ebony” with which it is found to have the ultimate effect of giving its wielder “the crazed eyes of those wild men who roam the hills chattering with rabbits.”

Racism

The racism featured in the game is all based on in-game lore and the series's fictional races rather than real-world races. The racism however contains very similar tones and manifests in ways similar to real-world racism.

Khajiiti caravans are migrant groups of traders from the feline race, the Khajiit. They report being met with fear and scorn by the locals, who associate them with crime and substance abuse, regardless of whether these accusations are founded or not.

In the city of Windhelm, the Dragonborn encounters rampant racism:

• The Dark Elves or Dunmer, who moved to the city as refugees after a natural disaster in their homeland, are forced to live in a slum and face racist abuse and threats against them.
• Trade caravans and other migrant groups are threatened by bandits, and the ruler of Windhelm refuses to offer aid.
• The Argonian dockworkers are not paid fairly for their labor.
• The Dragonborn can help with each these problems in different ways: by brawling with one of the Dunmers’ worst antagonists and gaining his respect which tones down the harassment somewhat, by taking out a group of bandits who threatened caravans and migrants, and by persuading the Argonians’ boss to pay them a fair wage.

The history of the Orcs is one of repeated harassment and ostracization by their human neighbors. Their homeland of Orsinium was burnt and rebuilt several times throughout history, and many Orcs live in strongholds in isolated parts of Skyrim, attempting to live out their ancient way of life, as far from the Nord’s negative impressions of them as possible.

The Forsworn are a group roughly analogous to Native Americans who had control of the part of Skyrim known as the Reach until Nordic settlers came in and claimed the land, kicking the Forsworn into the hills and out of power. They retaliate with guerrilla warfare against the Nords who have claimed the province.

Books which contain racist rhetoric or describe racism include “Scourge of the Gray Quarter,” “16 Accords of Madness, v. XII,” “The Alduin/Akatosh Dichotomy,” and others. None of the books in the game are required reading, so these can easily be avoided. (This section is incomplete.)

Rats/Rodents

Skeevers are rat-like enemies.

Non-hostile rabbits appear in the game. They can be killed by the Dragonborn but do not fight back and, in fact, run away from them. A count of killed bunnies goes in the Dragonborn's humorous "Bunnies Slaughtered" statistic.

Bats appear as an atmospheric element in certain areas, flying harmlessly out of caves or from under bridges.

In the Dawnguard DLC, the Vampire Lord form can morph into a cloud of bats as a short-range teleport or dash.

Reptiles

The Argonian race consists of reptilian humanoids.

The dragon enemies are reptilian.

While not depicted in this game, several elements of the Elder Scrolls lore feature reptilian creatures, some of which are mentioned in in-game books and appear in other games in the Elder Scrolls series. They are not depicted visually in any of the sources in this game. Notably, the Tsaesci race is another race of reptilian humanoids, and the lesser daedra species of clannfear and daedroth are reptilian.

Self Harm

During the main quest line, the Dragonborn must draw blood to open a door. To do this, they use a knife to make a cut on their hand.

The Moth Priests are figures in the lore of the game and do not appear in game unless the Dawnguard DLC is installed. These priests train intensively to read the Elder Scrolls which, over time, cause them to lose their vision. The Dawnguard DLC adds a Moth Priest character who reads several Elder Scrolls to help the Dragonborn on their quest and eventually goes blind in the process.

Sex Shaming

Haelga of Riften, owner of The Bunkhouse, is a devout follower of Dibella, the goddess of beauty and sex, and she practices her Dibellan arts (what we would commonly term kinky sex) with many of the men in town, at least one of whom is married. Haelga implies that she will be run out of town if word gets out that she is practicing her Dibellan arts.

The quest “Caught Red Handed” is given by Haelga’s niece Svana, who wants to shame Haelga for her sexuality in retaliation for Haelga’s treatment of Svana after the death of the girl’s parents. If the quest is undertaken, the Dragonborn must convince three of Haelga’s partners to give up the tokens they received after their rendezvous with Haelga. The Dragonborn must subsequently present the marks to Haelga to fluster and shame her. Each of the men reports very judgmentally about the strange things Haelga wanted to do with them, everything from sex in the stables to implications that Haelga drugged one of her partners.

Sexual Assault

During the quest “Caught Red Handed,” Bolli of Riften implies that, when he slept with Haelga, it was likely because she drugged him.

Sapphire of the Thieves Guild tells the Dragonborn of her backstory, in which her family was all killed she was captured and raped by bandits.

In the mythology of the Elder Scrolls series, the Daedric lord, Molag Bal, also called the "Lord of Rape," created the vampire race via the rape a young woman who became the first vampire. This bit of lore is brought up in dialogue in the Dawnguard DLC and is told explicitly in the book "Opusculus Lamae Bal." It is implied that Serana and her mother Valerica went through a special ritual to become vampires which may have involved a degrading or dubiously consensual sexual component.

In the book “Mystery of Talara, Part 4,” a patron of a brothel is depicted as regularly abusing the prostitutes he hires. He is brutal enough to them that the text describes his regularly hired prostitute as “still healing from [his] appointment with her last week.” None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided.

Sexual Harassment

During the main-plot quest “Diplomatic Immunity,” the Dragonborn must create a distraction during a party so that they can slip out to steal intelligence files. Several options for creating this distraction are presented, depending on which potential guests appear and one’s friendship with them. One possible distraction involves the NPC Erikur, a lecherous Nord who can be seen making passes at Brelas, a Wood Elf servant. After the Dragonborn witnesses one such exchange, they can talk with Erikur who will ask them to see if Brelas is sexually available. Talking with Brelas reveals that she is disgusted by Erikur, and she will politely ask if you will tell him to leave her alone. Returning to Erikur presents the options of either lying to him by saying that the pair can go to a more private area or telling him the truth about Brelas’s disgust with him. Either option will produce a sufficient distraction to the Dragonborn to leave the party, but Brelas will be carted away to the dungeons for causing the distractions with no repercussions for Erikur.

During the Thieves Guild side-quest “Toying with the Dead,” the Dragonborn must explore a Nordic ruin called Yngvild in order to collect the four journals of the ruin’s sole living inhabitant, a necromancer named Arondil. Among other things, the journals document Arondil’s unwanted advances toward the young women of a nearby town.

During the quest “Rise in the East,” the Dragonborn must track down a group of pirates and get information out of their leader, in order to track down the pirates’ base of operations. When they enter the inn where these pirates are staying, the men are harassing the resident bard, the daughter of the inkeeper. She attempts to call them out for their behavior, but, when told to leave her alone and “shut [their] filthy mouths,” they respond with “Oh we’ve got other things in mind for our mouths, sweetie.”

Muiri of Markarth exasperatedly queries the Dragonborn, “Why can’t the men in this city leave me alone?”

Svana Far-Shield of Riften reports being groped by the male patrons of her aunt’s Bunkhouse establishment.

In a note called “A Warning” which is found in Riften’s Ragged Flagon, Vex of the Thieves Guild warns fellow thief Delvin to stop trying to peek at her while she bathes.

During the quest “A Few Words with You” for Carlotta Valentia of Whiterun, the Dragonborn must persuade a bard who keeps harassing Carlotta to stop.

Sexualization/Objectification

During the main-plot quest “Diplomatic Immunity,” the Dragonborn must create a distraction during a party so that they can slip out to steal intelligence files. Several options for creating this distraction are presented, depending on which potential guests appear and one’s friendship with them. One possible distraction involves the NPC Erikur, a lecherous Nord who can be seen making passes at Brelas, a Wood Elf servant. He comments on her appearance and race, calling her a “likely-looking filly” and comments about elf women being “insatiable.” Brelas is noticeably disgusted by the unwanted advances but has to maintain politeness toward Erikur, as she is working while this happens. To read more about the "Diplomatic Immunity" quest, click here.

During the Thieves Guild side-quest “Toying with the Dead”, the Dragonborn must explore a Nordic ruin called Yngvild in order to collect the four journals of the ruin’s sole living inhabitant, a necromancer named Arondil. The journals document the necromancer’s experiments with reanimating corpses, his frequent fantasizing about the women of the nearby town of Dawnstar, and his eventual discovery of his necrophilic attraction to his test subjects. He acts out these attractions upon the bodies of dead women whom he reanimates to “a state of total complacency, bending to [his] every task and whim.” One such woman was someone he had met while living in Dawnstar, and, despite not even being able to recall her name, still feels and acts upon a sexual attraction to her. To read more about the "Toying with the Dead" quest, click here.

Several books contain instances of men’s objectification of women. None of the books in the game are required reading, so these can easily be avoided: (This section is incomplete.)

• The book “Mystery of Talara v1” features a procession of prostitutes and describes the objectifying reactions of the men watching them dance through the city. To read more about "Mystery of Talara v1" click here.
• The skill book “Jornibret’s Last Dance” features the lyrics of a ballad about a womanizing lord who spends the first dance of a ball eyeing the bosom of the woman he initially plans to love and leave that night before his plans change. To read more about "Jornibret's Last Dance" click here.

Sex Slavery

During the Thieves Guild side-quest “Toying with the Dead”, the Dragonborn must explore a Nordic ruin called Yngvild in order to collect the four journals of the ruin’s sole living inhabitant, a necromancer named Arondil. The journals document his experiments with raising the dead Draugr in the ruins and reveal that he has necrophilic relations with his subjects. The journals also document Arondil killing a woman who had wandered too far from the nearby town of Dawnstar which was the necromancer’s former home. The woman remembered Arondil from his time there, most notably for his creepy behavior toward the women of town. Arondil subsequently raises her body from the dead and carries out a sexual relationship with her body and those of other women. To read more about the "Toying with the Dead" quest, click here.

Slavery

The Falmer were once enslaved by their Dwemer kin and were forced to live underground in darkness and subsist on toxic fungi which, over the years, mutated them into the Falmer, a feral, blind, subterranean race of goblin-like creatures. References to this exist in locations like the Dwemer ruin of Irkngthand, which feature a zone called “Irkingthand Slave Pens.” To read more about "Irkingthand", click here.

In turn, the Falmer of the region Blackreach have enslaved surface dwellers. To read more about "Blackreach", click here.

While not depicted in this game, several elements of the Elder Scrolls lore feature slave trade, some examples of which are mentioned in in-game books or could be encountered when searching for more information on the series. Notably, the Dunmer race once enslaved the Argonian and Khajiit races.

Several books depict slavery. None of the books in the game are required reading, so these can easily be avoided: (This section is incomplete.)

• "The Marksmanship Lesson”
• "The Adabal-a”
• The book series “Bone” which is added by the Dragonborn DLC.

Snakes

Snakes appear in the Nordic art which appears in Nordic ruins across Skyrim. The most prevalent appearance of these snakes is as one setting on the various puzzles which open doors in Nordic ruins.

Spiders

Frostbite spider enemies are giant spiders. There are also several spider enemies in caves and other underground areas. For the Windows version, there are several "No Spiders" mods that can be applied to turn the spiders into bears. One can be found here. Note that this also turns insect monsters into rats.

Dwarven Spider enemies are golden constructs which vaguely resemble spiders.

Stalking

During the Thieves Guild quest “Scoundrel’s Folly,” the Dragonborn must tail a former guild asset who is part of covert operation to subvert and destroy the guild. To read more about the "Scoundrel's Folly" quest, click here.

Substance Abuse

Skooma is a narcotic drug in the Elder Scrolls series, and a few different characters seem to have problems with it.

• Wujeeta of Riften asks for the Dragonborn to help her get clean by giving her a healing potion. Once the Dragonborn does this, she seems to improve.
• Stands-In-Shallows of Windhelm is addicted to skooma and requests that the Dragonborn steal some special skooma for him from a tavern in town. This can be avoided by turning down his request or simply by never talking to him.
• When exploring the Dwemer ruin of Alftand, the Dragonborn encounters the remnants of an expedition which had become trapped. The only survivor is a Khajiit named J’darr who went mad while suffering withdrawal symptoms from his skooma addiction. Alftand is avoidable, though a main-plot quest does point the Dragonborn there. To avoid it during this quest, delve into either Mzinchaleft or Raldbthar, as both have a passage way to Blackreach, the region where the quest is actually sending the Dragonborn. Raldbthar is probably the best choice, as it is closest to the quest's location within Blackreach.
• In the Dawnguard DLC, Redwater Den is the site of a skooma den, a place where addicts can come to buy and use their drugs. Four addicts are present in private booths along a central hallway when the Dragonborn arrives. The addicts are depicted in various states based on their use of the drug, including one who is dead from a supposed overdose and another who is curled in the fetal position in obvious pain. If the Dragonborn sides with the vampires during the Dawnguard plotline, this location is unavoidable. However, the player can simply walk past the rooms with the addicts, as the addicts won't jump up to fight the Dragonborn; the player will likely still hear the addicts' groaning and coughing however. This dungeon is also a possible location for Onmund's Request, an avoidable radiant quest for a member of the College of Winterhold, though out of the many options, it is possible that the quest will select another location.

Suicide

As a random encounter, the Dragonborn may encounter an old Orc warrior on the road, usually surrounded by dead sabre cats which he has presumably killed. If spoken to, he will ask the player to duel him in single combat in the hopes of dying an honorable death, fighting against the Dragonborn. To avoid fighting him, either do not enter conversation with the Orc when he is encountered, or simply tell him that you are unwilling to aid in his suicide, and he will let the Dragonborn leave.

During the Dark Brotherhood quest “Mourning Never Comes,” the Dragonborn is contracted to kill a woman’s ex-lover after he turned out to be a bandit and shamed her in front of long-time friends who ran her out of town. For a bonus, the Dragonborn is also presented with the option to kill that family’s only surviving daughter, as the elder daughter had been previously murdered. If that option is carried out, the grieving mother will kill herself, citing her grief over her two daughters’ murders as the reason for her suicide. To read more about the "Mourning Never Comes" quest, click here.

During the miscellaneous quest “Frostflow Abyss,” the Dragonborn investigates a cave system infested with Falmer beneath a lighthouse to discover what became of the lighthousekeeper and his family. The keeper’s daughter is found dead, having cut her wrists after being captured with no hope of rescue. To read more about the "Frostflow Abyss" quest, click here.

The book “Pirate King of the Abecean,” features the lyrics of a sea chanty, one stanza of which implies that, should one be at sea and encounter the ship of Velehk Sain, the titular Pirate King, it would be advisable to “do yourself in, [and] don’t try at crossing swords” due to the merciless nature of the pirate crew. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided. To read more about "Pirate King of the Abecean", click here.

Supernatural Evil

Daedra fit into this category. They are the opposites of the Aedra, who are considered divine deities, and they inhabit the twisted planes of Oblivion. Some of the Daedra are benevolent, like Azura or Meridia, while others like Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon are definitively evil.

Torture

Several locations in the game have torture rooms, which feature torture devices such as stretching racks and wall shackles. Some places feature the clutter item “Torture Tools” which have two variant appearances (only one if the Dawnguard DLC is not installed). In other areas, clutter items are arranged to give the impression of certain tortures, such as the “clothes iron” item sitting atop a kettle of burning coals or the “salt pile” item sitting near a knife, in close proximity to a stretching rack. Locations necessary for the larger plot arcs which contain torture rooms include the Imperial fort at Helgen, the Thalmor Embassy, and the Dwemer ruins of Alftand and Irkingthand, though this list may be incomplete, and torture rooms exist in other dungeons as well.

Upon completion of the Dark Brotherhood quest line, the Dragonborn can purchase an expansion for the Sanctuary which creates a torture room with four prisoners. There is no opportunity to release them, but the Dragonborn can attack and hurt each of them to get the location of a cache of loot and potentially kill them.

During the main-plot quest “Diplomatic Immunity,” the Dragonborn must infiltrate into an enemy embassy and steal intelligence files. While inside, the Dragonborn must visit the dungeons for the final file and can free prisoners who had been beaten and interrogated. To read more about the "Diplomatic Immunity" quest, click here.

Undead/Zombies

Draugr are animate mummified zombies which are encountered in their burial chambers and will attack intruders.

Animate skeletons are recurring enemies.

Vampires appear throughout the game and can turn the Dragonborn into a vampire. Vampirism can be cured during the early stages in the same way that any other disease can be cured: with a cure disease potion or a visit to the shrine of a Divine. However, if allowed to progress until the Dragonborn is a full vampire, a special ritual must be undergone with Falion of Morthal to cure the Dragonborn of their vampirism. To read more about the special ritual, click here.

The Dragonborn can use magic to resurrect dead bodies to be temporary servants and followers, though this is completely optional.

Verbal Abuse

The residents of Honorhall Orphanage are emotionally abused by their caretaker who tells them that they are rejects and that no one will ever want to adopt them. These children can be adopted with the Hearthfire DLC, and the caretaker can be killed as part of the quest "Innocence Lost" which will cause her to be replaced as caretaker by her kindlier assistant.

Sissel of Rorikstead is a young girl raised by her single father, Lemkil, after her mother died giving birth to her and her twin sister Britte. When walking past the sisters in town, Britte can often be heard threatening Sissel for not doing chores which were assigned to Britte and telling Sissel that she smells bad, despite no evidence of this.

During combat enemies will often verbally taunt the player, including using racial slurs, especially if the player is a member of certain races shunned by the Nords' society, notably the Khajiit, Argonians, and elvish races.

Violence Against Children

The Dragonborn can attack and harm children, as can dragons when they attack a town. However, in the game, all children are unable to be killed.

Babette of the Dark Brotherhood is a vampire who looks like a child. She is, in fact, hundreds of years old, but was bitten by a vampire when she was ten.

The residents of Riften’s Honorhall Orphanage are abused by their caretaker, whom the Dragonborn has the option to kill as part of the quest “Innocence Lost.” To read more about the "Innocence Lost" quest, click here.

During the quest “Ill Met by Moonlight,” the Dragonborn enters the town of Falkreath in the aftermath of the murder of a little girl by a werewolf. To read more about the "Met By Moonlight" quest, click here.

During the quest “Laid to Rest,” the Dragonborn must investigate the death of a woman and her daughter, who were both killed when their family house burned down under mysterious circumstances. To read more about the "Laid to Rest" quest, click here.

During the quest “Siege on the Dragon Cult,” the Dragonborn delves into Forelhost, an ancient Nordic ruin which had been besieged hundreds of years previously. As the quest progresses, the Dragonborn uncovers the lengths to which the ruin’s residents went to avoid being taken alive, even to the point of killing and burying their children, whose mummified bodies the Dragonborn encounters part-way through the dungeon, though they merely look like scaled-down versions of larger mummified Draugr. To read more about the "Siege on the Dragon Cult" quest, click here.

The book “Mystery of Talara, v5” features the testimony of a young woman who had been the victim of a failed assassination attempt when she was a child. In order to protect her young friend from an assassin, she had leapt through a window and fallen into a river, where she struck her head and lost her memory of the event. She was presumed dead until she regained her memories in her late twenties. None of the books in the game are required reading, so this can easily be avoided. To read more about the "Mystery of Talara, v5" book, click here.

Vomiting

During the quest “The Only Cure,” the Afflicted enemies fight with a vomit attack. During the second side-quest called "Experimental Subject" in the Dragonborn DLC, the wizard Neloth will ask the Dragonborn to participate in an experiment. If the Dragonborn agrees to be a test subject, the wizard will cast a spell on them, which will cause the screen to go black and the wizard and his apprentice to comment on the strange, unexpected mutations which appear on the Dragonborn's face: tentacles where their eyes used to be and something unspecified happening to their tongue. The Dragonborn apparently becomes grotesque enough that their appearance causes Neloth's apprentice to vomit. Vomit is not depicted, though the apprentice does say "I'm going to be sick," followed by splashing noises which likely denote vomiting. This quest is avoidable, as the Dragonborn can simply refuse to participate.

Weapons

The protagonist can use swords, greatswords, daggers, maces, warhammers, war axes, battleaxes, and bows. Crossbows are added by the Dawnguard DLC. Most humanoid enemies will use one of these weapons as well. Dwemer ruins are filled with defensive automata which are left over from when the Dwarves still existed.

Ad from our Sponsors: