First and foremost, a huge Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there in the world! The VideoScope team are lucky enough to have been raised by amazing parents who continuously support our endeavors.
We love playing games, but there is a huge lack of motherly figures throughout video game history. Usually speaking, mothers in games serve as a plot device for the protagonists and are often absent or dead. If they are present in the game, they are commonly depicted as extremely selfish, manipulative people in their quest for power, ultimately feeling regret when things go south. More often than not, characters who aren’t actual mothers at all are the ones who are portrayed as positive mother figures.
But we don’t worry about the long lost, dead, terrible, plot-driving moms of yesteryear! We’re here to celebrate the real MVMs (Most Valuable Moms) of gaming.
Just need to set up some ground rules and away we go!
1. mOM’S ONLY.
There are some awesome motherly figures out there – just like The Boss in MGS3 – but this specific article is dedicated to mothers only.
2. ONLY ONE MOM PER FRANCHISE
Otherwise this list would be filled with almost nothing but *spoilers* role-playing game moms..
3. THESE ARE OUR OPINIONS
You might agree with us, you might not. We look forward to hearing what you guys think!
That’s it! Let’s start:
5. Sumia (Fire Emblem Awakening – 3DS)
Okay, some of you might get irritated that Fire Emblem has actually no pairing in the games that are considered “Canon”, but Sumia is definitely one of my favorite characters, perhaps due to how “controversial” of a choice she is, but hot damn. She’s a great character!
Sumia can be seen as a clumsy individual, as she constantly trips over stuff and does inherently stupid things (much like the writer of her section). Despite her clumsy nature, she constantly rises to the occasion, showing just how outrageously courageous she is and relentless effort to protect her friends and take care of them.
These traits are of course constantly in play when she takes care of Lucina, one of the main protagonists and probably one of the most badass female characters of all-time (A time-travelling fencer who’s gone back in time to prevent the future from having such a horrendous outcome where everyone is basically dead *cough* Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z *cough*. So if you can have awesome traits that makes you a good mom, raise a complete badass who travels in time and can fight with your own two fists, it’s clear to see why Sumia makes the list as one of the best moms in video-game history.
4. Elena Fisher (Uncharted: A Thief’s End – PS4)
Uncharted 4 spoilers
Elena might not have been a mom for much of the Uncharted series, but judging from how great of a wife she is, her personality and the ending scenes of Uncharted 4, we can’t help but believe that she is a great mom.
You can draw some conclusions from what you learn about her daughter Cassie in the game’s Epilogue. Cassie seems like a wonderful mix of her parents Nate and Elena, as an adventurous, charming and funny girl. Maybe we’ll get an Uncharted spin-off with her as the protagonist in the future.
You also get a small look in the Epilogue at how both Elena and Nate serve as parents. Elena seems to be the more trusting parent compared to the more protective Nathan Drake, and she is more inclined to indulge her daughter’s curiosity.
Part of what makes Uncharted 4’s ending so compelling, is seeing how harmonious the post-thievious life of the Drake family is. Elena deserves a lot of credit for that, finally getting Nate to settle down for what seems to be a wonderful family life, albeit a little out of the ordinary.
Living in what looks like a beach house with your dog, mom and dad, a sailboat, playing the PS1 classic Crash Bandicoot certainly seems like an environment perfect for Cassie to grow up in. With a mom like Elena, she is set for an exciting childhood and a sweet life.
3. Jun Kazama (Tekken 3 – PS1)
Jun might look innocent, and her name translates to “pure”, but while she is a driving force for peace, she can certainly hold her own as a fighter.
This is reflected in her child Jin Kazama, who was raised by Jun in the forests of Yakushima in the aftermaths his father’s death. The devil gene possessed by his father Kazuya was attempting to possess Jin, so Jun fled to the forest to raise and protect her child.
Sadly, in the events leading to Tekken 3, Jun is presumed dead and was absent for most of the main Tekken games after her Tekken 2 debut. I wasn’t the only one clamoring for her to return as a playable character in the subsequent Tekken games, as she was the most requested Tekken character to be added to Tekken X Street Fighter.
She also featured in the excellent Tekken Tag Tournament 2. We’re very happy it turned out Jun was only missing and not dead, as she is one of the best female characters in a video game and certainly the best mom in a fighting game. She sacrifices everything for her son, she is one of the few pure souls in the Tekken franchise and she exemplifies everything we celebrate about our mothers on this day.
2. Sophitia (Soul Calibur/Soul Edge series)
Soul Calibur/Soul Edge games are known for it’s main characters duking it out to get the right of owning either Soul Edge (Evil Sword) or Soul Calibur (Good Guy Sword). Sophitia, is of course a hero, as she’s a baker who becomes an ultimate badass warrior. She’s an Athenian who fights on the behalf of the Greek god, Hephaestus to constantly has to regain the Soul Edge in every game in the series.
The crazy plot twist in all of this is that Soul Edge eventually gains the possession of Sophitia’s daughter, Pyrrha. (OH MY DAYS). THE SWORD EATS HER DAUGHTER’S SOUL. I MEAN WHAT. Oh and destroying the Soul Edge means insta-death for her daughter. Tough break. Due to this, Sophitia basically has to spend the rest of her days defending Soul Edge from being taken from the other fighters as she’s protecting her daughter.
Sophitia doesn’t have a happy ending, which is a complete downer but proves why she’s such an awesome mom and a fan favourite in the series. She ends up basically sacrificing herself by trading places with her daughter, and dies in the process because the Soul Edge was destroyed. Paying the ultimate price is always a shocker, but it shows exactly why Sophitia is an absolute hero and more importantly… a loving parent. Also she bakes and kicks ass. Nuff said.
1. Mom (Pokémon series)
We know. This is an extremely controversial pick to say the least, but Mom from Pokémon Red and Blue is our MVM. She is a far cry from being the best mom in video game history, considering she allows the 10 year old protagonist of the game to venture the world and become the greatest Pokémon trainer ever. But isn’t that what it’s all about? Having a parent who allows you to pursue your dreams and gives you nothing but unconditional love and support? And she heals your Pokémon. I mean come on, dude.
You can always rely on her and you owe her a couple of visits back in good old Pallet Town even if she would never ask that of you. She is fiercely proud of her young boy and guides him to go to Professor Oak at the start of the game. In the remade versions FireRed/LeafGreen she even gives you some running shoes so you can get on with your adventure more quickly. What a hero.
If the recent Pokemon Go craze told us anything, it’s that everyone loves Pokemon. Not only do we love Pokemon, but we love PokeMom as well. Always there when you need her, full of enthusiasm and tells you right as you are about to go: “Remember, I’ll always cheer for you! Don’t ever give up!” That is something every kid deserves to hear from their parents.
But in all seriousness, saying that she’s the top MVM kind of mocks everything we’ve been talking about up to this point haha. The conclusion is pretty obvious. All moms are different and add value to their children in their own unique ways. This is corny as hell but kinda remarkable too. We thought this list could a fun way of celebrating the various ways that mothers tend to take care of their kids and also celebrate some amazing characters.
We come from different backgrounds and have had our moms raise us in their own styles, but that doesn’t make either one of our mom’s better than the other. IN short, all we’re trying to say is… a huge thank you to our moms and to all ya’ll moms for raising a bunch of awesome people.
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