It’s that time of year, when we recognize the fathers and father figures in our lives - who mold us, guide us, and teach us right from wrong. Not every father, however, is the perfect role model. And sometimes, even the good ones are taken from us too soon.
Even when those fathers are of the pixelated variety. Today, we’re counting down 10 video game characters with severe daddy issues. Some of them are holding up better than others, but all of them have unresolved issues. Here’s to the unfortunate sons in video games - the ones who wrestle with their traumas, and thus, help gamers wrestle with their own.
It’s that time of year, when we recognize the fathers and father figures in our lives - who mold us, guide us, and teach us right from wrong. Not every father, however, is the perfect role model. And sometimes, even the good ones are taken from us too soon.
Even when those fathers are of the pixelated variety. Today, we’re counting down 10 video game characters with severe daddy issues. Some of them are holding up better than others, but all of them have unresolved issues. Here’s to the unfortunate sons in video games - the ones who wrestle with their traumas, and thus, help gamers wrestle with their own.
10. Fox McCloud
Father / Father Figure: James McCloud
Issue(s): Early Death
Debut Game: Star Fox
Date: 1993
Fox McCloud carries a lot of pain for an anthropomorphic fox. His father, James, was killed by Andross. Fox now leads the Arwing team that his father left behind - teammate and mentor Peppy Hare is the closest thing Fox has to a father. James has made several brief appearances in-game, often to guide his son out of danger. Are they hallucinations? Is James is still alive? Hopefully, the new Wii U game, due for release in 2015, can answer these questions.
9. Kazuya Mishima
Father / Father Figure: Heihachi Mishima
Issue(s): Filicide
Debut Game: Tekken
Date: 1994
For the past 20 years, the Mishimas have done nothing but unsuccessfully kill each other. First, Kazuya threw Heihachi off a cliff. Then, Heihachi threw Kazuya into a volcano. Then, Kazuya blew up Heihachi with a bomb. And somehow, they're both still alive - who knew that the lust for power could transcend life itself? Here's one family feud that we hope will never end.
8. Jack Marston
Father / Father Figure: John Martson
Issue(s): Early Death
Debut Game: Red Dead Redemption
Date: 2010
There sure are a lot of lonely men in Westerns; vegeance and hatred run deep. Three years after the death of his father, John Marston, Jack is older, meaner, and angrier. Once he was a weakling, a farm boy with no grit in him. Now, he's a hardened gunslinger on the level of his old man, and he's out to kill Ross, the man who killed his father. You can also kill Ross' family, if you're feeling particularly evil. We're hoping that the rumors of a sequel are true, and we get to live out our Clint Eastwood fantasies one more time.
7. Nathan Drake
Father / Father Figure: Victor Sullivan
Issue(s): Abandonment
Debut Game: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Date: 2007
Born to a mother who killed herself and a father who gave him up to the state, Nathan Drake was saddled with daddy issues from a young age. He was a wayward street kid until Victor Sullivan picked him off the street and gave him some direction - towards being a more efficient thief and mercenary, of course. It's no wonder that Nathan is so obssessed with his Francis Drake lineage - it gives him a sense of nobility. Uncharted 3 was the first game to truly delve into Nathan's background. After watching the trailer at E3, we can't wait learn more in Uncharted 4.
6. Scott Shelby
Father / Father Figure: Mr. Sheppard
Issue(s): Abuse
Debut Game: Heavy Rain
Date: 2010
How awful was Mr. Sheppard as a father? He was so awful that he helped turn his son into the Origami Killer. Alcoholic and abusive, Mr. Sheppard allowed one of his two sons to drown. The other son, Scott, became an insane child killer, who drowned his victims in rainwater, and tortured their fathers as retribution for his own traumas. There was a sense of melodramatic realism in Heavy Rain, which somehow made the childhood trauma even worse.
5. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Father / Father Figure: Walt Disney
Issue(s): Abandonment
Debut Game: Epic Mickey
Date: 2010
This one has a 'real world' history to it. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt Disney's first creation, back in 1927. Eventually, however, Disney left Universal Studios over money, and went on to create Mickey Mouse. Decades later, in 2006, the Disney corporation reacquired Oswald in a bizarre trade, which saw sportscaster Al Michaels traded to NBC in exchange for Oswald. In Epic Mickey for the Wii, the developers took this history, and made it the plot for their game. Oswald was depicted as a bitter, angry toon with abandonment issues, who lived in a crumbling, dystopian version of Disneyland. 80 years of unresolved trauma will do that to a guy - Oswald may be a cartoon, but heartbreak is as real as it gets.
4. The Koopalings
Father / Father Figure: Bowser
Issue(s): Neglect
Debut Game: Super Mario Bros. 3
Date: 1990
When your father is a massive, despotic, fire-breathing lizard, you don't have a good chance at a normal life. The Koopalings made their debut in Super Mario Bros. 3 - each Koopa kid captured a kingdom, and it was Mario's job to defeat all seven Koopalings before taking down Bowser. For years, it seemed that Nintendo that forgotten about the Koopa Kids - Bowser was retconned, and he now had only one kid, Bowser Jr. Finally, in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. formed a united front. If they ever decide to grow up and get bigger, Mario will be in big, big trouble.
3. Kratos
Father / Father Figure: Zeus
Issue(s): Betrayal
Debut Game: God of War
Date: 2005
In many religions, the God(s) is the perfect being - free of sin and free of flaws. In Ancient Greece, however, the Gods were believed to have immortal powers, but petty concerns. The Gods engaged in jealousy, possessiveness, revenge, and deceit - amongst themselves, and with mortals as well. For the entirety of God of War III, Kratos launches an all-out attack against his father Zeus, and kills both of Zeus' older brothers, Poseidon and Hades. When you finally get your hands on Zeus, you're allowed to beat him to your heart's content - until his face is a busted mess, and until the blood covers the screen. Let it out, brother. One punch for every hug you missed.
2. Quico
Father / Father Figure: "Monster"
Issue(s): Abuse
Debut Game: Papa y Yo
Date: 2012
Developer Vander Caballero, who suffered abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father, developed Papa y Yo. It's a puzzle game about a boy named Quico, whose closest companion, a massive, hideous monster, goes into raging, violent mood swings at the drop of a hat. See the parallels? Playing this game is sad and uncomfortable. You can feel raw emotions - love and disgust - permeating every frame of animation. Is Monster your friend? Is he your worst enemy? Maybe he's both, and you're doing everything you can to survive.
1. Solid Snake & Liquid Snake
Father / Father Figure: Big Boss
Issue(s): Filicide
Debut Game: Metal Gear
Date: 1987
The Metal Gear storyline is so convoluted at this point, that it's difficult to tell who is 'good' and who is 'bad' - everyone is some grey mixture of both. It's even harder to keep all the characters' relationships straight, but what we know for sure is this - Big Boss has two cloned 'sons,' Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. Both are complete headcases, but Liquid gets special recognition for trying to destroy the world, in a misguided attempt to win his father's approval. Jesus, man. Talk it out on a couch, and leave us innocent folks out of it.
