Father figures in video games are far and few between. Some of them are really popular characters who are considered the face of gaming, while the rest are not that well known but are deserving of equal amounts of praise.
In the following list, we will take a look at some of the best dads in video games across history.
Best Video Game Dads
Kratos (God of War)
Kratos is definitely the first character that comes to mind when we think of father figures in video games. Though this was not really the case back in the previous era of God of War games. Kratos was a very different kind of character who was fueled by vengeance.
The new God of War series opened up another chapter in his life, where you see him in a distant future trying to chart the new lands and fend off Norse gods. All while trying to educate and be the best father to his son, Atreus.
Joel Miller (The Last of Us)
The Last of Us opens up with a very tragic story of how the main character, Joel, loses his daughter during the outbreak of an infection. This even changes him as a person, turning him cold and more violent in order to adapt and survive in the post-apocalyptic world.
But everything changes again after he finds Ellie; his fatherly instincts to care for and protect the girl give him a new purpose in life. It takes him to a point where he completely dooms the whole of humanity in order to just save Ellie.
The game presents to the audience and gamers the lingering question of “what decision would you take if you were in that position ?”
Harry Mason (Silent Hill)
The Silent Hill series is one of the best horror video game franchises ever created by Konami. The original game on PlayStation 1 is considered revolutionary for utilizing the hardware limitations to create horror atmospheres.
But that’s part of the reason why people love the first game, because the game’s story is also what draws a lot of people. It centers around a father’s fight to save their missing child, all while charting the foggy streets of Silent Hill that harbor horrors beyond comprehension.
Ethan Winters (Resident Evil)
Ethan Winters was the newest protagonist introduced to the Resident Evil franchise, whose stay was, unfortunately, very short-lived. But that does not take away the fact that he was the best father figure in the entirety of the game series.
Resident Evil 7 and 8 are both games that chronicle the story of a dad who is trying to save his own family from horrible things that covet their lineage. Ethan may just be a regular human who is not as skilled as some of the other Resident Evil mainstays, but we see him rise above all odds time and time again, even at the risk of his own life.
Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII)
There are lots of amazing parental as well as mentor figures throughout the Final Fantasy franchise. But for this list, we were for sure going to pick Barret Wallace from Final Fantasy VII. There is no other choice that comes to mind when he is around.
Barret has been the face of the best Final Fantasy dads and RPG dads in general for years now. The new remakes of the game also graced us with complete HD cinematic cutscenes of Barret interacting with his adoptive daughter, Marlene. Giving us that adorable moment of father and child bonding.
Geralt (Witcher)
The Witcher series and novels have always been about Geralt of Rivia, but we are finally moving away from that to give the next generation of Witcher, Ciri, the center stage. While this will be a fun change, let’s not forget the fact that Geralt is the primary reason for thrusting her up on this pedestal.
That does not imply that Ciri is not a strong character on her own, but rather highlights the fact about how much of an important a father figure Geralt was in her life. He might not have been an actual father to Ciri, but he deeply cared for her in the context of a mentor-student relationship.
Bowser (Super Mario Bros.)
Many might think of this as a joke entry because the idea of an ideal father figure does not really come to everyone’s mind when we think of Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise. But here we are, and Bowser is a great dad to Bowser Jr.
We usually perceive the image of the Koopa King as this traditional cartoonish villain who keeps kidnapping Princess Peach and is evil. But Nintendo has time and time again shown that the fire-breathing menace also has a softer side when monitoring what his child is up to.
Bowser is the most adorable when he is seen interacting with Bowser Jr., especially in Nintendo commercials about parental controls.
Mike Haggar (Final Fight)
We are dialing it back to the classics with this one. For kids back in the 90s, when the arcade era was the primary place for action games, Capcom was churning out video games. One of them was the Final Fight series, which takes place in the same universe as Street Fighter.
The beat ’em up franchise boasts a number of interesting playable characters, one of which includes the mayor of Metro City, Mike Haggar. He is one of the best video game dads from the era of arcade video games.
He frequently goes through hoops and loops, ploughing through the shady parts of Metro City to rescue his daughter from crime bosses alone. Haggar’s love for his daughter is one of the most adorable parts about Final Fight, which gives the character his personality.
Kazama Kiryu (Yakuza)
Kazama Kiryu is one of the father figures in all of gaming, and we tend to forget that most of the time because we remember him only for his hardboiled street brawling Yakuza side. Despite not being a biological father, Kiryu raised two generations of children.
The first one, of course, is his relationship with Haruka, whom he is super protective of after the events of the first game. The second one is his role as the caregiver of Haruka’s own son, Haruto. The baby comes under his care after Haruka is met with a hit-and-run accident.
Kiryu also has a deep relationship with other children throughout the series. After having been raised as an orphan himself, he transitions to being the operator and guardian of other orphans in the Morning Glory orphanage.
Lee Everett (The Walking Dead)
Just to make it clear, this is not about The Walking Dead graphic novels or the live-action media. But the one we are referring to is The Walking Dead narrative adventure game that was developed by Telltale Games.
We don’t always get to see accidental parents being this well-written, especially in video games. When we are first introduced to Lee, he is found as a convicted felon who gets caught up in the middle of the infection outbreak.
Lee Everett is a selfless person who finds young Clementine and makes the decision to raise her has his own all the while there’s a zombie apocalypse on the loose.
