Recognizing Video Game Moms on Mother’s Day

When it comes to mothers in video games, there is a fair selection of background characters and evil villains. Unfortunately, there are not many female protagonists who double as mothers. For the most part, mothers tend to be used as a jumping point for the story or protagonist which, most of the time, results in the protagonist never seeing their mother again or even sending a letter to let their mother know they are alright.

Just imagine what most of those mothers have to go through as their kids are off saving the world. No letter or call telling them their kid is alright, or that they are coming home. Talk about being ungrateful brats!

So because it is Mother’s day, here is a selection of positive video game mothers that did a good job raising heroes or are heroes themselves.

Samara – Mass Effect 2

If you want to talk about MILFs, they don’t come any better, or older, than Samara from Mass Effect 2. This Asari Justicar is almost a thousand years old and is the mother to three daughters. Two of which turned out to be good eggs while the third daughter went on to become a murderer that Samara has spent centuries hunting down.

Oh, and prior to Samara becoming a Justicar, she was a mercenary. Talk about one tough mother!

Sophitia Alexandra – Soul Calibur franchise

Speaking of tough mothers, there is a large selection of mothers in the fighting game genre. But I am only going to focus on a couple to balance out this list and Sophitia is one mother that comes immediately to mind. Before she was wielding a sword and shield in the Soul Calibur series, Sophitia once worked at her family’s bakery. 

However, as the daughter of Hephaestus, she is constantly being tasked to hunt down Soul Edge which was forged by him. During the time hunting down the evil sword, Sophitia was married had two children – Patroklos and Pyrrha. Unfortunately, Pyrrha’s soul became entwined with Soul Edge and now Sophitia has to defend the evil weapon for all eternity, from champions seeking to destroy it, in order to protect her daughter.

Mana Tree – Secret of Mana

As one of the best JRPGs ever, Secret of Mana is a must-play for any fan of the RPG genre. The game features a great soundtrack, plot, and graphics for its time while featuring real-time battles instead of a turn-based system.  

So how does a tree become a mother and make it to this list? As the embodiment of the Mana Goddess, the Mana Tree watches over the world and is very important. But in order to keep it alive, a woman from the Mana tribe has to become a part of the tree as it starts to wither in order to sustain it while the men of the tribe protect it. 

That makes it a very protective mother watching over her children. Yet it is particularly personal for our hero since…

*MAJOR SPOILER*

…it is revealed that the woman who sacrificed herself to sustain the tree is the protagonist’s mother who was the wife to the original Mana Knight. 

Nina Williams – Tekken Franchise

When it comes to tough mothers, they don’t get any tougher than Nina Williams. Not only is she an assassin, but she is Irish too! However, she has had a rough life where she was captured and put in cryogenic stasis for fifteen years which resulted in the loss of her memory. 

Without her knowledge, Nina gave birth to Steve Fox through in-vitro fertilization and, later on, was hired to assassinate him. Fortunately, for Steve, Nina was unable to pull the trigger when she was ready to assassinate him and the two shared a moment together before being interrupted.

Aya Brea – Parasite Eve

When it comes to the character of Aya Brea, things are a bit complicated. Following the events of the first Parasite Eve game, Aya discovers that her DNA has been used to breed a race of Neo-Mitochondrial Creatures. So you could say that she has quite the brood running around. 

But when Aya once again saves humanity from the ANMCs, destroying the Neo Ark facility, she adopts Eve who was created from her DNA. What follows is a complicated affair of Eve trying to save Aya by switching bodies which kicks off the next game. Whether Eve was successful in saving Aya, you will have to find out for yourself.

Gina – Chrono Trigger

Another JRPG that is a must-play for fans of the genre, players are introduced to Crono’s mother at the start of the game in a scene that everyone will be familiar with. In a typical, motherly fashion Crono’s mother’s opening scene is spent waking him up and talking about the festival that he has been looking forward to. From pulling the curtains open and letting in the sun, to her constant chatting to get Crono out of bed, it is a scene that we can all relate to.

Now she doesn’t have a significant role in the game, though she can be introduced to party members, but she is a great example of a good mother and can elicit many “Moooooooooom!” moments. But I’m sure many of you experienced that moment when it comes to one of the endings in Chrono Trigger where she chases after Crono’s cat, which ran away from home, only to fall into the Gate in Leene Square resulting in Crono and company going after her.

Lucia – Suikoden II & III

Lucia is a fierce warrior who first appeared in Suikoden II and becomes the chief of the Karaya clan. She goes on to give birth to Hugo, one of the main characters in Suikoden III, and remains the chief of the Karaya clan. 

Despite her tough demeanor, and skills with a bullwhip while wielding the Rage rune, we get to see Lucia’s motherly instincts towards Hugo often. It is touching to see this strong woman show how much she cares for her son and her desire to see him become a strong warrior and lead the clan.

Jade – Beyond Good & Evil

So far, this entire list has been composed of mothers with biological offspring. But you don’t have to give birth or share DNA to be a good mother. Look at Jade from the game Beyond Good & Evil. While she has never given birth to her own child, Jade takes in a group of orphaned children under her wing.

While she gets some help from uncle Pey’j, Jade is the primary caretaker of her young charges and works as a freelance photographer to put food on the table, pay the bills, and keep the shield generator running. 

A great example of a hard-working mother!

So which video game mothers are your favorite and would like to see on the list? Sound off in the comments below!

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