Today, Sunday 19 March, it is Father’s Day which is celebrated with the anniversary of Saint Joseph. On this day, our dear Italy offers several typical desserts, the Neapolitan dessert is certainly exemplary: the famous zeppola di San Giuseppe with custard and a touch of black cherry. After this little culinary digression let’s go back to talking about video games, indeed, fathers within the interactive works that have given us emotions, who have been able to entertain us and, perhaps, have also taught us something more. Because, more often than not, video games reach high narrative levels which, combined with their interactive nature, make us participate in the first person and make us experience emotions that cinema or the small screen are unable to convey. Dive into this journey into the world of fathers in video games and, who knows, maybe they too would like to munch on a Neapolitan zeppole or two.
Don’t be sorry, father. Be better!
We all know Kratosil “Ghost of Sparta“, title given to him after he killed his wife and daughter following the violation of the temple of Athena. A man who, despite having become a God, is anything but perfect. His story began in Greece and saw him grappling with the Gods of Olympus in a vicious circle of revenge, which was also his only reason for living. Following the conclusion of the video game trilogy set in Greece, Santa Monica Studio in 2018 publishes the new God of War on PS4, introducing us to the Spartan different and changed, or at least that’s what they made us think. By settling in Midgard he manages to create a new family and he decides to put away his Blades of Chaos forever. At his side is now his young son Atreuswith whom he will have to face a long journey in order to honor the last wish of Faye, mother of the child and wife of the Spartan. The exchanges between Kratos and Atreus as we explore the settings of Norse mythology are never trivial but they help the player to identify himself even more in the characterswith the young “lad” who tries to scratch the armor of his grumpy and severe father, with the latter teaching the young man the harsh Spartan discipline, how to survive in the world but above all he wants to teach his son to be better than him and the other gods, after admitting their own faults. During the adventure, the two will create a solid father-son relationship, not only during the battles we will face but above all in the ways of doing of the two protagonists, where the player manages to grasp the true essence of this mythological journey between father and son.
If I Ever Were To Lose You, I’d Surely Lose Myself
In The Last of Us the relationship between Joel and Ellie is certainly the cornerstone of the narrative experience of the title. Joel’s emotional growth towards Ellie during the course of the story is certainly one of the most successful, and at the same time unique, narrative and emotional devices that has ever been created within the world of video games. The story does not leave the player indifferent and in fact everything is calibrated to perfection so that the player can identify with it better, every single dialogue is studied so that the relationship between the two characters is true. For Joel, the journey across America is also a sort of redemption for himself. He couldn’t forgive himself after seeing his daughter Sara breathe his last in her arms on the first night of the Cordyceps outbreak. He wasn’t able to come to terms with it and put the past behind him. Naughty Dog was able to present us a troubled and introverted personality, with few words and closed like a hedgehog and then, with the passing of the hours, days and months in the company of Ellie, his “adopted child”, he managed to open up and establish a father-daughter bond that has certainly excited more than one player in the world. The series too TV HBO di The Last of Us she managed to beautifully recreate the emotions that Joel and Ellie gave us during the interactive journey.
Those Months At Kaer Morhen — They Passed So Quickly
In The Witcher 3 Wild Huntthe third and final chapter of the video game series created by the Polish team, we live the journey of the witcher Geralt of Rivia in search of his beloved Ciri. The girl is not only the adopted daughter but also the fate of the Witcher, her unexpected child. The prologue is set right at Kaer Morhen where, for the first time, the player gets to know a little girl Ciri who is training to become a Witcher herself. During the adventure we will impersonate Cirilla more than once and, thanks to the skilful narration created by CD Projekt Red which makes us participate in both points of view of the characters, the gamer manages to become familiar with the character, become attached and understand the nature of the relationship between the two. It all culminates with the exciting discovery of Cirilla, thanks also to an exceptional soundtrack and a cleverly scripted cut-scene, And managed to convey the emotion that Geralt felt immediately after finding the girl’s body, apparently lifeless. The desperation in the father’s face soon after turns into happiness, in the emotional embrace between the two. An encounter that took place after various vicissitudes that led us to face countless enemies and monsters in different places around the world such as No Man’s Land, Novigrad and the Skellige Islands.
Every man has a right to change, a chance of forgiveness
Now let’s move on to another character much loved by the video game audience, John Marston from the series Red Dead Redemption. At first he was not an exemplary father, both because he belonged to Dutch’s gang and because he abandoned his lover Abigail and the newborn Jack, since he doubted first of all that he was really his son and secondly he did not want to start a life familiar. Though he struggled to be a present father during his time in the gang, John struggled to live and create a righteous life. Everything changed when he decided to leave behind the life of a cowboy and to devote more time to his family and above all to little Jack, now a teenager. Though the boy was more interested in literature and reading than his father’s gunslinging and gunslinging life, the two managed to forge a strong bond, with John doing everything possible to give Jack a normal life. Unfortunately, however, one cannot always escape from the past. After a carefree brief time on their small farm in Beecher’s Hope, despite having done everything Edgar Ross and the FBI asked him to do, John knew what awaited him and sacrificed himself to defend his family from the feds, donating precious time to Jack and Abigail to escape. Here ends the journey of our “hero”, a father who tried to do everything possible to make his son’s life perfectfinally accomplishing his final redemption, sacrificing himself for the love he felt for his family and especially for his son Jack.
She’s cute as a button, with the heart of an angel
Let’s dive into the world created by Square Enix with Barret Wallace and his darling little Marlene. In the remake of Final Fantasy VII the relationship between the two has been explored and better characterized. As can be seen, the little girl was adopted by Barret and we can define him as a giant with a soft heart, despite his very rough ways of doing things. He manages the Seventh Heaven bar thanks also to the help of Tifa and is the secret base of the Avalanche group, a terrorist organization that fights against the supremacy of Shinra, a company that exploits the lifeblood of the planet with Mako reactors that “absorb” the energy of the Earth. Barret joined the Avalanche to fight against Shinra, build a better future and save the planet from destruction, all to give his little girl a better future. In the remake we see the Cloud Strife group disappear from the reality in which they have lived so far, to venture into an alternate dimension, in order to find and defeat Sephiroth. Before disappearing and facing the very fate of the planet, Barret turns to Midgar thinking of his daughter, while Marlene looks out the window thinking of him, and the only promise a father can make in such a moment is to same as towards Marlene, she is the one who will return once again to her, to embrace her and smile together again.
I should’ve been teaching you not to make the same mistakes I did
If we talk about video games and dads it’s hard not to mention Persona 5, one of the best J-RPG released in recent years characterized by an exciting and deep story. The protagonist we will impersonate, nicknamed Jokerhe will find himself at some point in his life living with Sojiro Sakurathe owner of Café Leblanc and father of the adoptee Futaba Sakura. Once you manage to gain his trust, he will open his heart to us and tell us about his past. We find out that he was a former government official and lover of Wakaba Isshiki, a cognitive researcher. After his death in a car accident (presumably a suicide), the good Sojiro worried about the safety of the child, after he spent time with his abusive uncle, welcomed the child into his house. He raised Futaba as best she could despite her being a single father and keeping her away from any enemies of her mother. In a certain sense he is not only the girl’s dad but also acts as a father and mentor to the protagonist, offering him a roof over where to stay but also valuable advice and teachings such as, for example, his job on obtaining an excellent coffee to present to customers .
Cheryl is my daughter. I will save her. No matter what
Since the remake of Silent Hill 2 is coming, after Konami has announced the near completion of development, let’s go back over the years and talk about the first Silent Hill. How not to mention in the video game dad list Harry Masona father who, in order to save his adopted daughter Cheryl, enters the dark meanders of the foggy town, full of dangers, traps and fearsome monsters. Harry has indeed proven to be a competent fatherdevoted, responsible and loving towards his adopted daughter, risking his own life to save the little girl when she disappeared in Silent Hill. Having lost wife Jodie early in their marriage, his daughter is the most important thing he has in his life. Interesting is the depiction of this character, a normal dad who is a writer and described as clumsy and clumsy, but what he lacks in physical training he makes up for in courage.
