The best video game dads

Happy Father's Day, SW! In celebration, let's name the best video game dads. I'm going with 2018 Kratos. Guy has a beleaguered past, but came around when he had a son. Now he's a badass video game father.

How about you, SW? Who is the best video game dad?

Shout outs to all the fathers who went to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk, leaving their child in the safe confines of the home. In the end, isn't that what we're all looking for in a father?

The ones that don't force it down your throat.😏

My dad who bought me this masterpiece as a kid:

Pankraz (Dragon Quest V)

Barrett Wallace (Final Fantasy VII)

Akio Furukawa (Clannad)

pause...

Dr. Light, the “father” of Mega Man.

My old man (RIP) gave me the best birthday present as a kid:

Barret, I like that!

@Jag85 said:

My old man (RIP) gave me the best birthday present as a kid:

So many hours of joy 😍

@SolidGame_basic: Didn't Kratos kill his wife and child?

I mean, he did better with the GoW 2018 son but that was a struggle too.

Definitely deserves to be on the list, but with an * next to his name lol

Anyway my picks are:

• Carth Onasi (KOTOR 2): literally went to the homeworld of the Sith empire to rescue his kid.
• Big Daddy (Bioshock): not really a father in the technical sense, they still look after the Little Sisters with a paternal instinct.
• Max (Max Payne): sort of a failure as a father (not really his fault, though), but spends the rest of his life being tortured by that failure to sort of act as a penitent figure. Seeks redemption for it. My ironic offering to the list (sort of like Kratos).

Honestly I am probably forgetting a lot.

Honorable substitute/placeholder/adoptive mentions:

• Amicia (A Plague Tale): she is a big sister, sure, but she is also forced to grow up really fast and takes the role of mom and dad to her vulnerable little brother. Especially in the second game she takes on the "tough love" role you often find father's doing.
• David Anderson (Mass Effect): he's not Shepard's dad, but he is definitely a father figure. Tough and demanding, but incredibly supportive in fostering Shepard into the galaxy's savior. He is there for Shepard, unconditionally.
• Joel (TLOU): much like Max Payne and Kratos, Joel has lost a child/family and has managed to not only substitute it, but treat this substitute as their cause.

Joel is definitely up there the last of us story telling is top notch.

Bowser. Him and Peach really made a good one in Bowser Jr.

Kiryu, duh.

Barret is one of the most underrated video game characters.

@R4gn4r0k said:

@Jag85 said:

My old man (RIP) gave me the best birthday present as a kid:

So many hours of joy 😍

You had a Master System too?

I did play on it, but we had a NES back in the 8bit days.

Only really got into gaming in the 16bit era.

Oh Lord hahahaha

Sounds like child abuse.

I only had a Master System in the early '90s, so I kept begging my parents to let me go stay over with my mates who had a Mega Drive, SNES and NES.

Mayor Mike Haggar....

Father's Day is 3 months away.

Almost forgot about Mayor Haggar! Dude took his shirt off and went rampaging through the city to find his daughter. He was like the OG Liam Neeson... if he was a fan of Freddie Mercury and WWF.

Really? He failed to protect his daughter and she died. What a great father! LOL

Kratos from gow2018 and only gow2018.

I haven't played the game, but I am fond of his wibbly wobbly style.

Depends which side of the planet youe on!

Yeah, I figured that out, thought it was a universal thing before today.

Yeah wut? Joel? Lol... Such a weird pick.

Best JRPG dads personally goes to these 2 people. The dad Pankraz and later his son who started a family in game and journey the world with his kids to kill some baddies.

Shoutout to Jecht, Sazh and Barret from FF as well. They all loved their kids in their own way and tried to save the world for them.

@dimebag667: Octodad is actually a really good game.