Mom's the Word

EVA acted as a surrogate mother for a pair of genetically engineered clones known as Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. These twins carried none of EVA’s genetic information and she played no role in raising them, but she still viewed them as her own children. EVA wasn’t much of a mother at all, but she clearly wanted to be. She would have been more than willing to have the kids in the natural way, and she even gave herself the codename “Big Mama” in an effort to highlight her maternal qualities. In her golden years, EVA assisted Solid Snake in one of his missions. The mission was to kill Liquid Snake, however, so her assistance probably won’t earn EVA any “Mother of the Year” trophies. EVA doesn’t seem like the most logical choice for this list, but giving birth to the legendary Solid Snake was pretty significant.

Appropriately, Mama from the Cooking Mama series is tasked with preparing a variety of dishes. In order to do this, she’ll teach others to chop veggies, slice meat, mix ingredients, and eventually plate the finished meals. It’s not clear as to whose mother Mama actually is, but she has helpful advice for almost everybody. Mama has a tendency to get angry when things go wrong, but is always able to fix things in the end. Some have labeled the Cooking Mama games as “sexist” for perpetuating the old adage that “a woman’s place is in the kitchen.” However, it should be pointed out that Mama is a perfectly capable woman with a skill set that expands beyond the culinary arts. For example, Gardening Mama gave her the opportunity to put her green thumb to use and demonstrate her gardening abilities. Not sexist at all.

When Blanka was still a child, he was involved in a plane crash over Brazil. Lost and alone, he grew up in isolated jungles where he was raised by electric eels. This upbringing somehow transformed him into a green monster with the ability to channel electricity through his body. During Blanka’s ending in Street Fighter II, Samantha approached him to ask if he was her long lost son, Jimmy. Blanka’s physical appearance at this point made it hard to believe that he’s even human, but Samantha was able to look past his exterior and see him as the baby boy that she had lost so many years earlier. I guess it just goes to show that a mother’s love is truly blind. After recognizing the anklet Blanka was wearing as a gift she had given him on his birthday, the mother and son were reunited at last.

After Michelle’s father and his Native American tribe were killed by Heihachi Mishima’s army, Michelle entered the Tekken tournament in order to seek vengeance for her people. While Michelle did not win the tournament herself, she was content with the fact that Heihatchi was defeated by another fighter. Years later, Michelle discovered an abandoned baby girl on the tribal lands nearby her village. Michelle named the infant Julia and raised the child as if it were her own. Michelle felt that Julia should be able to protect herself and her homeland, so she taught her various martial arts. Julia would later have to put her fighting skills to the test in order to rescue her kidnapped mother. Years later, the two were able to put their fighting skills on display in the wrestling world as a mother-and-daughter luchador tag team.

Crono’s mom had a relatively small role in Chrono Trigger and isn’t the most obvious choice for this list, but there are several reasons why she’s deserving of a mention. She has no husband to speak of and is basically raising Crono all by herself. It’s apparent that she makes several sacrifices for her son, and she even lets Crono take the only bedroom in their house. Crono’s mom is basically living in poverty, but she still gathers up enough money to pay Crono allowance. It’s clear that Crono’s mom is a very traditional woman. She rarely leaves the house, she spends an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen, and she even calls out Crono’s cavegirl friend for dressing like a slut and speaking in broken English. The fact that she is known only as “Crono’s mom” illustrates how her entire personality is defined by her role as a mother.

Lisa doesn’t have a big role in the Castlevania games, but she’s one of the most important characters in the series. The wife of Dracula and the mother of Alucard, Lisa was a kind-hearted individual and the only woman that Dracula ever truly loved. After being accused of witchcraft, Lisa was hunted down and crucified by an angry mob of humans. Lisa wasn’t executed because she fucked Count Dracula and bore him a son. Rather, she was executed for preparing medicine to help the sick. It’s easy to understand why Dracula would harbor deep-seeded hatred of humans, but Lisa didn’t want their son’s heart to be filled with darkness. Even as Lisa was being killed, she pleaded with Alucard not to hate humans. Lisa was more concerned with her son’s emotional state than she was with her own physical well being.

Rosalina’s journey into motherhood began when she found the rusty spaceship of a star-like creature called a Luma. Upon learning that the Luma was waiting for its “mama,” Rosalina promised to wait with it. After spending years studying the sky in search of the Luma’s mother, Rosalina helped the Luma fix the spaceship so the two could broaden their search. The Luma’s mother was nowhere to be found, so Rosalina took it upon herself to comfort and care for all of the orphaned Luma. Rosalina fully understood what they were going through, as she had been devastated by the death of her own mother. Rosalina built a home for the Luma, read them bedtime stories every night, and has vowed to look after them for all eternity. Despite having no biological connection, the Luma were beguiled to accept Rosalina as their mother.

Mothers in RPGs tend to support their children in a relatively passive manner. They feed them, give them money, and always have words of encouragement for them. By and large, they seem content to stay home while their kids are busy battling monsters and trying to save the world. Miranda is different in this regard. When her son, Yuki, sets off on an adventure to fly across the ocean, Miranda accompanies him on his quest. Miranda offers support wherever she can, and even helps him establish a connection with a young soft-spoken girl. Miranda also fights alongside her son in battle, arming herself with a pair of daggers. Miranda never becomes too overbearing, however, and eventually leaves her son to his own devices when she decides to embark on an ambitious journey to map the entire world.

A being from another dimension, Yohn was rendered mute and left unable to communicate with people in the strange new world. Yohn wandered around aimlessly for some time before she was discovered by an Imperial officer named Walter. Over time, Walter was able to learn about Yohn’s mysterious past and the two developed a romantic relationship that led to the birth of their son, Kyril. Yohn’s relationship with both Walter and Kyril remained secret, however. Following Walter’s death, Yohn looked after her injured son for years even though he had no idea who she really was. Kyril’s peers viewed Yohn with disdain and even referred to her as Walter’s “pet,” but this did not deter her from trying to be the best mother she could be. Yohn’s love was not always reciprocated, but she still devoted her life to protecting her son.

Ness’ mom from EarthBound deserves an honorable mention on this list, but Hinawa is the definitive mother of the Mother series. At various points in Mother 3, Hinawa is described as smart, kind, and lovely. Not only does Hinawa do all the things you’d expect a good mother to do (like making sure her kids are fed and dressed), but she proves that she’s willing to give her life for her children. Many of the women on this list could be described as selfless, but Hinawa is the only one who was killed by a mechanical dinosaur in an effort to save her family. Even after her untimely death, Hinawa continued to look out for her children by appearing in various dream sequences. She also played a pivotal role in bringing her brainwashed son, Claus, back to his senses in order to keep the family together.