Mothers are a reliable source of affection and protection during our formative years. They’re there to teach, guide and help us through the challenges of adolescence through to adulthood. But some people were not made for the motherhood gig and are ridiculously bad at the job. These mothers are sure to make you grateful for your own.
This article contains spoilers for Ico, F.E.A.R, Final Fantasy XVI, Bully and The Binding of Isaac, so read on at your own discretion.
The Queen (Ico) – Riley
Ico is a beautiful game, and a wonderful start to Team Ico‘s legacy. However, one element of the game that was not as enticing was the fate of Yorda. Ico’s journey is centred around freeing Yorda from the castle of the Queen, who happens to be Yorda’s mother. Why would the Queen imprison her own daughter? Well, Ico was imprisoned to be used as a sacrifice to utilise Yorda’s body as a vessel for a ritual to allow the Queen to cheat death. She planned to use Yorda’s body to escape her aged body and live forever.
Having a kid just to use as a vessel for immortality is pretty dire for a mother in my book. That’s without considering her imprisonment, neglect and general mistreatment of her own kin. So, maybe call your mother sometime?
Alma Wade (F.E.A.R) – Riley
Alma is a complex case; she isn’t a bad mother by intent. An awful set of circumstances created the monster that she became, and parenthood was something that should not have happened. Alma is a psychic; she has intense supernatural powers that she struggles to control. These powers were fueled by anger and loneliness and reinforced through her experiences. After being kept in a “vault” for a decade, her sons were forcibly produced through artificial insemination as a teenage girl.
Being used as nothing more than a military tool and a resource, Alma was not allowed to be a mother, and her children were stripped away from her. Fettel, her eldest son, directly inherits her powers, and Point Man gains her reflexes and perception, making him a perfect soldier. As Point Man is raised separately, and as a weapon, he has no knowledge of his mother and slowly pieces together the game’s tragic story.
Alma attacks her children with her psychic ability, which causes hallucinations, fear and painful memories. Fettel and Point Man constantly fight, one for vengeance, the other through obedience. Both can be seen as extensions of Alma’s trauma, being forced to face off until the third entry. Their relationship is horrible, but not through any fault of Alma, so her making this list is more of a technicality than actual intent, unlike the next entry.
Anabella Rosfield (Final Fantasy XVI) – Blaze
With its dark and gritty storytelling, Final Fantasy XVI captures the tragedy of war, lust for power and… having a horrible mother? Meet the duchess of Rosaria: Annabella Rosfield, the mother to both Clive and Joshua Rosfield. Joshua was favoured by Annabella after Phoenix chose him over Clive as the dominant of fire. Her disappointment turned to anger, and she began to resent Clive and cast him aside. With all her attention on Joshua, she became overbearing towards him and his unfortunate illness.
Personally, I was upset that Elwin, the boy’s father, never stepped up to her, but was kind to Clive when Annabella wasn’t present. Fortunately, Clive’s brotherly love supported Joshua in ways his mother couldn’t, and became a Shield to help him shoulder the burden of being an Eikon. Not even Jill Warrick, who was brought into the family by Elwin, was safe from her — often calling her a savage.
Don’t be fooled by her sombre appearance; this queen is a heartless wench.
Her lust for power and disdain for how Rosaria operated were not working in her favour, resulting in her defecting to the Holy Empire of Sanbreque. Hoping her prodigy child would be safe, she ordered the demise of Rosaria. Yet fate had other ideas for our wretched mother; not only did Rosaria fall, but so did her beloved Joshua. She ultimately found only Clive alive. All the rage she felt towards Clive, and the grief of losing Joshua, she gave Clive a fate worse than death.
At this point, I’m convinced she didn’t even see Clive as a person, because how can you so easily send your own son to war and fight on a side he has no compassion for? She branded him under the Holy Empire; if he were to reject his position, then it would lead to his own demise.
There’s much more to her story as she enters the holy empire and tries to tear apart another family for her own selfish intent. Being rejected as a child is always a horrible thing, more so when they start picking favourites. It can quickly lead to hatred and resentment, and Annabella is a parent I would never wish anyone to have. I always loved how Clive stood by his brother regardless of the verbal abuse from his so-called mother.
Jimmy’s Mom (Bully) – Kane
Your first clue that this woman hasn’t been the most nurturing presence in the world is that they are Jimmy’s mom. He’s got an obvious chip on his shoulder, he’s quick to start fights and won’t hesitate to torment his fellow students.
While Jimmy does have a moral compass evident through the game, the way he jumps to violence and mischief as his first reaction to the world shows a serious lack of parental attention. On top of that, as soon as she gets married, she takes the first chance she can to send young James to the roughest boarding school in the country. She’s not subtle about just wanting to get him out of the way, too, mockingly shouting after him as they drive off that they’ll collect him next year.
Don’t have kids if you don’t want kids; it’s a pretty simple concept.
Isaac’s Mom (Binding of Isaac) – Kane
The Binding of Isaac is all about Isaac’s fear and worry of his mother. She’s a super religious nut who’s spent years before the game teaching her son to fear the world and to hate himself for his sin. You start the game hiding from her after overhearing her intent to kill you. What follows is a maze of horror-filled rooms for Isaac to fight his way through until finally defeating his mother. Killing her by breaking her heart while she tries her best to perform a foot-assisted abortion on you.
As new versions of the games have been released over the years, she has been painted as a less psychotic (the game being a product of Isaac’s imagination), but still awful mother. She plunged the family into credit card debt and tried her level best to pull Isaac closer to the church, filling him with guilt over his perceived sin. All this prompted his father, one of the only positive influences he has, to leave and divorce her. It’s an awful situation all around.
Thanks for reading, hopefully our list has helped you gain a greater appreciation for all the maternal figures in your life. So, make sure you call your mother, pay her a visit and tell her you appreciate her. Happy Mother’s Day to all the maternal figures in our lives from everyone at Underlevelled!
Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.
You'll see me everywhere here. Mostly I stream and fix things when they break. You might find me writing an odd article or two too. Hope you enjoy the site!
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