Best and worst dads in Fire Emblem

[JasonMendez]

Well since we're talking about best moms now the best has to be Talito. She went into hiding in Silesse to protect her kids and when she was separated from her son arthur she's taken back to freege. She takes all the abuse that was aimed at her daughter which makes her imo the best mother.

Raquesis is a close second for the reasons as mentioned in previous posts.

[KawaiiPersona]

Best: Garon/Garcia

Since Garon Is Dead On The Inside WAKE ME UP INSIDE! Leo Said He Was Actually A Decent Person Before And He Gave Him A PiggyBack Ride I Need Art Of That! And Garcia, Everyone Basically Said Everything About Him And He's Pretty Hot

Worst: Zephial's Dad

HE KILLS ANIMALS RIP THAT INNOCENT BABY FOX

Walhart:

Surprised No One Said Localized Walhart Since His Support With Morgan In The Japanese Version He's Less Passive Aggressive Than The Localization For us. Still Hot Though

[Jotari]

Cuan and his knights would've gotten massacred anyway because of the sand. It was a facepalm-worthy decision on Ethlyn's part but Travant was planning the ambush before he even learned Ethlyn & Altena were there in the party. Altena's presence just gave him extra leverage and a bonus prize.

Even given the hand-wavy timelines, a substantial number of the FE4 Gen1 women would've HAD to be pregnant during some of Sigurd's campaigns, and they had kids along up until half the husbands tell the wives and kids to get out of danger during various points in Chapter 5, so it's not like having a kid along on the warpath was completely unheard of.

Still a bad decision... just not unprecedented and unfathomably bad.

Most of the mothers in Holy War were probably pregnant after the entire army became fugitives and were just defending themselves instead of choosing to go questing somewhere. It also gets a bit more leeway with a few pretty major time skips. Course the other games might have time skips just as long that aren't mentioned.

[blah the Prussian]

Best moms now?

I'd say Adean is a pretty great mom. She's one of the only survivors from the first generation characters in Genealogy, she raised her children along with SEVERAL others. I'd also say Raquesis is a pretty great mom, for many of the reasons other people have already listed. I'd also say Tiltyu/Tailto is a great mom, she took every beating and all the abuse from her wicked family so her daughter wouldn't have to, she took so much pain for her daughter that she died.

I'd like to say that Ethlyn was a good mom, and I'm sure she would have done a fine job raising her kids...but she made such a boneheaded decision and got herself killed and her daughter kidnapped. Eh...

Canas ended up being a good guy, so I'd say Niime was a good mom. Eleanora seemed to be a good mom to Eliwood, so I'd throw her into the "good mom" category. Juno is another good one, she has a child but she's busy doing mercenary work to support her family AND fighting a war to make sure their home is safe, leaving her child in the care of a close friend was a good call.

I'd like to say Louise is also a good mom, but like I mentioned with Pent...Clarine is pretty spoiled. However Klein is much more polite, so I'd say she was a pretty decent mom. And concerning Louise's pregnancy, by the time she found out she was pregnant...it was way too late to go back, she definitely would have if she'd of known sooner.

Sonia was obviously a terrible adoptive mother to Nino, she goes in the "bad/terrible mom" category.

Ena is kinda like Ethlyn and Louise. If I remember correctly, she KNEW she was pregnant but still went to battle. However, as others have said, we have no idea how pregnancy for dragons works, so...

Is she really spoiled, though? Snobby to be sure, but she never really complains about joining the army.

[Cornguy]

I think Pent and Louise are probably laid back parents, but I still think they're good parents. I always assumed Clarine just possessed a bratty nature. Maybe she was spoiled, but she had fucking servants, and a loving older brother. I think its unfair to blame Pent and Louise. Some people are just brats though, no matter how their raised.

Also for those who were discussing it earlier, Shiharam was against laguz prejudice. He mentions being forced to teach their children to hate laguz, to which Haar responds "You could be accused of treason if someone heard you use that word." I wouldn't call him a bad dad, but he was somewhat of an odd combination of a coward, stubborn, and dumb.

Senators in Begnion are super corrupt, yeah, that's bad. Oh moving to Daein, you must hate laguz. What, you don't? Well its cool, your knights are loyal to you, not Daein, you can join up with Ike and Elincia, your soldiers will be safe if they don't wanna fight. What's that? Ride or die? Are you sure? Well okay I guess.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Cornguy

[Quintessence]

Moms now?

Best, probably Calill. Raising an adopted girl and giving her a family is quite a philanthropic job.

Worst, Mikoto. What kind of mother allows her baby kid go with her husband to an enemy nation? Come on, Ethlyn is a paragon compared to Mikoto.

[Rezzy]

I think Pent and Louise are probably laid back parents, but I still think they're good parents. I always assumed Clarine just possessed a bratty nature. Maybe she was spoiled, but she had fucking servants, and a loving older brother. I think its unfair to blame Pent and Louise. Some people are just brats though, no matter how their raised.

Also for those who were discussing it earlier, Shiharam was against laguz prejudice. He mentions being forced to teach their children to hate laguz, to which Haar responds "You could be accused of treason if someone heard you use that word." I wouldn't call him a bad dad, but he was somewhat of an odd combination of a coward, stubborn, and dumb.

Senators in Begnion are super corrupt, yeah, that's bad. Oh moving to Daein, you must hate laguz. What, you don't? Well its cool, your knights are loyal to you, not Daein, you can join up with Ike and Elincia, your soldiers will be safe if they don't wanna fight. What's that? Ride or die? Are you sure? Well okay I guess.

I don't think that Shiharam's brigade could have simply joined Ike's army. I wouldn't put it past the Daein army to punish their families if they defected en masse.

Also, hardline racist and zealot isn't a dichotomy. Many personally don't like the intolerance or bigotry, but their not going to stick their necks out to stand up for the oppressed group either. It's simply not a big enough priority for them, and they could do without the repercussions of speaking up.

Moms now?

Best, probably Calill. Raising an adopted girl and giving her a family is quite a philanthropic job.

Worst, Mikoto. What kind of mother allows her baby kid go with her husband to an enemy nation? Come on, Ethlyn is a paragon compared to Mikoto.

I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't really feel much when Mikoto died. She died like 5 minutes after we met her. I'd say there were only a couple deaths in Fates that really made me shed a tear.

[Cornguy]

^If they all took off their helmets to reveal their multicolored hair and switched armor, no one would know.

Although for real, I never understood the supposed threat to their famlies. They're wyvern riders. Unless they sent the BK and his warp powder for the inane task of killing their famlies, they can out-travel any messenger that may have been on the scene. I dunno, it always struck me as ridiculous that they stuck with Daein. They were fighting an obviously losing battle for a cause they didn't believe in, and their famlies were probably at more risk if they died in battle than if they rode back to take them away.

edit: I got a little off-topic, sorry. If this post is deleted I won't take offense.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Cornguy

[Jotari]

Ashnard's power base also was no longer in Daein. When Ike takes that territory all the people there are completely safe from any repercussions from Daein (Begnion oppression is a different story). Daein might try to reclaim it again but that's misery the people living there would suffer through regardless of what the commanders do. The only logic of remaining with Daein that makes sense is assuming they'll win in the end, or just plain loving its ideals.

Off topic too, I just wanted to throw my two cents in before it's rightfully buried.

[NekoKnight]

For best dad, I'm going with Lord Elbert. He's dadding so hard, Ninian and Nils get a parental figure while in confinement.

Worst dad is King Desmond. A world war is triggered because he's so bad at being a dad.

[The Draco Knight]

Edit: My apologies. I didn't want to do a double post

Edited June 9, 2016 by The Wyvern Rider

[The Draco Knight]

Moms now?

Best, probably Calill. Raising an adopted girl and giving her a family is quite a philanthropic job.

Worst, Mikoto. What kind of mother allows her baby kid go with her husband to an enemy nation? Come on, Ethlyn is a paragon compared to Mikoto.

Well, for what we know, she had probsbly tried to convince Sumeragi to not bring their son/daughter with him.

About good mothers, I think Eyvevl needs to be mentioned: she took Leif and Nanna under her wing and she also probably knew that the empire would destroy her village if his soldiers found out that Leif was there.

[Moblin Major General]

I feel that Liza, although barely mentioned and sounding rather basic, actually was a present mother for Marth when it mattered.

Arete was pretty dumb because she failed to keep the secret of Valla, which meant that she left Azura to suffer at the hands of Garon's other concubines and their eunuchs, one such incident causing her to run away and almost get Arthur killed.

[Glaceo]

Silas, just look at Sophie's outfit, you can see her panties.

[Rezzy]

Silas, just look at Sophie's outfit, you can see her panties.

They don't make pants that cover your underwear in Nohr.

[Glaceo]

*groans of increasing discomfort*

the image of a pantsless garon...

[Troykv]

Moms now?

Best, probably Calill. Raising an adopted girl and giving her a family is quite a philanthropic job.

The things get even nicer when you.know that girl is a Branded (Aka: Someone hated for everyone that isn't another Branded)

[Etria]

*groans of increasing discomfort*

the image of a pantsless garon...

Well, he was a ladykiller in his youth. He probably established that style.

[Rezzy]

*groans of increasing discomfort*

the image of a pantsless garon...

Well, he was a ladykiller in his youth. He probably established that style.

And there's Hans, who doesn't wear pants at all.

[Levin's Scarf]

Best: Finn. He loses everything and everyone he ever grew to love, yet he still goes above and beyond in making sure that both Leif and Nanna are raised properly. He goes through hell and back, and his experiences probably weigh very heavily on his shoulders. Yet he would follow both of them to the ends of the planet without a second thought.

Worst: Validar. At least Garon was once a decent man. Validar was always a shithead.

[Alastor15243]

I would like to nominate EVERY SINGLE MALE CHARACTER IN FATES for the terrible father nomination, for patently obvious reasons. The hell is wrong with all of you, abandoning your children in alternate dimensions without even the company of their own siblings?

...But in all seriousness, none of them can compare to how shitty Desmond, Garon and

Ashnard

are.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Moms now?

Good Moms!

Eleanora - She really seems to care about Eliwood, and she sends Isadora off to help him. We don't get to see her much, but she seems nice.

Elena - She suffers from the seemingly-ubiquitous "dead mom" syndrome across the Fire Emblem series. Regardless, she gives Ike his cool blue hair, Mist her ability in staves, and even in death she protects her kids.

Bad Moms!

Sonia - If she counts. Like, she's unforgivably cruel to her perfect cinnamon mage of a daughter in every way. Although, it's partly Nergal's fault, too.

Ethlyn - Seriously. When Quan tells you to leave, leave. Especially when you're carrying a baby.

Honestly, there seem to be fewer mothers than fathers in the Fire Emblem series. So many Lord characters either have a Mom who is either dead or absent, and even then, they're never mentioned (the Ylisse kids' father never gets a name, but I don't think their mom gets a single mention.) I'll give Fates credit for at least trying to create a significant mother figure.

[Raguna]

Honestly, there seem to be fewer mothers than fathers in the Fire Emblem series. So many Lord characters either have a Mom who is either dead or absent, and even then, they're never mentioned (the Ylisse kids' father never gets a name, but I don't think their mom gets a single mention.) I'll give Fates credit for at least trying to create a significant mother figure.

I think this is pretty much summed up because in general, wars is a pretty masculine thing in the eyes of the world. Women raise the children while sons go off to fight and those sons that survive become the fathers that lead units like Greil having his son Ike and daughter Mist while Elena suffers plot death like most mothers do in Japanese videogames. In reality, no real prominent female mother figure ever appears until you start playing since they will be under your command. It's pretty much a staple by now that the mother is either extremely young looking or dead and the sons and daughters either seek vengeance against something their dad did or want to be like them.

Take Sigurd for example, in FE 4, the major heroes were mainly men (Sigurd, Quan and Eldigan) and there was no major female enemy unit until Ishtar during the second gen and she never becomes a mom. You could make a case for the mom of Saias but we never fight her and Hilda is a pretty crap aunt if anything. The mothers become slightly more prominent in the second gen since the kids are tied to them and the same goes for Awakening. The reverse now goes for the dads since they're the ones tied to the kids. So in general, moms in videogames are really hard to think off since well... they kinda just leave a memento and disappear from the storyline.

Also to keep it on track, worst dad is definitely Desmond, but not sure on who the best dad is.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Raguna

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

I think this is pretty much summed up because in general, wars is a pretty masculine thing in the eyes of the world. Women raise the children while sons go off to fight and those sons that survive become the fathers that lead units like Greil having his son Ike and daughter Mist while Elena suffers plot death like most mothers do in Japanese videogames. In reality, no real prominent female mother figure ever appears until you start playing since they will be under your command. It's pretty much a staple by now that the mother is either extremely young looking or dead and the sons and daughters either seek vengeance against something their dad did or want to be like them.

Take Sigurd for example, in FE 4, the major heroes were mainly men (Sigurd, Quan and Eldigan) and there was no major female enemy unit until Ishtar during the second gen and she never becomes a mom. You could make a case for the mom of Saias but we never fight her and Hilda is a pretty crap aunt if anything. The mothers become slightly more prominent in the second gen since the kids are tied to them and the same goes for Awakening. The reverse now goes for the dads since they're the ones tied to the kids. So in general, moms in videogames are really hard to think off since well... they kinda just leave a memento and disappear from the storyline.

Also to keep it on track, worst dad is definitely Desmond, but not sure on who the best dad is.

Yeah, but "war in the real world" =/= "war in the Fire Emblem universe". In every Fire Emblem game, even since the series' beginning, there are prominent female playable characters. Some classes (Healers, Pegasus Knights) have even been prominently female. Especially from the GBA titles onward, war has been a pretty equal-opportunity affair. Admittedly, though, there are very few female enemies (outside of principally-female classes), so this does create a weird kind of double-standard. I would like to see more gender diversity in enemies (from mooks to bosses) - Hilda, Ishtar, Aversa, Selena, Sonia, and Petrine are great, but we still haven't seen a female principal antagonist (barring Ashera, but that's debatable on two fronts). But back to the point of mothers...

I guess it just seems weird to me that almost all significant parent characters, especially those who fight alongside their kids or inspire them as soldiers, are, well, fathers. See: Miloah-Linde, Bartre-Fir, Dayan-Rath, Garcia-Ross, Greil-Ike, and Shiharam-Jill, to name a few. Given how many of our own playable soldiers are female, I think it would be really neat for future FE games to feature, say, a Mother-Daughter or Mother-Son pair of playable units. Or, maybe give us a Main Lord who actually remembers their mother, and is influenced by her, rather than leaving her as a footnote at most (Marth, Sigurd, Roy, Eirika/Ephraim, the Ylisse kids). At least in Path of Radiance, for instance, Ike and Mist reminisce about their mother.

Bottom-line, I think there's room for interesting and influential mother characters in future Fire Emblem games. The fact that it's a war series shouldn't stop them, when in the latest games, a solid half of the playable cast has been female.

Just my thoughts, thanks for reading!

[Raguna]

Yeah, but "war in the real world" =/= "war in the Fire Emblem universe". In every Fire Emblem game, even since the series' beginning, there are prominent female playable characters. Some classes (Healers, Pegasus Knights) have even been prominently female. Especially from the GBA titles onward, war has been a pretty equal-opportunity affair. Admittedly, though, there are very few female enemies (outside of principally-female classes), so this does create a weird kind of double-standard. I would like to see more gender diversity in enemies (from mooks to bosses) - Hilda, Ishtar, Aversa, Selena, Sonia, and Petrine are great, but we still haven't seen a female principal antagonist (barring Ashera, but that's debatable on two fronts). But back to the point of mothers...

I guess it just seems weird to me that almost all significant parent characters, especially those who fight alongside their kids or inspire them as soldiers, are, well, fathers. See: Miloah-Linde, Bartre-Fir, Dayan-Rath, Garcia-Ross, Greil-Ike, and Shiharam-Jill, to name a few. Given how many of our own playable soldiers are female, I think it would be really neat for future FE games to feature, say, a Mother-Daughter or Mother-Son pair of playable units. Or, maybe give us a Main Lord who actually remembers their mother, and is influenced by her, rather than leaving her as a footnote at most (Marth, Sigurd, Roy, Eirika/Ephraim, the Ylisse kids). At least in Path of Radiance, for instance, Ike and Mist reminisce about their mother.

Bottom-line, I think there's room for interesting and influential mother characters in future Fire Emblem games. The fact that it's a war series shouldn't stop them, when in the latest games, a solid half of the playable cast has been female.

Just my thoughts, thanks for reading!

Hahah, don't worry buddy, I don't bite and I welcome discussions from any point of view especially if they have a good foundation such as yours. It is very true that the Fire Emblem series doesn't necessarily have to be congruent to the wars in real life, and I certainly do think we can spice up the amount of female enemies in the game but I suppose it's more on the matter of current trends and the usual tropes associated with them. Removing Fire Emblem as a whole, most Japanese games follow the same trend, just look at Tidus in Final Fantasy or Lloyd in Tales of Symphonia and in the cases where the character is looking for their parents which is usually the story arc a girl like Fuu from Samurai Champloo takes since she's usually looking for her dad because only their mother raised her.

While I wouldn't say it's quite the problem, it certainly narrows down candidates when it comes to mothers who played prominent roles in their children's lives especially in wars. This same scenario can be applied to why most main characters use swords instead of say lances or axes, it's just an age old trend that will die really slowly or never at all. Even in FE most Lords who don't use swords like Ephraim or Hector are accompanied by a sword Lord (Eirika, Lyn and Eliwood). It's also true that we play with many female characters in our army especially now, but apparently we're the first generation to have so many female characters fighting in wars in the first place as far as the video game is concerned.

But I'm derailing this thread, I'll just leave it a that and I could make a thread somewhere in the forum to discuss these possibilities if need be.