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Parental Abandonment/Video Games: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''[[Parental Abandonment|Single Parent Rule]]: RPG characters with two living parents are almost unheard of. As a general rule, male characters will [[Disappeared Dad|only have a mother]], and female characters will [[Missing Mom|only have a father]]. The missing parent either vanished mysteriously and traumatically several years ago or is never referred to at all. Frequently the main character's surviving parent will also [[The Plot Reaper|meet an awkward end just after the story begins]], thus [[Conveniently an Orphan|freeing him of inconvenient filial obligations]].''|'''[[The Grand List of Console RPG Cliches]] #6'''}}
Examples of [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}]] in [[{{SUBPAGENAME}}]] include:
== [[Visual Novel]]s ==
* All three of ''[[Fate/stay night]]'''s key human characters have parent issues. Shirou is an orphan, and the man who adopted him is also dead. Rin is living alone, her father having died in the previous Grail War; the man who's been her guardian since then {{spoiler|is in fact the [[Big Bad]], and her father's killer}}. Worst off by far is Sakura: {{spoiler|her parents gave her to a foster family years ago, and she's been suffering horrific abuse at their hands ever since.}}
** Inverted in the prequel, ''[[Fate/Zero]]'' -- {{spoiler|Kiritsugu}} ({{spoiler|Shirou's adoptive father}}, and protagonist) left Illya, his daughter, knowing that he can't be reunited with her, which is the reason for her strange relationship with Shirou in ''Fate/stay night''.
* It's also applicable to ''[[Tsukihime]]''. Shiki's biological parents are dead. His foster father died before the start of the story and is the plot catalyst. Only passing mention of the mother, it's assumed she died. Arihiko has no family left except his sister. Ciel's parents are dead {{spoiler|because she killed them}}. Hisui and Kohaku don't even know their surnames let alone their parents. Most of the rest of the cast aren't people who actually ''would'' have families of any sort. An exception is made for Satsuki, who apparently has a healthy home life. Maybe that's why her route was removed?
* The parents of Kotomi in ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' don't seem to be very present in her life despite being famous scholars. {{spoiler|We later find out why when it's revealed that they died in a plane crash. And they loved her. A lot. Until the very end. But Kotomi herself was so traumatised by their deaths that she convinced herself they were in permanent travels and dedicated herself only to her studies}}. There is also Tomoya, who is estranged from his father; given the fact that said father was responsible for injuring his arm in a drunken fit and thus preventing Tomoya from ever fulfilling his dream of becoming a basketball player, it is not surprising that it should be so. {{spoiler|At one point Tomoya even leaves home to live with Nagisa and her family because of issues with his father; however, it is hinted that they are on their way to healthier relationship in the last episode of the anime, and in fact Tomoya's dad ''did'' try to raise him well at first but succumbed to depression at some point and became an alcoholic.}}.
** The trope is heavily subverted with Nagisa's parents, who shower her and each other with affection, but then again, {{spoiler|they did not pay much attention to her when she was a child due to their work and because of that Nagisa nearly died; one could say that it is a rare case of the trope evolving into a normal family situation}}.
** And of course Tomoya's relationship with {{spoiler|Ushio}}. Not only does Tomoya end up mirroring the relationship with his own father, but by {{spoiler|becoming a doting parent when Ushio is 5 years old, mirrors the relationship with Nagisa and her parents}}.
* Ryo Sasaki from ''[[Crescendo (visual novel)|Crescendo Eien Dato Omotte Ita Ano Koro]]'' stands out—not only did his biological parents put him up for adoption when he was little, his adoptive parents died in a car accident a few years before the events of the game. He's been living with his older stepsister ever since.
* The ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series adores this trope, especially when it can be used for a murder case. Phoenix Wright himself is one of the few main characters who ''doesn't'' seem to suffer from this, as his parents are never mentioned at all.
** Edgeworth's father {{spoiler|was killed by Manfred von Karma 15 years ago}}, which the fourth case of the first game is centered around, and since Miles was adopted by von Karma it can be assumed his mother is dead as well.
** Mia and Maya's father are never mentioned, though the latter is implied to have left them due to Kurain Village's female-centered way of life. The Fey sisters' mother went missing during the events that are the background of the first game, though {{spoiler|she reappears as Elise Deauxnim and is killed in the third game}}.
** Pearl Fey's father left the village for similar reasons, {{spoiler|and then Pearl's mother gets arrested for assisting in a murder so she's out both parents. Morgan Fey's first husband also left the village, taking Dahlia and Iris with him. Later, he abandoned Iris at the mountain temple}}
** Apollo Justice's family is completely unknown. In the fourth case, {{spoiler|Thalassa Gramarye is revealed to be his mother, and he is actually Trucy's half-brother as she is Thalassa and her second husban's child}}. Trucy never knew her mother, and her father, Zak Gramarye, {{spoiler|abandoned her at age 9 to save himself from a guilty verdict. She never sees him again, while}} Phoenix takes her in as his adoptive daughter.
** In ''Investigations'' this happens {{spoiler|two cases in a row.}} Lauren Paups never knew her father since {{spoiler|he was arrested for murder when she was very young and then came to work at the same house as her under a false name. She never found out who he was until (once again) after his murder.}} In the next case we have {{spoiler|the hunt for Kay Faraday's father's murderer, seven years before the rest of the game.}}. Kay's mother is never mentioned, so it can be assumed she's either dead or not living with Kay's father. {{spoiler|After her father's murder, Kay lives with her mother's relatives}}.
** Ema and Lana Skye's parents died in a car crash when Ema was little, resulting in Lana's [[Promotion to Parent]].
** And all this doesn't even account for all the more minor characters in the games who suffer from this trope, such as Sean and Ken Dingling and Machi Tobaye.
* ''[[Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!|Maji De Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai]]'': Yamato's parents moved overseas because his father lost hope in Japan. Cap's dad is an adventurer who doesn't mind his son doing the same. {{spoiler|Wanko}} is [[Conveniently an Orphan]], {{spoiler|Miyako}} has a [[Missing Mom|not-particularly-missed Mom]]. Mayucchi's parents live in another province, and she stays at [[Boarding School|the dormitory]].
* Happens with some of the characters in [[Katawa Shoujo]]
** Emi {{spoiler|lost her father in the same car accident in which she lost her legs}}.
** Hanako's parents died in the house fire in which she received her scars.
** Lilly's parents moved to Scotland, leaving her older sister Akira to take care of her.
== Other Examples, that need to be sorted by genre ==
* ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]'' gives us one of the biggest [[Tear Jerker]] takes on this trope with its "A Christmas Gift" mission. The girl loses her father in an accident and the mission is to help her accept her loss. The usual EBA way of using song and dance is toned down in wackiness to reflect the somberness of the scene and successful completion {{spoiler|allows the father's spirit to return and deliver the Christmas present he promised.}}
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]],'' Sora's mother gets two lines near the beginning of the first installment, Kairi mysteriously appeared and was apparently adopted by the mayor of the Destiny Islands (she is the only one whose close relative we actually see, her grandmother is shown telling her suspiciously plot relevant fables in a flashback), and Riku's parents are briefly mentioned, as the world crumbles around him. This is the '''only''' time anyone's parents are mentioned and it makes the proceedings very awkward if one is inclined to stop and think about it. Also, Roxas from the second game gets along amazingly well despite ''never having had parents''. {{spoiler|Since Roxas is Sora's Nobody, his parents would seem to be Sora's, who he's never met, due to Sora's parents being worlds away and not mentioned even once in the second game.}}
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** Jakob and Gideon loose their mother, the Masked King lost his father, and both Fyra and Kaine were literally abandoned by their parents.
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