Happily Adopted / Video Games

Happily Adopted in Video Games.

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• ANNO: Mutationem: All of the Flores children; Helen, Nakamura, Ann, Ryan, were individually adopted and taken in by Holtz at different points. They've each lived happy, fulfilling childhoods under Holtz's care, and even into adulthood they all have a very positive, healthy relationship.
• Another Code: Ashley spent the bulk of her life growing up with her Aunt Jessica, her father's sister. In the Recollection version of the first game, she directly admits to other characters that she has come to see the woman as her mother. Even when her dad comes back into her life at the end of the first game, it's made clear in the sequel that Jessica is still Ashley's primary caregiver, as Richard is very lacking in both parental instincts and ability.
• In Baldur's Gate, the main character and Imoen his half-sister were both adopted by the Harper Gorion. Unless you're roleplaying an Evil character, it's implied that life with Gorion was relatively peaceful and happy. Until the plot happened anyway.
• The good ending of Bioshock 1 has this trope all over it. If the player chooses to save the Little Sisters by reversing the physical and mental conditioning done to them, Jack will take them back to the surface world and raise them as his daughters. They are shown growing up to be educated, get married, have their own children and, most of all, cherish Jack as their father until his passing.
• In Castlevania 64, Carrie mentions that she was raised by a loving and caring Good Stepmother who ultimately sacrificed herself to save her; by contrast, the villainous Actrise just casually claimed she slew her own biological child as the first of 100 child sacrifices to resurrect Dracula.
• Cursed Fables: White As Snow, from Elephant Games, is a twisted version of the Snow White story in which the player is Queen Margaret, Snow White's Good Stepmother. As Margaret learns over the course of the game, Snow White was actually this - her parents were struck by the Law of Inverse Fertility, but much to their joy, they discovered a foundling baby girl in the forest and brought her home to raise as a princess. The adoption was happy for many years.
• One of the potential endings in Cute Knight is for the player to accept an invitation to be adopted by the local witch, and be the big sister of her biological daughter. The ending slide makes it clear that the adoption is indeed very happy for all three.
• In Cute Knight Kingdom, the player character was a Doorstop Baby raised by a candlemaker and her husband after they found her on their porch. She loves them deeply and they adore her, but they also support her desire to go out into the world and make a life for herself. One of the potential endings has the player enter a relationship with Helena, who lives in the forest; if this happens, the ending slide shows that they themselves become the recipients of a Doorstop Baby and the cycle begins all over again.
• Adell from Disgaea 2 has known he was adopted pretty much his entire life, but considers his slightly loopy adoptive family to be real enough that he never even brings up that he was adopted until Rozalin drags the answer out of him. For his birth parents, on the other hand, he doesn't have much respect — as indicated by the fact that he refers to them with quotation marks.
  Adell: ...Oh, that. That is the truth. I'm not related to Mom and Dad by blood. Or to Taro and Hanako, either. ...I was abandoned by my "real" parents when I was still young.
  Rozalin: So, you have been risking your life all this time for people who aren't even your family! And, now you expect me to believe you?
  Adell: Blood isn't the bond that makes a group of people a family. It's the heart.
  • To twist the knife, it's heavily hinted that Adell's real parents are the two specters that are forced to be the right- and left-hand demons of Overlord Zenon. They didn't abandon him; they were brainwashed into forgetting him, but even then their parental love occasionally shines through in his presence. He kills them, completely unaware of any of this.
  • He is, in fact, so happy with the status quo that he either doesn't notice or just chooses not to notice that he's a demon, not a human.
• Dragon Age:
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, Leliana's mother died when she was a small child. She was then raised by Lady Cecile, the Orlesian noblewoman for whom her mother had worked, and Leliana remembers her with great fondness.
  • The dwarven merchant Bodahn Feddic found Sandal in the Deep Roads and informally adopted him. Dragon Age II brings their relationship into greater focus; Bodahn clearly thinks of Sandal as his son, and the two are deeply attached.
  • Several displaced orphan children in Dragon Age II are adopted by an apostate mage, Evelina, who can be seen begging for money to feed them. This doesn't have happy long-term results, as Evelina eventually turns into an abomination and Hawke has to kill her, but prior to that she and the kids form a loving family. If Hawke concludes the quest chain by giving the oldest orphan money to feed the others, the third act reveals that he's been able to find people to adopt the younger ones, so they get this trope again.
  • In the background of the Andrastian religion, the resident Crystal Dragon Jesus adopted her mortal husband's three sons by his concubine, and raised them after the concubine's death. As far as we know from in-game history, the boys considered Andraste to be their mother, and she loved them devotedly.
• Dragon Quest:
  • Dragon Quest V: None of the three potential brides of the Hero (Bianca Whitaker, Debora Briscoletti, and Debora's sister Nera) are actually related to the folks who raised them (Mr. Whitey Whitaker for Bianca, Rodrigo Briscoletti for the sisters). None of them care about this.
  • Dragon Quest VIII: Valentina, one of the first characters you meet in the game, reveals that she's known that she was taken in by Kalderasha after her biological parents died for a long time, and isn't bothered by the fact that he's not her blood relative.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
  • With the Hearthfire DLC, the player can adopt up to two orphans provided he or she has a house fit for them. Most of them are happy to be adopted, though some of the orphans dislike Heljarchen Hall because it's so cold, and all of them hate Windstad Manor because they think the nearby swamp is haunted. And they're right.
  • In Riften, the friendly blacksmith Balimund adopted Asbjorn Fire-Tamer as a child and raised him as an apprentice. Asbjorn is deeply fond of his adoptive father, and will send hired assassins after the Dragonborn if they kill Balimund. Balimund also becomes a potential spouse after his fetch quest is completed; if the player marries him, Asbjorn becomes their happily adopted stepson. He is one of only two characters who can become the Dragonborn's stepchild (the other being Evette San in Solitude).
• Fatal Fury: After Geese Howard dies during his final fight with Terry Bogard in the events of Real Bout: Fatal Fury, Terry takes Geese's son, Rock, under his wing. By the events of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Rock has grown into a well-adjusted young man who respects Terry and looks up to him like an older brother. Terry, himself, was adopted along with his brother Andy by Jeff Bogard, and they lived happily until Geese murdered Jeff.
• Final Fantasy:
  • Cecil of Final Fantasy IV was Happily Adopted by the King of Baron. He chose to become a Dark Knight in emulation of the King's soldiering days, and holds a deep respect for the man who raised him. Even when the king begins warmongering and demands Cecil attack a peaceful civilian settlement to obtain the water crystal, Cecil berates his men for having doubts, and is only willing to question the king about his orders in private. It eventually turns out that Baron's true king was killed by the Fiend Cagnazzo before the beginning of the game, who has been impersonating him, explaining the uncharacteristic behavior. The party can later obtain the King's aid as the summon Odin, and his comments at the time speak much more to his noble character.
  • In the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and Tifa adopt Denzel. They are also the primary caregivers of Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter.
  • In the backstory of Final Fantasy VIII, Ellone was adopted by her next-door neighbor, Raine, after Ellone's parents were killed by Esther soldiers. Raine was a very kind and loving, if strict, foster mother, and her biological son adores Ellone as his big sister.
  • Final Fantasy IX has Princess Garnet, who loved her adoptive mother even after she was corrupted into stealing her daughter's Summon Magic by an evil thong-wearing Pretty Boy.
    Garnet: No! I can't let anything happen to my mother! I've got to save her!
    Zidane: Uhh, Dagger? She extracted eidolons from you and started a war!
    Garnet: I still don't want her to die!
    Zidane: But she didn't care one bit whether you lived or died! You don't have to call her 'mother' anymore!
    Garnet: She's my only mother! I don't care if you don't understand!
    • Also Eiko Carol gets adopted by Cid and Hilda at the end of the game, and is clearly excited about having a real family, even calling her new parents "Mother" and "Father" rather deliberately.
  • Final Fantasy XIV has Pipin Tarupin, a dunesfolk lalafell and adopted son of highlander hyur and Immortal Flame general Raubahn Aldynn. Pipin had been sold into slavery by his father and was forced to work at the Bloodsands tending to the gladiators, where he met Raubahn. After Raubahn made his fortune, he bought Pipin's freedom and the contract for his ownership, taking the young future vice-marshall under his wing.
  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time has the main character, who was raised by his whole village.
• Fire Emblem:
  • In Fire Emblem Fates, Corrin was not born to the Nohr royal family, but is loved by all of them just the same. The Conquest path has Corrin side with Nohr, likely for this reason. It is later revealed that they are not of Hoshido, either: they were adopted into the family when their mother married King Sumeragi.
  • In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Mercedes was born to nobility in the Adrestrian Empire, but was adopted into a commoner family in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus after she and her mother escaped from her abusive stepfather in the Empire.
  • In Fire Emblem Engage, Alear turns out to not be Lurmera's biological child, but rather Sombron's. Even after learning this, they consider Lumera their true mother, as Sombron was an Abusive Parent to the extreme.
• Golden Sun has Ivan, happily raised by a non-Adept merchant and his wife in Kalay, whom he doesn't even bother calling his parents... But don't think they're not important to him. Ever.
  • Late in the first game, we meet Sheba and her adoptive family in Lalivero, all of whom worry about her kidnapping. She loves them, too, but she's too caught up in the adventure to go home until the very end of The Lost Age.
  • Dark Dawn continues the tradition via Amiti, who is raised by his uncle and less angsty about learning the truth of his not-so-immaculate conception and unconventional upbringing, and more about being lied to about it his whole life (presumably to protect his late mother's dignity).
• Ling Ling Johnson in Guilty Party was adopted at a scant few days old, and has cheerfully acquired all of her family's trademark detective lunacy with nary another thought. Bonus points for being the Chinese adopted daughter of a seemingly Scary Black Man (Gentle Giant, actually) and a much tinier, much older white woman, making them a very diverse big happy family.
• Hungry Dragon: Raktavi's lore is that she was raised from hatching by a vampire lord, who turned her into a vampiric dragon out of pity when she was born weak and sickly.
• Inazuma Eleven: When Kidou Yuuto and Otonashi Haruna were young, they lost their parents in an accident and lived together in an orphanage until being adopted by different families. Initially, Kidou lived with a distant father who expected the best from him and only accepted to take his sister back if his son had won three consecutive tournament during his middle school years. The siblings didn't contact each other for six years, leading to Haruna to resent her brother until finding out the truth. After they finally speak, Kidou finds out his sister was always happy with her new family, so even if they don't end up living under the same roof again, they're both content with their new families. Kidou's father also decides to become a better father, cementing this trope on both sibling's part.
• In I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Tang is happy to be adopted by Instance because she gave her the love and care her birth mom never did. Instance also wholeheartedly supported her in her transition, and the technology used for it was what inspired Tang to become a scientist just like her.
• Legend of Dragoon has Miranda of Mille Seseau. Her real mother abandoned her, her father was a drunk and died soon after. She was soon adopted by the childless Queen Theresa, and became the head of the army. Miranda loves her mother greatly, and remarks to teammate Meru that the day Theresa adopted her was the happiest day of her life.
• In The Legend of Spyro, Spyro was raised by dragonflies. When he finds out that he's not actually a dragonfly, he asks his mother the question in the page quote... and receives the above answer, reassuring him that they love him all the same.
• Link in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was happily adopted by the forest guardian, the Great Deku Tree (especially in the manga version). He was raised alongside the Kokiri children and didn't discover his true origin until he got trapped in the Sacred Realm for seven years, emerging as an adult (Kokiris never grow up).
• Like a Dragon:
  • Haruka Sawamura, Yumi's daughter is adopted by Kiryu at the end of the first game. Despite Kiryu being the Dragon Of Dojima with all that entails (including being in the crosshairs of a large part of Japan's organized crime), Haruka staunchly refuses to leave "Uncle Kaz" to the point that she torpedoes her Idol Singer career just to stay with him.
  • Every kid raised at Morning Glory Orphanage is happy to be raised by Kiryu, whom they — Haruka, included — affectionately call "Uncle Kaz".
  • This comes up as a plot point in Yakuza 3 with Saki, the adopted daughter of Okinawa-based Yakuza boss Shigeru Nakahara. After her abusive father committed suicide and her neglectful mother abandoned her, Nakahara took Saki, who had lost her ability to speak from the shock, under his care and raised her as though she was his own blood. When her mother returns and abducts her at the behest of a rival mob boss, Kiryu mounts a rescue, beats said rival boss senseless, and helps them reunite. Nakahara had been afraid that Saki might elect to return to her mother, but his fears proved to be unfounded: even discounting how her good-for-nothing mother straight-up disowns her, Saki willingly ran back into Nakahara's arms.
  • Masayoshi Tanimura from Yakuza 4 suffered the death of his father, Taigi, at a young age, and was raised instead by the residents of Little Asia. He's shown to have a deep love for the community that raised him, to the point of resorting to gambling and extortion to support them, and considers Little Asia to be his home. He also knows that Taigi himself isn't his biological father, but he doesn't care and still considers Taigi to be his true dad.
  • In a similar vein, Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza: Like a Dragon was abandoned at a soapland by his mother, and was raised instead by the owner and various other people around the red-light district. He has nothing but respect for them despite their seedy backgrounds, and fiercely protects them against moral purists who disparage their lifestyles. Even when he finds out that his biological parent is likely Masumi Arakawa, an important father figure in his life, he still refuses to get a DNA test because the soapland owner is as much a father to him as Arakawa.
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: Sunny, the child of Olga Gurlukovich, is perfectly happy with Snake and Otacon, living in their plane-apartment and making breakfast.
• In Metroid, Samus Aran loved her Chozo family deeply, and they cared for her deeply in kind. Zero Mission even ends on a shot of a childhood drawing she made of herself and her adoptive Chozo parents, which the official manga elaborates as being Old Bird and Gray Voice. Metroid: Other M ignoring the Chozo completely to position Adam as the only father figure Samus ever had is one of the many reasons fans hate the game.
  • The baby Metroid also imprinted on Samus as its mother. Part of what makes the character interesting is that its story not only makes it a Foil to Samus, but is Locked Out of the Loop that she killed its birth mother.
• In Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, it's revealed in the DLC that two characters are not biologically related. Tani is not Batu's biological daughter; he rescued her when she was an infant. Despite this, the two are incredibly devoted to one another.
• In Octopath Traveler, Ophilia is taken in by a priest in the Order of the Sacred Flame named Josef due to Ophilia's parents dying in a war. Josef, Ophilia, and Josef's biological daughter Lianna are nonetheless a very close family, due to Josef being a Good Shepherd and Lianna being a Cool Big Sis. Josef also makes it a point to remind Ophilia of how proud he is to have her as a daughter. As a result, Ophilia is completely devoted to them, even taking Lianna's place in the Rite of the Sacred Flame so Lianna can watch their father when he falls ill. This ends up completely derailing her main antagonist's plans.
• Persona:
  • Naoto Shirogane in Persona 4 was raised by her grandfather for a large portion of her life due to her parents dying in a car crash. She still lived happily and comfortably with him, though, as a sharp contrast to the previous game's batch of parental issues.
  • In official side material and a few CD Dramas, it is mentioned that Akihiko Sanada in Persona 3 was eventually adopted by a wealthy family some time after his sister died in a house fire. How happy he is, though, is debatable, as one CD drama mentions that he doesn't really speak to his mother that much, and in the PSP version of the game, he still mentions not having parents in his Social Link.
  • In Persona 5, your eventual Mission Control, Futaba Sakura, is a variation on this. After her mother died saving her from incoming traffic, a family friend, Sojiro Sakura (who is also the protagonist's caretaker during his year-long probation), adopted her. However, the death traumatized Futaba to the point that she became a shut-in, and all of Sojiro's attempts to help her fell flat. It isn't until the Phantom Thieves steal her heart that she's able to recover, and after that, this gets played straight, to the point that when abusive relatives try to tear her away from him, she actually refers to Sojiro as her father at one point.
• Pokémon:
  • Togepi is typically acquired as a gift from an NPC or by trading (i.e., adoption), and has a base happiness rating of 70, giving it a massive head start on most other Pokemon that need happiness to evolve.
  • In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, you receive N's Zorua from the reformed Plasma agents. If you treat it well and challenge N himself with it post-game, he's pleased to see it happy in your care.
  • In a human example, in Pokémon X and Y post-game, there's Emma, a teenaged street urchin who is taken in by Looker. It isn't clear whether he legally adopts her or not, but he gives her a home, and provides her with education and living expenses, and even leaves his entire "detective agency" to her at the end of the sidequest. Emma's comments in private suggest that she sees him as a father figure, and she's greatly saddened when he leaves Kalos.
• In Potion Permit, Russo is happy living with his guardian Socellia at the Monastery, who took him in when he was dropped off as a baby.
• Professor Layton:
  • The Curious Village: Flora Reinhold is happily adopted by the Professor after the events of the first game.
  • In The Azran Legacy, Layton himself was adopted as well. By the end of the game, he doesn't have much animosity for his biological father, Leon Bronev, but still plainly states that he could never see him as his father, and that his adopted parents are his true family. He also doesn't use his birth name, Theodore Bronev, since he was raised as Hershel Layton and that's how he sees himself.
• In Queen at Arms, Marcus has always known that Sir Thomas Cordale is not her biological father (and that she's not biologically male, though she presents as such as part of an elaborate disguise). Nevertheless, she loved him deeply and is still grieving his recent death when the game begins. Her older brother Nicholas eventually explains that there's a very good reason for everything. Depending on which story path is taken, Marcus (and the player) may eventually learn that Captain Lorimette is actually the adopted daughter and heiress presumptive to Queen Charlotte of Sylgard. The two love each other devotedly.
• Roots of Pacha:
  • The protagonist (along with three of their friends in Multiplayer Mode) is adopted by Igrork and Maeri at the start of the game. They become their adoptive grandparents due to their age, and they certainly raise them well.
  • Jukk is adopted by Jizu and Okka, his two mothers, and he's happy living with them in the village.
• Rune Factory:
  • Pia from Rune Factory 3 is a mermaid who was taken in by a human mother and her biological daughter after she decided to stop living with fish. She's also probably the happiest character in the game.
  • Rune Factory 4 loves this trope; adoptive families outnumber biological ones by the end of the plot. Before the start of the game, Doug has moved in with Blossom and helps the old woman out just like any adult son would; Volkanon has charge over Vishnal and Clorica (technically they're his trainees, but he treats them like family, and they get along like brother and sister); and Arthur joins Porcoline the day after your story begins. As the plot progresses, Illuminata adopts Amber as a part-sister, part-daughter arrangement, Porcoline gets a second adoptive son in Dylas, Happily Married Sickeningly Sweethearts Jones and Nancy adopt Dolce and her ghost-"sister" Pico, and the mother-daughter pair of Lin Fa and Xiao Pai adopt Leon as their son/brother. Porcoline has also been looking after Margaret like a father for some time now, though she has her own house and doesn't live with him, and Bado cares for his young neighbors Forte and Kiel. You could even say that the entire town adopts the main character in a way, with the way they offer to help you out with your amnesia.
• Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong: Downplayed with regards to Duncan's relationship with Raymond. In the present Duncan refers to Raymond as his father, and is very grateful to him for all he's s done, but the teenage Duncan deeply resented Raymond's rather heavy-handed approach to parenting. The things that come to light about Raymond's past can drive an even deeper wedge between them, though they can reconcile on that account too.
• Shantae: Shantae herself. The residents of Scuttle Town aren't quite sure what to think of a half-genie, but it's generally agreed that her "uncle" Mimic did a good job of raising her — and it's obvious that the two are devoted to each other.
• Silent Hill 3's Heather Mason is certainly this, and her unconditional love for her adoptive father, Harry Mason, is what causes her to go to Silent Hill in the first place, seeking revenge for his murder. By the end of the game, it's discovered that Heather is, in fact, the reincarnation of both Cheryl Mason and Alessa Gillespie — and since Cheryl was also Happily Adopted by Harry, she represents this trope two times over!
• Possible in all three main installments of The Sims, and some of the spin-offs. Pre-made examples include Mary-Sue Pleasant, Tara DeBateau, and the Newson children.
• Solatorobo has Red and Chocolat, a brother-sister duo who adopted each other when they were kids at an orphanage. They refer to each other as "my brother/sister" without ever mentioning the fact that they're Not Blood Siblings. Given that Chocolat is still only thirteen, Red may actually have legal custody of her, despite the fact that Chocolat deals with day-to-day issues like money much better than he does.
• Soul Series has Bangoo, adopted son of Rock Adams.
• Stardew Valley: If you have a same-sex marriage and agree to have a child, you'll receive them through adoption rather than regular birth. They are considered just as normal either way.
• Sieg from Suikoden Tierkreis was found by Elder Rajim when he was newborn in the place where the castle is now located. He never learns the truth about his real parents, but he is completely happy with the family that raised him.
• In Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 the Player Character was adopted by a family of Craftknights, who offer encouragement throughout the game.
• Tales of:
  • Tales of the Abyss:
    • Natalia, who isn't blood related to the king turns into this when the truth comes out: Both sides basically keep treating each other like they did before, even knowing they're not directly related.
    • Luke himself is also sort of an example. His parents are still, biologically, his parents, and he's technically been living with them longer than Asch, but he's still the clone of the 'real' Luke.
  • Tales of Symphonia has Lloyd Irving, who was adopted by a dwarf named Dirk at the age of three. Even when he discovers his birth father, he continues to refer to Dirk as his 'dad'. At one point, he brags about having two dads.
• Tangledeep has Mirai, who was effectively adopted by all of Riverstone Camp when they found her. This happens even if she was a Robot Girl, as one version of her Multiple-Choice Past can be.
• In Threads of Fate, Klaus' family welcomes Prima Doll with open arms. During the epilogue, Mint or Rue sees him with Elena, who's overjoyed that she now has a little brother.
• A few characters in the Trails Series are adopted by their parents and end up being happier than when they were alone though issues do happen from time to time. Examples include Joshua, Schera, Renne, Rean, Fie, Sara, and Ash.
• Undertale has this in one of the outcomes of the pacifist ending where Frisk decides to stay with Toriel. We even get a cute little scene of Frisk sleeping in their new home with Toriel leaving a pie for them in their room, much the same way she did in the beginning of the game.
  • Debatable when it comes to the first fallen child, who was also adopted by Toriel and her husband. The story of them living with their monster family paints most of it happily, but the videos in the true lab and Asriel at the very end of the game suggest that not all was well with them.
• Rudy Roughnight from Wild ARMs was adopted after being found in the ruin the Elw had hidden him away a thousand years ago by an ARMs meister named Gepetto/Zepet. Although the old man is dead by the start of the game, it's very clear Rudy saw him as his grandfather and when he learns he's made of living metal like the demons, he turns to his childhood memories where Zepet stood by and protected him at all times to cope with the horror.
• XenoGears: Fei was taken in by the mayor of Lahan after he was left there by his father while in an unconscious state.

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