Top 10 Wisest Video Game Mentors

Some iconic video game characters wouldn’t be what they are without these characters. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down the top ten mentor characters in video games.

You can’t do much better than a Nobel Prize-winner for a mentor. His fellow student at the Robot Institute of Technology was Dr. Wily, who became the series’ main antagonist, turning his robots against him. Dr. Light is responsible for turning his lab assistant, Mega, into the iconic Mega Man to combat Wily. Throughout the series, he provides assistance and inventions to Mega Man, his magnum opus creation. Their relationship grows throughout the series, and Light has become one of the staples of the series and grown into a father figure for Mega Man. Let’s just be thankful that his creation doesn’t look like the guy on the box art of the original “Mega Man.”

In this “Zelda” game, Link would have gotten nowhere without this guy. We mean that literally because he’s a boat...kind of. This wise creature shows up towards the beginning of his adventure and helps him travel the world in his quest to defeat Ganondorf. In the game’s third act, we discover that he is actually Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the King of Hyrule, and that Tetra is really the current incarnation of Princess Zelda. His heroic acts help Link to bring peace back to the world and provides him with a somewhat fatherly figure, which is refreshing for a boy who has so much on his plate.

Despite meeting in a less-than-ideal situation, Michael is immediately impressed with Franklin and takes him under his wing. The duo makes up two of the game’s three playable characters, and Michael’s tutelage is essential to Franklin’s rising up the ranks of the complex Los Santos crime scene throughout the game. Their relationship inspires Michael to return to crime after faking his death and changing his name, which causes his past to catch up with them, putting the two into many dangerous situations. Still, these two antiheroes come out on top and rule the world of organized crime. Unless you decide to betray him. But come on, no one really did that, right?

Tidus may have been the protagonist of this game, but his mentor, Auron, really stole the show. After guiding the player through the game’s prologue, he leaves the picture for a while before making an epic return and permanently joining the party. As the team embarks on their pilgrimage to put a stop to the destructive Sin, Auron offers sagely advice, as he previously took the journey with Tidus’ father. His skills in combat and dry demeanour make him the party’s MVP. He proved to be so popular that he is the only “Final Fantasy” character to date to become a proper party member in its little-brother series, “Kingdom Hearts.”

The video game equivalent to Sherlock Holmes, Hershel Layton is a brilliant professor in archaeology made indubitably more badass by his mystery-solving skills. A complicated and tragic history has compelled him to be gentlemanly and moralistic, using his intelligence for the greater good. He takes on a young boy named Luke as his protégée, and their relationship is at the core of this puzzle-solving series, as he grows from a naïve boy into a talented detective. Layton quickly made an impact on gaming culture and has fast become a classic video game character.

He may not be the series’ titular witcher, but without him, the group wouldn’t be what it is. Vesemir is the oldest living witcher, since he is the only survivor of an attack on their keep that happened prior to the series’ story. When the player character, Geralt, awakens in Kaer Morhen with amnesia, he teaches him various skills and fills him in on his past, setting the series off to a witching start. He passes off the knowledge of the ancient race of monster slayers to the younger generation of hexers, keeping the Northern Kingdoms safe. His importance to the game’s mythology really can’t be overstressed, and that’s what earns him his place here.

The original captain of the SSV Normandy and a veteran of the First Contact War, Anderson chooses Commander Shepard as his executive officer at the outset of the first game. Eventually he steps down and gives his ship to the player character, but continues to provide advice and guidance, and by the events of the 3rd game he would end up leading the resistance against the Reapers on Earth. One of the series’ most important characters, he has also appeared in various other media for the series, including his own prequel novel. It’s easy to understand why the player would take him on as a mentor, as he serves with honour and integrity throughout the trilogy.

This mentor is a bit unusual, considering that she is murderedr shortly after the game’s first trial. Fortunately, she comes from a family of mediums, so she is succeeded by her sister, with whom she shares a psychic bond. Through Maya, who becomes the protagonist’s new assistant, Mia is able to share clues and hints with Phoenix from the afterlife, providing vital help to her ex-employee. This highly virtuous lawyer inspires her apprentice to continue her work representing even the most hopeless cases as long as she believed in them. It’s thanks to her that we have this hero that we can all get behind.

The story of this mentor-protégé relationship is one of the sadder ones on this list. After being involved in a test on a hydrogen bomb, Snake becomes her apprentice, learning how to become the talented mercenary commander he is. At the game’s start, the two are on a mission together, but she betrays her team, defecting to the U.S.S.R. and throwing Snake off a bridge. This plot twist sees the instructor become the game’s antagonist in one of the most emotional storylines of the series. Despite the respect that they have for each other, they are forced to have a tragic faceoff by the game’s end, and that’s what makes this relationship so unique and affecting.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions

Achilles Davenport
“Assassin’s Creed” franchise (2007-)

Gouken
“Street Fighter” franchise (1987-)

Doc Louis
“Punch Out” series (1987-2009)

Rahm Kota
“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” (2008)

Cranky Kong
“Donkey Kong Country” series (1994-)

Someone like Nathan Drake doesn’t become the brilliant archaeologist-slash-smartass that he is without an equally brilliant mentor. He encountered a teenage Nathan while working as a freelance thief, saving him from a life on the streets. Decades later, their friendship continues as they accompany each other on their adventures and prove to be invaluable to each other. Don’t be fooled by his age, he can keep up with his much younger accomplices and often has a handy bit of advice delivered with an appropriate amount of snark. He and Nathan were truly a match made in heaven, and their relationship is an absolute treasure.

Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favourite video game mentor? For more helpful top tens published every day visit Watchmojo.com.