Kratos Aurion: Hero & Father ( ToS Spoilers)

By now, everyone knows that Kratos is going to be a father figure in the latest God of War. But before we were introduced to Kratos, God of War, there was another troubled yet heroic father, who was also named Kratos. This lonely swordsman’s name was Kratos Aurion, from Tales of Symphonia.

Despite working from some fairly obvious troupes, Tales of Symphonia manages to have some of the best character development and interaction in all of gaming. Part of the core of the game is the relationship between protagonist Lloyd Irving and his father, the aforementioned Kratos Aurion. While the story mostly hinges around the journey of Colette to regenerate the world, Kratos Aurion plays a key role as both guide and antagonist throughout.

You meet Kratos Aurion early on, and he quickly offers his services to protect Colette on her journey. Lloyd is understandably frustrated when he says that Lloyd will get in the way of their journey, but ultimately concedes that it would be better to leave her in the hands of a more experienced traveler and swordsman. At this point, the player and Lloyd have no idea Kratos has any relationship to Lloyd other than as a dismissive mercenary.

Taken from the point of view of Kratos Aurion, the interactions with Lloyd indicate that he hasn’t decided exactly how to act with him, and he’s off-put by Lloyd’s overly eager and aggressive attitude despite his lack of experience. He helps him and his friends with some basic fighting tips, but it’s likely more important that he progresses with his agenda of helping the Chosen of Mana on her journey.

Once Lloyd is kicked out of his village, he soon meets up with the rest of the group and Kratos reluctantly submits to allowing him on the journey. He constantly chastises him for acting bored, but as Lloyd starts to prove himself, Kratos begins to open up to him. He even offers to teach Lloyd new sword techniques.

Kratos Aurion also offers the group some of the most insightful advice in the entire game. One of my favorites is when he chastises Lloyd for trying to save someone without thinking about the consequences: “Incompetent good intentions will only bring tragedy. If you intend to do what is right, you need the strength to accompany that. You lacked that. You were too weak.” While it comes off as harsh, it teaches Lloyd to remember, acknowledge, and learn from his mistakes. This is one of the first moments where Kratos really reveals himself as a father in my mind. He is speaking from experience and teaching Lloyd a valuable lesson about life. He later cautions Lloyd about the dangers of revenge, and the responsibility inherent in taking your enemy’s life.

What he does not reveal is that he is constantly battling with the regret of leaving Lloyd after his mother’s death. His past is a tortured one: he traveled the world with Mithos and put an end to a thousand-year long war. Shortly after, they were betrayed and one of his friends was killed. Afterwards, Kratos met his soon to be wife, who was being experimented on by his former friends. When they tried to escape with their newborn son, they were eventually caught and she was transformed into a mindless monster. Kratos was forced to kill her to protect his son. His son was lost in the confusion, and Kratos left him for dead.

The player only gets vague hints about his tortured past until very late in the game. In the second half, Kratos Aurion leaves the group for somewhat unclear reasons. At first, he tries to stop them from reuniting the two worlds that Mithos worked to separate, but later goes against his former friend and helps Lloyd’s group instead. It is only after this that he reveals his relationship to Mithos, and even later until he reveals his relationship to Lloyd and what happened with his mother. After guiding Lloyd through the first half of the game, their roles are reversed, and Lloyd helps Kratos to realize that he is more than a pawn of Mithos.

He is forgiven by Lloyd for all of his transgressions after a late-game battle. Kratos eventually sacrifices himself to help save the world, first by attempting to give his life force to halt the end of the world, and later by drifting out into space to scatter the remaining Exspheres (magic-enabling devices made from recycled humans).

What’s most interesting about Lloyd’s relationship with his father is that Lloyd actually has two dads, Kratos, whom he was born to, and the dwarf craftsman Dirk, his foster-father. Dirk found Lloyd with his mother Anna, who was on the verge of death. She asked Dirk to raise Lloyd as his own son. This gave Lloyd a positive outlook on life and the ability to live peacefully until the events of the game. Dirk even helps Kratos by forging the Eternal Sword, with the power to sever the ties between the two worlds.

Having two fathers, one in-game and one pre-game, helps to explain Lloyd’s growth and transformation throughout the game. Being raised by Dirk was important, as it helps him to combat the fatalist ideology of Kratos. But journeying and fighting with and against Kratos is just as valuable for Lloyd, as he is able to grow into a responsible, independant, and heroic adult that is able to not only take care of himself, but save and unite the world. By the end of the game, it is clear Kratos is proud of the man Lloyd has become. “Anna wanted a world where all life was respected. And now her son fights for that cause. Even as she worries for your safety….She is surely still pleased.”

“Your parents care only that you are well. Even if you don’t know anything about them, your safety is enough.”

Written for Critical Distance‘s May-June Roundup #BORT