The most misunderstood character of MOTHER 3

[@ggfan1909]

I remember how disappointed I was when I found out Flint was only playable in chapter 1. I was playing the Japanese version and reached chapter 6, wondering when I'd either take control of him again or at least see him join Lucas. Much to my surprise, the Mother 3 Wikipedia stated, "Flint appears in multiple chapters, but is only playable in the first." To me, Flint is, by far, the most interesting character in the entire Mother franchise, for he is the very antithesis of what the series consists of. In a world where children save the world and the adults are incompetent, ineffectual, and--in the case of the protagonists' parents--missing entirely, Flint is an ordinary person who gets by for being insanely strong. There's no flash, fluff, or contrived backstory; he's a farmer, he's presumably jacked as a result of his arduous labor, and his skills (which are given the badass title "Brute Force") reflect his pure power. However, over time I accepted him not being a part of the main crew, as he's incongruous with the theme. Lucas, Kumatora, and Duster are a ragtag bunch of misfits with something to prove. Lucas is dismissed by the entire village for being too sensitive and coddled, Kumatora is an orphan who has no relation with any of the other villagers, and Duster, well, has too many flaws to mention (his handicap and slovenly appearance just to name a couple). Add problematic family lives (Lucas and Duster) or no family at all (Kumatora) into the mix and Flint's last-minute absence is easier to digest. As for Boney? Eh. He's the much-needed comic relief of the bunch, though it's certainly unique to have a dog as a playable party member. If you really think about, the main group isn't fully established until the narrative has been fully told. As for Flint, he's instantly portrayed as courageous, strong, and heroic: he rescues a child from a burning house (breaking down a door and a giant support beam like they're nothing in the process), is described by Mike as "manly," and perseveres when others perish (Bronson and Lighter collapse in their attempts to help, whereas Flint saves the day). Moreover, his interactions with the Pigmasks reveal that they're genuinely afraid of him; they sweat and flee immediately instead of engaging in combat like they do against Lucas and co. Finally, he kills an enhanced version of a Drago--the most powerful beings in the Mother 3 world--all by himself (let's face it, Alec doesn't do anything besides watch in shock). Yes, he does have the Drago Fang, but he still had to land subsequent blows and withstand its assault. Look at how easily a Drago thrashes Fassad and his troops in chapter 3--and yet Flint single-handedly kills a more powerful and aggressive version of one. One can argue that Flint's narrative is fully complete by the time his chapter is closed, as there is no adversity for him to overcome or progress/development that needs to be made. I also feel that Flint disappearing from chapter 4 onwards is symbolic for a number of reasons. It symbolizes a "passing of the torch," for one, as with Flint out of the picture, it's up to Lucas to stand tall and save the day. With Flint wandering the mountains, though, there's a sense of adversity that might not have resonated so strongly if Flint were there. The events that conspire at the end of the game are also more cathartic and depressing because we only take control of Flint in chapter 1--when he's practically an indestructible badass. Yet, at the end of the game, he's exposed as beaten down, vulnerable, and weaker than the enemy. If Flint were in the main party, I don't think that scene would have had quite as much impact. Nonetheless, with all of that said, I STILL would have preferred it if Flint stuck around over, say, Kumatora, who adds little to the story besides being another oddball and misfit. It would have been charming and emotional if Lucas's father fought beside him, not to mention unique. It also would have been cool for the more experienced and accomplished veteran hero to tag along with the greenhorn and help mold him. I think having a dynamic similar to something like Obi Wan/Luke or Rey/Han Solo would have been infinitely more entertaining than what we got in the final product. One final thought: the argument can be made that Flint would have realized something was wrong regarding Claus's body going missing. He would have went with Lucas--not just to be a good father and look out for him--but also as a means of truly getting to the bottom of what happened to his other son. Aimlessly wandering in the same spot for three long, agonizing years is kind of stupid. P.S. I would pay a handsome sum of money to play EarthBound 64. I want to play Flint's game, not Lucas's. Mother 3 should have been Flint's game, in my opinion.

[@fazzeai]

I would keep Kumatora honestly, and remove Boney. Like, dogs are cool and all, but he is not very helpful in battle, and I find his loss least damaging to the party.

[@sartenazo8106]

@@fazzeai yeah, Boney is cute and all but kind of useless, not only in battle but in story, completely replaceable as a character

[@Doom2016-Player]

Slept Through this :^/

[@I_Be_Chillin]

I would replace bony

[@TomasioTV]

Why just stick to the traditional 4 party slots like in many RPGs? The appeal in the Mother games is the fact that it is wacky and nonconformist at best. Add 2 additional party slots, and add Flint and Wess. I believe this could've been also contributed to the variety of enemies. I never liked the Pigmasks having so little variety as enemies, along with the fact that you only get to fight a single Pork Tank while they have more of them. Add special Pigmask units, not just the navy squeals that only appear once. Add elite Pigmask commandos in the final dungeon, crazy, fearless fanatics who are there to guard the final needle. Add regular Pork Tanks in a sense that they are no longer a single boss, but strong nonetheless as regular enemies. Also, why have a single Pork Trooper who is nothing more than a brute used for comic relief? Why is he so special, other than being a minor antagonist? Yeah, the game is really awesome but there was a lot of missing potential.

[@andytheawesome7592]

About Tanetane island, I saw someone point out that not-Flint’s line wasn’t entirely Lucas’s imagination. While he’s not abusive, like you said, it’s a somewhat understandable fear for Lucas to subconsciously harbor because he was there, at the campfire, where the… incident took place. He saw a side of his father he had never seen before or since, but which understandably scared him. Relentless, violent, uncontrollable rage. Not the loving father he had knew. That’s why Lucas hallucinated Flint threatening to beat him.

[@niconeko6941]

I like never even thought of that, cool connection

[@shelbybayer200]

I think that's how it's intended

[@tomdekler9280]

It is deliberate for sure. Look at how the Masked Man swings his sword to summon lightning. Now look at how Flint swung his piece of lumber. Flint's reaction that night left a VERY deep impression on both boys.

[@MattJDave]

I dunno anyone who considers Flint outright abusive. He definitely failed Lucas, but it was clear that this was the result of an unhealthy, obsessive grieving process rather than active malice on his part. He pretty much always acts out of love, yet still fails Lucas, and that's... the beautiful tragedy of his character imo.

[@blackcat5333]

I know I am very late, but I feel like it comes from a hallucination scene on the island where Flint says to Lucas, "Daddy gonna beat you" meaning that poor Lucas is afraid of his father

[@MattJDave]

@@blackcat5333 I mean yeah, obviously the Tanetane Island section implies Lucas fears his father's violent side; he witnessed it when Flint found out Hinawa was dead. But fearing potential abuse and it actually happening are two very different things. Is Flint neglectful? Absolutely. But there's no evidence of abusiveness.

[@Pabmyster]

Weird, I had never interpreted Flint as a bitter abusive father. To me, he was a man who took all the burden and responsibility for what happened to his family, and like a tormented soul he endlessly tried to make right by himself. He's a strong, caring man who happens to also be human and thus emotionally vulnerable. I thought he was one of the best written characters despite his small role.

[@AgentDanielCross]

I saw him more as the loner samurai/cowboy type, in style of Clint Eastwood or Toshiro Mifune. Yeah, he has a family, but that idea of him being on the path eternally suits him.

[@Ranixo286]

Yeah, he made a mistake in how he handled his greif, but ultimately he is a good person.

[@islandboy9381]

I think the story definitely critiques the "macho" style way of dealing with trauma and grief with how Flint and Claus reacted, both seeing themselves as having to solve everything by themselves but this also left them narrow minded and prone to further mistakes, Lucas on the other hand grew more by going through it with crying and allowed him to eventually see the bigger picture.

[@ClintonKE]

Always loved Flint. I like how every member of the family had different responses of grief towards Hinawa's passing. Alex jokes, Claus gets angry, Flint gets desperate and in denial for sure after Claus dies, Lucas cries non stop but gets stronger after.

[@smallguy73]

Flint is also in Chapter 3. Backtrack to his house while Fassad leaves you to deliver happy boxes and you'll see him tending to sheep.

[@thodds68]

i feel like flint not being interactable post time skip makes it feel like lucas lost his father too in a way

[@SonicTheCutehog]

I think the reason why they cut Flint for most of the game is because it would be redundant to have two of the main playable characters with similar tragedies. They already had Lucas who also had to deal with Hinawa's passing and Claus' disappearance, and Lucas would have the more interesting side of it because he lost them at a young age. Plus, they probably wanted to give Kumatora more screentime to better flesh out her character and would replace Flint in the later chapters regardless, so Kumatora joined the party in Chapter 5.

[@oi6915]

I thought having Flint as a party member would have been unique since most times in games fathers are either absent or the enemy (Like in Tekken or the Msx Metal Gears)

[@BareBandSubscription]

But by not putting those two characters together, you miss the opportunity to have them actually develop.

[@AlonzoTompkins]

Flint failed his son. But he is NOT an abusive father. He had a natural reaction when learning about his wife’s sudden demise. His grief drove him into despair after losing his other son causing him to leave Lucas. But he wasn’t a bad father since he really did love his two boys with all his heart. He never intended to hurt Lucas. He wanted to bring his family back together after everything. That’s why he left for so long. Unhealthy grieving as another commenter said.

[@catdatwat9743]

Duster: “He was a strict, but nice dad.” …Bro.

[@DaEgg123]

Well, it’s a very common trait for children of abusive parents to still see them as a lot better as people than other people perceive them, it really is difficult for most to scorn someone that brought you into the world. Also, Duster isn’t the type of person anyway to hate other people in general, no less his own father :P

[@MaraudingManiac]

I definitely agree that there's no text to say that he was abusive, he legitimately tried to be the best father he could be. The tragedy of Flint's character is that he neglected his living, motherless son for the sake of a son that was probably dead. From an idealistic perspective, searching for your lost child is obviously very important, but from a utilitarian perspective, his other son was still alive and very much needed him. After all, you could view Flint's predicament as a no-win-scenario. If he gives up on Claus, and Claus turns out to be alive, then he just abandoned one of his sons when he could have done something. But in his drive to avoid that outcome, he let his duties in parenting his other son slip.

[@yeset2847]

Flint reaction is fair, remember how Bronson just came to him and say "Ayo I got good a bad news for you, I have a new weapon for you, the bad news is that the thing that I will use for you super cool new weapon was A THEET OF A DRAGO THAT WAS BURRIED IN YOUR WIFE'S CHEST" like bro, how you coming up wlth that to someone who just lost his wife?! 💀

[@ninja3212]

To be fair, the idea behind Tazmily is that it is for all intents and purposes a utopia. So when faced with such extreme tragedy as Hinawa's death, even the villagers have no idea how to process it, or even how tragic it actually even is. That's why Bronson tells Flint the news in such a strange way, and why the moment is so impactful for everyone involved.

[@Cramboing]

I always saw him searching for Claus as a symbol of grief. He's struck with so much guilt, knowing that even if he had killed the mecha-drago, Hinawa wouldn't come back. It's like he feels that finding Claus is the only way to make it up to his family for failing to protect them.

[@aerth6946]

Let's go! People recently have been WAY too hard on Flint for no real reason, I don't understand how they can literally see why he behaves the way he does and still say shit like: "Flint is a bad father to Lucas"

[@multoria]

AERTH? TU POR AQUI RAPAZ?

[@aerth6946]

@@multoria Mas claro! kkkk Muito fã desse canalzinho aqui, além de seguir o cara no Twitter

[@TheSnugfitt]

After the tragedy, Flint definitely failed Lucas as a father from what we see, but to be fair we miss out on three years. In Tazmily, someone mentions that all Flint ever does anymore is go out and search for Claus. But that doesn't mean Flint was spending the same amount of time out searching for Claus while neglecting a younger Lucas at home. Additionally, Alec tells Lucas when he gifts him the Courage Badge on Flint's behalf that Flint said he was proud of Lucas for having grown so strong (I believe this is a reference to Lucas' emotional strength and maturity, not necessarily physical strength), so Flint didn't have to worry about his well being as much anymore. I don't mean that he was able to ignore Lucas completely; consider that when we become old enough our own parents will often leave us on our own for periods of time to do other important things, like run errands or work. In this case, Flint was out searching for his missing son. Additionally, the NPC commenting on Flint searching for Claus being "all he does anymore" tells us he probably did other things unrelated at first. Flint still tends Tazmily's sheep, and we can actually see this in Chapter 3, he would have returned from fighting the Mecha Drago. I think this makes some sense; the residents of Tazmily don't really know how to deal with sudden loss or tragedy, and they struggle to empathize with those experiencing those things. Flint may have been in this same camp at first and returned to his daily responsibilities at first while experiencing this grief and loss that nobody else in the village could understand. Now, none of this excuses Flint from essentially being an absent parent by the time we take control of Lucas again, but it is understandable how he got to this state. Lucas wasn't the only person traumatized by Hinawa's death and Claus' disappearance. The way I interpret what happened is that after Claus goes missing, Flint still continues to raise Lucas and tend to his town responsibilities while still going off to search for Claus periodically. As Lucas gets older, Flint feels he can trust Lucas to be safe on his own more and more, and scales his efforts up little-by-little. And as time goes on, the Pigmask economy takes over Tazmily more and more, diminishing Flint's villagely responsibilities as time goes on. By Chapter 4, Lucas is presumably a teenager and is able to handle himself for day to day, and by this point Flint consumed himself entirely with the search. Flint wasn't around as much as he should have been, of course, and by the time we take control of Lucas in Chapter 4 he's consumed with searching for Claus, perhaps rationalizing it as "making up for lost time" on the search. Despite how much Lucas has grown up, a teenager still needs their parents. Flint is a tragic character filled with regret over what happened, and I think that's the point. He is a flawed character who acts out of love and concern for his family, and is torn between searching for his missing son and being with the one he still has left. It's a relatable dilemma with no good answer: he has to choose between finding his missing son or move on from Claus and Himawa to focus completely on raising Lucas. Either choice comes with heavy guilt or regret. I think Flint would have made a better character than Boney as the 4th member from Chapter 5 onward, as some of this could have been explored with Flint as he journeyed with Lucas. It also would have given an interesting perspective on the Mother series which in some ways explores the implications of not having a caring mother-figure to raise you, or what happens when they die/disappear/etc. With the exception of Giygas, most references to mother-figures in the series are as they relate to their children from a child's perspective. It would have been very interesting to delve into the absence of Flint's wife and how the loss of Lucas' mother affected Flint through the party's eyes rather than through the speculative eyes of the other residents of Tazmily and surrounding area. Despite his flaws, as a father myself I think Flint is one of the most relatable characters for adult fans of the game.

[@gort1863]

I honestly like that he isn't all that present. I think it gives the impression that, while he's not outright abusive, he is a little neglectful (neglect which stems from trauma and obsession, NOT malice). I think that's a pretty good way of characterizing him in-game with as little words as possible, and it also makes the impact Hinawa's death had on Lucas a little more clear beyond just emotional damage. He didn't just lose his mother and brother. In a way, he lost his father as well. So while the final cut may have sacrificed some characterization for Flint, I think it amplified Lucas' (which is important to me, given that he's a mostly silent protagonist). I liked this video a lot. I didn't know there was so much hidden information about this game.

[@scrubbadubbins4895]

I've always thought Flint was an abusive character, but the reason why is very complicated. He very much cares about his family, but his constant searching for Claus leads to him completely neglecting Lucas for years. In his attempt to find and protect one son, he completely neglects the other, leaving Lucas basically without a family.

[@momochan8920]

Yeah. I don’t think flint is a bad person by any means or had bad intentions, however people seem to forget that neglect is a form of abuse whether he meant it or not.

[@BareBandSubscription]

I really can’t wrap my head around calling someone a neglectful or abusive parent when they’re literally devoting all of their time to finding their child. Like, yeah, he isn’t there for Lucas, but Lucas is also safe at home.

[@BareBandSubscription]

Flint being sidelined so hard after the first chapter is maybe my biggest personal disappointment with Mother 3. The whole sequence of him learning about Hinawa’s death, breaking down and lashing out, and remembering the last time he saw her is, for me, the peak of the entire Mother trilogy and a powerful emotional hook that got me so invested in this guy’s journey going forward. But then he just stagnates, and even after the game _clearly_ sets him up to have a bigger role in the story, he just fades into the background completely so we can retread the whole absentee-dad motif yet again. His exclusion in much of the story feels like the result of patchwork and it frankly squanders so much potential for developing not only his own character, but the relationships between each member of the family. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see a grieving father and son, who’ve been fragmented for years over their losses, actually work through their grief together as they unite to overthrow this tyrannical evil that is threatening their community and their way of life? I mean, imagine how many scenes we could have had of Flint and Lucas simply _talking_ about Hinawa and Claus, their memories of them, what they feel from them, where they hope Claus is, what they think the afterlife is for Hinawa, etc, etc. It would singlehandedly develop all four members of the family much more just through simple dialogue, thus heightening the impact of the final battle rather than relying almost purely on the player’s inherent sympathy for brainwashed, grieving small children who end up offing themselves. It seems Flint was always meant to be more involved, and I can’t help but wonder *why* they sidelined him so hard in favor of a shoehorned hero’s journey merely tinged with themes of grief and mortality. Overall, I do really love everything the game achieves emotionally, dramatically, and thematically, and it still features the best story and most developed characters of the series by miles, but I can’t help but feel burned by the concessions they made and the missed opportunities left in plain sight whenever I think about Mother 3, and Flint is chief among them.

[@jirachido3997]

I strongly agree. I was constantly looking forward to playing as him again, but it never happened. Instead i was stuck playing as boring-ass Lucas. I don't like Lucas a character, all of his identity comes from his relationships with his (Dead) family, and since most of the time you don't even see them, he is just the stereotypical shy and clumsy character that evolves into the stereotypical brave and heroic character. I'd even say i erefer Lucas before his character arc, because at least he had a personality and wasn't just Ness II.

[@guestb8389]

This whole _Lucas and Claus an abusive dad_ narrative honestly just sounds like a whole lot of projecting. Just because a person yells or lashes out in intense situations, it doesn't automatically make them abusive. EDIT: Is Flint misguided? Yes. Is he abusive? Hell no!

[@NinjaXFiles]

"ohhh ohhh abusive abusive omg 😧" Like 🅱️ish, shut the h_Il up. You guys would react the same way as Flint if someone that important to you dies all of a sudden. 🤦🏻

[@nairbgolden2008]

Seriously. It's clear he's a man traumatized by the loss of his wife and child. His way of dealing with it is clearly wrong, but he's never stated to be abusive in any way to Claus and Lucas. The lines on the island are a result of drug induced nightmares and Lucas as a child seeing his father lashing out at his friends (presumably his first time seeing such an expression of negative emotions)

[@Woot100]

shockingly, i don't disagree with most of this video! personally, i'm still in the "flint is a man who has made several serious errors in his parenting and owes lucas a sincere apology and change in behavior" camp, but i do agree outright calling him abusive is complicated and oversimplifying [plus, as someone who doesn't really like flint a whole lot, even *I* think it's too mean to compare him to wess. wess hate gang 2022.] i appreciate, however, that you've stated your entire argument in a sound and level-headed way with multiple points of evidence and sources to back them up. I find a lot of people tend to either fall into two extremes of that crazy tweet you showed, or "uhhhhmmm actually he's a perfect flawless being who can do no wrong because i like him and you're stupid if you think otherwise. thanks." so it's nice to see someone who can just... *talk,* y'know? like what you said about it being important that a player is TRYING to actively interpret the work. Mother 3 is my favorite game and one of my favorite things to do is to analyze it, even the parts that might be frustrating or incomplete. Analysis is an act of love

[@yumezipfile]

This is a great video, honestly. A lot of people seriously misinterpret Flint and it makes me upset. You can admit he did wrong by looking for Claus everyday and (presumably) leaving Lucas alone, but he's not abusive at all, he just did some things wrong. Thank you for making this video.

[@somerandomguy8541]

"Somethings wrong" wdym leaving your child alone to fend for himself just because one of your children is gone doesn't mean you should abandon your other child

[@twistedtunes4904]

Flint was always one of my favourites… just a father trying to do his best to recover what family he had left after losing one of if not the most important person in his life… “A strong, dependable father” “Bad times like this call for reckless nice guys like you!”… He goes out of his way to protect the citizens of tazmily, but ultimately suffers the worst out of all of them… The fire scene… truly unforgettable, even if i give it a more and more simple name each time I refer to it, I don’t really need to complicate it. But the feelings are there. All my homies agree that every Mother 3 Protag did nothing wrong and deserves a good picnic and a beautiful song to go with.

[@obiestar]

Thank you for making this video. Mainly because of your comments relating to Earthbound 64. That was some stuff I never thought about.

[@Man_Jr._Studios]

I’m glad you made this; Flint was always one of my favorite characters. Makes me wish he had a bigger role in the game like possibly Earthbound 64

[@Bobb11881]

I'm going to say something controversial. The final game should have had a final party of 5. If not, Flint should have replaced Boney. Boney has no story significance at all and he's, quite frankly, useless as a party member. He's not strong, he has no weapons until he gets a really weak one at the end of the game, and his armor is severely lacking. His only strength is his speed, but that just serves to make Duster less special. If the final party (if it still only consisted of four characters) was comprised of Lucas, Flint, Kumatora, and Duster, then everyone would have a role to play. Lucas would be support, Flint would be the slow but hard-hitting tank, Kumatora would be the PSI user, and Duster would be the classic thief. The final game also explicitly lists Flint as one of the villagers who will stand up to the Pigmasks, and then he just doesn't.

[@BUD1352]

Flint and lucas went through so much in mother 3 i wish we could see what they did with their lives after the events of mother 3

[@UnknownFlyingPancake]

I feel like the people misinterpreting Flint aren't like, stupid or bad people or anything. A lot of times people just simply misremember things, and their own experiences can overshadow all of that. So people might see specific things that remind them of negatives experiences in their own life and jump to the wrong conclusions. Of course people should absolutely not do that, but I think it's important to keep in mind how others think sometimes, even if they're wrong. I really like the theories about Flint's original involvement in the story. I can't help but be curious as to how things would have played out. It makes me really want some sort of remake that expands upon the story with many of the things that were cut. Mother 3 is already great as it is, but I could easily imagine it being even better.

[@jptheberge3016]

I don't have a problem with Flint being mostly absent trough the game, i just wish they explored the fact that he has presumably became an absent fater figure to Lucas and the effect this must have had on him for the past 3 years, also i really wish they would keep the talk on the elevator that seemed like it could be really interesting, really great video btw

[@Averagebasementman]

The closest I could think of abusive for flint is possible neglect while looking for Claus or Lucas fearing that flint would take his grief and anger and the loss of Hinawa and Claus out on him. But I don’t think Flint would do either to be honest. He may go searching for Claus but he’d likely keep a close eye on Lucas so he doesn’t lose the last family he has and there is no way Flint would do such a thing to Lucas after everything the boy went through.

[@nonononononononononononononope]

I think you’re really reaching here. Flint is CLEARLY wounded and obsessed with searching for Claus. His neglect for Lucas being caused by sorrow is integral to the story. It’s not subtext, it’s plain as day. I’ve never seen some say flint is it abusive.

[@jjspaceluigi5906]

For the abuse thing, I always saw him as neglective, sure he kept him alive and healthy, but he just spends all his time looking for clause or mourning hinawa, instead of raising his son, so no, hes not abusive, but hes also not exactly a "good" dad so to say, I mean, even when he gives you the courage badge, he does it through nippolyte.

[@annenoir760]

As someone who grew up with an extremely abusive father, i genuinely don't understand the hate for Flint, he was neglectful of Lucas of course, but the people who say he's abusive definitely have no idea what that word means.

[@chasqui06]

Great video, and are those screenshots of some rom hack with n64 designs? I'd love to play something like that. Also, I think Flint's final role is still pretty good, him being a more absent father obsessed with finding Claus adds some more depth with his character I think, but at the same time I would have loved to have him as a more permanent party member, so I don't really know which version of Flint I prefer.

[@snow_wood]

It's mockups using sprites for a hack in development, but they're not from the hack.

[@chasqui06]

@@snow_wood that's cool! I know something like that won't be finished for a long time, but now I'm excited to play it

[@AlexDrawzCrud]

This is such a good video! I love mother 3 and this video returned many memories.

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

I am not a bad dad, why does people think that? I've just been gaming- I mean grinding Flint to Level 99 that's all.

[@spacecadetkaito]

THANK YOU for making this video. It's like you read my mind. I have no idea why but recently it seems like theres a giant Flint hate brigade in the Mother fandom that i just dont understand. I know it's really silly, but this gets me so irritated that i automatically block anyone on any website that even implies that they think Flint is abusive or a bad guy. It pisses me off that much XD I don't think i ever get that mad about dumb fan interpretations of ANY other work except this one. It's such an egregious, blatant willful misinterpretation of the character and yet it's so common. I could seriously write an entire mini essay length rant in this comment section but i'm going to restrain myself lol.

[@SydChapter24]

I knew I'd see you here 😭

[@aborealisglfry]

I think it’s kind of disappointing just how neglectful he is of Lucas after/during the timeskip- that, and just how out of character he is in some ways. Are you telling me the same dude who’s entire routine for years was checking after his deceased/missing family members, would let his only remaining family just run off on his own like that? I also feel that the "daddy’s gonna beat you" line on tanetane island comes from the fact that Lucas became scared of his father after the night in ch1, but the fact that he’s still scared about it 3 years later, makes me think that it’s either just that much of a deep rooted fear within him, or that flint did nothing to truly quell that fear. I personally believe the former but I wouldn’t blame someone for thinking the latter. (Slightly unrelated note: why the hell didn’t they give the line of flint recognizing the masked man to Duster?? He’s physically the closest to him, and oh, idk actually knows Claus?? Why they decided it was a good fit for kumatora, who never even interacted with Claus before the timeskip, I don’t know.)

[@dollycheesecakes3658]

12:50 because he'd be too busy looking for Claus even if he was home tending to the sheep, it'd only be for a bit.

[@enricooler1433]

I agree. Flint is cool

[@Sev1138]

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO FINALLY UNDERSTANDS

[@firebug9482]

I wish that Duster also had more lines so that we saw more of his character and Flint's

[@ZachLane89]

Flint is by definition a neglectful father and also one of the most believable characters in Mother 3. He’s not abusive to Lucas, but because of the trauma of Hinawa’s death and Claus’s disappearance, he hyper fixated on the hope of saving his son(unlike how powerless he was to save his wife). After Chapter 1, Flint and Alec grow more distant as a result of the trauma, and Flint completely misses the suffering of his still-living son, Lucas, while stuck in tunnel vision. It’s tragic and coloured by dramatic irony and human imperfection.

[@DaEgg123]

The thing is, there's nothing directly in the game that indicates Flint even neglected Lucas. All of it comes from personal interpretation of the player. We don't actually see what happens during the timeskip, nothing indicates that Lucas believes Claus is long gone like a lot of people say, the sheep are still cared for and even indicate in chapter 7 Flint intends to stay home (not wanting to go to NPC), not seeing Flint again until chapter 8 doesn't really mean much either since chapters 4-8 take place over only about two weeks tops, Lucas and Flint happened to not cross paths during those chapters until the end. That leaves the only source that Flint is obsessive as the Tazmily villagers, who, are the same people not only figuratively brainwashed via the Happy Boxes, but also scornful towards Lucas himself too. Their views on not just Flint are warped and inaccurate. Even with Nippolyte in chapter 7, he brings up that Flint's only salvation is Lucas, indicating that Flint knows Lucas is much stronger than anyone around him would have anticipated. There's other points that can be made (such as that, who would be paying for food and supplies for Lucas after DP was introduced to Tazmily, presumably it'd be from Flint selling wool), but the point is that, going off what's presented in the game, saying Flint is neglectful is essentially theorising. There of course is nothing wrong with theorisiring, but I wish people would be more mindful when they something happened in the game vs what's just their personal interpretation. Just as a side note, this video in particular I'd like to redo because it's old and I was very clumsy in explaining my points I had.

[@oi6915]

Flint Gaming

[@flintfrommother3gaming]

Whomst have summoned me?

[@100specters]

@@flintfrommother3gaming you are my hero

[@benadrylsmoke5481]

duster's hallucination about wess where wess almost seems to give a shit about duster before becoming horrible all over again always stuck out at me, it's such a weird little detail on tanetane whereas the other hallucinations are just like, strictly trauma none of what i just typed makes any sense but i'm tired and at work so edit oh i also meant to say that it also just proves further that you seriously cannot put wess and flint together who the fuck. in what world is mildly absent but loving father on the same level as man who repeatedly emotionally abuses his kid

[@jamnnjelly3102]

He was definitely neglectful of Lucas although it was for a ""good reason"" he was still pretty distant from him for a lil while. But abusive? Nah..

[@cowaborange]

Thank you for making this video. People's interpretations of him being abusive had me really baffled and Im glad Im not the only one

[@ucproductions5810]

I'm dressing as him for Halloween this year.

[@Ranixo286]

Kumatora saying "Is that..." could still logically make sense. As she was raised by the Magypsies, she more than likely knew that they gave Claus PSI and that it ended badly. Both Flint and Kumatora could have used more development honestly,,,,great video!

[@DaEgg123]

It does still make sense in the final game, as earlier in the chapter she’d recall seeing Lucas dressed as the commander, and then later sees the actual commander. Regardless, the line still makes more sense and significance with Flint delivering it instead. And thank you!

[@borrelsupremacy]

I can see why people would think he would be a bad father as most fathers in Nintendo RPGs are deadbeats or just not there.

[@borrelsupremacy]

But, the one exception in a sea of bad people is always gonna be lumped in with them.

[@N64Man098]

Love your vids keep it up

[@shhhhhg]

what if there’s a scrapped chapter where you play as Flint alone after he goes and Kumatora joins the party? There’s a lot of screenshots and video footage of him in death desert that make zero sense within Mother 3’s story, and there were 9 chapters at the end of Earthbound. Or maybe death desert was originally like the Highway and lucas not being there is because of the whole switching Party Lead thing

[@boomkittyFX]

even though he was only used in chapter 1, flint honestly had a healthier reaction to hearing his wife pass away than anyone else in the village, even more healthy than lucas in my opinion

[@NessyBoy64]

you forgot when Flint was mentioned in Chapter 3 as someone who can help the town

[@tweetytang6511]

In the final game you could probably say Flint was neglectful towards Lucas but there isn’t sufficient evidence to say he was physically abusive in any way. Overall good video though.

[@TheSnugfitt]

Right, like the Tanetane Island trip is all in Lucas' head. I don't think Flint ever beat Lucas, but Lucas did see a violent side of his father upon hearing the news of Hinawa's death, which makes sense that he might have hallucinated a violent version of Flint in response to that. In a lot of ways, that trip was likely fueled by negative emotions and feelings that Lucas had been struggling with since Hinawa's death, but didn't really know how to work through.

[@JANJANOJAN]

Actually wait, I dont remember where it says that Flint neglected Lucas outright? Like He wasnt home but i kinda forgot if it says he never spent time with Lucas Also i never took him as Firm or Strict? and although he doesnt speak much im pretty sure thats because you play as him idk there is alot of headcanons people project on to him that arent fair Also later down the road Flint wouldve been way to weak to fight in the late game

[@monopolyrubix1875]

Child neglect is child abuse by definition, so yes, Flint absolutely commits child abuse against Lucas. Not physical abuse, but abuse nonetheless. Can't say I blame him, though; his untreated trauma made it impossible for him to properly care for Lucas. The blame lies on Alec for not filling in as a father figure and involving himself more in Lucas's life, and the other villagers for excluding Lucas.

[@_thejuicebox]

Awesome :)

[@Tryagainwithadifferentname123]

Imma be honest I'm not a big fan of the old gba sprites and designs for the characters. I'm glad they changed them.

[@arrombaacasa390]

Não existe um personagem em qualquer jrpg que merecia mais screentime do que o flint. Simplesmente underrated

[@artistluke4]

Love you and this game dawg

[@fernando98322]

I know the video is old but I hope someone can answer: is it confirmed the Mecha Drago died at the end of Chapter 1? I know we don't see it again after that, and I know how the scene plays out (sheds a tear, closes its eyes and lays still as the camera pans away to Claus), but is it actually confirmed? Like maybe someone asked Itoi in one interview or is it just speculation that's very likely true? I'm asking because I've always thought it had survived, though obviously I can't explain where it would be for the rest of the game (I like to think the "mom" Drago is the frozen one you find in the Chimera Lab which is very disturbing)

[@grantsheep2774]

flint is the goat

[@pablo8524]

Flint is at the very least neglectful towards Lucas which is considered a form of abuse

[@doorssecondchannel-ndRepon]

Is that clover

[@BluShiGuy]

Flint

[@efendi16]

. ..

[@idontknowwhatmychannelcall7733]

I would just remove the dog from the party and add flint into the party