Most well-written game romance?

[TheDrunkNinja]

Ico and Yorda.

A romance as emotionally compelling as Wander and Mono where one goes to great lengths for the sake of the other, but the innocence and end result is just satisfying as hell to watch.

 

[Allthingsspectacular]

1. Well Written
2. Game
3. Romance

Pick two.

 

[Mr Companion]

Solid Snake and Otacon had a damn good BROmance

[HEADING=1]Fuck yeah![/HEADING]

Nothing beats a good bromance, and in that regard, I nominate Shepard and Garrus.

Manshep and Garrus.

That's not to say that Femshep couldn't have a good bromance with Garrus.

Afterall.

Article 22 of the Brocode states: There is no law that prohibits a woman from being a Bro.

True story.

Sooo WHY is that a picture depicting Solaire of Astora specifically? I mean, I think its awesome im just wondering why the picture is Dark Souls? And what is up with "Praise the Sun?" anyway? I don't even...

 

[gaiusimperator]

I think it is Jaheira from Baldur's Gate II.

It felt organic.

It began with me just trying to comfort her, but then she started to hit on me, and then, suddenly, we were together. It just felt right.

 

[Mr Companion]

The romance between Ezio and Sofia was good in Revelations (one of the few things good about that game). You could see why Ezio was interested in her and you really believed that they liked each other.

Yeah its pretty easy to see both the reasons why he liked her, I mean they are pretty big... reasons.

On a more serious note the romance between them is only commendable for having more than two minutes of non quest related interaction between them. On all other counts it never really goes anywhere and they don't really know anything about eachother for most of the time. And in the end it turns out she likes books and he likes brutal mass murder, opposites attract I guess?

Its a step above having one female support character who unquestioningly f**ks the protagonist because he saved the world but it was still a bit basic, a step in the right direction though your right

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I like Liara's romance. She goes from being a little girl with a crush, to a young lady growing up with doubts, to a mature partner over the coarse of the three games. At least that's how I feel.

Also liked Ico and Yorda's relationship. That was touching and painful, especially when you get separated.

 

[prophecy2514]

I think I'm the only one on the website, but I was always a fan of the Mass Effect romances, especially with Tali.

you can add another one on the maleShep tali romance bandwagon

for fem shep though I prefered thane to garrus. shep and garrus were bros, not lovers, and it came off awkward I found in me2. did not go through with it in me3 though, so could have gotten a whole ton better

 

[King of Asgaard]

I'm expect to be stoned by a few people for this but Squall and Rinoa!



It's the kind of story about love changing you into something better and my favorite game story of all time, it has to be #1 for me.

Agreed. While I hated Rinoa's useless character at first, I warmed to her because of her relationship with Squall. The best part about it is that it is a subtle romance, as the game never flat out tells you that you should care about their relationship, but you end up loving them by the end.

eh might get flamed for it, but after playing ffx and nothing else, i did enjoy tidus and yuna's thing they had goin on, first time i actively paid attention to a romance in the slightest in a game.

No flaming from me, sir. The romance is one of the many aspects of FFX that make it one of my all-time favourites. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried at the end.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

Simple but well told and with sympathetic characters. It's not great, but I'd say that's the best in the gaming industry as far as romance goes. Frankly everything else I tend to think is rubbish!

Agreed, it was a surprisingly well-written and well-characterized romance which felt natural.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I think I'm the only one on the website, but I was always a fan of the Mass Effect romances, especially with Tali.

you can add another one on the maleShep tali romance bandwagon

for fem shep though I prefered thane to garrus. shep and garrus were bros, not lovers, and it came off awkward I found in me2. did not go through with it in me3 though, so could have gotten a whole ton better

It does, in my opinion. Here's how I look at it. In ME2, Garrus/Shep was basically a case of Friends With Benefits, with the added nature of being distraction from the, you know, suicide mission. By the time the third game rolls around, Garrus has become more comfortable with his position in life, but at the same time, realized that he wants more with Shepard than to be just a fling. And the relationship basically develops from there.

 

[snyper101]

Prince of Persia Sands of Time was a pretty well written romance between Farah and Dastan if you can call it that

 

[Dosvidonya]

Geralt of Rivia and Triss Merigold.

 

[skywolfblue]

Hmm...

Best:
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
- Yes it falls for a pretty simplistic guy-meets-girl trope, but it's done in a heartwarming fashion. It's whole, there's no gaping jumps where characters do a logic-defying 180.

Red Dead Redemption
- I don't know if it is technically "romance" since John's been married for a while. But in terms of a relationship it's one of the best I've seen. A committed married man? In a video Game? WOW!

Ok, but flawed:
Dead Space 2
- For all the plot holes (Elie goes from trying to shoot Isaac to willingly babysit a crazy guy for him in the space of about 5 seconds), the characters treat it appropriately, given the circumstances.

Half Life 2
- Alyx Vance is a cool character. But Gordon being a mute kinda ruins the whole conversation, and they try to rush a romance into a series of events that end up being shorter then a single day.

Terrible:
Bioware romances. As much as I love and adore Mass Effect and Dragon Age, the romances ain't it.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I think I'm the only one on the website, but I was always a fan of the Mass Effect romances, especially with Tali.

ONLY ONE?!

I thought it was common knowledge that the best romance is with Tali!

Anyway, 100% my vote is for Shepard and Tali. I actually cried when they say goodbye to each other before the run for the beam.

 

[Janus Vesta]

If you don't mind my asking, just how are they terrible?

The problem with Bioware romances is that they're very artificial and in your face. Characters never develop a rapport. It's like 5 conversations and you're ry humping in the middle of the camp (Dragon Age Origins). Plus they make way too much of a big deal out of it, like "Hey guys, you can totally romance all these people, see how interesting our stories and characters are?"

YEs Bioware, I see it, that doesn't mean I want to fuck it.

 

[Janus Vesta]

I think I'm the only one on the website, but I was always a fan of the Mass Effect romances, especially with Tali.

ONLY ONE?!

I thought it was common knowledge that the best romance is with Tali!

Anyway, 100% my vote is for Shepard and Tali. I actually cried when they say goodbye to each other before the run for the beam.

Gosh, everyone knows Liara is the best romance.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

Simple but well told and with sympathetic characters. It's not great, but I'd say that's the best in the gaming industry as far as romance goes. Frankly everything else I tend to think is rubbish!

It also has the best love scene gameplay, that thing in the bath house. I'll take that over stilted sex scenes any day.

Bioware romances while entertaining are pretty shallow and pandering.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

The original Knights of the Old Republic love between Bastila Shan and the main character. The love drama is absolutely brilliant.

Read with caution major plot points revealed

Spoiler

Bastila goes after the evil Darth Lord Ravan (which is you, but you don't know it yet) and duels with him until Ravans apprentice betrays him putting Raven near death. The Jedi choose to suppress Ravans memories and give him a new chance at life. Bastila is put in charge of keeping an eye on him as he (you) go on a adventure. Soon Ravan and Bastila fall in love (if you choose the right options). Towards the end Bastila falls to the dark side and Ravan is left with a choice. Kill his love, join his love, or try turning her back to the light side.

 

[Danzavare]

It's hard to answer but I remember looking very fondly on the relationship between Jansen and the Queen in Lost Odyssey. I'll have to replay it someday soon because I barely remember any details about the game.

 

[Scrustle]

Jackie Estacado and Jenny Romano from the Darkness.
It manages to be heartwarming, realistic and bittersweet, all in the space of the 1-2 hours in which we get to know them. And when she dies it gives the perfect motivation to play through to the end because we want to avenge her as much as Jackie does.

So much this. Never seen a game that even comes close, even ones that are respected for their writing.

Captcha: sweety pie

 

[Janus Vesta]

If you don't mind my asking, just how are they terrible?

The problem with Bioware romances is that they're very artificial and in your face. Characters never develop a rapport. It's like 5 conversations and you're ry humping in the middle of the camp (Dragon Age Origins). Plus they make way too much of a big deal out of it, like "Hey guys, you can totally romance all these people, see how interesting our stories and characters are?"

YEs Bioware, I see it, that doesn't mean I want to fuck it.

Well what would your alternative be then if not the way they do things currently?

Have it be a small subtle thing. Treat it as a natural development in your relationship with the character, don't just have romance specific sections where you gain +5 invisible romance points. If you do something that pisses a character off you can't go to them later and try to hook up, they should behave like human beings, not puppets that have distinct modes.