Romance in Games that you thought was Well Executed

[BloatedGuppy]

John and River in To The Moon, this game is beatiful, simply beatiful...

This this this this this.

This.

It makes the standard gaming romance so painfully cornball in comparison I have a hard time accepting they share a genre.

 

[havoc33]

Zidane and Garnet was nice

but the best by far has to be Farrah and the Prince, that was amazing. Too bad Ubisoft messed up the sequels.

 

[The Funslinger]

Jackie and Jenny in The Darkness.

In one short, simple scene their relationship is made more believable than 99% of video game romances.

Are you talking about the scene where you can literally watch all of 'To Kill A Mockingbird' with her?

 

[Anachronism]

It's not really a romance per se, but the relationship between Ico and Yorda in ICO was handled brilliantly in my opinion. It's pretty amazing that something as simple as making holding hands a core mechanic can make you feel so close to a character and so invested in their safety. The bits where she has to jump and you have to catch her were always heart-in-mouth for me, just because I couldn't stop thinking "what if she falls?"

Spoiler

And the bit where you jump and she catches you is one of the most moving scenes I've seen in a game.

It's even more remarkable that they managed to do this without any significant dialogue; Yorda speaks... something, but her subtitles are a sort of amalgam of kanji and hieroglyphs, so neither you nor Ico know exactly what she's saying.

 

[Nooners]

I may catch some hate here, but I was seriously a fan of FemShep/Garrus.

I like ManShep/Tali, but the element of Tali crushing on Shepard made it a wee bit Mary/Marty Sueish. Garrus' romance just seemed more natural to me.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

No mention of Chrono Trigger yet? I thought the romance between Chrono and Marle was well handled, despite one of them saying nothing in the entire story. The moment when you get Chrono back is touching.

In Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance the implied romance between Marche and Ritz is endearing. Though it's never a part of the story and only hinted at in the endgame, you always know there's something sizzling under the surface. The fact that their goals are practically opposite makes it all the more believable. It kind of reminded me of Chihiro and Haku in Spirited Away.

And since you didn't specify the romance had to be part of the story... I had a loving relationship with the MP5 in Far Cry 2, since it's basically the best weapon in the game. Ah, the times.

 

[Matt-Sama]

The Darkness. The end when you're on the park bench with your dead girlfriend was heart breaking. Really well written romance.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Jackie and Jenny in The Darkness.

In one short, simple scene their relationship is made more believable than 99% of video game romances.

OK, for real: Jackie Estacado and Jenny Romano from the Darkness games. Pretty much the only games in history where the Main Character's love is actually an effective motive for the entire story.

That makes three of us.

I don't know of many other games where you actually do things a couple would do. Not in a way that doesn't seem forced and/or contrived. And in a first person shooter no less.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Monkey and Trip from Enslaved.

At the beginning, she leaves him behind to die, and he threatens to kill her. It's past the end of the world, everyone is dead, slavers and robots are trying to kill them at every turn, yet still despite all of that they find love. It's an excellent example of "life endures".

This... It is the best executed character progression I have ever seen in a game! Helped by the fact that you are with the couple from start to end, and what starts as him being a fiery tempered loner, and her both leaving him to die and blackmailing him early on can result in a great love story because of the experiences they have shared!

Great storytelling and a great story!

 

[Driekan]

Tidus and Yuna. Seriously, I thought it was really well done. And made me shed a single manly tear at the ending.

I honestly hated that one. Admittedly, it is likely more to do with me disliking both characters as opposed to being something specific to the romance.

I'm going to throw in TNO/Annah in Planescape: Torment, just because it was the first game ever to make me give a shit about a person who doesn't exist. Though it seems somewhat scripted and linear nowadays, it is still an example of a very good script.

 

[janjotat]

The Kid and Zia from Bastion, don't tell me I imagined that. It just made the ending better and it didn't feel tacked on at all.

 

[Saviordd1]

Cliche as it is, the relationship between Freeman and Alyx out of HL2.

It smacks of the whole "young folk in love" theme, primarily form the constant pushings of Vance's father.

I tought it was impressively satisfying.

Except, you know, GORDON NEVER FUCKING TALKS! HOW THE HELL DOES ALYX LOVE HIM!

*cough*
Sorry, personal pet peeve.

OT: Shepard and Liara, it might have been romanticized to all hell (being a space opera and all) but it's the only romance in a game that didn't feel forced or silly (I'm looking at you Witcher 2)

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Monkey and Trip from Enslaved.

At the beginning, she leaves him behind to die, and he threatens to kill her. It's past the end of the world, everyone is dead, slavers and robots are trying to kill them at every turn, yet still despite all of that they find love. It's an excellent example of "life endures".

This... It is the best executed character progression I have ever seen in a game! Helped by the fact that you are with the couple from start to end, and what starts as him being a fiery tempered loner, and her both leaving him to die and blackmailing him early on can result in a great love story because of the experiences they have shared!

Great storytelling and a great story!

Having just looked up the plot, I have to say that it disgusts me on a very deep level, and frankly I'm appalled that the writers got away with it without criticism.

It's rather disturbing at best and flatout Stockholm Syndrome at worst.

OT: To be honest I can't really think of any good examples. Ico was decent, but I'm not sure that's really romance.

 

[drummond13]

I may catch some hate here, but I was seriously a fan of FemShep/Garrus.

I like ManShep/Tali, but the element of Tali crushing on Shepard made it a wee bit Mary/Marty Sueish. Garrus' romance just seemed more natural to me.

No hate. At least not from me. I loved Fem Shep and Garrus together. I remember being annoyed in the first game when I realized he wasn't an option to pursue.

 

[drummond13]

Monkey and Trip from Enslaved.

At the beginning, she leaves him behind to die, and he threatens to kill her. It's past the end of the world, everyone is dead, slavers and robots are trying to kill them at every turn, yet still despite all of that they find love. It's an excellent example of "life endures".

This... It is the best executed character progression I have ever seen in a game! Helped by the fact that you are with the couple from start to end, and what starts as him being a fiery tempered loner, and her both leaving him to die and blackmailing him early on can result in a great love story because of the experiences they have shared!

Great storytelling and a great story!

Having just looked up the plot, I have to say that it disgusts me on a very deep level, and frankly I'm appalled that the writers got away with it without criticism.

It's rather disturbing at best and flatout Stockholm Syndrome at worst.

I can understand your reaction, but you really need to actually play the game before you can make a judgement call. Looking up the plot doesn't really do it justice.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Having just looked up the plot, I have to say that it disgusts me on a very deep level, and frankly I'm appalled that the writers got away with it without criticism.

It's rather disturbing at best and flatout Stockholm Syndrome at worst.

OT: To be honest I can't really think of any good examples. Ico was decent, but I'm not sure that's really romance.

I think you have to play it to get it... Monkey is in no way psychologically tied due to his captivity... and nearly attacks Trip on release... but realises that he also needs help as she did originally... he also realised that she did it due to being vulnerable, and that, due to the events that unfold in the game, he now feels a bit of responsibility towards her! A bit different to the Stockholm Syndrome effect!

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I know a lot of people have never played it and odds are never will, but the relationship and development of Emil and Marta is surprisingly well handled in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. You see the characters learn about one another and grow close to each other.

Wasn't that on the PS2? I need to check that out...it's a JRPG isn't it?

Tidus and Yuna. Seriously, I thought it was really well done. And made me shed a single manly tear at the ending.

At the end where Yuna realized what was going on with Tidus...yeah...just...me too.

The Darkness. The end when you're on the park bench with your dead girlfriend was heart breaking. Really well written romance.

I really liked how you could sit on the couch and watch TV with her earlier on in the game. I thought it was a pretty effective way to establish not only their romantic entanglement but also some juxtaposition for...well you know how that romance goes.

---

This may surprise many people but I liked how the romance wasn't really touched on in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Starkiller when to save Eclipse but they didn't really have a big "I love you" moment (that I remember). What I liked best about that game was how bittersweet it felt in the end. It brings up the 'what if' scenarios but also implies that Starkiller and Eclipse were never meant to be through Force intervention.

...but then Lucas Arts gave us a huge F U...2...

 

[Gameslayer_93]

i can't believe no-one's said Shadow of the Colossus yet! come on, the whole game is a guy taking out 16 COLOSSI for a woman, whats not to love!

 

[Silvanus]

As much as I disliked the game itself, the Limbo still gave me a good feel.

And, on the flip-side, as much as I adore HL2, I wasn't much of a fan of the Gordon & Alyx romantic-awkwardness stuff.


The best example, though, I'd have to agree with Gameslayer. Shadow of the Colossus is just beautiful, tragic, everything.