Over the years, video games have evolved into more than just action packed shooters that
players immerse themselves in, whether for challenge or pleasure.
These days, video games utilize narratives that resonate and hit home with players, raising
the bar and giving us higher expectations when it comes to new releases we delve into.
Those narratives often include romantic interests, and there have been many a title that has
incorporated a romantic story line into its plot, with players often rooting for characters
to end up together by the game’s end.
So today, we’re taking a closer look at the relationships we adore in some of our
favourite titles, with our list of the top 10 video game couples.
Let’s get to it!
10 Wander and Maro - Shadow of the Colossus We’re starting off our list with a real
tragic one; the romance between Wander and Maro from Shadow of the Colossus.
Spoilers friends!
Actually, spoiler alert for many of these numbers.
Now, for starters, we never actually see the two romantically together in the game; Wander
sets off to defeat all of the Colossi, something that is revealed to be absolutely forbidden,
all as a means to resurrect Maro.
While he succeeds, it’s at a great cost, and it’s largely implied that he ends up
dying and becoming reborn by the end of the title.
That kind of sacrifice, along with the utter brilliance and beauty of Shadow of the Colossus,
makes their relationship one of the most memorable in video game history.
9 Snake and Meryl - Metal Gear Solid Solid Snake and Meryl Silverburgh have had
a bumpy romance since the first installment in the Metal Gear Solid franchise.
But their tale is the stuff of a great love story; that very first game has Meryl thinking
that Snake is actually his evil clone, and when she realizes that that isn’t actually
the case, it’s too late; her mind is taken over by Psycho Mantis, arguably one of the
scariest villains in video game history, with Mantis trying to murder our hero.
If your relationship can survive something like that, that’s pretty darn impressive.
Snake latete saves her after she’s wired to a nuclear bomb, and the two eventually
drive off on a snowmobile into the sunset together.
How adorable.
8 Ellie and Riley - The Last of Us DLC When players got to know Ellie in the Last
of Us, it became clear she was a pretty kick ass character, a fairly young teenager who
was doing her best to cope with all of the horrific crap thrown her way since the outbreak,
and her discovery that she was immune to it.
The main game hinted at her past, with her telling Joel how she learnt of that immunity;
she basically witnessed her ‘close friend’ Riley succumb to the virus after they were
both bitten.
Astute players likely picked up on the fact that Riley seemed to be more than a close
friend, which was confirmed in the game’s DLC, Left Behind, in which we see Ellie on
her own during the aftermath of the Winter stage from the main title, scavenging a mall
for medical supplies.
It intercuts between that story and the story of Ellie spending time with Riley, which,
spoilers, we learn is the last time they hang out, with Riley planning on joining up with
the fireflies.
The juxtaposition of the two, a desperate Ellie killing off infected and survivors of
David’s group to keep Joel alive versus her last few happy memories is jarring at
best, and narratively compelling.
By the end of the DLC, Riley and Ellie share a kiss, something that many expected was the
case, confirming that Ellie was a queer character after all.
Anywho, it’s hard to not find their banter with one another incredibly endearing, and
then utterly heartbreaking as the DLC ends right before Riley dies, with the two sitting
next to each other, expecting that this is the end for both of them.
7 Gordon and Alyx - Half Life 2 The world of Half Life 2 is a bleak one; after
the Black Mesa incident and alien occupation, a suppression field is placed around the Earth
which causes humans to become infertile.
But love still prevails!
Or at least, heavily implied romance via two-way communication through the entirety of the
game.
And we all know good relationships are built on open communication!
While we never see them ‘get official’ it’s implied throughout the games’ narrative
(or at least to many fans) that these two could very well be an item, to the point where
Alyx’s father even nags the two about having grandchildren after the suppression field
is taken gown.
6 Guybrush and Elaine - Secret of Monkey Island The Secret of Monkey Island series is one
of the oldest on our list, beginning back in 1990.
Meaning, we’ve had a very long time to appreciate the chemistry between Guybrush Threepwood
and Elaine Marley, ever since their humble days on the Atari ST.
Elaine is a well-known pirate who governs over the Tri-Island area, meanwhile, Buybrush
is an amateur, a wannabe of sorts.
While incredibly humourous, the two have proven to show a lot of heart, making for an impressive
team who manage to take out zombie pirates like no other, all while dealing with the
ups and downs that relationships come with.
5 Johnny and River - To the Moon To the Moon is often argued as being one of
the most powerful explorations of life and love in video game form, and it’s a tear
jerker, for sure.
The story travels backwards in time, where we witness Johnny’s memories of his marriage
to River as he’s on the brink of death, along with a desire to travel to the moon.
We see them meet as children at a carnival, encountering each other again years later
while in highschool, and later, as they navigate adulthood, in which we learn that River is
Autistic, and struggles with how she expresses her thoughts and emotions, which only furthers
the feels from there on out.
The narrative of the game allows you to unravel their romantic history in a beautiful tale,
in what critics have called a stunning, tragic, but ultimately uplifting experience.
4 Nathan and Elena - Uncharted While some may argue that Nathan and Chloe
were a better couple, Elena and Nathan were endgame, perfectly balancing one another;
Elena had patience with Nathan, and the two worked together so well as a team.
By the time Uncharted 4 rolled around, we got to see a grand new level of their relationship,
with Nathan returning to the game one last time, and Elena coming to his rescue, with
them pulling off this final heist together; Nathan couldn’t have done it without her.
Also, their home life was one of the most endearing depictions of marriage we’ve seen
in games yet.
And it makes seeing their future with their daughter even sweeter in the end.
3 Tidus and Yuna - Final Fantasy X The Final Fantasy franchise has given us many
different characters and couples over the years for us to pour our affections into,
but none as much as Tidus and Yuna, who have stolen the hearts of gamers internationally.
Tidus, a professional blitzball player, is transported to another world called Spira,
with no idea of how to get home.
He ends up joining up with a group of guardians accompanying Yuna on a pilgrimage for her
to become a summoner and binge Sin from her world.
Easier said than done, as she learns.
Sparks fly with Tidus, compiling into one of the most sincere relationships we’ve
ever seen depicted in a video game, and soon, Yuna finds herself in a tragic position; defeating
Sin could mean the death of herself, or Tidus, resulting in one of the most heart wrenching
narrative endings in video game history.
2 Mario & Peach Nintendo’s main man, their iconic mascot,
Mario, and his lady love Princess Peach, are arguably the most recognized romantic duo
in video game history.
They’re birthed from the simple concept of ‘peach is kidnapped, damsel in distress,
Mario must save her’.
While Peach has proven herself to be more useful than her prior trope suggested, it’s
hard to not think of Peach without thinking of Mario, going to show how integral the characters
are to one another.
Unless, you know, you consider Bowser.
There’s quite the fan theory kicking around that Peach low key keeps letting Bowser capture
her, because they’re having a secret love affair behind Mario’s back and that’s
where all of Bower’s kids came from.
Sorry if that burst your bubble.
1 Link & Zelda While Mario and Peach may be more recognizable,
Link and Zelda run a close second.
The real reason they top their Nintendo peers is because of how much more in depth their
love story is, and the ways in which it has become increasingly complex over the years
throughout the Legend of Zelda games.
Their story is retold in pretty much every iteration of a Zelda game, initially with
Zelda having been kidnapped, and Link setting out on a journey that will not only save her,
but inevitably, save all of Hyrule in the process.
In every game, they are always destined to meet; destiny sees to it.
They don’t always get along, either; in Breath of the Wild, Zelda shows disdain towards
our protagonist, which eventually grows into a respect and appreciation.
In Skyward Sword, we saw Zelda outside of her tradition princess role, with Link her
childhood friend, carrying out her own quests.
Zelda has shown to have significantly more agency than Peach in recent years, to boot,
making the relationship between her and Link feel more realistic, despite their relationship
never really being shown as a couple romantically (with the exception of The Minish Cap, that
is).
There we have it friends!
What other video game couples do you think should have made it onto our list?
There’s a ton more we didn’t get to, so give us a shout in those comments below and
let us know who your picks are!
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