411 Games Top 5 02.23.12: Top 5 Gaming Love Stories

Posted by Sean Garmer on 02.23.2012

From Mario & Princess Peach and Pac-Man & Mrs. Pac-Man to Ryu & Irene and others, 411 Games Staffers rank their Top 5 Gaming Love Stories!










Love means different things to everybody, it can be a feeling a person has for a significant other, a family member, a child, a pet, or even an object. Most of us have known love of some kind and have also suffered through loss or heartbreak.

Video Games also like to explore the concept of love in many facets and even though Valentine's Day has passed, the 411 Games staff would still like to impart upon the world their lists for some of the greatest love stories in all of gaming.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section at the end of this column.

Adam Larck (Games Zone Editor)

Shadow of the Colossus: Wander/Mono What says I love you more than killing giant colossi just to have a chance to wake your loved one?

5. The Darkness: Jackie/Jenny - I've always liked this relationship in the Darkness just because of how natural it felt and was shown in game. The television scene was simple yet conveyed a level of intamacy and closeness that other games strive for. I would have loved to have seen this played out more, but also felt that the heartache felt later in the game at Jenny's expense really helped with the story.

4. Final Fantasy VII: Cloud/Aerith - The first of two Final Fantasy romances on my list, this romance is mainly about revenge. The romance is a quite one at first, but when Sephiroth kills her it becomes an emotionally gripping moment. After that, the romance vanishes, replaced by the sense of wanting justice for the ruining of a happy ending.





3. Legend of Zelda Series: Link/Zelda - Sure, it may be different characters each time, but that just shows the power of their love and relationship. No matter what universe, the pair is always connected by the TriForce and always are fated to find each other. What keeps it down on the list, though, is the fact that they are different in every universe, meaning their romance can't grow and evolve like others.

2. Final Fantasy X: Tidus/Yuna - The other relationship from the Final Fantasy universe, I really liked how this one developed. From the awkward laughing scene to how the pair were seperated, it was a great romance throughout that was fated to fail. I wish more had been done with it in the sequel, but FF X was definitely one of the best romances in the series for me.




1. Super Mario Bros Series: Mario/Peach - The tried and true relationship in video game history, it may seem like Mario rescues her out of duty. However, after rescuing her for so long, it could only be love that keeps him doing it. Otherwise, why wouldn't he just ignore her and move on? This is a classic romance for video games, and one that will continue to be used by Nintendo for years.

Francisco Ramirez

5. Jackie and Jenny: The Darkness - Jackie and Jenny, one of videogames biggest tragedies. Jackie isn't a "good" guy that becomes the host for the Darkness, he's a mafia hitman, and a good one at that. He already teeters on the edge of hell and evil. Jenny is the counterweight, she's the shining light to Jackie Estacado's Darkness. Gaming wise, the romance is done justice. The conversations feel right, and just watching tv, you can feel the emotion. To this day it feels like the closest thing you can experience to a true relationship in gaming. Then the hate comes in towards the middle of the game, and you realize that Jackie has no other choice but to embody the Darkness.

4. Ryu and Irene: Ninja Gaiden - The deepest and most meaningful relationship in the 8-bit era! Irene isn't your typical damsel in distress. A CIA agent who can add tranqing Ryu to her list of achievements. She was just as dangerous as Ryu, yet their relationship and love blossomed in 8-bit glory. By the end of Ninja Gaiden her love was so pure that Irene had no choice but to disobey orders when she was ordered to kill Ryu. It's good she didn't listen when Ryu said "Just a girl. Get out of here!"



3. Alex and Luna: Lunar: Silver Star Story - Basically raised together, Alex and Luna paved the way for an RPG cliche. The unknowing reincarnation of a goddess, the villain who plans to use her powers for evil deeds, and the hero who must become something greater, in Alex's case a Dragonmaster, in order to save her. Sure this is now an RPG cliche, but I'll be damned if Lunar Silver Star didn't do this right! The end see's Luna, now memory-less and possessed by a spell, and Alex having to withstand her Lightning attacks in order to get close enough to save her. As the video above shows, love conquers all! How's that for a cliche!?

2. Lenneth/Platina and Lucien: Valkyrie Profile - When Lucien found out that Platina would be sold to slavery by her own parents, the choice to run away was easy. Unfortunately Weeping Lily Meadow was home to plants that housed toxic pollen, at the age of 14 Platina died. Little did he know that Platina was only in Midgard temporarily, as she becomes a Valkyrie her memories are sealed in order to avoid conflict. Once an Einherjar, Lucien finds out Platina and Lenneth are the same. He is tricked by Loki into contacting Lenneth, by doing so he is killed. Before doing so Lucien gives Lenneth an earring, letting her know to look for the other earring. Once found Lenneth regains her memories. The story takes incredible twists and turns from there, and in the end it is the love for Lucian that helps Lenneth defeat Loki and become the Lord of Creation. Perhaps your typical tragedy and triumph RPG love story. The difference here though is that it is written extremely well. There is conflict within the love story, Lucien has to go against the gods in order to contact Lenneth, and inadvertently almost causes the end of creation. Layers to a love story, how about that!


1. Yuri and Alice: Shadow Hearts - Gaming romances usually fall into the "romantic comedy" genre, or a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. Yuri and Alice maintain a fair balance, never becoming overly annoying. Unfortunately the ending truly falls on the tragic side. You have Yuri, your demon harmonixer, he can fuse with demons to utilize their powers. Alice, an exorcist and daughter of a preacher, you're typical odd couple. In game the romance is played slowly, but you can see change in Yuri, it might be subtle but it's there. The game starts off with Yuri saving Alice, towards the end of the game you have an option for the "good" and "bad" ending, with Alice fighting alongside Yuri or alone in the Graveyard realm. If she fights alone, you face an impossible battle with Alice losing, it's not until the closing credits that you find out that Alice having lost the battle, will slowly lose her life. What stands out? The "bad" ending is cannon, Shadow Hearts: Covenant revealing that Alice saved Yuri's life by taking on the Four Mask Curse. Yuri digs Alice's grave with his own hands, burying her in his overcoat. The cannon ending to Shadow Hearts: Covenant see's Yuri valuing his love for Alice over his own life, seeing him die, but inadvertently get transferred back to the memory he cherished the most, his first encounter with Alice.

Gavin Napier (Writer of This is The End(ing)

5. Pac Man and Mrs. Pac Man - The Ward and June Cleaver of video games. The relationship is both wholesome and enduring, and has remained rock steady for 30 years now. They enjoy the same hobbies, the same foods, and have the same musical tastes. You never see either of these two in the tabloids cheating on each other or involved in scandal. What Pac and Mrs. Pac have is something truly special.

4. Super Mario Bros 1: Mario and Pauline - Mario's first love takes the spot on my list over Princess Peach. Peach just keeps letting Mario chase her and chase her but he never really seems to get anywhere. Mario rescuing Peach almost seems like a soldier fighting his way through a hostage situation - a sense of duty, not love. As Pauline is carried away time and again by Donkey Kong, though, Mario just keeps climbing. Keeps pursuing relentlessly, until he has literally climbed so high that he dies of exhaustion and oxygen deprivation. That's devotion.

3. Drake 1-3: Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher - These two are the perfect modern pair. Their on again/off again relationship is a pretty good representation of real life relationships these days (and faithful to the spirit of Indiana Jones, who I feel like inspired these games) and is fun to watch. There's an underlying current of sexuality behind the genuine emotion these two have for each other, and as their story weaves through three games, it's really hard not to root for them to make it in the end.

2. Shadow of the Colossus: Wander and Mono - This is as twisted as things get. One one hand, it's sweet. Wander is willing to do anything to get Mono back. He's devoted, loving, caring, and is a man of action, not unlike Ryan Gosling in The Notebook. Or, so I've heard. The problem is, love has driven Wander to the very depths of insanity. He proceeds to sell his soul to a demon and sets about slaughtering various Colossi who are, in fact, holding that demon back from entering the world at full strength. Because Wander is selfish and consumed by love, he sets them free and loses himself in the process. Ouch. Still, the intention was sweet.






1. Portal: Companion Cube and you - The Aperture Labs Weighted Companion Cube is just that - a companion. You carry it along with you, you use it, it's glad to help you. The relationship is perfectly, ideally symbiotic. Without it, you would never survive the puzzles that exist in Portal. No chance. It's a level of devotion that dogs only aspire to. It is love in its most simple, pure form. And how do you reward it? By euthanizing your faithful companion more quickly than any recorded test subject. You bastard. Now excuse me, I have something in my eye.