Ten of Our Favourite Video Game Love Stories

Love stories… everyone has their favourites, but how many come from video games? It’s not often the media of choice when it comes to thinking about love and relationships. Even though some of the best love stories ever told have come from gaming. Which is where we come in. With it being the most romantic time of the year™, we thought we’d look into this and see if we can come up with ten of our favourite video game love stories. Five chosen by our resident YouTuber/TikToker Damon, and five chosen by me, Carl. Enjoy.

Damon – Final Fantasy 9
Zidane and Garnet

He’s a plucky and cheeky thief and she’s a princess. It couldn’t be more ‘traditional’ as far as opposites go. However, in a fun twist, their initial different goals end up being pretty much the same, and while a major part of their story is about Garnet finding herself, that also applies to Zidane. They are both damaged individuals, tools used by others, and set about finding their own place in the word. It just so happens that this place is together. Love stories are often a major component of Final Fantasy games, and while Final Fantasy 9’s is one of the least original, it does result in one of the happier endings of the game series.

Carl – Thomas Was Alone
Chris and Laura

I shit you not, Thomas Was Alone has a love story, and it’s one of the best written love stories in gaming. We have Chris, a surly and unfriendly individual who would rather be alone, and we have Laura, an anxious individual with low self-esteem, who fears being used… again. From the moment Chris sets eyes on her, he loves her, but she doesn’t trust him. It makes me dewy-eyed just thinking about it, and how, as the game goes on, they build each other up, while tearing down the barriers between them. It’s their love that gives them strength, and it is just another remarkable aspect of one of the best games ever released.

Damon – Final Fantasy X
Tidus and Yuna

Whereas Final Fantasy 9 had a happy ending, Final Fantasy X doesn’t, at least as far as the couple ending up together goes. Spoilers, it couldn’t really happen anyway! However, their friendship and budding romance across the game is one of the best love stories told in all Final Fantasy games. The first-time characters in this series had a voice, and as much as we all mock the laughing scene, it is stupidly adorable. There may not be a more likable ‘couple’ in the entire Final Fantasy franchise, and how it ends (in this game) is bittersweet.

Carl – Broken Sword Series
George and Nico

The most ‘off and on again’ couple in gaming, fans of the series have had to witness this couple get together, break up, get back together and so on, over five games (so far as of the time this article is published). Yet, through it all, they remain friends and somehow, even though they live such different lives, they end up being brought back together. It broke my heart finding out that they had split up in Broken Sword II, after their whirlwind romance in the first game, but by the fifth? It just felt so George and Nico. Will they ever get their happy ending? Who knows, but I’ll be there to cheer them on regardless.

Damon – Mass Effect Series
Shepherd and… Everyone

Love knows no boundaries in the Mass Effect series, regardless of your chosen orientation. Be it male or female, you can partner up with a litany of characters, romancing them across the entirety of the game, while also playing the field elsewhere (up to a point). Few games have romance done to quite this degree and stories can vary wildly depending on who you chose to be ‘life partners’ with. Do you fancy falling in love with Liara, Miranda, Jack, Garrus, Kaiden, Steve? Such choice might make the ‘love story’ aspect feel shallow, but credit to the series, it always matters.

Carl – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Geralt and Yennefer/Triss

Old Geralt gets about in The Witcher series, but with the third game (and the best one) these two particular love stories reach their conclusion. The former is arguably Geralt’s one true love, and the one that proves to be the hardest to keep around. Whereas the latter is more in love with Geralt than he is with her, even if their long-standing relationship means so much. Both are major players in Geralt’s story and both can offer happy endings for our beloved Witcher. Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Damon – The Super Mario Bros. Series
Mario and Peach

Kind of? This is a difficult one as it’s always been clear that Mario has romantic interest in Peach, but does she see him that way? If so, she sure plays it coy. In fact, at the end of Super Mario Odyssey, Mario’s marriage proposal is rejected by Peach! Although that could just be because she was almost forced to marry Bowser. Pick your time, Mario.

In all seriousness, Nintendo are never really going to pursue a full-on Mario and Peach love story, but we all know it’s there. They’re a little more than friends, and across generations of games, we’ve all got to experience their cute ‘will they, won’t they’ behaviour. Hey, and every so often the plumber does get a kiss on the cheek!

Carl – Max Payne (the first and second games only)
Max Payne and Mona Sax

A tale of two characters irreversibly damaged to the point of self-destruction. Finding each other when they need each other most. All while being awful to each other, and leaving behind a trail of bodies. Their shared goals in the first game have them crossing paths on numerous occasions, but it’s the second game that really ups their relationship ante. To be honest, they might be soulmates, and in another life they could have lived happily ever after, but that’s not the way it goes in the world of Max Payne.

Damon – Metal Gear Solid
Solid Snake and Meryl

Nothing says love like having to work together to stop a nuclear rocket being dropped by a group of terrorists who want the ashes of a dead man. I mean, there’s much more to Metal Gear Solid than this, but one of the more overlooked angles is the love story that blossoms between Snake and Meryl. Part of which works, because she isn’t overawed by his legendary status, and he is taken in by her drive to be more than just a rookie female soldier. Of course, this being Kojima, it’s not the best told love story and often resorts to cheap tactics that border on being creepy. Want to see Meryl in her underpants? Be right behind her when she runs to the toilet to take off her guard gear. A section that is pre-empted by you identifying her by the way she wiggles her butt.

Of course, depending on your finger hammering skills (not a pun) you may not even see how this love story pans out. Unless you consider Snake and Otacon’s story a love story too. If you do manage to ensure Meryl’s survival, you can enjoy two potential lovers riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Just don’t think about what happens in future sequels.

Carl – Love You to Bits
Cosmo and Nova

Ok, I’m going to try and not cry while writing this because this game is simply beautiful. A sci-fi puzzle game that puts players in the shoes of clumsy space explorer, Cosmo. He rescues a robot named Nova, and as they get to know each other, they fall in love. This story is told through the most lovable of images, as he helped her find her place in the world. However, her inventor wants her back, and ends up attacking Cosmo’s ship, damaging it and Nova too. She is blown into pieces and it’s up to Cosmo to get them back, rebuild her, and hope she remembers him.

It’s a lovable story, made all the more impactful by a shocking late-game twist, and an ending that pulls on the heart strings so much. It’s one of the best love stories told, in such a simple and effective way.