Happy Valentine's Day!


That's right, kids, it's that time of year again and love is in the air! So, what better way of celebrating this lovely day than by talking about some video game romance? Whether it's a couple of sims engaged in some WooHoo or two Final Fantasy characters making lovey eyes at each other  in every (and I mean every) cut scene, romance is an integral part of most games. It's the driving force behind that ancient trope of "saving the princess" and defeating every foe along the way in order to do so. I mean, do you think that plumbers and keyblade masters just go off on long rescue missions because their lady in distress owes them five bucks? Love, folks. It makes the game disk go round.

"But Victoria!" you exclaim in distress, "What makes a romance the stuff of video game legend?" Honestly, you people just love to interrupt with your strangely appropriate and shamelessly leading questions. Every great relationship is unique to it's context, making it difficult to judge whether a romance adds or takes away from the story. However, believability is often a good indicator of a classy relationship.

Now, most of the time the authenticity of a love story is subjective. What may be believable in one scenario may be completely ridiculous in another and it is this individuality that makes the story interesting. Still, sometimes a love interest is just (to put it lightly) bad, no matter the context. We all know the type, that character that just grates on your nerves so much that you wonder what the other character could possibly be thinking. Usually, the designers will try to make up for the love interest's awful personality by making the couple "childhood friends," because everyone knows that you have to put up with someone's crappy personality if you grew up with them. 

Sophia from Star Ocean 3 is a great example of this. Now, your mileage may vary but all her flouncing, pouting, and stamping her little foot immediately left a bad taste in my mouth. Then, to make matters worse, she had  zero character development throughout the game. You expect me to believe that a smart kid like Fayt is meant to love this chick? No. Just, no. Is it too much to ask that a love interest be, I don't know, lovable?

Aigis from Persona 3, on the other hand, is one of my favorite love interests in all of video game history. Yes, she is a robot. Yes, that means no lady bits. No, I don't care a bit... and neither does the protagonist! True, it seems about as unlikely as a love story can get but these two make it work. While her character seems flat and (at the risk of stating the obvious) mechanical at the beginning, she (like all the characters in this game), undergoes a tremendous character growth that will leave you "d'aww"ing all over the place. The best thing is that the attraction is there and it makes sense and players find themselves rooting for it, despite the obstacles.

So, what do you guys think? Do you ship a pair so hardcore that it's mildly embarrassing? Let us know!