Game Romances that Aren't Cringe

[Humbaba]

Irl romances are cringe unless you're in love yourself, which is why gaym romances are highly cringe because no normal person actually falls in love with a video game character.

This is in addition to the reality that gayms treat romance as gayms as well, where you put enough good boy points in the foid until her hormones override her brain and she starts sucking you off, treating seggs as the ultimate reward. PSA: This does NOT work in real life.

A particularly egregious example is Viconia in BG2 (though she IS best girl btw). You spend hours having some sexually charged banter until she quite literally throws herself at you 5 minutes after leaving the Underdark. There's very little chemistry between CHARNAME and that cunt, even if you pick all the right options.

Having said all dis, Wrathfinder has some great romances actually, because most of them frontload the seggs, leaving room for an actual romance to take place. Others, where this isn't the case have a good reason for backloading the seggs. At any rate, the romances in that game are pretty fleshed out especially when compared to its predecessor Kangmaker, which had ZERO attractive women in it anyway.




-Humbaba

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Final Fantasy IX. Zidane is a cassanova wannabe, but once he starts getting sincere feelings for Garnet, he begins second guessing whether he would be a good man for her. That sold me on him.

Final Fantasy X. Two awkward young peiple bonding over their isolation and anxieties.

Honorable mention: FF4 where Cecil is an adult and he and Rosa already love each other, but this being a SNES game it gets hardly any screentime compared to later JRPGs.

Honorable mention: FF15. The plot is about a prince being escorted by his three best friends to his wedding. Unfortunately the game's development was troubled and in the final game there is hardly any interaction between Noctis and Luna (whowas originally called Stella).

Valkyria Chronicles 1: the romance isn't as super serious as Final Fantasy but it was wholesome.

Trails of Cold Steel: Rean x Towa is pretty sweet, as she's the student council president he runs errands for and then thry begin bonding, and then in CS2 it is to Towa who he goes to break down and cry privately after he broke his promise and failed to bring back Crow and became an agent of a man he hates. Sadly doesn't get a satisfying matriculation.

Shadow of the Colossus: the game is about a young man who steals the village chief's sword and runs away with the girl he loved who was sacrified and tries to free a being from its prison to resurrect her. You don't get to see the two interact but I was convinced of Wander's determination.

Sakura Wars 1: Ichiro x Sumire was pretty sweet. I didn't really like any of the romance options in SW5. I went with Gemini but wasn't enthralled by it.

Utawareumono: Hakuoro x Erururu is sweet but sadly Hakuoro kept ignoring her in favor of the other girls, and gives Yuzuha a child out of pity while ever loyal Erururu is just standing there waiting.

[Nammu Archag]

Are there any romances in video games with BPD hellwomen that make your life a living nightmare but are very attractive?

Dark Messiah, Pathfinder WOTR, and SWTOR if you play as a Sith at least. There's also some weeb game coming out called Miside that probably counts. If anyone knows of more PLEASE let me know.

[Emphyrio]

Divinity: Original Sin was designed to be played with your girlfriend/wife

i wish more games did this. Most multiplayer games can't handle splitscreen unless you jank them with Nucleus. Dos2 failed at splitscreen coop imo.

[Hauberk]

I don't remember this one being bad.

[BobT]

Final Fantasy IX. Zidane is a cassanova wannabe, but once he starts getting sincere feelings for Garnet, he begins second guessing whether he would be a good man for her. That sold me on him.

Final Fantasy X. Two awkward young peiple bonding over their isolation and anxieties.

Honorable mention: FF4 where Cecil is an adult and he and Rosa already love each other, but this being a SNES game it gets hardly any screentime compared to later JRPGs.

Honorable mention: FF15. The plot is about a prince being escorted by his three best friends to his wedding. Unfortunately the game's development was troubled and in the final game there is hardly any interaction between Noctis and Luna (whowas originally called Stella).

Valkyria Chronicles 1: the romance isn't as super serious as Final Fantasy but it was wholesome.

Trails of Cold Steel: Rean x Towa is pretty sweet, as she's the student council president he runs errands for and then thry begin bonding, and then in CS2 it is to Towa who he goes to break down and cry privately after he broke his promise and failed to bring back Crow and became an agent of a man he hates. Sadly doesn't get a satisfying matriculation.

Shadow of the Colossus: the game is about a young man who steals the village chief's sword and runs away with the girl he loved who was sacrified and tries to free a being from its prison to resurrect her. You don't get to see the two interact but I was convinced of Wander's determination.

Sakura Wars 1: Ichiro x Sumire was pretty sweet. I didn't really like any of the romance options in SW5. I went with Gemini but wasn't enthralled by it.

Utawareumono: Hakuoro x Erururu is sweet but sadly Hakuoro kept ignoring her in favor of the other girls, and gives Yuzuha a child out of pity while ever loyal Erururu is just standing there waiting.

So since we're doing NPCs, Xenogears Fei & Elly. They even canonically have sex & pair up throughout multiple lifetimes (they're literally designed to do so by god). It is not shallow and I like how Elly and Margie have a discussion about the nature of men. Also Bart & Margie I guess, which is wincest lol, but their "romance" is not expanded beyond that one conversation.

[Nessa]

Honorable mention: FF4 where Cecil is an adult and he and Rosa already love each other, but this being a SNES game it gets hardly any screentime compared to later JRPGs.

Right! I forgot that one! I actually played that on an emulator at university!

[The_Mask]

Septerra Core: Grubb and Led. He's the smartest guy on Septerra, absent-minded and always fixing things. She's high octane life-of-the-party girl that got her legs crushed, and can walk because of robot legs.

He has a choice to make: her or an engine. If he choses her, they get to combo together.

If he powers her up, she spazzes out and then finishes with an AoE lightning storm.
If she powers him up, he delivers one of the strongest single attack hits in the whole game.

A small sample (ignore the German):

[BobT]

Honorable mention: FF4 where Cecil is an adult and he and Rosa already love each other, but this being a SNES game it gets hardly any screentime compared to later JRPGs.

Right! I forgot that one! I actually played that on an emulator at university!

FF8's wasn't bad either, if it's not already been mentioned.

Still in the moody punk teen boi era, but the girl made him open up a bit. Interesting dynamic.

[maidenhaver]

Irl romances are cringe unless you're in love yourself, which is why gaym romances are highly cringe because no normal person actually falls in love with a video game character.

Yes, this topic is dumb. Unless you are elderly, or the cuck who thinks gawking at couples in love is ok, when is romance between other characters not awkward?

[KnightoftheWind]

Romantic love doesn't exist in reality anyway, or if it does it's very fleeting. That's a lesson everyone learns one day. I'd actually argue the 'less' romance there is in games, the better. Unless it's treated more as a pragmatic relationship, or something a bit more wholesome and true-to-life.

[maidenhaver]

Romantic love doesn't exist in reality.

Final boss.

[KnightoftheWind]

Romantic love doesn't exist in reality.

Final boss.

Is that the...ROMANCE of the Three Kingdoms?!.

[Slavic Sorcerer]

Dragon Age II - Anders is a nicely written character. Bit of a wild heart with good heart. I liked romancing him.
I greatly sympathize with him over the loss of his loved one. I'd b consumed by vengeance too and treat Geneva Convention as geneva checklist

Divinity Original Sin II - Ifan Ben-Mezd I think is the best written character for romance.
I romanced Beast and Red Price, and they dont hold candle to him. It might be bias but yeah, Ifan is the best + his VA does a great job

Witcher III - I only romance Yen cause Triss is an opportunistic, pouty bitch + Yen and Geralt are canon in more ways than one + Yen is such a bad boss bitch Triss cant even polish her shoes (get it? Polish? Cause it's a polish game?)

Bastard Bonds - not a game anyone here will play but some romance aspects are nicely written

Dragon Age Inquisition - Iron Bull is wholesome, but I wasnt as sold as on Ifan or even Anders. What's nice about him is that he wants to take off the burden of you as an Inquisitor when youre alone with him, so for just moment you forget about the responsibilities

BG3 - Halsin all the way. Gale is overbearing at times, Astarion invites too much drama into the life. Pity Halsin is kind of a free spirit but my bias tells me he's so long lived and attuned to nature its kinda understandable to not stick forever to one partner. Gale wins in that regard
But good gosh how sweet he is calling you "my heart"

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - worst romance system ever. I romanced some mercenary boss. Big burly guy with a beard. When the dragon kidnapped "my beloved" his animation was that of a fearful and shaken woman being chased by goblins, like holy fuck. Also calling it "romance" is rich. There's no interaction, unless you romance one of those "approved" characters I suppose that may or may not been written a little bit more

Skyrim - better than DDDA, but still pretty bad. I think my mate's name was Stenvar. I had to install some mods to make it feel like a romance, but they broke in the middle of the game + Skyrim is shit anyway

[Vergil]

I romanced Beast and Red Price

Iron Bull is wholesome

Halsin all the way.

[aweigh]

[Oyster Sauce]

I romanced Beast and Red Price

Iron Bull is wholesome

Halsin all the way.

You thinking what I'm thinking?

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[Nessa]

Is that the...ROMANCE of the Three Kingdoms?!.

Yep, thought the same thing. I recognize that shape even when pixelated.

[Slavic Sorcerer]

I romanced Beast and Red Price

Iron Bull is wholesome

Halsin all the way.

You forgot Ifan Ben-Mezd being described as a man who behaved in rather a feral way, "smelling of earth", growling, and having close relationship with his Source Wolf summon
Also, Beast is a dwarf

I forgot about Fane, so I fucked a skeleton too


...well "fucked" is not the best of terms after giving it some thought
It was one of those "joining the minds" thing, kinda more eldritch and abstract to what Gale has to offer if you pick that option of your astral projection being gangbanged by Gale's astral projections and eventually merging into a singularity

He's Astarion of the series in a way

[Slavic Sorcerer]

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[Vergil]

I romanced Beast and Red Price

Iron Bull is wholesome

Halsin all the way.

Also, Beast is a dwarf

That's almost more disgusting than the animals

[Slavic Sorcerer]

That's almost more disgusting than the animals

When you're almost 2m tall, everyone is a dwarf

[Ligrev]

I like games where you can have a hot, evil/crazy gf, as it is the closest I can get to that without putting myself in harm's way again, though maybe those types would be considered cringey to others

Dragon Age Origins. Morrigan.

[Nammu Archag]

I like games where you can have a hot, evil/crazy gf, as it is the closest I can get to that without putting myself in harm's way again, though maybe those types would be considered cringey to others

Dragon Age Origins. Morrigan.

Thanks DAO just got put on my list

[Thor Kaufman]

Minsc and Boo/Lemmywinks

[horstg]

Somewhat related question:
Is it weird that I, a guy, never romanced a male character in a game?

[Vergil]

Somewhat related question:
Is it weird that I, a guy, never romanced a male character in a game?

Seems like pretty normal behavior

[Analogue Dreams]

Somewhat related question:
Is it weird that I, a guy, never romanced a male character in a game?

Yes, you are abnormal and not the target audience for RPGs, You are probably even a heterosexual, aren't you?

[horstg]

Somewhat related question:
Is it weird that I, a guy, never romanced a male character in a game?

Yes, you are abnormal and not the target audience for RPGs, You are probably even a heterosexual, aren't you?

I am. How did you know?

/s

[Vergil]

Somewhat related question:
Is it weird that I, a guy, never romanced a male character in a game?

Yes, you are abnormal and not the target audience for RPGs, You are probably even a heterosexual, aren't you?

/s

Don't believe you now