It’s that time of year again, the day we celebrate love in all shapes, sizes and forms. Whether today is about celebrating someone special, family, friends or even just yourself – today is all about those butterfly feelings, and if there is something gamers feel strongly and often, it’s love.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite couples from video games. Those couples that made us swoon and vicariously live through their relationships. Enjoy, and from all of us here at NAG, Happy Valentine’s Day – we love you.
Zelda and Link
If I think back to my childhood, the two gaming couples that stand out have to be Mario and Princess Peach and Zelda and Link. It’s funny, though; while I consider them one of my favourite gaming couples, if you look through all of the games, they rarely end up together or are anything more than platonic friends.
Zelda and Link ending up together is an exception, not the norm. Still, regardless of whether the romance between them is there, one thing is always consistent: they are friends. And irrespective of the plans that fate or destiny has in store, they were always destined to meet and be in each other’s lives. And that’s beautiful.
Ellie and Riley
Ellie and Riley’s relationship was short and sweet, albeit heart-wrenching. When they first meet, Riley saves Ellie from the bullies, and after this, the two develop a close friendship.
However, through the game, players see their relationship go through many hurdles that relationships under strain often do and see them part ways briefly. However, the two eventually work through their differences and hurdles and we’re left with this line:
Ellie – “Fight for what? We’re goona turn into one of those things.”
Riley – “There are a million ways we should’ve died before today. And a million ways we could die tomorrow. But we fight. For every second we get to spend with each other. Whether it’s two minutes… Or two days… We don’t give that up. I don’t want to give that up. My vote… Let’s just wait it out. You know? We can… be all poetic and just lose our minds together.”
It’s very Romeo and Juliet, and it’s the exact type of humanisation that makes The Last of Us as impactful a story as it is.
Deacon and Sarah
Days Gone was a game that I hated upon release but then played earlier this year again and fell head over heels in love with it. Deacon and Sarah have one of the most complex relationships of anyone on this list. While I couldn’t relate to it, it was beautiful and memorable in its own way.
During the game, we get to see some of their whirlwind relationship in flashbacks, but we also get to see Deacon grieving her and struggling to come to terms with her death. However, when it’s revealed that she is alive, the two have to learn how to love each other again after both have already said goodbye and grieved the other.
It’s raw and complicated, but it’s also meaningful, so they deserve a place on this list.
Mario and Princess Peach
Another favourite couple from Nintendo and another whose relationship is more often platonic than not is that of Mario and Princess Peach. The two have always known each other, with 2006’s Yoshi Island revealing that the two have been friends since infancy.
I think, too often, we quantify relationships as being romantic only. But looking at the relationship these two have shared over the years, from the events of Peach’s kidnapping in Super Mario Bros., Mario has always been there for her, risking his life to save her, and Peach has a deep bond for Mario worrying about him when they’re apart.
So regardless of if they’re a romantic couple (which, come on, we all know they are) or just really good friends, their relationship is marked with positivity and longevity – something to be admired.
Tidus and Yuna
Now let me say I have a personal attachment to this couple. Tidus was my first ever crush that I can remember, and to this day, the love story between these two characters still gives me the same deep feelings as it did the first time I played the game.
Tidus is a character every teenager can identify with; He’s impulsive, follows his feelings and will not accept an outcome unless he feels it makes sense. Yuna, on the other hand, is selfless and compliant. Just like Tidus, these are her greatest strengths and her most significant flaws.
But this is different from your run-of-the-mill, opposites attract story. Instead, it’s a story about two people struggling to find their identity and shaping each other. Whereas many of the other couples on this list are always the same, Tidus and Yuna grow up through their relationship. Tidus becomes more like Yuna, and Yuna becomes more like Tidus for their individual betterment.
Nathan and Elena
Nathan and Elena are not a perfect couple by any means; they can’t communicate, and some might argue they should never have been together. But they showcase something that many other couples don’t, and that is that relationships are only as good as both people make them.
Nathan and Elena come together because of their shared passion for adventure and are almost torn apart by the same thing. Relationships are complicated; they’re hard work, they’re effort, and they are also adventures like any other. As Nathan says in Uncharted 4, “You choose what you’re gonna keep, and what you’re going to let go.”
Chloe and Rachel
For many of us, Life is Strange entered our lives precisely when we needed it to. While many games had dabbled in the “your choices have consequences” sphere before Life is Strange, none had pulled it off with such impactful effects.
The relationship between Chloe and Rachel never gets fully explored in the game beyond remarks and comments for players to piece together. Still, from what we see, it’s one of the most realistic portrayals of all-consuming teenage love in video games. It perfectly captured the highs and the lows, and while players start the game off knowing the tragic end, it’s the journey that keeps you engaged.
Bonus:
Your Sims
Relationships are not cookie-cutter and rarely fall into neat little packages. Instead, genuine relationships are different, dynamic, challenging, beautiful and every bit as unique as a snowflake. Because of that, the most beautiful couples to be found within the gaming space are, more often than not, the ones of your own making.
Say what you want about The Sims, but the game has allowed many to live the lives they so badly want – whether that’s being a homicidal ladder-deleting maniac or a serial romancer, the game puts the power in the player’s hands and that’s something other games don’t do.
Whether your sims are rich, poor, successful or homicidal – they’re creatures of your creation, and so are their relationships making them some of the best around.
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Now we want to hear from you; which in-game relationship and couples gave you all the feels? Let us know in the comments, and once again, Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.