Summary
As video games evolved fromsimple arcade minigamesto fully-fledged stories, romance began to become much more common, with it now being a core part of many single-player games. Considering just how much romance-focused media is out there though, it can make it quite tricky to present an intimate relationship between two characters that feels natural and believable, but also unique. This is especially true for the era of the original PlayStation where voice acting was still non-existent in most video games, and developers were only just beginning to put much more of a focus on the quality of their stories.
Still, this isn’t to say that there weren’t a few PlayStation games that nailed the romantic elements in their stories, with some couples even going on to become iconic within the video game industry as a whole. With that being said, here are the very best romances that blossomedduring the original PlayStation’s lifespan.
Due to Dart’s moody and stubborn personality, he doesn’t exactly make his feelings for Shana clear throughout much ofThe Legend of Dragoon, but her carefree attitude gradually rubs off on Dart as the story progresses. Their relationship essentially centers around Dart’s adamant protection of Shana, and how he is willing to do anything to be seen as the dashing hero of the day.
Despite being completely different as people, the two eventually confide in one another at various points in the story, and the surrounding characters cheering each of them on gives it a very charming high-school romance kind of angle which is a joy to watch. There definitely could have been a few extra details to flesh out the character’s bond, such as explaining why Dart is so determined to protect Shana in the first place, but it’s still a highlight of thisclassic RPG title.
Vandal Heartsis aturn-based RPGthat became extremely popular on the PlayStation due to its fully 3D environments and gameplay mechanics that allowed the player to experiment with a large variety of classes and character builds. While the gameplay was very influential for its time, the story also stood out for its deep and complex characters, with two of the most interesting being Ash and Eleni.
Eleni comes off as a fairly suspicious character at first due to how she seems to be capable of predicting future events before they’ve even happened, but the game does an amazing job at slowly turning her intoa much more layered and relatable characteras time passes. She and Ash have several moments in the game where it’s heavily implied that they were a lot more than friends, with Eleni’s reaction to Ash’s sudden disappearance being a dead giveaway that she feels strongly about him. The ending of the game does make the existence of their relationship after the events of the story a little bit ambiguous, but this simply makes the moments they share even more special and memorable.
Multiple romantic bonds form between several characters inthe firstGrandiagame, but by far the most enjoyable pair to watch out of the entire cast is the adventurous young man Justin, and the plucky explorer Feena. Meeting Justin for the first time has a massive impact on Feena as she immediately decides to leave her position as a poster girl for the Adventurer’s Society to instead take to the seas with Justin and his crew to find the ancient city known as Alent.
What makes this relationship stand out is just how naturally it develops. When the two are first together, they speak quite openly about their views and opinions, but as it becomes clear that feelings are starting to develop, they become a lot more shy and unsure about how to express their feelings to one another. They eventually turn into a slightly awkward but cute couple who players can’t help but root for. A few crucial scenes, such as the actual confession between the two, are unfortunately cut out from the game, but it’s at least confirmed in the ending that they did have a few sons and daughters together.
There are many reasons why the originalMetal Gear Solidis considered to beone of the most innovative games of all time, but a major one is how the story managed to explore so many interesting themes that had rarely been covered in video games before. One of these themes is the notion of romance blooming on the battlefield, and if such a strong bond can occur during such an intense conflict, something that is shown in practice with Snake and Meryl. It’s clear right from the get-go that Meryl isn’t exactly too fond of the legendary Solid Snake, and she even tries to prove that she’s a better soldier than him, though this usually ends up in Snake teaching her how to be more cautious about her actions to avoid getting killed.
This sort of teacher and mentor relationship eventually blossoms into a more intimate bond being shared between the two, with one of the most crucial scenes between them being when Meryl is used as bait forSniper Wolf. Despite the fact that Meryl pleads with Snake to leave her and continue his life, Snake states how he’s not interested in just “saving his own skin” and says that he was going to save Meryl purely on instinct. It’s little moments like these where Kojima is able to analyze certain ideas and values of being a soldier, while also merging this into a romance between two characters, which just goes to show how excellent of a writer he is.
The complicated relationship between Leon Kennedy andAda Wonghas been touched upon in multipleResident Evilgames, but it’s during the second game that fans see the two interact the most and confirm their feelings for one another. Ada is essentially pulling Leon along for the majority of the game, dropping tiny hints as to who she is and what role she plays in the grander story, but as the stakes gradually rise and the two face more dangerous encounters together, she begins to open up to the rookie cop.
Initially, Leon tries to protect Ada in an attempt to fulfill his duty asa police officer, something that results in him taking a bullet for Ada, which knocks him unconscious. It’s at this exact moment that players get to see Ada’s facade slip away as she comes to appreciate Leon’s determination, and begins falling for him in the process. This sweet romance unfortunately leads to a devastating scene where she either falls to her death or is killed by Mr. X depending on the playthrough. While Ada does eventually return inResident Evil 4, their relationship in the second game felt like it went through an entire arc, with it undoubtedly being the most popular romance in this beloved series.
Xenogearsis one of those games that could be cited as an example of how video games can be considered art, primarily because of how masterfully it incorporates elements of Jungian philosophy and religious symbolism within its narrative. At the heart of the game isa giant cast of layered and complex characters, especially Fei and Elly who feel like a real-life couple due to how believable and natural their relationship is. It also helps that it never feels like the developers are forcing the two to get together, something that was becoming a big problem with games that incorporated romance into their stories at that time.
One thing that makes this romance stand out is how it never falls into the cliché of the mighty hero always saving the damsel in distress. Instead, Elly is very dedicated to saving her beloved Fei when he most needs it, such as when he gets captured by the evil Krelian and Elly goes as far as to even offer up her own life to set him free. Despite it being revealed later on that the two were destined to have a romantic relationship because of repetitive reincarnation, this doesn’t take anything away from the many intimate and memorable scenes these two shared, which have made theman incredibly iconic couple.
While romance has always been included inFinal Fantasygames, the eighth entry revolves around it from start to finish, but this certainly isn’t a bad thing, as it’s a wonderful experience watching Squall and Rinoa slowly grow more affectionate for one another as the plot moves forward. What makes the romance work so well is how much the two differ in their personalities. While Squall is a moody teen who often keeps to himself, Rinoa is much more talkative, and it’s clear that Squall begins to grow more confident in himself each time that Rinoa talks to him.
Despite the game being incredibly long, Square still managed to sprinkle in enough scenes of the two chatting and hanging out to ensure their relationship never felt like it was falling to the wayside to make way for the grander story at play. The relationship also just feels very real, since there are several times when the two will bicker back and forth, or even have full-blow arguments due to a misunderstanding or lack of communication. Despite all that, they still love each other dearly, resulting in one of the greatest romances in video game history.
