Valentine’s Day is almost here and that means love is in the air. Gaming has had its fair share of relationships between characters overs the year, with some being much better than others. As a result, I thought it seemed pretty timely to come up with a list of the best couples from across the history of video games, with entries on this list dating as far back as 1982 and up through the present. With love on the mind, these are the top 10 video game couples.
10. Commander Shepard & Chosen Partner (Mass Effect series)
One of the defining characteristics of the Mass Effect series has been its ability to let you to shape your decisions, with relationships being a major part of that. Whether you are male Shepard or FemShep, you have a number of potential partners to choose from, with some even overlapping between the two genders. While there are so many choices to choose from, each relationship actually feels rather real and has a lot more depth to it than you would expect, which is why it made it on this list.
9. Sonya Blade & Johnny Cage (Mortal Kombat series)
These two have had quite the interesting relationship over the years, with the banter between each other being top notch. Both Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage are brash characters, so they naturally clash at times, sometimes to the death, but that is exactly where all the sexual tension comes from. We know they were at least together for awhile as their daughter is a playable character in the upcoming Mortal Kombat X.
8. Professor Layton & Claire (Professor Layton & The Unwound Future)
There is a very good chance this will be the most unknown entry on the list, as the Professor Layton series has not ventured from Nintendo handhelds. However, the relationship between Professor Layton and Claire is both beautiful and tragic. The central story of The Unwound Future is Professor Layton’s past relationship with the love of his life and how the loss of her shaped who he is today. However, through a series of flashbacks and some twists and turns, this is one of the most well thought out relationships from a standalone entry in a long time.
7. Link & Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
The Legend of Zelda franchise has been around for years and has brought us numerous entries in the franchise in that time. Over the years, we’ve seen many different iterations of both Link and Zelda, with the relationship between the two being quite different from game to game. For couple purposes, you have to put the Link and Zelda from Skyward Sword on this list, though I kept them lower since they aren’t technically a romantic couple yet. The two grew up together as best friends and there is certainly something more there, as we can see throughout the game. This game featured some of my favorites interactions between Link and Zelda, which I hope we will continue to see in future entries.
6. Squall & Rinoa (Final Fantasy VIII)
Many would expect Cloud and Aeris to be on this list from the PS1 era for Final Fantasy, but I’ve always thought Squall and Rinoa were the superior couple, as they had a full game to develop their relationship. Squall starts off as nearly the complete opposite of Rinoa, but as they say, opposites attract. From the iconic ballroom scene to the “Eyes On Me” segment at the end, these two have something special that fit perfectly into the story as they both make one another better people.
