VIDEO games have spawned a lot of familiar couples and love teams, some of whom now have a special place in the hearts of gamers who fantasize about being either the hero or heroine. But of these dozens of video game couples, only a few stand out as the ultimate love teams.
Warning: If you haven?t played some of these games, you might encounter spoilers.
Mario and Princess Peach
The most legendary of all video game love teams, Mario and Princess Peach have endured over three decades of bliss despite frequent visits from koopas, goombas, ghosts, piranhas and big boss King Koopa. Mario has always been there for the Princess and would cross dangerous rivers, dark dungeons and perilous plains to rescue her beloved. And Princess Peach continues to reciprocate. (In fact, in the Nintendo DS game Super Princess Peach, she?s the star and it?s her turn to rescue Mario, heh--Ed.) Goes to show that chubby good guys have what it takes to get the girl.
Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly
Final Fantasy VIII has the second most memorable love team in the entire FF series. Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly are opposites: the guy is an extreme introvert and the girl is the bubbly type and as they fight enemies in Galbadia, they soon discover each other?s feelings. The best scene of them together is the dance sequence, later included, along with the other full-motion videos in Faye Wong?s "Eyes on Me" MTV, which became the biggest selling theme music from a video game.
Cloud Strife and Aeris (Aerith) Gainsborough
Cloud and Aeris are the most memorable couple in the FF series -- and have the most tragic love affair in the entire video game world. Cloud?s reclusive character is matched only by Aeris? happy demeanor. But before they even have the chance to share their feelings Aeris is struck down by a mad Sephiroth in one of the most infamous video game death scenes. A remorseful Cloud is later on "forgiven" by the spirit of Aeris in the movie adaptation "Final Fantasy: Advent Children." Maybe perhaps Cloud can finally have a relationship with Tifa Lockhart.
Link and Princess Zelda
Other than Mario and Princess Peach, Link and Princess Zelda are the other Nintendo couple that has everyone asking: are they really together? Of almost 10 games in the Zelda series, there was only one time when the two obviously became romantic and that was in Link II: Adventures of Link for the NES wherein Zelda kissed Link behind a falling curtain after her rescue. Nevertheless, both Link and Zelda would always be seen together in the entire series.
Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong
Resident Evil isn?t all about escaping zombies and monsters with six-foot-long spiked tongues. Leon Kennedy, who first starred in Resident Evil 2, gets a bit of a romance from the spy Ada Wong. Though she is thought dead in RE2, she survives and returns in RE4 where she again encounters Leon. This time, Ada is a more active player and seems to be more flirtatious with Leon. Being the more mature among the other video game love teams it is expected that Leon and Ada would finally consummate their desires for each other? or not.
Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance
Finally, the silent scientist from Half-Life is getting some female attention from Alyx Vance, the daughter of a scientist. She is present in Half-Life 2 and in HL2: Episode One where her romantic feelings for Gordon have jumped a few notches higher. There are several instances when Alyx cracks some hints at Gordon ("Is there room for two in that hazard suit?"), who doesn?t seem to realize it yet. Perhaps Episode 2 would finally solve that mystery if she survives and if she ever gets to see Gordon again.
Dante Sparda and Trish
Capcom?s Devil May Cry series features the handsome bad boy Dante fighting against a horde of hell creatures. Also, in every incarnation of DMC, Dante is always accompanied by a female and among those, only one developed strong feelings for him: Trish, a demon solely created by Mundus to lure Dante into an ambush. However, Trish falls head over heels for Dante and even helps him destroy her creator. She appeared in both DMC1 and DMC2, though she was absent in DMC3. Fans are hoping that Dante would finally find the girl of his dreams -- or in his case, nightmares -- in the upcoming DMC4 for the PlayStation 3.
Hana Tsu-Vachel and Rain Qin
If it isn?t obvious enough, Hana and Rain are both females and thought to be lovers in Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix (just imagine Lara Croft and Joanna Dark making out in a video game). The game itself is pretty dark in tone with a lot of rather colorful dialogues but whenever Han and Rain are together, you?ll be certain there?s going to be some verbal foreplay somewhere. Just look at one of the game?s promotional posters: Hana is on her belly with Rain on top of her giving a back massage -- in her bikini. Talk about fantasy.
Ryo Hazuki and Nozomi Harasaki
Shenmue fans will never forget these two would-be lovers. Ryo?s father died in the hands of gangster Lan Di and with that is blinded by his desire for vengeance. Despite this, his childhood sweetheart Nozomi continues to be at his side as an emotional comfort. This is a classic example of unrequited love in a video game.
Tidus and Yuna
From Final Fantasy X comes the third love team from the Final Fantasy series. Theirs is easily among the most fascinating romantic stories. It?s both romantic and tragic in the sense that Tidus made the ultimate sacrifice to save Yuna from sacrificing herself to a monstrous entity. He "dies" instead so that he could return to his rightful kingdom, which happens to be a different timeline. The final full-motion video in the game shows Yuna being hugged by Tidus who is slowly disappearing. One of the most dramatic sequences in the Final Fantasy series.
What?s that, you say? How could we forget your favorite video game love team? If your fave couple is missing, just e-mail us their names and include a one-paragraph description (100 words or less) of their love story. If we like your entry, we?ll publish it online. Sorry, though, this has to be a labor of love ?coz we can?t offer a contributor?s fee for this, but then again it is the season of love, heh.
E-mail your entries to hackenslashrules@gmail.com. All entries are subject to editorial discretion.
