10 Best Video Game Romances

If you like your games with a little more substance, then you're going to love the 10 best video game romances. These on-screen couples made us weep when they were apart, smile when they were together and remember them whenever we turned off the consoles. If you're ready for the mushy stuff, here are the best video game romances of all time.

1. Mario and Princess Peach. The definitive video game couple: Boy meets girl, girl gets captured by a giant lizard, boy rescues girl, and the girl is always in another castle. For nearly thirty years, you've seen the same routine play itself out, and you've eaten up every single second of it.
2. Link and Princess Zelda. Another classic love story from the realm of video games. Whether you're collecting the pieces of the Triforce, riding around in a boat or running across Hyrule as a wolf, it's always been because of Zelda. Even though you only see them kiss once, it's still one of the best video game romances of all time.
3. Travis Touchdown and Sylvia Christel. This video game romance is the entire basis for the plot of the mature Wii game "No More Heroes." Sylvia promises Travis that if he becomes the number one ranked assassin in the league, she just may have sex with him. It's a classic tale of temptation that we've all lived through before, which makes the game all the more relatable.
4. Aya Brea and Kyle Madigan. This understated couple of Square's horror RPG "Parasite Eve 2" is one of the best video game romances because of their subtlety. There's a bit of playful flirting throughout the second half of the game and it isn't until the very end that Aya professes her feelings, completely shattering the ice queen veneer she'd been wearing until then.
5. Squall and Rinoa. The central couple of "Final Fantasy VIII," you spend the entire game watching them come together, then drift apart again. This is one of the best video game romances of all time because even when nothing else in the game makes sense, you're still rooting for them. Even through all of the cheesy Chinese pop-driven montages.
6. James and Mary Sunderland. James is the protagonist of "Silent Hill 2," who is drawn to the titular town after getting a letter from his supposedly-dead wife, Mary. The game brings through the darkest recesses of James' mind and repressed sexuality to deliver one of the finest experiences in video games. The ending hits you like a pillowcase full of bricks, solidifying one of the best video game romances ever.
7. Wander and Mono. This nameless couple from the sleeper hit, "Shadow of the Colossus," is one of the best matches in the history of gaming due to the nature of their relationship. She is put into a slumber that can only be cured when he slays each one of the colossi in the accursed plains where he brings her. Much like "Silent Hill," the jaw-dropping ending paints this video game romance in an entirely different color.
8. Tidus and Yuna. Say what you will about the voice-acting in "Final Fantasy X," but that game definitely had one of the best video game romances ever. With Tidus being a complete alien to the world of Spira, he turns to the innocent summoner Yuna, who is on her pilgrimage to defeat the monster Sin, for someone to confide in. What you get as the players is one of the most tragic tales ever to appear in gaming.
9. Cloud and Aeris. One of the definitive video game romances, this tale starts out happy but is cut too short at the end of a six foot sword. Players were left in awe as Aeris, the beloved flower girl from Midgar in "Final Fantasy VII," is stabbed by the game's nemesis in a twist that few were expecting. Much like the mercenary Cloud, players everywhere were left heartbroken.
10. Dom and Maria Santiago. This married couple in "Gears of War 2" is one of the saddest stories on the list. Dom's only motivation throughout the entire campaign is rescuing his wife from the Locust, but what he eventually finds isn't what he was expecting.