Summary
All media eventually comes back to love. It’s a universal emotion that’s fueled many of the best stories, songs, paintings, sculptures, and more. It’s even in video games, where it can be as complex as an intricate novel, or as simple as saving one person from the big, bad boss in the final stage.
Still, some games aren’t as big on romance as others. For example,Capcomhas inspired popular fan pairings likeStreet Fighter’s Ryu and Chun Li, orResident Evil’s Chris and Jill. But in-game, they’re as platonic as platonic can be, with their most loving exchanges being a fresh outfit or the like. Still, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any romances in Capcom games.
Between Squaresoft, Enix, and then the combined Square-Enix, Capcom had trouble standing out in the RPG market. Even so, theirBreath of Firegames have cultivated a keen audience since the SNES days. LikeFinal Fantasy, each game is technically in a different setting from each other. But their protagonists always consist of a couple calledRyu and Nina.
The former usually can shapeshift into a dragon, and the latter generally has (or gets) a pair of wings. They’re also not strictly romantic interests to each other, though they do become closer than ordinary friends. For example, inBreath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, Ryu tries to escape from his subterranean world to the surfaceto give Nina a chanceto live a long, healthy life. They may not be lovers, but they certainly care for each other.
Zero and Irisare infamous enough for the memes about her death. What would’ve been the big tragic moment for Zero’s story inMega Man X4got deflated by the voice acting. But let’s rewind a bit.MMX4was the first game to give X and Zero their own separate stories, as they both had different interactions with the Repliforce, a new group of Maverick Hunters. In Zero’s case, he fell for Iris, the younger sister of the Colonel, one of the Repliforce’s leaders.
But they would soon reveal they had their own plans, and humanity didn’t factor into them. Torn between fulfilling her brother’s dream of making a separate nation for Reploids only, and her love for Zero, Iris merged her core with the Colonel’s to fight against her love. As futile as it was, she hoped she and Zero could live together in the Reploid nation. Instead, Zero had to stop her, which led to her death and his emotional crisis.
TheDevil May Crygames aren’t particularly big on romance. Dante has shared fights and pizza with Lady, but nothing more. He has nothing going on with Trish either, given she’s a clone of his mother made by Mundus. Anything more than platonic between those two would bea field day for Freud. Vergil did have a son in Nero, though who his mother is, and Vergil’s relationship with them is still a mystery.
That makesNero and Kyriethe most romantic pairing inDMCby default. Found as an orphan, he was brought up by Kyrie’s family in the Order of the Sword. Kyrie herself isn’t the most striking character, being a typical if pleasant damsel in distress. But there’s no doubting Nero’s feelings for her. VA Johnny Yong Bosch’s delivery of Nero’s anguish is passionate and driven and gets the character’s pain across to the player.
Originally planned as a Sengoku-eraResident Eviltitle, theOnimushagames becamea different kind of hack n’slasher. They mixed the survival horror series’ puzzles, backgrounds, and camera with more combat-heavy gameplay. Players could swing the samuraiSamanosuke’s katana at any wayward Genma monsters, or for some missions, take on a stealthier, dagger-based approach with the kunoichiKaede.
The two met before the game’s events, where Kaede was meant to assassinate Samanosuke. But his righteousness and free way of living made her change her mind and join him in his travels across the nation. Even when he disappeared, she followed his trail in the hopes of finding him again. She succeeded, and they became lovers, until the Genma Gargant killed Kaede beforeOnimusha 3, driving Samanosuke to seek revenge.
If this topic was about the best bromances, Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth would be at the top. Inthe firstAce Attorney, Wright was dedicated enough to Edgeworth to make fans think there was more to them than friendship. His hurt feelings over Edgeworth’s disappearance in the sequel only emphasized that. He’s also quite close to his partner, Maya Fey, but nothing’s been set in stone. As far as canon goes, Wright is just a guy who loves his friends.
Until that gets settled (if it ever does),Ron and Desirée DeLitefromAA3: Trials and Tribulationsmay be the best romantic couple in theAAgames. Ron’s a nervous wreck who’s prone to shouting, while Desirée’s a thrill-seeking biker chick. Yet when he saved her from some robbers, despite still being scared to the bone, she fell for him. As different as they seem, he acts where it counts, and is true to his feelings, and to her. It’s unlikely that anyone could blame Desirée for sticking with him for that.
This is a couple that isn’t technically together but has some romantic undercurrent.Leonis a rookie cop turned government agent, andAdais the alias for a super spy who’s been keeping tabs on Umbrella, Wesker, and multiple other figures for an unknown organization. Undercover, she used Leon to get samples of William Birkin’s research but developed a soft spot for the guy.
She shared a tender moment with him before seemingly being killed, only to survive and help Leon from the shadows with a rocket launcher. ByResident Evil 4, the two hada more complicated relationshipwhere she was neither an enemy nor a friend to him. Yet when Wesker wanted Leon dead, Ada plotted her own agenda. In turn, Leon admitted, “She’s like a part of me I can’t let go.” For professionals, things are definitely personal between these two.
