Romance in rpg's

We all play different rpg's for a variety of reasons, some for the challenge, some for the storyline, others for the character interaction and some for the romance involved, whether it is subtle with the romance or in your face.

I love it all but I got on a romance kick tonight with video games and it has me thinking, what games do other people enjoy with the romance factor and what do you think is your ideal romantic scene or game?

For me 2 rpg's stand out for romance.  Final Fantasy 9 and 10, the ending of ff9 being the happiest ending of any game in the series but ffx took it to a new level, between the macalania woods lake scene and the straight no chaser scene where Yuna told Tidus she loved him.

I will throw in harvest moon too but it is not exactly an rpg, more a farming/slice of life simulator but it can be argued as being an rpg as well.

What do you all see as a romantic rpg or what is your favorite romantic scene?

I liked the relationship between Elly and Fei in Xenogears. For some reason, one the things I really liked about it was that its very obvious that at one point they slept together, but it wasn't treated overly sexually, and it was treated naturally, and not like the "end" of the plot.

I will have to check that out, I have never actually played xenogears, only xenosaga.

Pandora's Tower. Especially the different endings depending on your relationship with her. While you try to beat the bosses of every tower you still have to take care that she isn't devoured by her curse by using the meat of those normal monsters in the towers.

Xenoblade Chronicles. Don't want to spoiler much for this one ^^

The Harvest Moon series and especially the Rune Factory games.

I absolutely love the HM series.  In the original for the snes I always marry Nina.  I am usually going after the red heads in the other games I have played though in the ps2 version a simple life I am going after the blonde that deals in flowers and similar items.

Romance scene? I choose Eileen and Lepant from Suikoden 1.

I agree the Rune Factory series does a great job with in game romance.  Granted, the mechanic is, well, quite mercenary in most cases (give any available girl the right stuff often enough and she falls in love with you) , but if I take that for granted (game limitations most likely), it's done very well. 

I especially like the relationship between the Designated Girl (Mana, I think her name is) and the protagonist in Rune Factory 2, with an engagement scene where her very overprotective father (who has the ring that allows you to marry her) learns that, yes, it's time to let his little girl go.

And in Rune Factory 3, it's the pivotal reason for the entire game (I won't spoil the end and explain WHY).

Of course, those games are all primarily set in 1 town, with maybe 20 NPCs, so it's easier to make good quality relationships blossom on-screen.    But those do romantic relationships very well.

don't neccisarily like or dislike this one. just pointing out that in xenoblade, there was a confusing point in the game where Sharla said to Rein "Do not embarrase me at this dinner!" like they were together, and there was really no gradual incline from 'he reminds her of gatto' to 'there together'. Can anyone clarify this? So it's less confusing to me 

I think I need to replay Xenogears and look closely for that. Anyways, yeah I like Yuna and Tidus too.


Agarest Generations of war has kinda romance in it too, though it feels a bit rushed as you'd need to pick a bride at the end of each generation

Liked the romance sub-text in FFVII, because it was completely up to the player how the dynamic between Cloud and Aerith/Tifa ended up playing out and shaping the scenes and dialogue.

The romance "was there", yet not to the point that you couldn't actually pick which girl was Cloud's "obvious" interest, or if he was even interested at all.

I like it when romance is kinda ambiguous and ends with an open question, because it leaves room for a future of the plot.

Once couples get hooked, and promises are made, there is only the fairy-tale "and then they lived happily ever after"/"and then one died, and the one left behind is miserable for the rest of his/her life", or the more realistic "they get married and turn into everyone's worst idea of a bickering and boring couple" left I.E no mystery, and no more adventures.

Liked FF8-10 too, with their romance plots too, especially since I was in my early teens when I played them, so I guess they sorta fit my life and psychology at that time, so I have fond memories of them.

Can't think of any other games where I took much notice of romantic plots/sub-plots.

I do remember hoping Odessa Silverberg and Tir McDohl from Suikoden 1 would end up together and was pretty bummed out when she died - which made me remember, Suikoden 1 and 2 has to be two of the best jrpgs ever made. I need to get back to playing them again some time.

Having been married for 13 years, I'll just say that most of the mystery and adventure is after you start dating, not before. How you asked someone out is a footnote.

I guess this is realistic romance, an people just don't translate it well into plot

Depends on the genre. Slice of life stuff manages it better.

Actually, I don't think there is ever a point in life when someone does NOT have mysteries --- in other words "unknowns," even to themselves.  If we can't know even ourselves 100%, it's impossible for someone else to know us 100%, especially as both people change and grow as individuals.

On topic:  That is a good way romance's "ever after" could be played out in an RPG.  Maybe the man who thought he was the Noble Hero finds some genuine flaws which he didn't know, and maybe other hidden personality traits in other people surface, dramatically changing the dynamic and even causing some friends to leave and new ones to enter the group.

another interesting thing someone could do in an rpg is a guy and a girl could have an awkward moment...

you wouldn't have to even show the moment. just hint that something happened. like this

Guy: "Um... about last night..."

Girl: "Just forget you ever saw anything ok? We have other thing's to worry about right now."

Guy: "You have a beautiful body."

Girl: *blushes*

now, I'm sure it can be even more subtle and well done then that. though you get my point. They still have to travel together still, and it can cause things to be awkward for a while between them when there supposed to be cooperating the best they can to take care of whatever threat

that is the perfect example.  Create some sexual tension, have something dire happen and unleash some kind of hidden potential.

Married 3 years (together for 5), already set on divorce. Never planning on marrying again (hadn't really planned on marrying to begin with though, and went against every fiber of my being in doing so).

Now speaking from that and 3 long-term relationships, I've figured out one thing about myself - personally, I can't stand being in relationships. I just enjoy the chase leading up to it. Excitement, for me, is born from the unknown and the unfamiliar. People have a horrible habit of becoming predictable and trite the longer you spend with them in an intimate fashion. But then again, that's just me. I'm not pretending that what I experience is generally applicable.

Again, this is a forum though, where people state their opinions.

Oh so you do get what I was talking about after all.

My point was that, within the confines of adventure-focused narratives, romantic sub-plots with a conclusion can have (often does) IMO a problematic impact on the story.

There is no problem making an interesting slice of life narrative centered around marriage - it is however difficult to write a good ending that leaves room for future adventures in an RPG if it ends with the main character getting hooked and settling down.

It can be a satisfying ending of closure, but it can also be a fairly depressive "and then the hero hangs his/her sword up on the shelf, grows old, tells grandchildren about grand adventure, but never goes further than out the garden-patch again" kinda thing.

Don't put anything more into it than that. It's not a critique of marriage - it's a critique of marriage as a conclusion of a romance sub-plot in an adventure story, that you'd like to see end on a high-note with the promise of future adventures to come.