Friday, November 26, 2010

Top 5 most heartwarming couples in Video Games

While blowing people up and shooting zombies in the head is fun and exciting, another great part of video games over the years has been its evolution in storytelling. With that evolution, romance and relationships have become an integral part of the plots of our favorite video games. In the midst of the chaos and carnage gamers come face to face with in their favorite games, the romance of the characters make them that much more real, and lovable. Here are the top 5 video game relationships that have warmed my own heart, as well as those of the video game community. Beware, spoilers ahead. If you have not played the games and want to be surprised, go no further!

5. The Prince of Persia and Farrah (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time): In the first Prince of Persia game that followed the original 2-D adventure, players were introduced to the arrogant Prince of Persia, and the enigmatic and strong Farah, a princess on the opposite side of a war the Prince's father has been waging. When a mysterious hour glass housing the Sands of Time is unleashed, changing everyone in the palace save for these two into mindless zombies, these two opposing characters are forced to work together to stop the threat. As the game progresses, players see the Prince slowly becoming a true warrior and hero, and he and Farah begin to build a strong relationship, to the point where she reveals a secret word that no one but she and her mom know and which holds special meaning for her. When the Prince learns that the only way to stop the threat is to use the sands to go back in time to before Farah was captured, he does so, but in the process erases any memory she has of the Prince. When he stops the one man responsible for the threat, the Vizier, Farah is still reluctant to trust him, but with a smile, he simply tells her the one word she has never told anyone, leaving her to wonder who he is, while he is left to hold the memory of all they shared to himself.

4. Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance (Half Life 2): Throughout the mind bending game of Half Life 2, players immediately begin to feel the affects of the special bond created between the game's hero, Gordon Freeman, and his partner in stopping the alien threat, Alyx Vance, the daughter of the leader of the human resistance. In the game, Freeman was a scientist who was unwittingly used to do an experiment that would unleash a portal to another dimension, where bloodthirsty creatures crossed over and took over our world. After 20 years in stasis, Gordon returns to find the planet controlled by the aliens, and humanity on the verge of collapse, facing the alien threat and the humans who joined the aliens. Throughout the game, the two of them face overwhelming odds, constantly thwarting threats, only to meet new ones. At one point, in the DLC Episode 2, Alyx is stabbed and nearly dies at the hands of an alien Hunter, but thanks to Gordon risking his life in an alien hive, he is able to revive her, and together they face the threat once more. With rumors of an Episode 3 sill lingering in the air, we can only hope that players can finally see this unspoken romance come to bloom, and see these two deserving people finally able to reveal their love to one another.

3. Cloud and Aerith (Final Fantasy VIII): One of the most tragic love stories in video games, Final Fantasy VIII sees players are introduced to the now famous Cloud, a former SOLDIER and troubled hero. When a planetary threat emerges in the form of Sephiroth, another SOLDIER who unleashes an alien monster known as Jenova, who players learn is Sephiroth's mother. When Cloud's memories are made fuzzy and Sephiroth claims Cloud is a clone of himself, it is only with the help of Aerith, a flower girl who helps the resistance that he is able to gain his memories. Towards the end of the game, Aerith ventures into the forgotten city in hopes of finding a way to stop a meteor that is sent by Sephiroth to destory the planet. When she finds the way, Sephiroth arrives, and impales her in the torso. Aerith was the one who was able to make Cloud more likable, coming out of his moodiness and dark nature he used to mask his loving, caring side. When she is killed, Cloud is forced to release her into the lifestream of the planet, and it through her and the lifestream that the meteor is able to be stopped, but it does not diminish the painful reality that Cloud's true love is taken from him, making him continue along the path of the tragic hero.

2. Sora and Kairi (Kingdom Hearts series): One of my personnel favorites, the Kingdom Hearts series follows Sora, a young 14 year old boy who lives on an island with his family and friends, Riku and Kairi. On the island, players learn early on that it is an ancient tradition to give the one person you care most for a special fruit, signifying your love or affection for them. When Sora enters a mysterious cave, he begins to draw a picture of himself and Kari, and of himself giving her that fruit, expressing to the players his love for her. Before he can do this, however, the island is attacked by the Heartless, creatures from the Darkness. When his world is engulfed in Darkness, we learn that Sora is the Keyblad warrior, the chosen warrior to repel the Darkness. Sora then enters on a journey with Disney favorites Donald and Goofy in an attempt to free the other worlds from the Darkness, as well as locate Riku and his love, Kairi. Later in the game, when it is learned that Kari is one of the seven Princesses of Heart needed to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, Sora finds her lifeless body in front of a possessed Riku, taken over by the heartless leader Ansem. When Sora defeats him, he learns that Kairi's heart resides within his own heart, as does the hearts of all the Princesses. Knowing this, Sora turns the keyblade on himself, stabbing himself in the heart, and unleashing the hearts of all the Princesses and sacrificing himself. Upon waking up, Kairi watches as Sora disappears. Later in the game, Sora is returned to human form, and defeats Ansem in front of the door leading to Kingdom Hearts. However, in the last moments of the game, Sora and Kairi are seperated once again, returning her to her home island and restoring balance to the worlds. While Sora goes in search of Riku and a way home, Kairi finds the cave, and the picture Sora drew. The last image we see is Kairi drawing on the wall, and finished product showing herself also giving Sora the fruit, showing that she too loves him. Talk about romantic as hell, lol.

1. Dom and Maria (Gears of War): The saddest and most heartbreaking romantic relationship in video game history. Dominic Santiago is a Gear, a soldier in the fight against an monstrous race of creatures known as Locust. On the day of Emergence, when the locust first attacked their planet, Dom and Maria's children were killed. This in turned sent Maria down a downward spiral of depression that lead to her disappearing. Having known her since childhood and having been married since 16, Dom is desperate to find her. With the planet in turmoil due to the threat of the locust, however, he is forced to look for her while fighting the war. During the second Gears of War, Dom finally gets a lead on to where Maria may be. While on a mission to the underground city of the Locust, Dom and the game's hero, Marcus Fenix, Dom's best friend, venture into a prison camp where humans are tortured. Upon finding Maria, Dom is forced into reality, and sees that the happy ending he had hoped for is never going to happen. Maria has been tortured, and is haggard and unable to speak or recognize Marcus. She has been left nearly brain dead. Dom, furious and heartbroken, kisses her gently, tells her how much he loves her and how sorry he is to have arrived so late, and then forces himself to grant her peace the only way he can, by shooting her once in the head, ending her life and the torment the locust have put her through. Thus ending the desperate hope players had harbored for Dom, who had gone through hell with Marcus and the other Gears so that one day he and Maria could live in happiness once again.


Well, there you go, there is my top 5 favorite romantic couples. This blog is the first in a long series of video game related posts that I ultimately name my End of Year and End of Decade awards. I hope you enjoy them!

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