I was talking with my friend (who is an avid Twilight fan), and I told her how empty the romance was between Edward and Bella in the original Twilight (yes, I've seen the movie). Now I'm not blaming the actors, because it could either be the script was terrible, the acting was terrible, or the directing was terrible, but whatever.

Anyway, she suddenly got ballsy enough to tell me that Twilight was more romantic than any video game would ever be, and that video games would never even be romantic at all.

I instantly cited three examples to prove her wrong.

*Spoilers for the three games*

1) Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core



Regardless of whether or not you hate Final Fantasy, you can't deny that the story-telling and presentation in the games are always phenomenal. Crisis Core was no exception. But I'm not going to get into all that. I'm just going to talk about the romance.

Sure, it was completely linear and non-optional, but they did it very well. It wasn't even that the voice-acting was that great (it wasn't), but the e-mails you get from friends, the 88 letters you get from Aerith, all those are minor things but really show the relationship Aerith and Zack share.

And then the ending, where you (Zack), die to save your best friend (not even romance, but damn that was more emotional than the majority of movies I've seen), but you also die a couple miles outside Midgar, the city where Aerith resides. And the only thing driving Zack to get to Midgar is to see Aerith.

Yes, it's a tragic romance, and Zack and Aerith are star-crossed lovers, but still, it's better than watching the girl you love sleep.

2)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic



Not only was Knights of the Old Republic one of the best RPGs of all time, but it was one of the first games to include a romantic subplot that was actually compelling and good. Not only was it quality, but it was optional, which made it all the more romantic and rewarding at the end, because you (the player) worked for it and it wasn't just handed to you on a silver platter.

Story goes you and Bastila have a special connection . . . she's snobby and elitist and first and couldn't give a rat's ass about you, but as the game goes on, after each planet you're on, you can talk to her, and new dialogue opens up each time. You can flirt with her, have meaningful discussions, and no matter what you choose, the dialogue is good.

Then, after you work so hard, you and Bastila eventually kiss. And then she tells you it won't work out and it's like "balls."

I didn't give up though. I had worked for that kiss, and I wasn't going to just let her toss me aside like that. The game though, every time, told me it was over when no more options were available to say to her.

Eventually she gets captured by Malak and gets turned into his apprentice, and I won't get into the light or dark side ending (I've played both, but light is canon).

After storming the Star Forge, you come face to face with Bastila. Alone. You two fight, and you eventually overpower her, and she asks you to kill her.

You [i]can[/img] kill her, but I was drawn to the last option. You can tell her you could never kill her, and that you love her. She confesses her love for you too, and comes back from the dark side.

Revan is able to convince Bastila to turn from the dark side to the light side simply because of love. Eat it Edward.

3) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves



Last, but not least, is Uncharted 2 (a game you'll hear me talk a lot about).

It's not that the romance is thrown at you, because it's not. The romance isn't even that deep. It's the chemistry between the voice actors that really hit it home for me.

When the game started, I wondered where Elena was, but when this new hot girl (Chloe) came it, I put Elena in the back of my mind and cheered on any romance between Chloe and Nate.

And I got a lot of it. Almost every time Nate and Chloe banter in a level it's flirtatious, and a lot less tame than Nate and Elena's from the first game.

Then, Elena came back. And she starts with, "Name's Elena. Last year's model." And I fell in love with her all over again.

The voice actors did a fantastic job with putting in tension between Chloe and Elena, and the chemistry between Nate and Elena was just as good and between Nate and Chloe.

However, throughout the game, I stared to like Elena more and more than Chloe, partly because she always had Nate's back, wasn't double crossing anyone, and was just a whole lot more tasteful.

I was sincerely concerned when Elena seemingly died at the end, and when Chloe asks Nate, "Do you love her?" I was silently rooting for him to say "Yes."

When he told Chloe he was sorry, and then Elena came out and the two kissed, I grinned until I went to sleep (no lie).

Wish I could've seen that chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in Twilight. Not.

So, all in all, romance doesn't have to be thrown at you to be good, it could be slightly there with nothing more than flirting, or it could even be optional. But don't you ever say romance in video games sucks.

-Nate

P.S. Who do you like better? Chloe or Elena?