Seeing as how today is Valentine’s Day, one can’t help but think about the topic of relationships. And seeing as how I’m writing this for a blog about video games…well, it’s only natural to consider the topic on that front.
Before we take a look at the different kinds of relationships that there are in the gaming medium, let’s first think about film. Usually, for a screenplay to be successful, characters need to go through changes. When a member of the opposite sex is involved in a character’s personal growth, it typically follows the same kind of trend. Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl shows no interest, boy does something to get interest, the two start dating, problems occur along the way, a breaking point occurs where it seems like the relationship will never recover, and through some dramatic event, the two live happily ever after. Of course, the two sexes in this scenario can be reversed and certain storylines like to break this overall pattern, but in films, we love to see characters go through an arc that shows how much they’ve changed from the beginning of the story. And ultimately, if a relationship is involved, we want to see the two characters with so much sexual tension between them end up happily ever after. The entire romantic comedy genre is based entirely off this plotline and yet the same kind of trend carries over to other types of movies.
And still, as video games are becoming more and more cinematic and story-driven these days, we don’t see this type of fairy-tale ending between couples in this burgeoning medium as often as we should! Let’s take a look at the different kinds of relationships that are prevalent with industry-defining characters and how they buck the common romantic storytelling trend. Warning: Some spoilers and many unhealthy pairs are ahead!
THE UNRECIPROCATED JOKE
Prime example: Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)
While it is possible that these two have more history to them, let’s take a look one of my favorite Sonic titles where these two are involved. The first interaction we see between the two defines their interaction throughout the entire game perfectly. Amy falls head over heels for Sonic, doing whatever she can to win his affections (like freeing him from prison), while Sonic runs off without even thanking the pink hedgehog. Amy even sheds tears at thinking Sonic is dead near the end of the game, but all the blue blur can do is come back and basically say “Yeah, I’m cool.” The relationship between these two characters is heavily imbalanced, even though they are seen as a pair, as one character’s love goes completely unreciprocated throughout the entire game.
THE UNGRATEFUL PARTNER
Prime examples: Mario and Peach (Super Mario Bros.), Link and Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
This could also be seen as “the hero gets none” situation. For two iconic video game characters, Mario and Link brave the biggest baddies imaginable in their world to, in the end, ultimately save the princess’ lives. And for what? A kiss on their cheek at best? Well, excuuuuuuuse me, but cartoon Link is still waiting for that kiss, princess! Another type of unreciprocated relationship, the targets in-question at least know that the protagonists exist and did…something…to help them out. However, they seem to have no comprehension as far as the danger the heroes put themselves through just for them! A kiss only goes so far when you’ve gone up against the Kings of Evil and the Koopas.
THE IRREPARABLE MESS
Prime example: Raiden and Rosemary (Metal Gear Solid 2)
Sometimes there is just no helping a relationship, even when one is established in a video game. It even goes so far as to think that maybe they shouldn’t have been together in the first place. As far as Raiden and Rosemary are concerned, it’s your not-so-typical story of boy with disturbed past meets girl, the two fall in love, but then girl reveals that she’s a spy, but girl promises that her love for scorned boy was real. And then girl might not even be real and might actually be a computer simulation instead. And then girl is actually real and is preggers. And somehow boy and girl stick together. But then boy goes crazy five years later and girl marries old guy who was boy’s boss and was also not real during their lover’s spat…yeah. Enough is enough! When a relationship gets to be so messed up that you can’t even make the events up, it’s time to call it quits.
THE TRAGEDY
Prime example: Cloud and Aerith (Final Fantasy VII)
A relationship that seems destined to occur, until tragedy strikes and separates the two forever, Cloud and Aerith are perfect examples of star-crossed lovers, just like Romeo and Juliet. Except Romeo didn’t have a dark badass named Sephiroth come in and slaughter Juliet. And Aerith didn’t self-administer poison to herself, only to awake to a dead Cloud, and…wait, what? Still, the point remains that gaming characters often have their loves killed, even if it’s before the game’s plot, and they spend the rest of the title exacting their emotionally-charged vengeance. That’s right, they are motivated by a relationship…that only exists through death.
THE UNRESOLVED TENSION
Prime examples: Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2), Snake and Meryl (Metal Gear Solid)
It’s the plot point that drives everybody crazy. When two characters have palpable sexual tension between the two, yet saving the world becomes the first priority instead of their relationship. And after the primary objective is complete, the two nod at each other and pretty much leave it at “job well done.” In Half-Life 2, Gordon and Alyx have an unspoken connection, probably because of the protagonist’s muteness, yet at the end, Alyx’s fate is undetermined. And still, Snake and Meryl have it worse in Metal Gear Solid. Through awkward conversations, ass-staring, hypnotic desires and more, Snake is pretty much screwed because he cannot genetically reproduce. Is it just me or does Kojima like to tweak with the concept a little too much? It doesn’t help that Meryl goes and ultimately marries the wussy d-bag of the franchise. This issue seems to plague video games and frankly, it is not appreciated in the slightest.
THE IN-TITLE-ONLY
Prime example: Mr. and Ms. PacMan (PacMan)
Sure, Mr. and Ms. PacMan are married, but does the gamer really care? Plain and simple, when a game says two characters are together, but it hardly plays a significant role, it can be awfully frustrating. Why even add that to their characters when it won’t shape the character’s arcs at all? Totally lame.
HONORABLE MENTION: THE NOT EVEN POSSIBLE
Prime example: Master Chief and Cortana (Halo)
She’s a computer projection, Chief. Get a grip, dude.
Why do you think significant video game characters are plagued with this problem? Are the game creators trying to make a statement about the players who assume control of these characters? Or do they think that the player really doesn’t care about an emotionally engaging, fascinating love story in a video game? Is that why, when they actually try (see: Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties), it abysmally fails? Leave your comments about thoughts regarding the representation of relationships between characters in video games.
Happy Single’s Awareness Day!
