Shack Chat: Who is your favorite video game couple?

Shack Chat is back once again, our weekly feature each Friday where we’ll ask the Shacknews staff to give their opinion on a particular topic, then open the floor to our dedicated Chatty community to provide a diverse mixture of thoughts on the subject. It’s a great way for us to get to know one another better while inspiring healthy debates with all of you passionate gamers out there.

Question: Who is your favorite video game couple?

Peach and Mario - Asif Khan, It’s-a-me!

My answer is probably super tame and boring, but when I think of a video game couple I think of Peach and Mario. So many castles bested only to learn that the princess was in another castle. Baking cakes? I am here for it. It has been great to see how their relationship has changed throughout the Super Mario series history. It seems like this video game power couple has hit some bumps in the road along the way (cough cough Mario Odyssey) but things seem to be back on track as of Super Mario Maker 2. 

Chloe Price and Rachel Amber (Life is Strange: Before the Storm) - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor

Alright, so before I go into my favorite video game couple, I want to note that this was a much tougher decision than my ultimate choice might imply. That's because video games have been doing couples, ships, and romances better in the last few decades than it ever has when the medium first started. So I want to take a minute to give a shoutout to some of my honorable mentions: Rhys and Sasha from Tales from the Borderlands, Parvati and Junlei from The Outer Worlds, Clementine and Louis (or Violet, depending on your playthrough) from The Walking Dead: The Final Season, and of course, Sora and Kairi from the Kingdom Hearts series.

I'm a sucker for romance, especially when it's done well. Nothing warms my heart better than a good couple with a good romance option and I don't think there was a story that I resonated with better than Life is Strange: Before the Storm. There was something inherently beautiful about the friendship between Chloe and Rachel Amber, one that developed into something deeper. Two lives coming apart in different ways, but ones who found solace in each other. While the world (literally) burned around them, they found strength in one another and pushed each other forward in the hopes of eventually weathering their storms and finding happiness.

We know in the first Life is Strange that Chloe and Rachel's story ends in tragedy, but Before the Storm illustrated what could have been. And the tragedy of their ultimate outcome didn't make what they had at the time any less impactful.

Big the Cat and Froggy (Sonic the Hedgehog series) - Blake Morse, Chonky Boy

Is there a love greater than that between a frog and a giant cat with the voice of Duke Nukem? I say, no. No there is not! And if a frog can love a simple, goofy, chonker like Big, it gives me hope that someday someone might be able to love me in a similar fashion. Sure, maybe it’s more of a bromance than a true romance, but it’s hard to deny the love these two have for eachother. Big the Cat and Froggy 4 evar!

Triss and Geralt - Bill Lavoy, Managing Editor

There are a lot of people who believe that Yennefer and Geralt are the best couple option in The Witcher 3, but I’ve always enjoyed Triss and Geralt as a pair. I’ve played through the game several times and, with the exception of one misguided attempt to date Triss and Yennefer, I’ve always felt Triss and Geralt had the better chemistry. Things are easier going with those two it seems. Yes, Yennefer and Geralt have a lot of history and shared reasons to be in each other’s lives, but I think maybe that baggage weighs them down a bit.

Backdoor and The Nose, FIFA - Chris Jarrard, The heart wants what the heart wants

Across the vast and varied history of video games, there have been many wonderful pairings. With Mario and the Princess, Sonic and Amy, or the mega-weird ménage à trois between Double Dragons Billy and Jimmy Le and their girlfriend Marian, games have had no shortage of romance. For my money, it gets no more emotional that a special bond between two soccer fellows from the acclaimed FIFA series. 

I do not know their names, but names are a frivolous concern when it comes to matters of the heart. I refer to them as Backdoor and The Nose. They first became internet-famous a few years back when a gif was uploaded that caught a candid moment between the two men following a stoppage in play. Backdoor was squatting just over the freshly cut grass on the pitch while The Nose had his beak buried way up into the funk trunk of his soulmate. Once he got a strong whiff of what was going on, a sensation of pure elation washed over him like the waves crashing ashore at Waimea Bay.

The Nose begins a double fist pump as the rush of endorphins fill his brain with unrelenting passion for his mate. The bond he shares with Backdoor sends The Nose into a youthful, energetic kip up that shows he is ready to take on anything the world can throw at him. It makes me sorrowful that I’ve yet to find another out there to make me feel so similar — so alive with yearning for each other. Still, knowing that such a love exists and can happen leaves me with hope.

The Detective and his mind, Disco Elysium - Sam Chandler, Guides Editor

The detective from Disco Elysium [name withheld to avoid spoilers] has a tenuous grasp on reality at the best of times and that’s before I argue that he and his mind are the best video game couple. While you would be forgiven for thinking Kitsuragi and he are the ultimate couple, in reality, they’re partners with one job - or maybe two - fight crime and find disco.

What’s great about the detective’s mind is that while it is one entity, it’s fractured into more than 20 sub-entities, all of which vie for your attention and love. You get to talk with them, they understand you on a deeper level than anything else around you, and they help guide you through life.

At the end of the day, the detective doesn’t have someone to love and to hold. He doesn’t have a sweetheart to cherish - all he has is his mind, and its many splinters and shards.

Bayek and Ana - Donovan Erskine, Intern

Great couples do everything together, even assassinate. Assassin Creed Origins' Bayek and Ana are a great video game power couple. I loved their interactions with one another, and felt as though they had true chemistry. Many of the love interests in the franchise get put on the back burner, and I loved how Aya remained at the forefront of the story.

Bayonetta and Jeanne - Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor

I can't think of a man who'd ever possibly be right for Bayonetta, so the only one who could ever best her has to be her best friend and rival, Jeanne. Plus, they just look so good together – and Umbra Witches have to stick together, don't they? Bayonetta has already proven she'd go to Inferno and back to bring Jeanne's soul back from Alraune, so the idea that she'd make the move from best friend to wifey isn't too far-fetched. The pair complement each other in nearly every way. Think about it. It just works. Do I need to activate Witch Time and let you think about it a little while longer? 

Wander and Mono - Josh Hawkins, Expert Writer Guy

Remastered for the PlayStation 4 back in 2018, Shadow of Colossus was a gem on its own. But, when you consider the subtle relationship between Wander and Mono (the main character and the woman he’s trying to revive), there’s a bit more to the story than its evident at first. Of course, we’re still not sure if Wander and Mono were romantic interests, as the game never really dives into that. However, there is a scene where Wander goes to touch Mono’s face tenderly, something that people will normally do if they have romantic feelings for that person.

Either way you look at it, though, the entire idea of pitting yourself against massive enemies to save someone else is both romantic and endearing. Each colossus defeated brings Mono closer to the world of the living, and it just feels like there is something between the two. Even if there aren’t any romantic feelings between Wander and Mono, it feels a lot like the subtle romance between Zelda and Link, and that kind of underlying romance is definitely something I can get behind.

Commander Shepherd & Garrus Vakarian - TJ Denzer, News Editor

Out of many of the romances that have ever existed in the long history of video games, Commander Shepherd and Garrus Vakarian’s relationship, female or male, in the Mass Effect trilogy is the one that felt the most real to me. When Shepherd finds Garrus, the former C-Sec officer is a frustrated mess caught under the overflowing bulk of restrictions and red tape. Shepherd frees Garrus from that life and teaches him what it’s like to take fate into one’s own hands. 

After Shepherd disappears and is thought dead, Garrus tries to carry on what Shepherd taught him and nearly fails miserably when he becomes a mercenary that draws the ire of every scumbag in Omega. When Shepherd comes back from the dead and rejoins with Vakarian, it feels like a romance or bromance rekindled. Garrus finally feels relief to be at Shepherd’s side and is more committed than ever, having seen the wretched strain being responsible for others puts on a leader.

It’s a stumbling, bumbling relationship of reliance, respect, and absolute trust between the two soldiers of fortune, and it leads to perhaps one of the most touching moments when Garrus softly admits to Shepherd that he just wants things to go right for once, and Shepherd ultimately convincing him sincerely that they will. The arc between them is long and sometimes awkward, but ultimately, it makes their bond stand out as one of the most meaningful and truthful in my mind

Jim Raynor & Sarah Kerrigan - Greg Burke, Master of Video

The best type of relationships are the complicated ones, ones that start in the form of friendship and develop into something more, like the story of Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan. Both served in the military and both diverted, seeing the evil that was leading the Terrain faction. While they both fought for the same cause or at least a skewed view of it, destiny was not kind to the couple. With Kerrigan turning into the Queen of the Swarm and Raynor constantly trying to either release her from that fate or save her, he kept failing to do both. There was a lot of back and forth. Both Jim and Sarah sacrificed their own happiness for the greater good. While Kerrigan went down the darker path, she eventually found light, and in the end Raynor and Sarah started a new life together, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting.   

Link and Princess Zelda - Steve Tyminski, Contributing Editor

When you think about romance. you think about heroes with a sword and shield rushing in to save the damsel in distress from a dragon, or in the case of Princess Zelda, save her quite a few times from the Pigman, Ganon. Throughout different timelines, different locales, and different monsters, one thing that remained constant was a guy draped in green fighting the forces of evil to save the crown and the girl he loved. It seems that Link and Zelda were made for each other and fate would agree.

Different variations of Link and Zelda always find a way to intermingle. While finding the Triforce pieces, waking Zelda from a deep slumber, and rescuing maidens or sages, Link really knows a way to a girl’s heart. What would you expect for a guy who handles “hearts” all the time?

When on the high seas, Princess Zelda didn’t even know she was a princess but did know she was a pirate.  However, a certain boy in a green outfit trying to rescue his sister joined her crew and you know the rest. It’s always about a young hero saving the Princess. The faces change but the names stay the same! 

Boy meets girl, girl meets boy. Boy goes forward and backward through time for girl and falls for her. He rescues her in the altered timeline but can’t be with her in the end, as it would destroy the fabric of time/space so he gets sent back to his timeline. You know the age-old story of love, romance, and time-traveling! 

 Maybe a short “yah!” is all it takes to get a princess to notice you?

Disagree with our picks? Who's your favorite video game couple of all time? Be sure to let us know in the comments below! Love is in the air, after all, and we're really feeling it!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.