>pointless relationship systems
By these I mean the ones in games like FFVII or FFX where there is a relationship system in the game but you are still locked on to a predetermined love interest in the end no matter what you do during the game. I mean doesn't this take away the point of having the relationship system in there in the first place?

>uninteresting love interests
This problem is especially common in the Japanese games which always feature the exact same stereotypes as the love interests. If there is only one predetermined one it's always some bland young girl you are supposed to find cute and if there are many potential ones the choice is usually between a shy girl, an overly feminine girl, a tomboy and a serious girl who only cares about her work or studies and these same stereotypes have been used for fucking decades now. That said western games have their own stereotypes that have been done to death.

So what does /tvav/ think of romances in video games?
Has it ever been done right? Can it be done right?
Are there games that featuring somewhat unusual romances like ones with notable age-gap or ones where the main character does NOT get the girl in the end (which both are something movies and TV shows have been able to pull off for decades)?
Also is it just me but are most of the better romances in video games the one which doesn't feature the main character in them?
Should game developers simply stop trying to put romance in video games since it rarely seems to be done right and usually just make the games featuring them worse than they would have been without it?

Relevant to my current happenings. Good show.

I'm actually in the process of wrapping up another play through DragonQuest5, right now, and I think it does a pretty decent job of applying romance to the game, insofar as one can really expect to find romantic attachment in a videogame. Really, it was no contest, and I married the descendent of the Legendary Warrior. Why? We've been through a lot together. We share a childhood bond - we crawled the local cave together, as children, to rescue that poor baby panther from those two bullying brats. Call me a romantic, but after 10yrs as a slave, I scoured the known world for her, just so I could get her back in my party, for Dragon King's sake. After that, when the decision comes to marry her or some rich chick I barely know, on the chance that the rich girl's father is gonna let me use his boat, I chose to go with the girl that I have a real connection with. Besides, I couldn't bare to get between that rich chick and her effeminate lifemate.
It all works out in the end, because you get the ship anyway for being a cool dude, but these are the hard choices in life - true love or a life of luxury.

I thought the romance with Katrina in QFG4 was pretty solid. What with leaving notes for eachother, collaborating to summon the dark one, oh and a bit of S&m and threats of eternal bondage. Oh yeah.

>>513
>Besides, I couldn't bare to get between that rich chick and her effeminate lifemate.

Playing DQ5 for the first time right now. I actually picked Deborah. She mellows out after a while. And by 'a while' I mean when you unpetrify her which is basically the end of the game. I felt the other two would be too predictable and lovey-dovey.

>>529
Since it relates to OP's point about the blandness of vg relationships, I'm inclined to point out that the bitchy chick is an addition to the remake and the original SNES version only has the two "lovey-dovey" choices.

Bubble Bath Babes

Get naked hoe

I can't seem to get into the game but in the first few minutes of Xenogears there is something kinda romantically impressive. Your childhood friend who you have a crush on has a crush on you too but shes getting married to your best friend so there's an effective "awkward silence" when you give her your blessings.

And then you kill them both, along with nearly everyone else in the village. Oops. [spoiler]Although this does nip a stupid love triangle subplot in the bud early so it doesn't interfere with the game's main plot.[/spoiler]