Character Relationships

[faytmye]

Hello everyone

I was wondering if anyone could spare me a second of their time and help me with some research.

Basically I am starting my dissertation for my final year at university and was hoping to base it around the lines of Important Relationships Between Video Game Characters (flexible title) and why they are so interesting and appealing to a player. This will most likely be a narrative specific essay based around dialogue but I am open to other important aspects.

What I was hoping some of you could do was name me a few of your favourite duo's in any video game and possibly explain why. I'm not looking specifically at main characters but including villains or even NPC's / Animals.

Some examples of what I am looking for:

Ico: Ico & Yorda
Shadow of the Colossus: Wanderer & Mono
Beyond Good & Evil: Jade & Uncle Pey'j
RE4: Leon & Ashley
HL2: Gordon & Alyx

I really do not want to include pairs such as Mario & Luigi or Sonic & Tails because I feel they are really irrelevant due to the fact that they never interact with each other or exchange [important]dialogue, they are simply 'just there.'

Any help would be much appreciated and I look forward to seeing some of the things you guys come up with. I love weird relationships so throw some in if you can.... a website already suggested the Deagle and AWP from CS as one of the best duo's, made me laugh and I agree to a certain degree.

Cheers

Stephen

.......

Suggested

Sam & Max
Portal
Hector & Lyndis
Disgaea
Dispatcher & Agent 47
The Chief & Cortana
Snake and Otacon
The player and Atlas/ The player and Andrew Ryan
Mario and Bowser
Morte and Annah
Minsc and Boo
Max Payne and Mona Sax.
Khalid and Jaheira, or, Player and Jaheira
Mass Effect
Farah and Prince
Leo Stenbuck and ADA.
Ryu and Nina.
Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem
Banjo and Kazooie.
Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey
Kyle Katarn's relationship with Jan Ors
Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum and her "Little Sisters"
Snake and Otacon
Kingdom Hearts

 

[SargentToughie]

Sam and Max... best Duo ever

 

[faytmye]

Sam and Max... best Duo ever

Always wanted to buy that, going to have to now

Forgot to mention Portal in OP (duh!)

 

[asleep at the comp]

uh ok lyn and heactor from fire emblam i think maybe i most likely spelled it wrong

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Hi Stephen, nice to see not all of the new Escapist recruits are tolls who can't spell *cough*youmax*cough* sorry I have a cold.
Anyway, I always thought the relationship between your dispatcher and Agent 47 in Hitman was interesting, it was an anonymous connection they had, at first only giving and receiving briefings, but it grew into so much, though neither of them knew each other, it was in a way, a love story. I don't know if this sounds stupid to you or not but that's how I've always felt about the complex relationship that they had with each other.

 

[implodingMan]

The Chief & Cortana

Snake and Otacon

The player and Atlas/ The player and Andrew Ryan

Mario and Bowser

 

[faytmye]

Hi Stephen, nice to see not all of the new Escapist recruits are tolls who can't spell *cough*youmax*cough* sorry I have a cold.
Anyway, I always thought the relationship between your dispatcher and Agent 47 in Hitman was interesting, it was an anonymous connection they had, at first only giving and receiving briefings, but it grew into so much, though neither of them knew each other, it was in a way, a love story. I don't know if this sounds stupid to you or not but that's how I've always felt about the complex relationship that they had with each other.

That actually sounds really interesting! Reminds me of the relationship between Wanderer & Dormin in Shadow of the Colossus because they also never meet.

Thanks a lot for the input so far everyone!

 

[Blayze]

Planescape: Torment - Morte and Annah. One's a smart-mouthed, sarcastic, floating, talking skull (Don't ask where he keeps his inventory) with a libido the size of the spire Sigil sits upon, and the other's a fiery, emotional, aggressive, superstitious guttersnipe of a tiefling with social defences seemingly make of spikes. And barbed wire. And magma.

Morte wants Annah (Precisely how he wants her is a matter of logistical debate), and the two spar verbally by tossing insults back and forth (And in Morte's case, sexual innuendo). The two aggravate each other constantly, but never come to blows or leave the party because of the other. It's really quite amusing to watch.

 

[Amnestic]

Minsc and Boo

 

[Baby Tea]

Minsc and Boo

OH MAN that's funny! I'm in love with the Baldur's Gate saga...I still play.

I was actually thinking (Along the same lines) the player and Serevok, or the player and Jon Irenicus. I mean, Serevok was your half-brother who murdered or foster father and basically threw your world in turmoil. And Irenicus captured you, tortured you beyond belief, captured your half-sister (Though you didn't know it at the time)...he was a jerk.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Minsc and Boo

I take my awesome hat off to you.

On a related note - Khalid and Jaheira, or, Player and Jaheira in BG2.

 

[TaboriHK]

Max Payne and Mona Sax.

 

[Baby Tea]

Minsc and Boo

I take my awesome hat off to you.

On a related note - Khalid and Jaheira, or, Player and Jaheira in BG2.

Ohh, those are good too. How about Jaheira and Irenicus?

 

[Cpt. Red]

I liked the relationships in Mass Effect...

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

The Prince and his ladyfriend from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

 

[FrankDux]

I liked the relationships in Mass Effect...

They always made me laugh actually, although they weren't terribly done. There was just something a bit awkward and and laughable about flirting with someone by saying "Tell me more about asari mating rituals..."

 

[DevilSaint44]

The Prince and his ladyfriend from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

Seconded. Farah and Prince have the best developed relationship I have known in any game

 

[Beowulf DW]

Hector and Lyndis are an interesting couple, mostly due to the fact that their storyline dialogue is so open to interpretation. One could say that they're friendly (if reluctant) rivals, or that they playfully flirt with one another. This ambiguity is almost required for the support system, through which Lyndis and Hector can potentially marry any number of the other protagonists, including each other. Personally, I chose to pair Lyndis with Rath, and Hector with Florina. However, the alternate endings generated by using the support system aren't all romantic in nature. Some of the resulting pairs become business partners, and some develope an almost sibling-like relationship. The adaptiveness and network of the Fire Emblem relationships is staggering in it's sheer complexity, which is one aspect of the Fire Emblem series that I find to be, for lack of a better term, beautiful.

 

[minoes]

Zone of the Enders: Leo Stenbuck and ADA.
Breath of fire: Ryu and Nina.

 

[Raven28256]

Gordon & Alyx in Half-Life 2 has always been one of my favorites. While Gordon is mute because he is supposed to represent you yourself, I've always like the interactions with Alyx. It is one of the better, more well-developed relationships in gaming in recent years. It helps that Alyx is one of the ONLY "real-looking" female characters in gaming and not some supermodel running around in a metal bikini with breasts big enough to sink the Yamato.

The Fire Emblem support conversations are also nice, and allow you to craft the relationships of each individual character, as Beowulf already mentioned.