4. Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough - Final Fantasy VII
If one was to cast a critical eye over all the relationships in Final Fantasy 7, one could not say that they are happy. Vincent has massive hangups about how he failed Lucrecia, Barrett's wife is still stuck in the shanty/convict town that he was brought up in, Cid abuses his girlfriend for stopping his space mission. It's no surprise that the romantic story for the primary protagonist turns out to be a tragic one- though some would argue that this romance is just an implied one, rather than something that would have actually occurred. It is a great change of pace when Cloud first meets Aerith, partly because the game allows itself the chance to open up from cyber-punk terrorist group to something a little different, but also because it allows the player to spend time to get to know how these characters work together. As it happens, they work rather well and there is no doubt this contributes to the profound shock and outrage gamers get when Aerith is taken away from them all too soon by the cold steel of Sephiroth. There is no doubt that at the time a move like that was a major risk, but the fact that so many gamers know what happens to Aerith Gainsborough shows that it was probably the right move on the part of the writers.