List idea: Top 10 Odd Ways to Woo a Partner in Video Games

Inspired by Kelp's and others' posts in this thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/2000445-top-10-lists/78986801

I realized this is an easier one to actually select and rank.

So, the idea is: what are the odd ways you woo a partner in video games?

For example: in Harvest Moon games, you woo them by giving them gifts a lot. But in the real world, giving someone a turnip a day would get old and awkward after a while.

Some games it's a straightforward dialog tree/sum of random actions, which seems relatively realistic.

What are some other odd ways you woo a partner in video games? Specifically, things that are optional (not things the playable character has to do as part of the game).

Ooh this seems fun.

Canis Canem Edit and GTA:SA have wooing systems that come to mind - are they weird? Well, if it goes wrong I suppose and your partner gets jealous...

Final Fantasy VII has the more obtuse wooing system to get you your Gold Saucer date, of course.

Other than that, nothing really comes to mind...

Open world RPGs in general would be a treasure trove of ideas for this list I imagine. They always have some weird ways to court NPCs. I can't think of many specific examples off the top of my head so you'll need to do some searching.

The Witcher games come to mind, though - you can woo women simply by winning a game of dice or gwent.

The game "Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronn tuonnthunntrovarrhounawns kawntoohoohoordenenthurn" on Ouya.

https://youtu.be/aqKMEP9zDto specifically from 3:44 onward

FiveTimesNow posted...

specifically from 3:44 onward

Language/sexual content warning for the video, in case anyone cares about that kind of thing.
And boy, that is definitely the strangest title for anything, ever.

Besides the Dragon's Dogma example (and I was paraphrasing from memory, you might want to fact check that for accuracy), Catherine comes to mind. I haven't played it, but from what I've heard, you romance one of two different women named Catherine by platforming through their minds? Or dreams? That will need checking as well.

FiveTimesNow posted...

The game "Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronn tuonnthunntrovarrhounawns kawntoohoohoordenenthurn" on Ouya.

https://youtu.be/aqKMEP9zDto specifically from 3:44 onward

That seemed like just pointless vulgarity that had no purpose. And wtf is with the name? And Atari graphics?

GoukiAkujiki posted...

That seemed like just pointless vulgarity that had no purpose. And wtf is with the name? And Atari graphics?

No idea, no idea and no idea.
It's a curiosity though, especially with the Ouya going the way it did.

Anyone else played Leisure Suit Larry In the Land of the Lounge Lizards (Larry 1)?

How about giving a lady the following:

1) a rose
2) candy
3) a ring you found in the drain of a sink in a bathroom I wouldn't send my worst enemy into.

GTA 4 take your date to play darts

In the first Harvest Moon, you initiate marriage by offering them a feather.

In JRPG Great Greed, you just pick your partner as your end-game reward as the several princesses you've met congregate to the victory room. It can even be with NPCs in the room! Though no "romance mechanics" are included, it's similar to Fallout's marriage system. (Though I hear in later games you can win over NPCs via quests to open up marriage.)

For something like Last Of Us, mobile game Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadville let's you play matchmaker. You can cozy up fellow survivors when you assign them on daily duties together. Be it fighting zombies, pillaging roses, or strolling under the moonlight patrol. Dating, marriage, even parenting can happen in this strategy game.

In Terranigma, you can actually help two penguins fall in love (by fetch-questing flowers).

In romance simulator True Love '95, you can skip wooing the typical choices and just live your own life, praying, and taking care of an abandoned cat. After enough care will reveal she is an angel and falls in love with you.

GB classic Survival Kids, later known as Into the Blue, has a story branch where you can find another castaway, keep them alive, even fall in love with them.

Mobile game Azur Lane centers around organizing anthormorphed ships into combat with combat. After being ordered through enough victories (maybe taking breaks in a fully furnished commissary), the ships trust and eventually fall in love with you Admiral.

Conquest of the Crystal Palace had shop-keeper Kim. If you amassed enough coin (likely in a 2nd or 3rd cycle) you could clear her shelves repeatedly. She will initially compliment you and eventually swoon (though all she does is give you the same discount each time).

Franchise Princess Maker actually has you play as the damsel ...'s dad. Depending on where you send your girl off to work (or play or adventure), she can meet various paramours who do everything from partner up to compete to outright bribery to win her hand.