Line #19 LoveRedeems/VideoGames


1	* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': A platonic example ([[FanPreferredCouple depending on who you ask]]) with [[HeterosexualLifePartners Phoenix and Edgeworth.]] Phoenix's devotion to and [[ThePowerOfTrust faith in]] Edgeworth is what prompts the latter's HeelFaceTurn. (Granted, he was somewhat of a JerkassWoobie even before this, it just wasn't really shown until towards the end of the first game.)
2	* ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'': When Marty and Doc return to 1986 at the end of the game, [[spoiler:[[KnightTemplar Edna Strickland]] and [[JerkAss Kid Tannen]]]] are happily married and have changed for the better.
3	* ''Aveyond'' has several examples of this, including Rhen and Dameon, Ean and Iya (and Ishtar), Mel and her friends, and Boyle and his dog.
4	* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' has a few instances of this, whether in the original game or added through mods.
5	** One possible love interest is Viconia [=DeVir=] who, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil being a drow]], has an [[NeutralEvil evil alignment]]. However, a non-evil protagonist can eventually convince her to change her alignment to TrueNeutral in ''[[GrandFinale Throne of Bhaal]]''.
6	** In the well-regarded ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal'' mod ''Ascension'', [[spoiler:one way you can prevent Sarevok from betraying you in the final BossBattle is by using a mod to complete a romance with him.]] May be [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] or played straight, depending upon whether [[spoiler:you successfully caused him to do a HeelFaceTurn]].
7	** Speaking of Sarevok, even in the base game, his is a rare example of a ''non''-romantic version of this, as Gorion's Ward of either gender can win Sarevok over by being a good example and treating him like family, helping him through his conflicted emotions and thoughts. In this case, ''familial'' love redeems too.
8	** Irenicus completely skewers the concept, pointing out that even if [[spoiler:Ellesime]] had not robbed him of his ability to feel love when she took his soul, the idea that he would still love her after she stripped him of his soul and left him soulless, exiled and no longer immortal is laughable.
9	* In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', Krieg the Psycho's motivation for joining the Vault Hunters? The sane side of him is in love with Maya, and thinks that she might be able to, one day, help him act like a normal person again, instead of a rampaging lunatic who constantly screams about riding bicycles made of meat.
10	-->'''Good!Krieg:''' Now tell her "thank you". Tell her that because of her, we might actually one day be able to act like a ''normal person'' again.\
11	''({{Beat}})''\
12	'''Krieg:''' (threateningly) [[TalkativeLoon I POWDERED MY COCKATIEL FOR THE RIBCAGE SLAUGHTER!]]\
13	''(Another beat, then Maya smiles at him.)''\
14	'''Good!Krieg:''' (understandably surprised and delighted at the same time) Heh... Close enough.
15	* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'': Averted. [[spoiler:The BigBad, Fou-lu, is beginning to nurse a soft spot for the girl that took care of him when he's injured. The girl, Mami, tried holding off soldiers from the Empire that are hunting Fou-lu just so he can escape, and gets captured herself. She's later used as a SacrificialLamb for the {{Nightmare Fuel}}ed Carronade, aimed at Fou-lu himself. Even before the cannon was fired at him, Fou-lu feels compelled to kill them all more than ever...]]
16	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness'': Zigzagged and then played straight by the end. It's Hector's love for Rosaly that sees him descending into a murderous vengeful spree against Isaac when she's murdered, prompting St. Germain, [[spoiler: a time traveler]], to hint against pursuing him because of the consequences it would have if he succumbs to his hate. By the end, his growing love for Julia, who he notes is the spitting image of Rosaly, is what ''saves'' him when at the very last minute, he breaks free of his rage when he remembers her last words to him: to not let the curse overtake him.
17	* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': [[spoiler:[[{{Deuteragonist}} Johnny Silverhand's]] whole character arc revolves around him growing to love (platonically or romantically, it's up to player's interpretation) [[PlayerCharacter V]] and him wanting to make them proud.]]
18	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'' if [[PlayerCharacter the Princess]] romances [[{{Jerkass}} Vico]]. He begins to treat her much nicer then and looks after her, but remains the same [[MurderIsTheBestSolution bloodthirsty killer]] as before and doesn't change his [[TheSocialDarwinist beliefs or ways]].
19	* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'': Eingyi was a nasty little joker, and is implied to be the reason why the swamp below Blighttown is poisonous. However, after meeting the Fair Lady and her saving his life at the expense of [[DelicateAndSickly her own health, he happily resigned himself to serving her faithfully]] and [[BodyHorror carrying her eggs]] for her.
20	* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'': In the DLC ''Crown of the Ivory King'', [[AnIcePerson Alsanna]], [[RedBaron The Silent Oracle of Eleum Royce]], had originally sought out the titular character in order to anchor her existence to the world [[spoiler:because she's actually one of the [[HumanoidAbomination Children of Dark]], born of a SoulFragment of [[DarkIsEvil Manus, Father of the Abyss]], specifically his fears.]] However, the Ivory King's love for her and his eventual HeroicSacrifice to stop [[EldritchAbomination Old Chaos]] caused her to stand guard forever over the cathedral in memory to him, even aiding the [[PlayerCharacter Bearer of the Curse]] when he/she arrives.
21	* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
22	** Zevran Arainai in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', if treated kindly, will turn his back on [[MurderInc the Crows]] for love of the Warden (either platonic or romantic). Subverted for Morrigan, who sees [[{{Tsundere}} this trope coming and backpedals desperately to stay a bitch]]... and then double-subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': she is kinder and more civil to her former compatriots while still maintaining her haughty and arrogant nature [[spoiler: and offers to surrender without resistance to Flemeth out of love for her son.]]
23	** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Fenris subverts this trope during his RomanceSidequest, in which his obsession to avenge himself negates his ability to return Hawke's affections and thus walks away after their first night. He thoroughly regrets it, however. [[spoiler: Another example of vicious subversion is Anders. As his sanity slips away and Vengeance corrupts him further and further, he pleads with Hawke to help him find the ingredients to create a potion that will separate him from his demon side. It turns out that the ingredients are actually components for a bomb, and Hawke's love or friendship has made him/her an unwitting accomplice rather than his redeemer. The same thing happens whether or not you romance him, but it hurts a lot more when it telegraphs and then snatches away this trope.]]
24	** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': Played with in the case of The Iron Bull. What saves him from going spiral thanks to his harrowing experience while serving the Qun is making a stand and chooses his [[AFatherToHisMen fatherly love towards his Chargers over his loyalty to the Qun]]. If you sacrifice the Chargers, Bull betrays you in ''Trespasser'' and must be killed. No considerations. A romance with the Inquisitor or Dorian will ''not'' prevent this, only the Chargers being alive and well and choosing them over the Qun[[note]]You must do his personal quest as not doing it might have the Chargers alive, but it will still lead Bull to betray you because you don't force his hand over the matter.[[/note]] will.
25	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': In the DS remake, beating the boss at the end of the BonusDungeon for the first time allows the player to obtain a Yggdrasill flower, which is used to [[spoiler:resurrect Rose, the BigBad's girlfriend. Bringing her to where Psaro was will not only cause him to revert back to his normal self after a nice flashback, but he will join your party.]]
26	* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series' mythology, this trope falls under the sphere of Mara, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Aedric Divine]] Goddess of Love. She is a LoveGoddess focusing more on the familial, matrimonial, and fertility aspects of love (compared to Dibella, the Goddess of Beauty, who focuses more on the sexual and carnal aspects of it). Her teachings state "those who offer their love to the Divines will never be forsaken." Also covers ThePowerOfLove, as she gave the gift of love to mortals and her teachings indicate that it can change their destiny.
27	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':
28	** Jaffar in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' was a heartless killer until he met PluckyGirl Nino. His newfound ability to feel led him to rescue her from assassins and (if they get enough support conversations) eventually marry her.
29	** Also happens in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', should [[PlayerCharacter a female Avatar]] fall in love with [[spoiler:the former King of Plegia, Gangrel]]. He even lampshades the trope:
30	--->"How in blazes did you get me to... love you? If you're trying to make a new man of me, it's... working."
31	** Rhea in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''. [[spoiler: She dies in Silver Snow's ending but survives if Byleth gets A-Rank support with her before the final battle. The S-Rank support, should it be pursued, shows her [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone looking back on everything she had done, acknowledging she is largely responsible for the war]], but Byleth's love and approval is what convinces her [[TheAtoner to try to make amends for all she did]]]].
32	* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': The [[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 Norse]] [[VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok games]] have this as a major theme. The biggest reason Kratos has turned from a vengeful berserker with a HairTriggerTemper to a grumpy-but-caring man is because he met Faye and found something to honestly love in her, and his paternal love for Atreus allows him to shake off most of his NominalHero traits.[[spoiler: In ''Ragnarok'', Thor is ultimately inspired to turn against Odin when Kratos appeals to him to be a better father to his daughter Thrud.]]
33	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' contains both straight and subverted examples:
34	** A male protagonist can redeem [[spoiler:Bastila]] more easily if they've fallen in love during the game. However, if you fail, she tells you that her feelings for you helped to hasten her fall to the Dark Side. However, if the male protagonist chooses to go Dark Side then him and [[spoiler:Dark Side Bastila]] go on to become a happy little Sith couple, thus subverting the trope again.
35	** Meanwhile, if a female protagonist turns to the Dark Side, Carth attempts to offer her a LastSecondChance. The official version of the game subverts the trope at this point, as the PC can't be redeemed through Carth's love and the player's only options are to have the PC kill him herself or to allow [[spoiler:Bastila]] to cut him down. A third option cut from the official release, however, would have allowed the PC to be redeemed.
36	** This is also (in a more subdued manner, due to cuts fueled by ExecutiveMeddling) shown in the sequel with Atton and the female Exile, if she's Light-Sided. Of course, [[LoveMakesYouEvil if she's not Light-Sided...]]
37	** The sequel also contains [[BrokenBird Visas]], who starts as a Sith apprentice and ends up abandoning her Sith ideology if the player is light-side. This is an example of the PowerOfFriendship if the player is female, though.
38	** Jolee's backstory subverts this trope. All the same, though, he maintains that love will save you, not condemn you; it's unrestrained ''passion'' that is dangerous.
39	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', [[spoiler:Impa's bodyguard Dorian]] was once a member of the evil Yiga Clan before he met the woman who became his wife, starting a family with her afterward. [[spoiler:The Yiga Clan retaliate by killing his wife and threatening to kill his daughters unless he spies on Kakariko Village for them.]]
40	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
41	** There's also Thane Krios, although he was aware of this trope before he meets Shepard, with his wife, who dies. It can be presented to him again, if a female Shepard decides to romance him.
42	** Jack/Subject Zero, in her Paragon romance. Shepard being the first person to genuinely treat her with respect instead of attempted exploitation causes her armor of bitchiness to crack ''right'' open.
43	* Implied to be the reason why Richard Ames allowed Nastasha Romanenko to live through the operation as well as supply evidence against the Patriots in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'''s in-game novel: ''In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth''. Suffice to say, he also ended up [[RedemptionEqualsDeath paying for it dearly]] in the game when the Patriots decided to off him during the Big Shell Incident.
44	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' contains an example near the end with [[spoiler:Aribeth]]. That scene is so similar to the one mentioned in the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' section that it seems like they just rewrote some of the dialogue to make it make sense in the Star Wars context, in addition to recycling the character.
45	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' has something like this with Neeshka if a male player has enough Influence with her in the ending sequence of the main campaign.
46	** And in Mask of the Betrayer, love is the primary thing that gives people the strength to challenge the monstrous injustice of the Wall of the Faithless.
47	** And the cut conclusion for Bishop's romance arc.
48	* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Tec falls in love with Princess Peach. After spending most of their subplot [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove trying to study this phenomenon]], he decides to betray his creators and help her escape.
49	* This can be achieved at the climax of ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'', as TheManBehindTheMan, [[spoiler: Nyrissa, can only be redeemed if successfully romanced. She's willing to enter EnemyMine with you to fight [[GreaterScopeVillain The Lantern King]], but will only commit to a HeelFaceTurn if successfully romanced]].
50	* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'': Raz's big brother Dion is a BigBrotherBully who is prejudiced against psychics. He also has some ShipTease with Gisu, one of the Motherlobe interns. In the PlayableEpilogue, Raz can find them together and Dion says she helped him dispel some of the false notions he had against psychics.
51	* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'', the BigBad is [[spoiler:Katrina, a mysterious young woman who is the very first character you meet in the game. Towards the end of the game she is revealed to be an ''extremely'' powerful wizard and vampire known as the Dark Master, who seeks to [[SealedEvilInACan release]] the [[EldritchAbomination Dark One, Avoozl]], and throughout the game she slowly attempts to seduce the Hero into helping her. However you eventually learn that she [[BecomingTheMask truly fell in love with the Hero]], and she ultimately [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices her life]] to [[HeelFaceTurn protect him]] when [[TheDragon Ad Avis]] attempts to kill him.]]
52	** [[spoiler:If you choose to [[BackFromTheDead free her soul from Hades]] in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'' you can continue this trope to its ultimate conclusion: Katrina at first wants to flee before the Dragon of Doom can be awakened, but ultimately decides to stand and fight. She even admits that it was a ''good'' thing you stopped her since she didn't realize just [[EvilIsNotAToy what powers she was meddling with]].]]
53	* ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'': The true ending of the game has [[spoiler:the BigBad Heiss finally accepting his place as the Sacrifice to spare Stocke, whom he truly loved as a nephew, the same fate.]]
54	* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'': Played straight and subverted as John Marston's love for his family ultimately leads him to [[spoiler:evacuate his wife and son while the army guns him down,]] knowing that they won't be safe until it's over. Subverted in that [[spoiler:Jack]] was corrupted by the time he spent with John, using the lessons he learned to become a man like [[spoiler:his father, exactly what John died trying to prevent]].
55	* In the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series, it's implied that Ada's meeting with Leon (and her [[DatingCatwoman feelings for him]]) are what changed her from a spy who works for the highest bidder to a full-blown AntiHero.
56	-->'''Ada:''' Something about the meeting with Leon changed me...
57	* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheThirdPower'': Prince Gage is initially loyal to the Arkadyan Empire and follows the country's twisted darwinist ideology, [[spoiler:but he falls in love with Arielle and turns against his country to protect her. This leads to him [[HeelRealization realizing]] that his country isn't practicing the virtues that they claim to preach, so he openly protests against the government and is jailed for it. Played with in that while his love for Arielle makes him change sides, she and the party don't fully forgive him for being complicit in Arkadya's atrocities.]]
58	* ''VideoGame/{{Sacred}}'': One of the {{Player Character}}s is a Dark Elf warrior who sets out with a bunch of mates to capture a sacrifice. They end up taking a Wood Elf (also a PlayerCharacter) prisoner, but as they're carting her back to her grisly fate, the Dark Elf ends up developing a bit of affection towards his newfound captive. He eventually betrays his comrades and sets her free, before becoming a full-blown DefectorFromDecadence.
59	* ''VideoGame/StellarBewitching'': Although Pokie became a mad avenger for his fallen mate Misha, deep down, he knows that she would never approve of his actions, as shown when [[spoiler:the nightmare world manifests his memory of her. She convinces him to stop using his rage to cope with his heartbreak, leading to him sparing his enemies instead of needlessly killing them]].
60	* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': [[spoiler:Count Bleck/Blumiere]] actually ends up saving the world more or less thanks to this. After being reunited with his true love that he previously thought was dead, he pulls a HeelFaceTurn [[spoiler:that is powerful enough to recharge the [[CosmicKeystone Pure Hearts]] and break the FinalBoss's invincibility]].
61	* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'' give Wodan Ymir [[spoiler:Sanger Zonvolt's clone]] redemption in this manner. He originally was given the mission of protecting "Magus" as a way of tethering his persona and keeping him under control, but when he actually fell ''hard'' for her, his creator, Lemon, more or less told him to follow his own will and do what he thought was right. As a result, he does a HeelFaceTurn, joins up with [[spoiler:Sanger]], and together kick an EPIC amount of ass, with [[spoiler:Wodan dying, but having the eternal respect of Sanger, the woman he loved protected (and Sanger taking up the mission to do so in Wodan's place per dying request), and he got to die as his own person, not just an enslaved construct.]]
62	* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles4'' has an unusual two-villain pairing, with [[TheCasanova Casanova]] and RecurringBoss Klaus Waltz being the only one to show real sympathy to Crymaria, a DefrostingIceQueen who was RaisedInALab and abused most of her life, believing that TheEmpire using her as a LivingWeapon was no way to treat a beautiful woman. [[spoiler: They actually end up together in the end and are implied to live HappilyEverAfter.]]

Context LoveRedeems / VideoGames