Highlights

  • Final Fantasy is known for featuring iconic couples who stand the test of time and tell beautiful relationship stories.
  • From tragic love stories like Vincent and Lucrecia to powerful romances like Squall and Rinoa, the series showcases a range of emotional bonds.
  • Each couple, such as Tidus and Yuna or Cloud and Tifa, has their own unique journey and challenges, making them memorable in the world of Final Fantasy.

Relationships can be hard, especially for video game characters who are at the mercy of players controlling them. Over the years, games such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and more have allowed players to build in-game bonds through cool romance gameplay mechanics. However, not every game has to have such options to tell a good relationship story.

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One such series is Final Fantasy, which first started in 1987 and has evolved into fifteen more games, with Final Fantasy 16 in 2023. Since the beginning of its inception, the Final Fantasy series has featured over a dozen different couples who've stood the test of time through thick or thin. Some of them are good, others not so much. However, almost each one of them is quite iconic.

Updated July 29, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: Final Fantasy is a series full of awe-inspiring magic, huge weapons, memorable characters, epic stories, and beautiful relationships that stand the test of time to become something amazing.

There are many instances in the games where two people become enamored with each other and form a lasting relationship. Sometimes, these unions have happy endings... and other times, not so much.

13 Vincent Valentine & Lucrecia Crescent

Lucrecia and Vincent in Final Fantasy 7

Vincent has one of the most tragic stories in Final Fantasy. After being a member of the Turks and falling for Lucrecia, he's incensed to find out that Hojo used her scientific curiosity to make her the target of a vile experiment that would eventually lead to her demise. However, before he could get vengeance, Hojo incapacitates him and uses his body for some truly wicked experiments.

While Lucrecia does manage to help him control his beast-like state, the Final Fantasy couple never really gets a chance to profess their unrequited love for each other before her death. When Vincent is revived by Cloud and his friends, he finally gets a chance to interact with Lucrecia one last time when he receives his ultimate weapon, the Death Penalty.

12 Locke Cole & Celes Chere

FF_0008_Locke & Celes (Final Fantasy VI)

Locke Cole's relationship with Celes Chere does not pick up until later in Final Fantasy 6. However, when it does, most players realize that they're mutually romantic toward each other. At the beginning of the game, Locke seems to be a better match for half-Esper Terra Branford.

But after rescuing her, Locke's story goes in a completely new direction when he meets ex-Imperial soldier Celes. With a similar history of past tragedies and common goals, Locke and Celes show that an emotional romance is all one needs through tough times.

11 Squall Leonhart & Rinoa Heartilly

FF_0006_Squall & Rinoa (Final Fantasy VIII)

Squall & Rinoa may be one of Final Fantasy's strongest couples, especially regarding their emotional bond. From the beginning of Final Fantasy 8, the two had a clear relationship as part of the main story's subplot. Squall Leonhart is the game's main protagonist, a SeeD mercenary with a cold and observant attitude.

At the same time, Rinoa Heartilly is a defiant young adult and part of the resistance faction called the Forest Owls. In the game, the couple fights various villains, such as the evil sorceress Ultimecia, and eventually ends up together.

10 Tidus & Yuna

FF_0004_Tidus & Yuna (Final Fantasy X)

Tidus & Yuna from Final Fantasy 10 are probably one of the nicest couples ever, and one must play the game to experience it. However, for those who can't, Yuna is a seventeen-year-old summoner from Spira and the daughter of the late High Summoner Braska.

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At the same time, Tidus is a star athlete of "blitzball" who is in Spira as his home city of Zanarkand isn't there anymore. The two meet and get together due to their common goal of beating Sin. However, throughout their journey, they slowly fall in love.

9 Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Zack Fair aerith gainsborough cloud intergrade

Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core features one of the saddest stories in the entire series. The SOLDIER Zack Fair decides to make a name for himself in the group while honing his swordsmanship skills. After forming a great bond with Angeal, he inherits the Buster Sword from his friend and swears to do justice to his friend.

During his time in Midgar, Zack forms a bond with Aerith that turns into something truly special. However, before things could become more concrete, Zack gets drawn into a series of events that leads to the man losing his life while trying to protect the life of his friend, Cloud. It's a bittersweet end to a love story that could've been the happiest thing in both their lives.

8 Vaan & Penelo

FF_0003_Vaan & Penelo (Final Fantasy XII)

Penelo from Final Fantasy 12 is a seventeen-year-old Hume orphan who wants to be a dancer and is skilled at martial arts, thanks to her brothers. On the other hand, Vaan is the game's main protagonist and childhood friend of Penelo. The two have known each other for the longest time.

Hence, they share a bond that has strengthened over the years, unlike many other Final Fantasy couples on this list. Vaan & Penelo have a cute relationship with relatable emotions such as jealousy, personal differences, and an everlasting passion.

7 Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca & Rasler Heios Nabradia

FF_0002_Ashe & Rasler (Final Fantasy XII)

Rasler Heios is a non-playable character from Final Fantasy 12 who is the prince of Nabradia. At the same time, Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca is a playable character and one of the game's main protagonists. Ashe & Rasler's story is one for the books as they started in an arranged marriage and fought through various personal problems.

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However, they made it work in the end by finding true love. Unfortunately, the couple's love life was short-lived as Rasler died in battle. Still, the two remain iconic as Ashe would always keep a thought of her husband with herself.

6 Zidane Tribal & Garnet Til Alexandros XVII

FF_0005_Zidane & Princess Garnet (Final Fantasy IX)

Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th and Zidane Tribal had one of the best romances in Final Fantasy's history. The two appeared in Final Fantasy 9, where Zidane is the game's main protagonist, while Garnet (Sarah) is the deuteragonist. The two have an uncanny romance that started due to their common goals.

At first, Garnet hid her identity from Zidane, a thief for Tantalus Theater Troupe. However, things get cozy during their journey together. In the end, Zidane expresses his love after almost dying and claims, "I had to live. I wanted to come home to you."

5 Cloud Strife & Tifa Lockhart

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Cloud and Tifa

The dynamic between Cloud and Tifa is legendary, with the spikey blond-haired protagonist making a promise to his childhood friend that he would join SOLDIER and do justice to his hometown of Nibelheim. However, after failing to make it to the big leagues and being affected by Mako poisoning, Cloud's delusions cause Tifa to worry about him... even though she doesn't question him until much later in the series.

Eventually, Cloud's memories come back to him, and he shares an intimate moment with Tifa under the Highwind before they decide to face off against Sephiroth once and for all. It's a powerful scene that cements their romance... even if things aren't stated explicitly.

4 Snow Villiers & Serah Farron

FF_0001_Snow & Serah (Final Fantasy XIII)

Final Fantasy 13 is a weird game that somehow fits into the series' extremely long-running story. It features iconic characters such as Oerba Dia Vanille, Lightning, Sazh Katzroy, Hope Estheim, and more, who all have separate journeys. However, one pair stood out in the game due to their friendship and love.

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Snow Villiers is one of the game's playable characters whose entire mission is to save his fiancée, Serah Farron. Even though Serah's sister Lightning disapproves of their relationship, the Final Fantasy couple proves they always belonged together.

3 Cecil Harvey & Rosa Joanna Farrell

FF_0009_Cecil & Rosa (Final Fantasy IV)

Rosa Joanna Farrell and Cecil Harvey are close friends who first appeared in Final Fantasy 4. However, they are also one of the most iconic couples in the franchise because they had a sweet happy ending. Cecil is a Dark Knight in the game and loves Rosa a lot. Unfortunately, he knows his profession will not let him be with his soulmate.

At the same time, Rosa is a mage who's a childhood friend of Cecil. Final Fantasy 4 shows the two having the greatest adventure together as they acknowledge their love for each other. Ultimately, the two return home and tie the knot, kickstarting their life together.

2 Noctis Lucis Caelum & Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

FF_0000_Noctis & Lunafreya (Final Fantasy XV)

Final Fantasy 15 may be one of the strangest games in the series due to how many changes it adds to the gameplay. However, it still offers some of the most memorable characters, such as Prompto Argentum, Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia, Cindy Aurum, Cor Leonis, Iris Amicitia, Regis Lucis Caelum, and much more.

However, the two in-game personalities that stand out the most are Noctis Lucis Caelum and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Noctis is the main protagonist of the game. At the same time, Lunafreya is the main heroine. Hence, it is a given that the two would share a romantic interest in each other. However, a crazy plot twist waits for the players who end the game.

1 Cloud Strife & Aerith Gainsborough

FF_0007_Cloud & Aerith (Final Fantasy VII)

Last but not least, there's Cloud & Aerith from Final Fantasy 7. The couple is iconic due to the popularity of the seventh game and their storyline, which is quite good. However, the love triangle makes it the most entertaining as Cloud Strife has two love interests.

On one side is Tifa Lockhart, the main protagonist of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. On the other is another playable character in the game. Fortunately, Aerith's sacrifice and impact on Cloud prove that she was the one for him all along.

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