The Friendzone. It is a word that fills everyone with dread and sadness while simultaneously meaning that you have no hope. This is a zone that sucks so many people into its whirlpool of despair that very few are able to claw their way out of it. But have no fear! If you think it is hard for you to get out of the friendzone, here are some friendzoned video game characters that you can commiserate with on Valentine’s Day.
So in no particular order, let’s take a look at some of these characters.
In the meantime, I’ll be pining away in the corner…
Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise)
There are not many people out there who have gone to such great lengths to be in a relationship as Amy has. This pink hedgehog has had a thing for Sonic since she was eight years old when the blue speedster rescued her in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. Since then, she has chased down the object of her desire, proving that she is almost as fast as him and physically stronger.
Yet despite claiming that she is Sonic’s self-proclaimed girlfriend, it seems that he just doesn’t want to commit. No matter what she does or how much she pursues Sonic, it is a one-sided relationship.
However, Sonic better watch out because she has a temper and one day she might just hit him over the head with her piko piko hammer and drag him to the altar.
Ashley Graham (Resident Evil 4)
Ashley is young, attractive, and has a crush on Leon Kennedy. She also happens to be the President’s daughter. So she also has wealth and power at her fingertips. Sure, they met under somewhat extreme circumstances. Both of them were infected with the Plaga parasite and were being hunted down.
But despite Leon rescuing her and their experiences before escaping, Ashley couldn’t get past the Ada factor when trying to drop hints at Leon.
Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil Franchise)
While we can feel sorry for Ashley, at least she can get over Leon since they weren’t together for that long of a period. On the other hand, Leon has been pining for Ada Wong since they first met. And boy has he been pining away! I mean, one of the last things Leon said to Ashley was, “She’s like a part of me I can’t let go. Let’s leave it at that.”
Now that’s some heavy-duty pining right there! He might as well bottle it up and call it Pine-sol because it is so strong!
But seriously, what else do you need to know to see how much poor Leon is always thinking about a woman who will flirt with him one minute and then leave him in the dust without a second thought? If only she would stop doing nice things for him like dropping a rocket launcher to help him out of a situation…
Talk about mixed signals!
Maybe in the next Resident Evil game Leon might get out of the friendzone? Otherwise, it is just flirtatious banter and constant abandonment for the rest of his life.
Nina (Suikoden 2)
Trying to get out of the friendzone is never easy. But when there is a deceased person thrown into the mix, it becomes nigh impossible. It is one thing to compete with a rival for someone’s affection. But when your rival is dead? You can’t compete with that!
At least that seems to be the case for many video game characters.
Just ask Nina. This young student fell in love with Flik from the moment she saw him. And yet, despite all her attempts to try and get him to fall in love with her, there was one obstacle she couldn’t overcome: Odessa. Odessa was Flik’s first love who died. Yet while Odessa was able to fall in love with Flik after the death of her first love, the same cannot be said for Flik. He just can’t get over her.
So poor Nina tries to understand Flik and to comfort him, but to no avail. Eventually, after the war, she tried to follow Flick but lost track of him.
And to this day, she is still waiting at Greenhill for him to return.
Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)
How many people do you know who married their childhood friend who not only was strong and beautiful, but kind, compassionate, and had a parental streak? Sounds like the perfect person to marry, right? That is who Tifa is to Cloud. Problem is, Cloud is hung up on a dead woman. Sure, it doesn’t help that Cloud’s feelings for Aerith were, shall we say, reinforced by the memories of another person who loved Aerith as well.
But how can Tifa break through the friendzone barrier? You would think she, more than anyone else on this list, could be able to do so since she has known Cloud since they were kids. Hell, I’m sure she has seen his small buster sword a time or two!
But Cloud’s inability to move on and desire to wallow in depression and old memories, makes him quite the loser who is missing out on his perfect match.
It’s Tifa’s tragic tale that may never see her get out of the friendzone.
Mario & Bowser (Mario Franchise)
I’m sure you are raising your eyebrow at this final selection only because I bet you weren’t expecting to see these two together on this list. But hear me out! Both of these guys have a thing for a certain Princess, though they go about it in completely different ways. On one hand, you have Bowser who is always kidnapping the princess because not only does he want her kingdom, but he is infatuated with her. Then you have Mario who is always putting himself in harm’s way and doing great feats in order to save the princess. Except whenever he does, he is lucky if he gets a kiss and some cake. But nothing more than that!
So talk about being in the friendzone hardcore and for so long! After all, these two guys have been after Princess Peach for 39 years now. 39 years of being in the friendzone! When are they going to get the hint that she isn’t into them?
Now we can understand Peach not being interested in Bowser. The biggest problem is that they aren’t the same species. But the fact that Bowser is always kidnapping her tends to be a big barrier to any kind of relationship unless he is hoping that one day the princess will succumb to Stockholm Syndrome. And that, in and of itself, is all kinds of wrong and not a way to develop a healthy relationship.
But what is the Peach’s excuse for stringing Mario along? I would think that anyone would be happy to fall in love with someone who goes through hell to save them. But maybe that is not the problem. Maybe it is because Peach isn’t interested in a short, fat, commoner? Or perhaps she is just holding out for Prince Charming and just stringing Mario along as a backup plan?
Whatever the case, Mario and Bowser need to figure something out at this point because 39 years in the friendzone is way too long!
So what do you think of the list? Who else do you think should be on it? Who do you feel sorry for the most?
Sound off in the comments below and also check out our list of Single Video Game Characters!
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