Since the conception of the term “bromance,” we’ve seen more and more examples of this type of friendship in all forms of pop-culture. To those who still don’t know, a bromance is the relationship between two male friends that breaks the walls of mere friendship; they become “brothers.” If there’s one thing women hate the most, it’s their man in a bromance.
We’ve had movies (mostly comedies) portraying this inseparable bond between buddies but (all alliteration aside), video games have used many bromances in their own stories, Here are STG’s 11 Best Video game Bromances, bro…
Mass Effect Trilogy
Commander Shepard & Garrus Vakarian
Garrus:“Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?”
Shepard:“Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there, and no one will even notice.”
Garrus:“Ha-ah! Don’t make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is. Ah, probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it.”
Throughout their adventures in the Mass Effect series, Shepard and Garrus form a strong bond while trying to save the galaxy. If you played as fem-Shep, then you could have formed an even tighter relationship… Ahem.
But this is about the bros, so it stands to reason that sharing multiple near-death experiences would have only strengthened their friendship. Having similar personalities and a sense of humor helps, at least in our play-through.
Gears of War Trilogy
Marcus Fenix & Dom Santiago
Marcus: “What are you doing here?”
Dom: “Getting you out. Here, put this on.”
Marcus: “You could get into a lot of trouble for doing this.”
Dom: “Not anymore. Things have changed. C’mon.”
Another tale of friendships strengthened through battle and near-death experiences — all while trying to save the world — Marcus and Dom shoot their way through multiple alien species, as their mission is to eradicate all and save humanity. Two muscle-bound bad-asses carving their way through tough-as-nails aliens, all while spouting one-liners? This would definitely solidify a bromance.
Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, & Revelations
Leonardo Da Vinci & Ezio Auditore Da Firenze
Leo: “The blade is finished, though it will require the removal of your ring finger. It is the way the blade has been constructed.”
Ezio: “Bene (fine). Do it, quickly.”
Leo: “I’m just joking with you Ezio. In the past such a sacrifice was required but I have found a way to modify the blade.”
This was always going to be a good combination. A master craftsman, painter, engineer, and all-around genius working with a sneaky, efficient master assassin. Ezio and Leo are the prime example of a great bromance, willing to risk their lives for one another and achieve their goals together. A bromance spanning across decades and countless Templar conspiracies sees this relationship to the list.
Jak & Daxter Series
Jak & Daxter
Daxter: “Please, Jak, you’re such a wimp. I could have taken them myself! Maybe you should sit on MY shoulder for a while.”
This mischievous duo requires no introduction to many gamers. The Jak & Daxter series scored a massive following due to the captivating platforming, dialogue, and beautiful graphics. Naughty Dog definitely know how to create their characters/worlds and these two are no exception.
Daxter is usually riding Jak, pushing him forward and showing a somewhat false, yet still inspiring, sense of bravado from atop Jak’s shoulders. However, when the time comes, Daxter has proven to be the ultimate ally as they go on a quest to not only change the furry friend back to his original form, but also to save their world as they know it.
Ratchet & Clank Series
Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet: “If I can get that, I can get past those robot guards.”
Clank: “Robots are not so easily fooled.”
Ratchet: [trying to trick Clank by pointing at something] “Ahh! What’s that?”
Clank: [falling for the trick, Clank turns his head] “What?”
Ratchet: “Uh-huh…”
The only other duo that seemed to pick up hot on the tails of Jak & Daxter, this ingenious little robot and his marsupial accomplice span their known galaxies going on bounty hunts, stopping villainous henchmen and bosses along the way.
Ratchet & Clank are right up there with the Jak & Daxter games (though they have released a few more installments than the former).They have amassed their own cult following, even managing to take part in one of the most dangerous combat sports arenas in the universe and survive!
Street Fighter Series
Ryu & Ken
Ryu: “Let’s leave the talking to our fists!”
Ken: “Can these things even talk?”
Everybody’s favorite fighting duo from the Street Fighter series undoubtedly belong in this list. With a bromance spanning decades now (how do they stay so damn young?) and more than a few ways that it could have ended very, very badly, these two show us what true brotherhood and friendship can be.
Hadouken!
Contra Series
Bill Rizer & Lance Beam
Considered one of the hardest game series ever made, Contra puts games like Dark Souls and Battletoads to shame with its insane difficulty system (a true SNES staple). Many controllers have been broken against walls via fits of rage and epic moments of completion in this game, which solidified its place in history.
Contra brought forth two bad-ass bros, Rizer & Beam. Shwarzenneger and Stallone got nothing on these two. Side scrolling, shooter action at its finest.
BRING IT!
Army of Two
Tyson Rios & Elliot Salem
Phillip: “No problem, fuck-o.”
Rios: “Fuck-o? Who says that?”
Phillip: “I’m gonna kill you both, slice you open and go to an aerobics class wearing your intestines for leg warmers!”
Salem: “I mean… does that even make sense?”
Elliot Salem & Tyson Rios, two bad-ass dudes who clearly live through hundreds of death-defying moments together, covering each other’s hides. Their job? Being a complete ‘Army of Two‘, with Salem & Rios, flanking, tactics, firefights and one-liners are literally their life.
Playing as these two mercenaries really pulls everything together if you have your very own bromance buddy sitting next to you playing co-op, even if things get a little weird.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead — Season 1
Lee & Kenny
Kenny: “Hey. Lee. You know how to pick a lock, right?”
Lee: “No, why would you say that?”
Kenny: “Well. You’re… you know… urban?”
Lee: “Oh, you are NOT saying what I think you’re saying.”
Kenny: “Jesus, man! I’m from Florida! Crazy shit comes out of my mouth sometimes. Sorry.”
Lee first meets Kenny at Herschel’s farm after saving Clementine from a couple of zombies and bringing her along with him. Kenny has his wife Katja and his son ‘Duck’ there with him and things seem to be going kind of well.
As this is Telltale’s TWD, this peace and serenity is short-lived. After a chaotic and surprising zombie attack, Herschel’s son is killed and the gang are banished from the farm.
Lee and Kenny continue to do what they can with the ragtag group of survivors they meet up with but Kenny starts to lose his wits. This forces Lee to make some seriously hard decisions for all of them. A bromance that stands the test of time (or at least until the last episode of Season 1), Lee & Kenny are the perfect example of a true bromance, looking out for each other (and their subsequent ‘families’) no matter what happens; arguments, punch-ups, and all.
Uncharted Series
Nathan Drake & ‘Sully’ Sullivan
Sully: “I’m sweating like a hooker in church!”
Drake: “You took a hooker to church?”
Sully: “Nate, let’s just pretend for a minute that I don’t really care about any of that and cut to the chase will ya?”
Drake: “Man only interested in the climax. You must be a real hit with the ladies.”
Sully: “Never had any complaints.”
Now there can be the argument made here where Sully isn’t really a ‘bro’ and more of a father figure, however as they are not related by blood, this still counts as a great bromance.
Throughout the Uncharted series, Sully is Drake’s mentor and partner, keeping him focused and getting him to continue using his head and not his, erm, other head. Regardless of how you personally view their relationship, Sully is bonafidede bro in all aspects of the term and continues to be there for Drake no matter what.
Now Nathan’s real brother, on the other hand.
Sonic the Hedgehog Series
Sonic & Tails
Sonic: “We good to go or what, Tails?”
Tails: “I’ve built a TV out of paper clips…”
Sonic: “Yeah…”
Tails: “…and reprogrammed a super computer using dish washing detergent and a toothpick…”
Sonic: “I know…”
Tails: “…So look, fixing a propeller on a biplane? That’s about as difficult as taking a nap.”
Sonic: “Kay, I did not need your whole life story. A simple “good to go” would have been cool.”
Tails: “Alright. Good to go!”
These two heroes need absolutely no introduction to the gaming world (unless you’ve been living under a rock you’re entire life). Sonic & Tails are the ultimate bros, taking part in adventures throughout the entire Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Once thought to be a female, Tails’ first name is actually Miles, so show us one woman with that name, but I digress. Tails can fly and Sonic can run really, really fast. Put these two together and you have a bromance that spans across decades and still moves strong to this day.
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So there you have it. The 11 Best Video Game Bromances that STG thought deserved some attention. Next time you pick up any of these games, see how much you notice.
So what did you think about the list? Any that should have been mentioned or that we seemed to forget? What did you think of the bromances listed? Leave a comment below and look out for our next article!
Published: Mar 4, 2017 04:14 am