With exciting new games like Tears of the Kingdom and Fire Emblem Engage set for 2023, fans will soon be enjoying romances old and new brought back to the Nintendo Switch and other consoles alike.
While there are many beautiful canon couples in video games, there are also plenty of non-canon couples that people ship for a variety of reasons. Some are driven by actual romantic feelings on one or both ends, while others are completely based on the vibe of the character's interactions. There are also those that seem completely random or are hilarious for other reasons.
Bowser x Peach
While the ship is terrifying to think about in canon, considering Bowser is constantly abducting Peach, a bizarre but popular fan theory supports the idea that Peach and Bowser are the true couple of the Mario series.
The theory follows the idea that Bowser and Peach are secretly in love, and that Mario keeps interrupting their romantic rendezvous and beating up the poor Bowser. Fans justify the events of the game by either describing it as Mario's warped and unreliable perspective or that Peach just has to keep up appearances for the Mushroom Kingdom and that Mario is actually helping them out by acting along with them.
Sidon x Link
Tears of the Kingdom has many fans wondering which iconic characters will return, including iconic champion and one of Link's main love interests: Mipha. However, Mipha's younger brother also has some surprising fan support with Hyrule's hero.
Link and Sidon do have one thing going for them that Link and Mipha don't: Sidon was actually alive in Breath of the Wild. However, while the pair have plenty of chemistry as friends, Sidon would never take the person to whom his sister is technically engaged to. Regardless, Link is almost always canonically meant to be with Zelda in the end.
Skitty x Wailord
Pokémon has everything from weird-looking creatures to adorable animals to super cool monsters. What gets interesting is when odd combinations of these somehow end up in the same egg groups.
It became a popular meme in the Pokémon community that Skitty and Wailord were somehow in the same egg group, meaning they were able to breed despite the ridiculous difference in size. This led to a fan comic about anthropomorphic versions of Skitty and Wailord dating in real life, and the rest is (a very unfortunate but quite funny) history.
Hecarim x Neeko
It's rare for an entire fanship of two old characters to be born solely from the introduction of a new character. However, that's exactly what happened to Hecarim and Neeko when the new character "Lillia" was introduced in League of Legends.
The entire concept behind the fanship was born after fans saw that Lillia was a centaur whose face and hair resemble Neeko's. With Hecarim being the only previous centaur character, the natural conclusion of the fandom was that Lillia was the secret child of Neeko and Hecarim. Coincidentally, the champions also all aren't very difficult to play.
Samus x Little Mac
One of the more common cross-series Super Smash Bros fanships, Samus and Little Mac is a ship born pretty much exclusively from one concept: pairing the tallest adult female character and the shortest adult male character together.
The two have inspired many short comics and fan art, and are arguably the most popular "crack ship" in Smash Bros. Their different fighting styles also adds a funny dynamic in addition to their height difference. Samus is a high-tech alien bounty hunter with a space laser and super suit. Meanwhile, Little Mac is a strong dude with boxing gloves.
Sora x Riku x Kairi
From Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, friend triads can get complicated when it comes to shipping. In the case of the Kingdom Hearts trio, some fans just go with polyamory instead of choosing.
While the three protagonists all certainly have chemistry with one another in some way, it's difficult to imagine all three of them working as a dynamic. Each potential pairing in the trio functions so differently, and the franchise seems very set on making Sora and Kairi the canon couple. However, they certainly make for a great video game love triangle.
Catherine x Katherine
Catherine and Katherine are the main love interests and antagonists of the game Catherine: Full Body and the original Catherine. While both are supposed to be love interests for the protagonists, some fans ship the two together.
The pairing of Catherine and Katherine became more popular when the third love interest, Rin, was introduced in Full Body. Many preferred Vincent and Rin together, and pairing Catherine with Katherine was a natural direction for a secondary ship. However, given how many routes the characters despise or attack one another in, it's certainly a bizarre pairing overall.
Edelgard x Dimitri
Edelgard and Dimitri were two of the most powerful Fire Emblem Three Houses and Three Hopes characters. They also can switch between protagonist and antagonist depending on the route, but will always oppose one another.
The ship is tragic in many ways, due to Dimitri's former love for Edelgard and her eventual betrayal. However, despite their tragic backstory, it makes for a somewhat ridiculous ship when fans are reminded that they're both mortal enemies and eventually became step-siblings. They're certainly a tragic story of love and betrayal, but shipping the modern versions of the characters is bizarre.
Kaito x Kokichi
The shockingly popular Danganronpa ship pairs two characters who had bad blood since the start of the game. Unlike other friends or enemies to lovers arcs, Kaito and Kokichi followed the "enemies to regretful allies" trope until the bitter end.
While their final act of partnership probably sold the popularity of the pairing, teaming up to take down Monokuma using arguably the most brilliant scheme from a non-player character in Danganronpa history. They may have zero chemistry and look ludicrous as a couple, but much like the actual characters, it certainly isn't a boring pairing.
Lucina x Luigi
Many of the strangest ships in existence come from the Super Smash Bros. fandom, and a surprisingly popular one came about after a YouTube video played with the Fire Emblem support system in the middle of a battle.
The video itself is hilarious, but the idea of the ship is arguably even funnier. Lucina is a serious, battle-hardened warrior drawn in a fairly realistic style. Meanwhile, Luigi is a cartoonish Italian plumber who fights ghosts with a vacuum. The two certainly make an interesting pair and prove that Smash Bros fans can ship just about anyone.