With exciting games like Breath of the Wild 2 and the Kingdom Hearts 4 scheduled for as early as 2023, some of the best love triangles in video games might be getting new and exciting content.
Love triangles in video games can add an extra bit of spice to the character's journey. It's usually not the main focus of the game, and for good reason, but a strong love triangle can further grab the audience. It doesn't really matter if the two rivals in love can be friends, enemies, or hardly know one another, as long as they both have an interesting relationship with the centerpiece of the drama.
Mipha/Zelda/Link
While Zelda is the primary love interest of Link throughout the Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity touch on Link's relationship with Mipha.
If Link weren't relegated to being the silent protagonist, it would be much easier to choose between his potential partners, but it's difficult for a character that doesn't communicate to have solid romantic synergy. However, Mipha and Zelda are both fantastic characters in their own right that truly help make the world of Breath of the Wild feel like the best in the franchise.
Ezreal/Sylas/Lux
In-game, Sylas is one of League of Legend's most difficult champions. In lore, he's a powerful mage with the ability to copy magic and one of Luxana Crownguard's two main love interests.
As of yet, Lux's only canon relationships with Ezreal are in alternate universe skin lines rather than the official game, and the same is true of her and Sylas. However, her relationship with both is clearly very intense and the community often debates which of the two would be the better romantic partner for the Demacian noble.
Mario/Bowser/Peach
With so many amazing Mario games, it's humorous how many revolve around the exact same central theme: Bowser trying to capture Peach and Mario coming to rescue her.
It's obvious who's more likely to win out in the classic love triangle, but Mario and Peach haven't had much in the way of canon on-screen romance. Still, it's made clear that she's certainly a person Mario is romantically interested in. It actually is dependent on the game if Bowser's reason for abducting Peach is due to romantic interest or not, but the Koopa King's feelings have been made clear in multiple titles.
Sayaka/Kirigiri/Naegi
There are plenty of fantastic characters in Danganronpa, but Naegi and Kirigiri are two of the absolute best. The Ultimate Hope and Ultimate Detective are mainstays and the best couple in the franchise.
Before Naegi and Kirigiri's relationship fully blossomed, his main love interest was the Ultimate Pop Sensation: Sayaka. The two became very close very quickly, and if it weren't for Sayaka becoming the killing game's first victim, she may have made a more prominent threat to the blossoming relationship between Kirigiri and Naegi.
Gundham/Soda/Sonia
A small subplot of Danganronpa 2 was the love triangle between the Ultimate Princess Sonia, the Ultimate Mechanic Soda, and the Ultimate Breeder Gundham.
While the love triangle was mostly from a one-sided crush on Soda's end, later content in anime form reveals how close Sonia was to both of the boys. However, in the game, it is fairly clear that her affection is mostly aimed at Gundham. Soda had to stand by and watch as the two shared an emotional goodbye in Gundham's final trial.
Cordelia/Sumia/Chrom
Romance is a huge part of the Fire Emblem franchise, and Awakening is no different. While most relationships are on a support-by-support basis, there is a single canon love triangle in Awakening.
Pegasus Knights Cordelia and Sumia are both established as having a crush on Prince Chrom, one of the main characters of the game, fairly early on. Cordelia, despite her feelings, swears off pursuing Chrom because she believed that his affections were directed toward someone else. Sumia had no such hesitancies and is one of Chrom's few marriage options.
Aerith/Tifa/Cloud
The protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud, technically has more romantic options available than the two primary female characters in Aerith and Tifa.
However, those are by far the two most common characters players think of when they think of Cloud's potential partners. Tifa and Cloud are the closest thing to a canonical relationship in Final Fantasy games (a void that a similar title in Bravely Default fills in abundance), but both Tifa and Aerith have a solid relationship with the game's protagonist.
Marth/Caeda/Catria
Marth was the original protagonist and central figure behind the Fire Emblem franchise, and his presence in Fire Emblem and Smash media has superseded fans' knowledge about his original game.
What many fans don't know about Marth is his two original love interests. Caeda and Marth were neighboring royalty that grew and trained together, while Catria is a powerful knight and friend of the royals. Ultimately, Marth chooses his childhood sweetheart in Caeda, leaving the kind and shy Catria to wonder what could have been.
Catherine/Katherine/Vincent
Catherine has some of the most interesting "bad endings" in video games, along with some good and neutral ones, all involving Vincent's love interests: the Catherines.
In the original game, there were only Catherine and Katherine. The powerful succubus Catherine and the businesswoman Katherine both are potential love interests for Vincent, but the game begins with Katherine as his girlfriend and progresses depending on player decisions. In Full Body, a third love interest named Rin is added to the game.
Riku/Sora/Kairi
The protagonists of the Kingdom Hearts series are more than just very close friends. It's heavily implied throughout the series that both Sora and Riku have crushes on Kairi.
While Sora and Kairi are the canon leading couple so far in the game's history, Riku's affection for Kairi is omnipresent in the games. Kingdom Hearts 4 shows great promise in expanding both the relationships and story in a way that's satisfactory to the love triangle. Time will tell what happens in the multiple-decade franchise.