History Main / MoreFriendsMoreBenefits

* The newer ''FireEmblem'' games [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 give you bonuses for developing relationships]], and while a character can only have one ''A''-rank relationship, if you surround them with their A, and the rest Bs, they become an unstoppable weapon of destruction. It's effective to the point that people have created charts detailing how to arrange and [[{{Shipping}} ship]] your army in order to get optimal stats. [[StopHavingFunGuys Many of the relationships make little-to-no]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation sense, in-character.]]
** In the GBA games supports are predetermined and not all end in actual relationships, just friendships or deeper backstory.
** In all games before ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'' to use the support system, you're limited to a total of five support conversations. You can only have one A and one B, or two B's and a C, etc. In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'', you're only allowed 1 support per character and it can be with any other character. (However you can delete and change said support if you wish.)
** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]] removes all limits on how many supports you can have, even A-level supports. ''[[RankInflation S]]''-level supports, on the other hand...you only get one of those. [[spoiler:And it can result in babies.]]

* The only stats you have in ''BlissStage'' ''are'' RelationshipValues - if you can get high-Intimacy, high-Trust relationships in most of LaResistance, you're unstoppable in your EmpathicWeapon HumongousMecha.
** Likewise in ''BlissStageFirstAndFinalAct''. If you manage to get the stable triangular relationship - [[spoiler:the one where Josh, Anna and Meredith are all partners -]] you have TWO pilots, each with TWO weapons at [[InfinityPlusOneSword maximum power]]!

* In ''RecordOfAgarestWar'' it is possible, [[GuideDangIt through judicious use of a guide]], to have all 3 love interests at intimacy 5 at the end of each generation. You can still only marry one, but having all of them at level 5 lets you choose any bride.

* ''VideoGame/ArTonelico'' isn't a heavy offender on this -- for starters, because it only has two normal love interests and a secret one -- but there's points in the game where you're forced to use the girl ''besides'' the one you're focusing on romantically, and if you haven't at least gone through the motions with the other girl, the game suddenly gets harder and more tedious.
** ''VideoGame/ArTonelico2'' is a bit better about this. While the first allows you to go through the entire cosmopshere of each girl complete with the concluding levels that are basically marriage ceremonies, the second only allows you to progress past the halfway mark with one girl, and choosing to do this irreversibly locks you in to her ending.
** ''VideoGame/ArTonelico3'' reverses it, though. While you can't complete everyone's Comsosphere, you can go most of the way (and complete one if you turn down her confession). It does, however, fit more strongly than the first game in other ways: the girls can turn into ''other'' girls this time, and how deep you've Dived determines how much they'll strip for you in battle. (ItMakesSenseInContext.)

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In these games, the ultimate path to power involves rolling every relationship up into a massive LoveDodecahedron, [[KatamariDamacy Katamari]] style, effectively turning the player character into a HaremSeeker.

** As expected, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' gives you the option to romance up to ''nine'' women at once, and because of the effects of the calendar mechanic, some of those romances ''will'' be initiated simultaneously. Doing so is consequence-free for nearly all of the game, right up until [[spoiler: the day after Valentine's Day, and you're inevitably caught by all of them at once, which...[[Understatement doesn't end well]] ]]. It should be noted that, as with its predecessor, most players ''don't'' choose to go the harem route.

** As expected, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' gives you the option to romance up to ''nine'' women at once, and because of the effects of the calendar mechanic, some of those romances ''will'' be initiated simultaneously. Doing so is consequence-free for nearly all of the game, right up until [[spoiler: the day after Valentine's Day, and you're inevitably caught by all of them at once, which...[[Understatement doesn't end well]]]]. It should be noted that, as with its predecessor, most players ''don't'' choose to go the harem route.

* Largely averted with {{Romance Sidequest}}s. You may get a few more chances to unlock an OptionalSexualEncounter, but TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything, and the VideogameCrueltyPunishment for any of the partners finding out about the others can be so extreme as to make it not worth it. There's also a clever scaling system whereby it's easier to keep relationships going the better-maintained they are, making multiple casual encounters collectively less profitable than a single involved one (though [[HaremSeeker some players]] insist that with a maxed-out Charisma stat it's possible to keep multiple relationships at [[LevelUpAtIntimacyFive Intimacy 5]] simultaneously, most consider this strategy "[[YourCheatingHeart cheating]]"). [[{{Polyamory}} Many of the above disadvantages can be mitigated if you're honest and up-front about what you're doing]], but there's still a stigma attached to that strategy in the mainstream, and you can't get multiple marriage bonuses on most servers.

* Largely averted with {{Romance Sidequest}}s. You may get a few more chances to unlock an OptionalSexualEncounter, but TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything, and the VideogameCrueltyPunishment for any of the partners finding out about the others can be so extreme as to make it not worth it. There's also a clever scaling system whereby it's easier to keep relationships going the better-maintained they are, making multiple casual encounters collectively less profitable than a single involved one (though [[HaremSeeker some players]] insist that with a maxed-out Charisma stat it's possible to keep multiple relationships at [[LevelUpAtIntimacyFive Intimacy 5]] simultaneously, most consider this strategy "[[YourCheatingHeart cheating]]").
* [[{{Polyamory}} Many of the above disadvantages can be mitigated if you're honest and up-front about what you're doing.]]

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''. Nearly every female Social Link winds up becoming of a romantic nature, and since maxing out each Social Link allows you to create the best Persona of that Link's Arcana... yeah. The game ''does'' punish you if you try to, erm, "level up" two girls at the same time (they get jealous), but once you hit max Rank and create an "unbreakable bond" you are free to resume building your harem.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''. Nearly every female Social Link winds up becoming of a romantic nature, and since maxing out each Social Link allows you to create the best Persona of that Link's Arcana... yeah. The game ''does'' punish you if you try to, erm, "level up" two girls at the same time (they get jealous), but once you hit max Rank and create an "unbreakable bond" you are free to resume building your harem.
** One of the improvements ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' made on this system was to add the ''option'' whether or not to pursue a romantic relationship with any of the available girls, complete with a warning if you were about to move beyond friendship -- especially if you already had a girlfriend. (You could still end up two-timing if you wished, though if you attempt such a thing [[spoiler:you suffer absolutely no negative consequences... if you're playing the original and not the Golden. Otherwise...]].)
** The female MC of ''{{Persona 3}} Portable'' defaults to JustFriends with various potential {{Love Interest}}s or moves into romance via a GuideDangIt set of choices.

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'', wherein the protagonist kissing/forming a ''pactio'' with as many girls as possible is highly incentivised, though not so much for his sake as theirs: it allows them to borrow his magic energy for self-defense, communicate with him telepathically, and grants them a unique magic item related to their abilities.

[[quoteright:347:[[VideoGame/TheSims http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dreams_popularity_2488.jpg]]]]

* While most of the relationships aren't romantic, gathering Brotherbonds in the ''MegamanStarForce'' series increases your link power, which allows you to have more stat/ability bonuses. The effort needed in order to get a Brotherbond decreases as the series goes on. In the first game, getting one is a story event, which first occurs roughly a third of the way through the game, while in the third you get them from virtually every NPC who gives you a sidequest.
* In ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' you have companion Affection which you gain by saying things your companions like and giving them expensive gifts. The benefit is a significant time reduction in how long companion missions take, more chance of a critical result, and a slight improvement in their combat effectiveness.

* ''FallenLondon'' has quite a bit of this, particularly if you focus on your Persuasive skills. In some cases it's actually harder to ''avoid or get out'' of a relationship than to start one, sometimes requiring... [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential creative measures]] to express non-interest.

* Nonromantic example: in the original ''NeverwinterNights'' game, talking to your henchman or -woman every few levels will get them to increasingly open up about themselves, and solving a little sidequest for them (usually by simply handing them a PlotCoupon you've found) pays off in the form of a magic item they'll give you. What makes it an example of this trope is that with enough gold you can hire on ''all'' of them (all but one conveniently hang out in the same inn originally), then leave all but the one you really want at the moment behind and simply revisit them every so often to get the exact same subplot advancement benefits from each as though every single one had been adventuring with you all the time.

* ''EchoBazaar''. Particularly in the Persuasive area.

* The newer ''FireEmblem'' games [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 give you bonuses for developing relationships]], and while a character can only have one ''A''-rank relationship, if you surround them with their A, and the rest Bs, they become an unstoppable weapon of destruction.
** It's effective to the point that people have created charts detailing how to arrange and [[{{Shipping}} ship]] your army in order to get optimal stats. [[StopHavingFunGuys Many of the relationships make little-to-no]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation sense, in-character.]]
*** In the GBA games supports are predetermined and not all end in actual relationships, just friendships or deeper backstory.
** In all games to use the support system, you're limited to a total of five support conversations. You can only have one A and one B, or two B's and a C, etc.
*** Except ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'', where you're only allowed 1 support per character and it can be with any other character. (However you can delete and change said support if you wish.)
*** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening The latest game]] removes all limits on how many supports you can have, even A-level supports. ''[[RankInflation S]]''-level supports, on the other hand...you only get one of those. [[spoiler:And it can result in babies.]]

* In ''VideogameStarWarsTheOldRepublic'' you have companion Affection which you gain by saying things your companions like and giving them expensive gifts. The benefit is a significant time reduction in how long companion missions take, more chance of a critical result, and a slight improvement in their combat effectiveness.

* In ''StarWars:TheOldRepublic'' you have companion Affection which you gain by saying things your companions like and giving them expensive gifts. The benefit is a significant time reduction in how long companion missions take, more chance of a critical result, and a slight improvement in their combat effectiveness.

* {{Polyamory}}.

** ''VideoGame/ArTonelico3'' reverses it, though. While you can't complete everyone's Comsosphere, you can go most of the way (and complete one if you turn down her confession). It does, however, fit more strongly than the first game in other ways: the girls can turn into ''other'' girls this time, and how deep you've Dived determines how much they'll strip for you in battle. (Seriously.)

* In ''MaidTheRPG'' most player characters can benefit from both seducing and being seduced (this doesn't have to mean anything sexual in context); in general, affection keeps you going. In the less competitive games where players aren't trying to manipulate each other, the rulebook explicitly states the rules limiting seduction attempts and mandating some form of resistance (and encouraging things to go very awkwardly ''wrong'') are an attempt to prevent - well, this.

* ''{{Persona 3}}''. Nearly every female Social Link winds up becoming of a romantic nature, and since maxing out each Social Link allows you to create the best Persona of that Link's Arcana... yeah. The game ''does'' punish you if you try to, erm, "level up" two girls at the same time (they get jealous), but once you hit max Rank and create an "unbreakable bond" you are free to resume building your harem.
** One of the improvements ''{{Persona 4}}'' made on this system was to add the ''option'' whether or not to pursue a romantic relationship with any of the available girls, complete with a warning if you were about to move beyond friendship -- especially if you already had a girlfriend. (You could still end up two-timing if you wished, though if you attempt such a thing [[spoiler:you suffer absolutely no negative consequences... if you're playing the original and not the Golden. Otherwise...]].)