History Main / MoreFriendsMoreBenefits

* ''VideoGame/SengokuRance'' is essentially MoreFriendsMoreBenefits on steroids. And for good reason, too befriending (for males)/romancing (for females) the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters nets you most everything for a particular character: personal powerup, squad powerup, H-scenes (girls only, naturally) and backstory. Some characters start as TheLoad and can be turned into {{Game Breaker}}s.

** The actual value of the MoreFriendsMoreBenefits in this game is dubious though, because you need Master Points to be able to go on dates and imbue weapons with spells, and by the time you do all the level grinding necessary to give even one character every spell, they've essentially ceased to be useful.

* The newer ''VideoGame/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 sense]], [[GameplayAndStorySegregation in-character]].

** Well, date one of them plus Kelly, who will then feed your fish for you.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', if you choose the romance aspiration for your sim, one of their goals will be to "woohoo" with twenty different sims, which gives you points. It's even possible through very careful planning to juggle that many relationships ''at the same time''. Heaven help you if you get caught cheating, though.

** Likewise in ''VisualNovel/BlissStageLoveIsYourWeapon''. 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]]!

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has a {{Shipping}} variation: as in most games in the franchise, building up support levels between units also increases their effectiveness together in battle. For the most part, this simply incentivises building friendships, which is pretty normal and intuitive. However, the highest support rank non-protagonist characters can reach with each other (A-rank) is sometimes explicitly romantic, and there are no restrictions on how many A-rank supports a character can unlock. Because of this, setting up complex polyamory webs late in the game provides some pretty nice bonuses. (It doesn't work the same with [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]], however, as their supports don't become romantic until the S Rank, which can only be achieved with one character.)

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', CJ's girlfriends each have their own bonuses for dating them. There is a cop who lets CJ keep his money and weapons after getting arrested, a nurse who does the same if he becomes incapacitated (even if the incident doesn't happen in the ladies' jurisdictions), a mechanic who fixes and paint his cars for free (but only if you go to her garage in San Fierro), and a few others with minor bonuses. At some point you can even drive your girlfriends' cars, despite the fact that they're never returned in one piece (if at all.) Dating one of the girls is necessary to complete the game; the rest are optional.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', 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.
** In fact, several of them (especially Chisame) have noted that no matter how pure his motives in this are, he's going to be causing a lot of heartbreak later.
** In a strange subversion, by the time of the fight with the BigBad in the magical world, several of the girls have effectively used Negi to get the cool toys & powers without having hardly any romantic feelings for him. It's just one kiss, after all.
** Played straight in later chapters, when Negi obtains the ability to use the magical items of all the girls he has formed a pactio with.
** It's also implied at later on that, the stronger the feelings between the two people are, the stronger the artifact will be. Though it hasn't at all been on purpose, Negi has been building up his army ''[[ChickMagnet very well]]''.

** One of the improvements ''VideoGame/Persona4'' made on this system was to allow you to max out your Social Links ''without'' having to enter a romantic relationship with the girl in question, simply giving you the option to do so, complete with a warning if you chose an option that would cause your relationship 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'' remake. [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment Otherwise]]...]])

[[folder: Dating Sim ]]

[[folder: Role Playing Game ]]

** ''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 allow you to max out your Social Links ''without'' having to enter a romantic relationship with the girl in question, simply giving you the option to do so, complete with a warning if you chose an option that would cause your relationship 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'' remake. [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment Otherwise]]...]])

** 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... doesn't end well]]. It should be noted that, as with its predecessor, most players ''don't'' choose to go the harem route.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims 2'', if you choose the romance aspiration for your sim, one of their goals will be to "woohoo" with twenty different sims, which gives you points. It's even possible through very careful planning to juggle that many relationships ''at the same time''. Heaven help you if you get caught cheating, though.

[[folder: Stealth Based Game ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Turn Based Strategy ]]

[[folder: Wide Open Sandbox ]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Manga/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.

* The first chapter of ''Manga/TwelveBeast'' (by the author of ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'') has its hero leading an army of assorted {{Cute Monster Girl}}s as if it were a strategy game, using their traits to best effect.

** 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'' remake. [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment Otherwise]]...]])

** 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'' remake. Otherwise...]])

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Both the Career Ladder and Casual Life playstyles play this trope very straight indeed regarding platonic relationships; the former encourages players to max out the size of their social circle as early as possible in order to secure the best jobs and promotions (with a good starting set of Blood Relatives [[{{Nepotism}} being especially helpful]]), while the latter involves establishing a smaller set of [[RelationshipValues better-maintained relationships]] in order to establish a healthy trickle of Happiness, offsetting this path's less generous Money haul.
* Largely averted with {{Romance Sidequest}}s. You may get a few more chances to unlock an OptionalSexualEncounter, but 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.

[[/folder]]

* Largely averted with {{Romance Sidequest}}s. You may get a few more chances to unlock an OptionalSexualEncounter, but 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.

* ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'':

* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley'', increasing your relationship with the locals will result in them sending you gifts and recipes in the mail.

** 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.

* The first chapter of ''Manga/TwelveBeast'' (by the author of ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'') has its hero leading an army of assorted CuteMonsterGirls as if it were a strategy game, using their traits to best effect.

[[caption-width-right:347:He'll be [[JobSystem Mayor]] by Thursday.]]

So you're playing a game [[DeusSexMachina that]] [[DatingSim for whatever]] [[ThePowerOfLove reason]] [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 rewards you for pursuing a romantic partner.]] All well and good: increasing RelationshipValues that have beneficial effects, some [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 game-mechanical in nature]], [[OptionalSexualEncounter others less so]], has a long and time-honored place in games about relationships.

* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'', every port city in the Caribbean has a Governor's daughter whom the player character can court for a series of quest rewards. Although he can only marry one, he can still have AGirlInEveryPort and get those quest benefits (in an [[IThoughtItMeant entirely literal sense]]) from each and every one.

* ''SengokuRance'' is essentially MoreFriendsMoreBenefits on steroids. And for good reason, too befriending (for males)/romancing (for females) the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters nets you most everything for a particular character: personal powerup, squad powerup, H-scenes (girls only, naturally) and backstory. [[TheLoad Some characters]] can even be turned into GameBreaker tier characters.

* In ''SentimentalGraffiti'': The more girls you meet and the more relationships you cultivate results in more memories being unlocked, which in turn increases your stamina, allowing you to do more things. (However, you are only allowed to have one date at any given time, and can only confess your feelings to one girl at the end of the game.)

** ''VideoGame/ArTonelicoQogaKnellOfArCiel'' 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.)

* In ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates, every port city in the Caribbean has a Governor's daughter whom the player character can court for a series of quest rewards. Although he can only marry one, he can still have AGirlInEveryPort and get those quest benefits (in an [[IThoughtItMeant entirely literal sense]]) from each and every one.

* In ''ThousandArms'', your RelationshipValues with each girl determines what spells and abilities can be given to your weapons. You need those spells to survive the later stages of the example. For example, if you don't get a more powerful Heal spell, later enemies will hurt you faster than you can heal.