Those are different games. Zachary Sergi is writing the new Heroes Rise right now (according to his FB page). Diabolical is written by someone else (not sure who).
Somehow I hope to squeeze Community College Hero into publishing before anyone gets “comic book hero” overload.
@HornHeadFan
You’re saying that Community College Hero is also a Superpower story? I’m going to need to take a look at that WIP, if that’s the case. Somehow, I kindof just figured it was a slice of life about normal college life. XD
Diabolical is not by Zachary Sergi. It’s by a different author.
For details on Zachary Sergi’s projects, Versus and The Hero Project it’s best to check out either the Upcoming Releases thread, or better yet the facebook groups.
I’ve got the Heroes Rise page on my facebook feed. Thanks for that, though, in case I didn’t. 
Yep it’s a comic book hero story. Unfortunately, there’s no playable link as I am elbow-deep in revisions for CoG.
Personally, I liked Semryu’s romance because it seemed natural for my character. They end up in a lot of life-threatening situations in the course of investigating the conspiracy, so they develop feelings for each other. For me, it didn’t really come across as teenage melodrama, but maybe that’s because I was blissfully unaware of all the melodrama going on around me in high school 
@Mirabella I’m not saying I didn’t like Semryu. It was the options to tell him that you were wanting him as a date were oh so dramatic. You could hit him, you could burst into tears and run off, or just yell and then run off. Oh the melodrama! (Admittedly I took the fourth one which was to just explain.) And I’d have definitely been complaining if he hadn’t been an option. I can see why he’s so well loved.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that part. My initial response to that was, “Seriously? Do I have to act like a prissy teenage girl?” Getting him to follow you into the girls’ bathroom was funny, though.
I’m adding some more love for that vampire bad boy Semryu. I loved getting in trouble with him IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
What struck me about Way Walkers is that it’s the one CoG where I feel like I’m actually interacting and getting to know the characters. It seems natural that Sem would be so well-loved considering he’s coming from a game that handles characters so well. I liked the other love interests in that game as well, but I can’t remember their names since it has been so long since I’ve played it.
I can’t think of any other romance options that were quite as well developed as they are in Way Walkers. I’ve forgotten a lot of names because it’s been so long since I’ve played a lot of these games.
In Choice of Romance I liked that what’s-his/her-name romance option who isn’t the king/queen. I think he/she is a poet?
In Choice of the Vampire I liked Jesse (is that his name?), but I can’t remember if he’s a romance option or not.
I liked Josh from Choice of Robots, but I like sloppy nerds (it’s a personal problem). I also liked romancing your own robot creation, and the option for a threesome.
I liked Devin from Zombie Exodus. I actually liked him from the moment he was introduced. I have no idea why since he was portrayed as a complete asshole, especially at first, but I guess I like assholes (another personal problem). In the later games his personality filled out pretty nicely. He’s not just an asshole, he’s just extremely practical and doesn’t like to take unnecessary risk even if that means screwing other people over. It’s a good trait to have in the zombie apocalypse.
From exactly the first time Jury is introduced in Heroes Rise I wanted to romance him, and he is an unrepentant asshole. I was pleasantly surprised when he turns out to actually be a romance option, but I do remember feeling a bit underwhelmed by the implementation. Lucky was a cute romance option!
Black Magic didn’t feel like enough of a character for me to really care about. S/he was just kinda there, and their assholishness felt more like it came from the character not being very well-implemented than from being an actual character trait. This did turn around in later games though.
There are a few other games I could mention, but my memory is so foggy on names that I don’t want to embarrass myself.
In general I kinda gravitate toward the least obvious romance options, and by that I mean weirdos and jerks. The weirder the dude, the more likely I’m going to go “Oh man, I want him.” I think it has less to do with liking assholes than it has to do with my just liking to be surprised by the romance. If the romance option is Mr. Regular Schlub Romance #520 then I know exactly what to expect from that romance and it’s boring from the start. But if that romance option is weird then suddenly I get interested.
@FairyGodfeather
I agree! Telling him you liked him was melodramatic, but it really fit into the youthful feel of the romance. When you combine youth, inexperience and hormones melodrama happens. As an adult I roll my eyes, but the teenager in me eats it up. For the age of all the characters I thought those options hit the right notes.
nods Playing through Waywalkers/Ww2, Semryu is becoming my favorite RO too- I suppose he actually reminds me of myself, except a little more of a prankster. But enthusiastic nodding the romance does feel very natural, and I like that.
I’m surprised no one else liked Maria from Tin Star, though! Did no one really play her route?? I played Yiska’s, too, and I enjoyed it but I like Maria’s character more.
And- did anyone else end up with over 100% affection with both Maria and Yiska? Getting over 100% just seems a bit weird to me…
Madison was my personal favorite when I was writing the game. A pity I didn’t get to do a Mexico/Lucha focused segment of the game…
She’s pretty adorbs. The best kind of lady friend is the kind that defends your honor on the internet.
I agree with everyone else, Semryu from Way Walkers is amazing. I’m a big fan of starting out as friends first before you get to dating, because it feels more natural. You get to know him and hang out and run around getting into trouble first, before romance comes into play. And really, Sem’s just got a great personality in general, especially for a vampire–I remember when I first met him I was afraid he’d fall into a “troubled bad boy vamp” stereotype, but instead he’s this friendly, open prankster. It was refreshing. And there are so many tiny things in the writing, stuff that makes it feel like you’re actually in a relationship, like him putting an arm around you when you sit down next to him. Small details, but I love them.
Black Magic from Heroes Rise is another fav. I know this seems like a 180 after all my talk up there about being friends before lovers, and usually BM’s the type I’d hate–they’re so special and awesome and everyone has a crush on them including you. But they are so messed up and the romance is such a trainwreck, I love it. They’ve got some seriously deep-seated psychological issues, and you do not magically make them better–in some ways, you make them worse. It was a very interesting deconstruction on some very used romance clichés, and I greatly enjoyed it.
Ashleigh Wakefield from Deathless. Another one where you were friends first (or rivals…or rival-y friends), although it’s a background trait and not something you build in-game. I like male Tsunderes because I think it’s cute when guys get flustered and in denial. I like intelligent guys with egos because proving them wrong feels more rewarding. So naturally, I like Ash, who’s a combination of these three. They’re very refined and posh and elitist–exactly the sort of person you want to beat with a book, but they’ve a good heart underneath and it just feels good cracking that snobby, Tsundere exterior.
Heather from Zombie Exodus. Heather gets a lot of mixed opinions, but I like her. She’s practical with a ruthless streak, jaded and blunt, but she’s friends with your sister, so there must be something good about her. And there is; when she really cares about someone, she cares. Lots of her ruthless suggestions are centered on keeping the people she loves safe. Something I really like about Heather is that she isn’t monopolized by you–her friendship with Emma is given attention, and her relationship with Tom is fairly central to Part V, where it becomes a question of: does she care about her brother more than you? And I like the answer: no, but you don’t get a pass for killing him or leaving him to die.
And lastly of my top five, Ecstasy from Slammed. They’re a bit like BM, in that they’re the popular guy/gal everyone’s crushing on, but their personalities are vastly different. They’re nice, funny, a little socially awkward off-stage, and they have their own demons they struggle with. In short, they feel like a real person. One of my favorite scenes was the one where they find you and get you out of your funk, using your own words. It’s so rare in gaming for the love interest to support the hero emotionally that I love it even more when they do.
Those are just my top favorites. Others I like include Jace and Theo/a from the Lost Heir, JJ who is also from Slammed, Clotho from Vampire, Emmanuel/le from Orpheus Ruse, and Villanueve from Broadsides. Also, I haven’t played any new games since March, so I’m not commenting on those yet.
I played Maria’s route, unfortunately she beat me at chess and I never forgave her.
I’ve played Maria’s route too but Caraway is just too much fun. Can never resist getting involved with her.
Soo, i got curious and i thought tha i maybe count what is the most commonly mentioned love interest so far in this thread, to maybe replay some games with them. I counted every mention from every different person here, not differentiating between “top five” or just mentions. Just every vote for any like for any romance as the same. Counted only Cog and HG games, not WiPs and possibly may have missed some vote, but i tried best i can . So here we are so far:
Semryu from Way Walkers - 17
Ashleigh Wakefield from Choice of Deathless - 14
E. Ecstasy from Slammed - 10
Miss Caraway from Tin Star - 9
Black Magic from Heroes Rise - 8
Patch from Fateheaven - 6
Heather from Zombie Exodus - 6
JJ from Slammed - 5
Sylvana/us from Fateheaven - 5
Mindy from Zombie Exosuds - 5
Devlin from Zombie Exodus - 5
Yiska from Tin Star - 5
Hawkins from Mecha Ace - 5
Aand a lot more with 4 or less votes that i got noted on paper and it would be too long to write all of them here . Ofcourse this by no means mean that those are ‘The Best’ romances, because not every mention means the same for the same people and not everyone played all games. This just seem to be the most comonly mentioned ones.
I think i definatelly need to replay Choice of Deathless with Wakefield then.
Aw, man, Devin is not romanceable? I’ve only had time for one and a half playthroughs of ZE, and he’s my current favorite. I guess I’ll try for Tom, he at least has hidden seeds of megalomania.
Such an underrated game. As is Eerie Estate Agent/Haunted House For Rent.
In Community College Hero, I wish the Hedonist were romanceable. As it is, you can hook up with him, but not really get to know him. There’s always the sequel…
Otherwise I can’t think of anyone I wanted to date and couldn’t, I’ll edit this if I think of someone. Haven’t played Way Walkers yet, so for now I’ll have to take everyone’s word that Semryu is awesome.
I must say, you’re the first person I’ve seen who didn’t think the Hedonist was a creep.
Actually Devin (Devlin?) is romanceable. Have fun tapping that haha. But, yeah, he turns out pretty cool (cooler than Tom).
You should play Way Walkers. It handles romances, character interactions and characters better than most I’ve played. In addition, its setting is rich and vibrant. The author also published a novel based on the setting that I liked.
IMO Hedonist bothered me. I don’t mean to come off too strongly, but I sincerely got worried whenever my character was alone in a room with him. I do want to romance an instructor in that game, though.
I dunno, I kinda liked Hedonist too. I’d definitely play through a romance with him, but I did choose Crook (and then Dirty Girl) for my romance options. And to me, Crook’s only slightly less squeevy (b/c he’s a student too so there’s no kind of power abuse).