Favourite Male ROs

General
1

I know the question of favourite ROs has been bandied around a lot, but I would like to specifically ask about the best males ROs.

I noticed – correct me if I’m wrong – that there’s a greater list of female ROs than male, thus I’m posing this question.

I also generally found that the romances are better in longer books (like trilogies or longer). But that’s probably because there’s more room for character development.

The best male romances I have experienced are (in no particular order) –

  1. Wayhaven Chronicles: ALL the ROs are good really, but I personally like Nate and Adam (and of course, the love triangle)
  2. Fallen Hero: Herald and Ortega
  3. Evertree Saga: Dandy and Orion (btw, the broody Orion is sooo similar to Adam from WC. They even have the same emerald eyes and short shaved blond hair)
  4. Jolly Good: Fritzie and Vyv
  5. Tally Ho: Haze (I remember the romance being somewhat good, although I don’t recall much of it now…will update after replay)
  6. Heroes Rise: Black Magic
  7. Creme de la Creme: Hartmann (and maybe, perhaps, Rosario?)
  8. Way Walker University: Semryu
  9. Choice of Vampire: Jesse (ok, honestly, I have no idea if he’s really a romanceable character or not…but there was a chance to have a date with him, so maybe he can be romanced in future books…hopefully?!)
  10. Belle-de-Nuit: Sebastian

NEWLY ADDED (I’ll add more as I go along):

  1. Keeper Trilogy: Leon, Altair and Cyrus
  2. Heart of the House: Bastian
  3. Choice of the Deathless: Vega (and Wakefield, although I prefer the more impassioned and intense romance with Vega - especially when he says “Then don’t you dare die on me. Or I will break the world to get you back.”)
  4. Jazz Age: John Curtis (tbh, he’s the only male RO…but the sex scene is saucy.)
  5. Cannonfire Concerto: Count Zerov (not much romance scenes though, and he dies in the end…but he’s so charming)

On a sidenote, I read Samurai of Hyuga and actually somewhat liked Toshio but the book was too sick for me to continue after reading part of Book 4.

Oh, and if we’re adding WIP, then I’ll mention Guenevere: Lancelot (although Arthur is really sweet too, and he’s trying his best to be a good lover)

Any suggestions on books that I should read? I’m craving for more romance.

37 Likes
2

I think there’s actually more male ROs than female ones in general and/or they’re more popular, but don’t quote me on that. I loved Finch in A Study in Steampunk - it’s not a romance focused game, but his character is among my favourites in interactive fiction in general, male or female, RO or non-RO.

41 Likes
3

Pretty sure Male ROs are much more popular on the forum. Not sure about tumblr but maybe they skew towards female ROs

4 Likes
4

I think it’s kinda weird to have someone like Black Magic on the list, since they can be male or female with no actual differences between the two…

2 Likes
5

Jesse! You can go on a date with him, he counts.

1 Like
6

I liked Bastian (not sure I spelled it right) from heart of the house a lot. I think he was developed very well over the course of the story.

11 Likes
7

Junpei from Samurai Of Hyuga. His personality and interactions change with your choices, so it depends on how you play. He’s perfect for the MC since they’re both so messed up, but they have beautiful, impossible goals they’re reaching for. He also helped the MC get back on track and had so much impact on the story. For better or worse, every action he made changed the MC, and that’s what I look for in every RO.

14 Likes
8

Oh! And Zombie Exodus Safe Haven has a ton of Male RO for you to choose from. Go for Woody, Jaime and my favourite, Riley.

2 Likes
9

Pretty sure this is the other way around.

12 Likes
10

Are we counting gender selectable characters? You seem to do so, but I dunno, maybe I’ll add them in a separate list…

So anyway, I like a LOT of characters, really, but some outshine the rest, by far. With that being said, are they necessarily “the best” male ROs… Eh, that’s too subjective. They are merely the best for me.

Strictly male:
1 - Zhu - Relics series (“Relics of the Lost Age”, “Relics 2: The Crusader’s Tomb”)
2 (ex-aequo) - Leon - “A Mage Reborn” (WIP)
2 (ex-aequo) - Lynwood - “The Ballad Of Devil’s Creek” (WIP)
3 - Galahad - “The Bastard of Camelot” (WIP, moving to Twine)
4 - Hades - “Fields of Asphodel” (WIP)
5 - Kotori - “Werewolves 2: Pack Mentality”
Keep in mind that nº1 and nº2s are miles apart from the ones that follow them.

Gender selectable made male:
1 - Toshio - “Samurai of Hyuga”
2 (ex-aequo) - Quaiel and Rheylo - “The Shadow Society”
3 - Quinn - “Enchanted in Blood” (WIP)
4 - Adam - “Wayhaven Chronicles”
5 - Ortega - “Fallen Hero”

And if you want me to make a top5 of both lists combined, then it would be like that:
Zhu > Leon & Lynwood > Toshio > Galahad > Quaiel & Rheylo

Of course, you already read some, but you can always check out the other works listed here. That aside, I suggest you check on itch.io too for more IFs.

18 Likes
11

Here on the forum I would HIGHLY recommend The Porthecrawl Witness, there are 4 romance options, 3 of them are gender selectable, and one of them is locked to male, which leaves you with 4 potential male ROs.

The passenger, without a doubt, it has 4 romance options, one is locked to female, one is locked to male, and the other two can be chosen from. I can not express enough how good this game (and romance) is.

If you don’t mind VN, I also recommend Perfumare, it has a very interesting setting with more of a dark vibe (but not super dark), this one as 3 romance options, 2 of them being male. It has an android port, so you can play it on your phone too (no such luck for iphone users).

Now, for IF games hosted on itchi.io, I recommend you Superstition, book 1 and book 2, there is 3 male romances that are literally some of my favourite ever. They all feel extremely fleshed out, and considering your love of Adam and Orion I can guarantee you will love Rahim (this RO appears on book 2).

The rest of this author’s games are also wonderful, with very compelling romances, but sadly the others are demos.

Tale of Crowns is another good choice, 4 romance options, all of them can be set to male.

I would GREATLY encourage romancing Chen, from FH, I don’t know your gender or sexual preference, so let me say just in case that he can only be romanced with male MC as of now (I think nb can be an option but I’m not sure yet).

Those are the ones I can think of the top of my head, but if any others come to mind I’ll be sure to add them.

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot the Golden Rose, Hadrian is an ABSOLUTE cutie and he must be love by everyone thanks.

31 Likes
12

yesssssssssssssssssss

is he a trash husband for faking his death and not telling you about it for years?

well, yes, but he’s my trash damnit, lol

since this game came out, there hasn’t been a single other RO who provokes such conflicted emotions in me.
i can only aspire to write such a compelling character :pensive:

19 Likes
13

OMG. I forgot about Finch! A Study In Steampunk had awesome Fem RO as well. You could let the first one die, or save her and have her hate you forever, or turn your back ideals for the second one in favor of love. I actually did one playthrough where I left Finch for Alexandera and it was satisfying AF! Okay, Samurai Of Hyuga and A Study In Steam punk are now my Fav stories for RO.

4 Likes
14

Oh god, we’re the same person. I feel so read LOL

I love Finch from Study in Steampunk too, since the romance is so well incorporated into the story. Gotta be the first novel that I even loved the bad endings for because THE DELICIOUS ANGST of Finch coming back and seeing that you’ve become an unhinged killer in his absence…

Orion from Evertree saga is also a top #1/#2 for me. As for others, hmm…Ambrose or Gray from Mind Blind WIP, Morkai from Soul Stone (this one is a guilty pleasure I’ll admit).

Also I love everything about I, the Forgotten One WIP, which includes the M/M romance option (Obren). Well developed slow burn and great characterisation.

17 Likes
15

I love him too - honestly, he almost makes the top 5. Kotori beats him by a tiny bit only :rofl:

2 Likes
17

@Big_fan1231 From what I’ve seen on Tumblr, it skews more towards male ROs too. Names in asks I’ve received tend to be the male version instead of gender neutral in the case of characters who are gender-selectable. For instance, instead of using the gender neutral ‘R’, I get asks that have ‘Reese’ more frequently than ones that mention ‘Ruby’, etc.

8 Likes
18

@fool, @Big_fan1231, @No_This_Is_Patrick, @lacunafiction

Arhhh…I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean there were more female ROs than male.

I meant that the favourite ROs listed in the most developed thread on ROs Love Interests in Choice of Games or Hosted Games has names of more female ROs.

Sorry for the misunderstanding! My bad for the poor phrasing of my sentence.

5 Likes
19

Good question. I know some others here say the males get talked about more, but I see more talk about female ROs than males. Maybe I look in the wrong place? :stuck_out_tongue:

My favorites:

  1. Ares from The Voice of Silverking (WIP, and you just have to wait to see why or check out @AliciaWolf2488’s Tumblr page.

  2. Mason from Wayhaven. The other three are good, but Mason is, by far, my favorite.

  3. Morkai and Straasa from TSSW. Morkai has a slight edge, but Straasa is all kinds of awesome. The MC with both of these guys (single or together) feels more like an adult relationship than a lot of other IFs.

  4. Grey and Bill from Supernatural in New York. Grey got my MC from the first time she laid eyes on him and I was convinced she would never look at anyone else–then Bill came along…

  5. Damon and Calderon from Andromeda Six. Not a CoG game, but definitely worth mentioning. You might like June and Bash, too–they are more… cream puffy? Damon and Calderon are kinda like Mason and Adam from Wayhaven.

  6. Asher from Replica: Between Universes. I love the whole concept of that IF and Asher is just… well, awesome.

  7. Milon from I, The Forgotten One. Okay, so this IF is dark and the MC is seriously damaged. If you can take that (it will pull at your heart strings), then it’s worth checking out. Romance is not the focus, but the developing feelings between the MC and Milon (if you want it) are perfect.

  8. Azuridian and Rhylo from The Shadow Society. The IF has gotten a lot of flak, a lot from fans of another IF who accused the author (unfairly) of “stealing” from their favorite IF. But it’s original, and the four ROs are different from what I’ve seen elsewhere. I’m a huge Az fan, but you may like some of the others, including the mute who wears a gimp mask…

As for the rest on your list, I liked Black Magic, too, but I thought his romance kinda got the shaft. There basically wasn’t enough interaction to call it a relationship or to get to know him that well, you know? And, like you, I liked Toshio… but as soon as he walked away from a frigging enslaved MC and got all mopey about it, I was done with that spineless ass. And SOH altogether.

I have some suggestions for other VNs with pretty awesome male ROs, if you want them. It’s often a tossup with VNs–I find more duds then gems, but the gems I find are doozies.

24 Likes
20

I wonder why no one mentioned any books from Heart’s Choice…considering that HC is all about romance???

I did try one game (mentioned the name above — Belle-de Nuit) and it was…actually, ok…although the character could really be fleshed out more.

Sure I like VNs. The only ones I tried so far are The Crossroads and Lady’s Choice (https://www.seraphinitegames.com/other-works) by Seraphinite (author of Wayhaven) and they’re good. But then Wayhaven is like…wow…so her other works can’t fare much differently.

I actually really like Lucan from Crossroads…his cold but teasing persona really gets to me.

1 Like
21

my gentle boy, the bankrobber! i second this, Reilly is near and dear to my heart as one of my favourite ROs from all the published CS games :blush:

I’ve played 4 HC games, and the unfortunate pitfall that they fall into is that a lot of the characters just… aren’t very memorable or interesting in the grand scheme of things
i’m a roleplayer, i don’t self-insert when i read interactive fiction, so half of the fun comes from having an OC existing in that world and interacting with the “locals” so to speak. for some reason the HC releases i’ve played don’t scratch that itch as well as other CoG games

also, so as to not stray too far from the topic, I agree with anyone and everyone who has mentioned Finch from A Study in Steampunk, that game as a whole is chef’s kiss

17 Likes