Kalas and Xelha

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean's romance between Kalas and Xelha could have been better. It's perhaps too subtle throughout most of the game, with Xelha's growing attraction to the young man being obvious, but Kalas's feelings for her not as much. Despite what Xelha does for Kalas, not the least of which is to save him from being taken over by an evil god's power, Kalas doesn't seem to notice her attraction much (an all too common trait for RPG protagonists). Then the very last few scenes of the game arrive and while there no direct exchanges of "I love you," there are strong hints that the two will stay together for the foreseeable future. This seems to come rather abruptly considering the state of their relationship earlier.

So why do I like this couple? For all it's faults, the two do share an interesting bond. Kalas is at first mostly selfish and can often be quite the jerk. Xelha does, however, manage to earn his trust and to get him to open up to the rest of the party. It proves vital when Kalas later reveals that he had been helping the villain Melodia gather the End Magnus cards to resurrect the evil god Malpercio. It is this trust and closeness to Xelha that makes him begin to have doubts and eventually throw off the god's influence, as well as saving the world by taking a powerful ally away from Malpercio.

Aside from character development, Kalas and Xelha also share some deep-rooted similarities. As Xelha herself puts it, "we're two of a kind. You were different." Both grew up isolated due to their unique circumstances; Kalas due to being an artificial human and Xelha due to being the last of Wazn's Ice Queens. Their ability to form a bond with the same Guardian Spirit is another point, which according to lore, indicates similarity. Rushed or not, it is sweet that they become the other's most important person and makes them a particularly endearing couple. — Cassandra Ramos