I'd always laughed at the warnings of razor blades in candy. But I guess that, yes, some people do hate children, or at least Pokemon, that much.

Woman Finds Razor Blade Inside Valentine's Day Candy [WFTV via GoNintendo]

5. Billy Lee and Marian - Double Dragon (Arcade)

This one could really go either way. At the beginning of the first Double Dragon, Billy Lee's girlfriend Marian is kidnapped by the Black Warriors, who want the secrets of the Sōsetsuken martial art in exchange for the girl. Billy and his brother Jimmy fight their way through four stages of enemies in order to secure Billy's woman, only to get into a fight at the very end for Marian's affection. If Billy wins it's a beautiful love story. If Jimmy wins she's either a flighty hussy or so terrified Jimmy will beat her up to that she has no choice but to go with him. Either way, not the best love story. Bah, like it matters anyway - Marian gets shot dead at the beginning of the second game. Bastards.

4. Dante and Trish - Devil May Cry Series (PS2)

If the best girl a man can find is one that reminds him of his mother, then Dante has certainly hit the jackpot. Created by the demon lord Mundus during the first game to resemble the devil hunter's mother Eva, Trish wound up developing feelings for Dante, helping him to defeat Mundus and ending up as his partner. While the fact that her feelings stem from being made in his mother's image is kind of creepy if you stop and think about it, there's no denying Trish and Dante were made for each other - well, at least she was.

3. Jackie Estacado and Jenny - The Darkness (Xbox 360, PS3)

This pair grew up together as orphans, and mob thug Jackie spent most of his life shielding the innocent and sweet Jenny from the horrors of the seedy underworld he moved about in. If I had to pick the single most emotionally charged moment in gaming from last year, it would be the moment Jackie Estacado and his girlfriend Jenny cease to be a couple, so to speak. I won't ruin for anyone who still hasn't played the game, but I got so f***king angry I stayed up the whole night to finish the game.

2.Tidus and Yuna - Final Fantasy X (PS2)

A summoner of Yevon destined to die, Yuna finds the man of her dreams in mismatched pants leg blitzball star Tidus. Unfortunately, over the course of Final Fantasy X we learn the Tidus is the man of the fayth's dreams as well, with the end of the game finding him fading away as he desperately tries to hold onto her. Their love was so strong that Squaresoft created the first direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy X-2, which features Yuna going all Charlie's Angels with Rikku and newcomer Paine in order to find her lost man. Do they reunite? Depends on how well you play the game.

1.Oswald and Gwendolyn - Odin Sphere (PS2)

A true example of the classical fantasy romance, the story of the Shadow Knight Oswald and the Valkyrie Gwendolyn, daughter of Demon Lord Odin, is one that could easily have been lifted directly from ancient mythology. Two confused souls who find love where they least expect it, culminating in Gwendolyn traveling to the netherworld to retrieve her love's soul from Queen Odette of Endelphia - pretty much the devil herself. The story in full is told through two separate chapters of the game, detailing first Gwendolyn's falling in love with Oswald and then turning the tables in the fourth chapter to show how Oswald likewise lost his heart. One of the most moving love stories I've encountered in a video game, and truly worth of the top spot.

And there you have it. Now I don't expect you to agree with my choices. Hearts are as varied as the stars in the sky and we all see love in a different light, so I'd expect you have your own personal favorite gaming love story. Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section. After all, caring is sharing! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

If you're more of a World of Warcraft, Shadow of the Colossus or Katamari Damacy romantic type, those Valentines are still available.

Art [Nuts N' Beavers - thanks, Tobias!]

I'll be sure to give a full report of my adventure next week. In the meantime, is anyone else going to the Toronto show - (and that's not an invite, you'll have to supply your own date)? Or does anyone else have gaming-related plans for V-Day?

If sex doesn't sell games, then cookies just might. To promote Meteos Online a troop of girls in go-go boots barged in on the Famitsu offices and stuffed chocolate meteos (meteoses?) cookies in dude's faces. Hit the jump for exciting feeding pics! Brian Ashcraft

Think this guy is funny, check out the one below.

It's like he's getting a diploma or something.

Meteos Girls Visit Famitsu [Famitsu]

Awww, how cute, but shouldn't Perrin be thinking of chocolate covered IGN staffers, not roses? Brian Crecente

So yes, today is Valentine's Day! And here in Japan, there's a slightly different spin on the holiday. Women buy men chocolates. Men, we do nothing. Well, not nothing. We eat the chocolates.

But! Next month is White Day. What is White Day? Hohoho, I shall tell you! Sometime during within the last thirty years, marshmallow makers decided that they needed a holiday to sell marshmallows. And that holiday was March 14th, AKA White Day. Originally, men bought marshmallows for women who gave them chocolate. Today, no one buys marshmallows. Hell, do non-campers even eat them? But, the name stuck. So I hafta think of something to purchase for Mrs. Bashcraft next month. Marshmallows?

What you missed while you were sleeping:

• V-Day story to get you all in the mood. Well, not "the mood," but "the mood." Ah, fuck it. Just read it.
• When talking to Alex Ward, be careful what you say, because he's likely to cut nutso and cut you.
• Movie studio bitchfest about the Halo movie pricetag.
• Now, THIS is a stained-glass casemod

In case, you're keeping score. Today's DS din-din was not green. In fact, it was noteworthy for its lack of green. Remarkable, huh?

Okay! Hope you are feeling better. I'm off to bed. See ya in the morning.

Check out the cards by hitting the link. You'll find the DS, the Wii, Zelda, Metroid, and even Phoenix Wright themed cards, ready to communicate your love for you in ways that you just aren't capable of. Michael Fahey

Valentine's Day Cards for the Geeks in Your Life! [4 color rebellion via Newlaunches.com]

Microsoft is playing Cupid this year for lonely gamers who have no one to spend Valentine's Day with. Who does MS think your perfect match is? Why, The Xbox 360, of course! Xbox Live is offering some exciting Valentine's activities for the single gamer including last night's "Lost Planet All Nighter" and Wednesday's thrilling Viva Pinata trade off. The Xbox crew also have advice for the lovelorn in the form of some top ten lists and suggestions of some games that will take your mind off your lonely, miserable life and perhaps most disturbing, how to get your Pinatas to get biz-ay.

For those of you who actually have mates to spend the day with, there are nuggets of wisdom from the "GamerchiX Valentine's Survival Guide" and advice on how to get your girl to game. I am bit concerned, though, about TriXie, the Xbox.community editor who claims to have a crush on Dead Rising's Frank Ward. If you're going to have the hots for the main character a game that's an exclusive to your company's console, you might want to learn his name. Nothing turns a man off more than when you shout out another guy's name during a hot session of zombie extermination. Flynn De Marco

Let's Play on Valentine's Day [Xbox.com]

TriXie says Microsoft has a "hot" PR girl named Jen set up to play Perfect Dark Zero tonight from 6-8 EST. That gives you guys enough time to play PDZ searching for the mystery gamer and then you can still take your own V-Day sweetie out for dinner.

Your Valentine's Day Mystery Gamer [TriXie Tells All]

The sometimes clever folks at AOL have an entire video game meets Valentine's Day theme up at the AOL gaming site. There's a feature on sexy cheats, which includes (gasp!) some more GTA codes and reminds gamers how to get Meryl from Metal Gear Solid back in her skivvies. The best feature of the bunch might be the Dating Tips for Gamers. This is where I'd usually make a Crecente or an Ashcraft joke, but since they're married, I guess I'm just going to get to memorizing the dating tips.

AOL Games: Valentine's Video Game Blow Out [AOL Games]

Oh man, where's the "We belong together" card? That's OK, these are still very cool Tetris-themed Valentine's Day cards.

Happy St. Valentine's Day [4Color Rebellion]

1Up lifts the veil on Blizzard's upcoming Valentine's Day festivities in a lengthy piece by James Mielke. The piece is lengthy with good reason, as the Valentine's Day events will send players to inns all over Azeroth collecting things, turning things in and ultimately funneling items to one of the respective leaders for their faction in a serverwide popularity contest. It's an awful lot to do from Feb. 11 to Feb. 16, I'll probably just take someone out to dinner on Tuesday and call it good, rather than fetch quest around Azeroth.

World of Warcraft Valentines Day Event [1Up]