Favorite Spouse Candidate?

Lew Zealand

Helper
I marry a different one on every playthrough as that's the only way* to see what their married dialog is like but I'm only 4 people in at this point. I have another 2 which can happen soon but I'm not actively playing those saves right now soooo.... later.

They're all good, but will match or even clash with different people's personalities so what one person fines funny or interesting, another may find annoying. Of the few I've had time with, Haley is the nuttiest so I appreciate that, but some people find her initial game dialog off-putting enough not to put any effort into her, which is understandable.


* yeah yeah OK you can divorce and Dark Shrine anyone away and get all the spouse dialog in one save but as a nominal RPG game, I choose not to P that R in this G.
 

Lenora Rose

Farmer
So far:
- First farmer married Leah and I liked her a lot, though I wanted to see even more art events.
- Second farmer married Sebastian and Abby. Of the two I think I might like Abigail fractionally better as a spouse when I compare their vanilla content, but I feel like I need to mention that due to modding, I got a really nice extra plot arc with Seb.
- Third farmer (Started and deleted) was planned as not getting involved with anyone from the start. Despite that he seemed to be having a bit of an intellectual romance with Elliott. I never got far enough to try marriage though, especially since it undermined the ace romance of intellects.

- I've heard that thanks to her story arc, Haley goes from one of the weaker bachelorette candidates to one of the best spouses. I can attest that this seems to be true up to her 8 heart event but not past.
- Each bachelor/ette has people who defend them and would marry nobody else. (Including some NPCs only met in mods) so there really is an argument for literally anyone.
 
Emily is best from the pure game play perspective. Her 14 heart magic boots have the same armor as space boots, so if you haven't advanced deep in the mine, that is an actual game relevant advantage. She also continues sending gifts in the mail in addition to spouse gifts. (Shane does also.) Also she is easy to woo because you can always find her, and you can gain hearts quickly with iridium wool. Additionally she has a nice spouse room and brings her parrot.
Marrying Penny fulfills story aspects in a unique way. Fixing the bus, building the house community upgrade, and fulfilling trash bear all impact Penny and her mom. Marrying Penny integrates the community. She also has a gorgeous spouse room and gives unique decor items in her 14 heart event. However, she does not have a loved gift that with iridium quality so it might take longer to woo her. Also she has a variable schedule so is sometimes hard to find.
Alex was my favorite spouse when I played as a male character. His 14 heart event not only makes a unique permanent change to Gus's backroom, it affects the schedules of several villagers, including his granddad. Seeing him wheel George to the saloon every Sunday to watch the game with the guys was really sweet. That was my favorite way that my spouse impacted the role playing aspect of the game. However, his spouse room is hideous and his loved gifts are complicated cooked dishes with no quality stars. That makes him much slower to woo.
Abigail makes a shrine in the backwoods and gives bombs as gifts, and brings her guinea pig. Sam gives a boombox, and likes joja cola, and loves cactus fruit. Once you get Botanist you can get hearts quickly with iridium cactus fruits. Leah's 14 heart event leaves you with a unique painting and she likes driftwood and gives coffee as a spouse gift. She loves wine, goat cheese, and truffles which you can get iridium quality to advance friendship points quickly. However, the flooring in her spouse room doesn't match anything from the catalog. Similarly, Krobus's spouse room does not match the farmhouse at all, though he is easy to befriend with horseradish and void eggs. Shane's spouse room is also disgusting but he puts a chicken coop in his area behind the mailbox and hangs out with Charlie there!
When choosing a spouse I recommend to consider several things. Practical gameplay advantage, unique changes in the community or items you can't get otherwise, the spouse room and outdoor area, gifts they love, gifts they will give you. More subtle may be family, friendship, community dynamics- for example Leah & Elliot's friendship, their homes being abandoned, or Harvey not being at the clinic in case someone is sick or injured. Of course you will want to also consider their appearance and dialog.
 

FairyRing

Farmer
Emily is best from the pure game play perspective. Her 14 heart magic boots have the same armor as space boots, so if you haven't advanced deep in the mine, that is an actual game relevant advantage. She also continues sending gifts in the mail in addition to spouse gifts. (Shane does also.) Also she is easy to woo because you can always find her, and you can gain hearts quickly with iridium wool. Additionally she has a nice spouse room and brings her parrot.
Marrying Penny fulfills story aspects in a unique way. Fixing the bus, building the house community upgrade, and fulfilling trash bear all impact Penny and her mom. Marrying Penny integrates the community. She also has a gorgeous spouse room and gives unique decor items in her 14 heart event. However, she does not have a loved gift that with iridium quality so it might take longer to woo her. Also she has a variable schedule so is sometimes hard to find.
Alex was my favorite spouse when I played as a male character. His 14 heart event not only makes a unique permanent change to Gus's backroom, it affects the schedules of several villagers, including his granddad. Seeing him wheel George to the saloon every Sunday to watch the game with the guys was really sweet. That was my favorite way that my spouse impacted the role playing aspect of the game. However, his spouse room is hideous and his loved gifts are complicated cooked dishes with no quality stars. That makes him much slower to woo.
Abigail makes a shrine in the backwoods and gives bombs as gifts, and brings her guinea pig. Sam gives a boombox, and likes joja cola, and loves cactus fruit. Once you get Botanist you can get hearts quickly with iridium cactus fruits. Leah's 14 heart event leaves you with a unique painting and she likes driftwood and gives coffee as a spouse gift. She loves wine, goat cheese, and truffles which you can get iridium quality to advance friendship points quickly. However, the flooring in her spouse room doesn't match anything from the catalog. Similarly, Krobus's spouse room does not match the farmhouse at all, though he is easy to befriend with horseradish and void eggs. Shane's spouse room is also disgusting but he puts a chicken coop in his area behind the mailbox and hangs out with Charlie there!
When choosing a spouse I recommend to consider several things. Practical gameplay advantage, unique changes in the community or items you can't get otherwise, the spouse room and outdoor area, gifts they love, gifts they will give you. More subtle may be family, friendship, community dynamics- for example Leah & Elliot's friendship, their homes being abandoned, or Harvey not being at the clinic in case someone is sick or injured. Of course you will want to also consider their appearance and dialog.
Wow! This is good.
 

imnvs

Local Legend
As @PoppyForPenny pointed out there are just so many variables, and people have so many different preferences and also strategies that make different spouses more suitable for them. I marry a different person in nearly every save, and I will go to the plate to defend every single one of them too. That isn't to say that I will pick all of them; I haven't gotten through the full list yet. I do, however, see how all of them can be attractive picks for someone.
 
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