So what is "chemically" the same as adhering to a wornout stereotype?
As for romances, I remember at the end of BG2 ToB and reading the Viconia ending with the romance and all, I got a somewhat similiar feeling as I had when I read For Whom The Bell Tolls. A bittersweetness, but maybe it was just the fact that I had completed a couple hundred hrs. of gameplay. Where as it certainly wasn't anywhere as powerful, just the fact that I was reminded about of it, to me, was an achievement.
Most rpg romances are pretty lousy though. I would like to see better romances, but most likely won't.