My original picks for the 128 division were Starcraft > SSBM in the division finals. I really wish I had left it as that (I have SSBM > Prime now...). My logic for switching was that I decided it wasn't worth risking 15 points for a game that might not win its first round (although I knew it would be very close), so I decided to just gamble 3 instead.

LordOfDabu
A legend beyond all ages.

I can't wait until tomorrow. This will tell us a lot about whether SFF has been an influence or not. Being conservative, Metroid would defeat Contra 60/40. With that in mind, SMB3 would theoretically defeat Final Fantasy with almost 70%.

Oh, and if someone's owned for predicting GTA:VC to win, then the people who predicted GTA:VC to be weaker than MGS2 were also owned. :P

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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

Alrighty guys. So what did the encycopedia tell you? Hmm? Didn't I tell you that Prime was going to perform the best out of the Metroid games? Hmm? Oh, but you people didn't believe me. Nom you thought I was crazy because some potd said that Super Metroid was stronger and "other reasons". I told you, 40% of gamefaqs wasn't old enough to have played SM when it was new, and that said fat woudl hurt it massively. Did you believe me? No, of course not. I said Most of Samus' summer strength is from Prime. Well look. Look DAMMIT! Prime vs. WW is closer to Samus vs. Link than SM vs. LttP, now isn't it? Guess what, GotY or not 'celda' is still hated by plenty, and it certainly the weakest Zelda in the contest. Prime didn't win, and for those who hoped it would it sucks, but anyone who says it isn't a winner is a fool. It did what its predecessors couldn't, it performed up to expectations. I told you all it was the only one that could.

I fully believed you on Prime being the strongest Metroid on this site when you first told me on AIM. And frankly, nothing in this contest tells me otherwise.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

This makes NO sense at all, since Samus' performance only got weaker from 2K2 to 2K3.

According to extrapolted rankings and Samus not doing well against the #1 Nintendo character. I refuse to believe that Samus could have possible been weaker after Metroid Prime.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I highly doubt that Metal Gear or Gunstar Heroes would take down Pac Man or Duck Hunt.

Ultros, er, Ulti, I wouldn't be surprised if Metal Gear COULD take them down. Less than 87% of the brackets even had SMB3 winning in Round 1. Plus, Contra, another game that isn't exactly universally known and played, did pretty well.


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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

About Samus doing worse in 2003 than in 2002...that's what Slowflake's hypothesis of Sephiroth's 2002 overperforming was for. (In 2002 Samus was in the same division as Sephiroth) That's what pushes Samus up in 2003, or rather, degrades Samus in 2002. Sorry for multiple messages. ;_;

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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

***FFX SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***
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Yeah Smitelf, but some crazy people were saying that VC was going to BEAT SSBM after its performance agaisnt MGS2.

Including me, and I don’t think I’m crazy for it. Hehe, I may not have been *right*, but I wasn’t crazy.

None, I avoid all medications at all costs unless my very well being depends on it.

Hmm…maybe you should be on *more* medication, then, not less…

I don't even like to take asprin.

Masochist tough guy, eh?

I actually FFTA because I'm not ******** and I can judge it on its own merits as opposed to judging it on the merits of its vastly superior predecessor.

Hmm…what is ********? I honestly can’t tell (and I’m usually good with swearing, damn it!). Hehe, anyway, I never said I hated FFTA. It just happens to be nowhere near the quality of FFX. I don’t give a damn about how it relates or doesn’t relate to FFT, myself.

If FFT didn't exist I may even hold FFTA slightly higher in repect. I'm sorry, but you'd have to be a dumb ass to judge a game solely by its predecessor when its not meant to be anything more than remotely resembling said predecessor.

I’ll agree with you there. You’d also be an idiot to let your hatred of FFX-2 besmirch FFX’s goodness.

As a whole I dont like FFX. Outside of the superhard bosses it lacks anything enjoyable to me.

“Superhard bosses”? I don’t recall FFX being a difficult game.

The characters are uninteresting, the storyline is good but full of cliches, it's not dramatic enough, the music is just plain lacking, the "love story" this time around is pathetic, and the culture is down right boring.

The characters aren’t that great aside from Auron, I’ll give you that. The storyline? Cliched? Certainly not compared to other Final Fantasy games. The ending kicked ass. I found the story to be the best part of the game and can’t really understand how anyone couldn’t take to it, if they can get past how crappy Tidus is as a main character. I actually quite enjoyed the music but that’s more a question of taste – mine is good, yours is bad, naturally ;) – though I will say that the music in FFVII was better. The love story wasn’t all that bad aside from the “characters” having no chemistry…but Ulti liked Troy in spite of that :) I didn’t find the love story in and of itself so bad, just the characters involved in it.

The culture? I found it pretty original for a Final Fantasy game. Now Ivalice…don’t get me started on Ivalice. I hate it. Hate, hate, hate.

I donn care about saving these people, half of them deserve to die for how they think and what their ancestors did. Their curse is their own cultures fault, and their inability to actually solve the problem shows that don't really deserve to be saved.

They deserve to die for how they think? How so? You’re saying children deserve to die for being brought up in a world where Yevon is worshipped? And no one deserves to die for what their predecessors did. By your logic, every Christian in the world deserves death.

they would rather throw away lives on the sure but merely temporary bet when they should be taking the chance to get right. How lazy and sloppy is that?

Well, uh, that’s what you’re for, isn’t it?
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

SSBM is slightly underperforming consensus expectations against Vice City, so how could it look stronger than it did before?

The number of brackets picking SSBM to not even be in this match, let alone win it, prove its strength. I feel Vice City will be the favorite once the percentage for the match comes out, and as such, it was horribly underestimated by this board. It was damned strong, just like Metal Gear Solid 2, and most of you people discredited both games.

It would be nice to see someone besides Chichiri and myself notice how strong SSBM is in this contest. I`m not guaranteeing a division title here, but I feel that everyone saying that it has no chance or is underperforming is completely wrong.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

***SPOILERS FOR FFX AHEAD!!!***

The only quality I find redeeming in that game is the challenge. And even that is proceeded by a great deal of monotony. FFTA at least gave me interesting gameplay, a couple of somewhat likeable characters, and a story that, while a bit boring, at least differs from the accepted norm (aka cliches) just enough to be somewhat....creative. Not a great game as a whole, but featuring more redeeming qualities than its opponent.

I still don’t remember the challenge portion of the game. The only boss I can recall being a ******* is the Chocobo Eater (I don’t know *why* but I swear it took me an hour to beat that ****er).

I didn’t like the gameplay of FFTA. Despite not judging it by FFT’s standards, when a company has already made a game in the same vein, it would be expected that they would *improve* upon what they had done earlier. I found FFX’s gameplay to be much more fun. Also, I played the game a third time lately just so I could experience that wonderful sphere grid again, which is the most awesome idea I’ve seen a FF game for what seems like eons. The characters were better on the whole in FFTA (not that *that* is such a great feat) but there were no standouts like Auron IMO. And the story…well, I didn’t finish the game because I found it too boring, so I’m not sure if the ending might have redeemed it, but what I saw did not impress.

Voting for FFTA over FFX makes no sense. I still question the sanity of anyone who would do so.

I guess I should ask you what mental disorder you have ^_^
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END SPOILERS
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

I feel Vice City will be the favorite once the percentage for the match comes out, and as such, it was horribly underestimated by this board.

How does the total percentage, including many users who are never on this board, show that the board has underestimated SSBM? If anything, they were overestimating it at the beginning of the contest.

SSBM has no chance to survive. Make its time.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

The only story battles that were difficult in FFX were the Seymour fights if you didn`t know what you were doing, and Yunalesca if you bothered to cure Zombie status.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

***FFX SPOILERS***
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Hmm, I guess I can see Seymour as being challenging. I remember one boss fight with him that was fairly nasty.
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End spoilers
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

I would like someone, anyone to tell me right now what in the world even points to StarCraft having that kind of shot at Wind Waker? I cannot for the life of me figure out why people even think StarCraft is going to get closer than Metroid Prime did.

I don`t know, why don`t you ask everyone in this topic? http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/preview.php?board=8&topic=14177722
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Well since only 60% of the brackets even predicted SSBM coming here. I think that today SSBM will only get 30% of the predictions right what do you think?
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LUE is a cancer, and if it can't be destroyed, it must be contained. - CjayC
My Score 55/62 SSBM vs. GTA: VC

Need I mention Cloud vs. CATS, Ulti?
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

CATS is a joke. Starcraft is not.

LordOfDabu
A legend beyond all ages.

I meant only to show that board opinion means nothing. There was a poll on this board where CATS pwned Cloud.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

Yes, I am aware of that. ^^

LordOfDabu
A legend beyond all ages.

I don`t know, why don`t you ask everyone in this topic?

I don`t need to see who they are voting for, I want a reason as to why they would believe such. I have yet to hear a decent reason as to why StarCraft is even able to match Metroid Prime much less overcome Wind Waker.

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Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
You are doing well, lad. But can you break through this secret technique of Darkness?

CATS is a board joke. Starcraft is a game that can actually cause damage in these contests, and I for one believe that it can score at least 45% on the Wind Waker. I don`t put much stock in those polls either, because they are only a small sample of people who claim what they`re going to be voting for. And in the past, those polls have shown to make a difference in the first few minutes.

But I for one won`t be surprised is Wind Waker and Starcraft are at least neck and neck at the beginning. And yes, SSBM was underestimated by this board. Outside of the board, the overwhelming favorite could easily have been Vice City. But we`ll have to wait to see the percentage for the match. If Vice City`s prediction percentage is anywhere above 50%, then I believe that alone proves that Vice City was a damned strong game in this contest. Hell, it was predicted by nearly 80% of people to take down KOTOR in a match that had upset written all over it. Vice City, while being a game I cannot stand, is very strong in a contest setting.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Wow Ulti, seven posts in a row. Are you trying to drive this topic to 500 single-handedly? ;)
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Contest Stats: http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com

I have yet to hear a decent reason as to why StarCraft is even able to match Metroid Prime much less overcome Wind Waker.

Sadly, we may have to wait for the poll for you to believe in Starcraft`s strength. Let me ask you, what percentage would Starcraft have to get against Wind Waker for you to respect it?
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Wow Ulti, seven posts in a row. Are you trying to drive this topic to 500 single-handedly? ;)

No, I just hate keeping multiple windows open when responding to multiple things. Besides, a new topic never hurts.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I know Starcraft isn't a joke entry. No game could be to make it this far. What I meant was that, considering what a small and skewed percentage of the GameFAQs population this board contains, any poll on it will be pretty much meaningless.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

Let me ask you, what percentage would Starcraft have to get against Wind Waker for you to respect it?

43%.
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Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
You are doing well, lad. But can you break through this secret technique of Darkness?

Okay, there's a new topic up when you need it. :)

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=14214597

I need to shut off the computer before the thunderstorm knocks the power out again. What a pain.
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Contest Stats: http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com

Part 18's up and this topic isn't over?
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This is the alternate account of swirldude.

It's a preliminary topic.

What I meant was that, considering what a small and skewed percentage of the GameFAQs population this board contains, any poll on it will be pretty much meaningless.

I think I`ve already said that.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I guess we should fill this topic up before we post in the new one so let's predict how many people got the SSBM vs. GTA: VC right

Well I perdict that it will be 33.24% because SSBM had like only 60% of the people making him come out in round 1
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LUE is a cancer, and if it can't be destroyed, it must be contained. - CjayC
My Score 55/62 SSBM vs. GTA: VC

I`ll guess 38.12%
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I'd say about 42.25% of entrants got this right.
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''Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts...''
''All dreams are but another reality. Never forget...''

I`ll go with 43.32%.
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Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
You are doing well, lad. But can you break through this secret technique of Darkness?

40% even.
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Smart Ask! National Champion (2003)
www.rpgdl.com

Only 43%, Heroic Mario? Starcraft shall earn your respect that day.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Or flop miserably, depending on which way the voters swing >>

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The last thing I see in my lifetime is that fixed smile crawling out of the television, as my brain explodes into tiny, sobbing pieces.
-Videogame Recaps

*spoilers, perhaps.

******** is mentally ahndicapped, which if used as an insult is a "severe" violation of the tos. I didn't want to take chancs.

The characters aren’t that great aside from Auron, I’ll give you that.

"I’ll agree with you there. You’d also be an idiot to let your hatred of FFX-2 besmirch FFX’s goodness."

Actually, I don't hate FFX-2 myself. I think it's overall not a good game and that it shouldn't have been made as it was. I also don't let it affect my regards towards FFX as a game. My ratign for X remains unchanged. I will, however, vote against ten in an even match (as in, I like/dislike both equally) because one of the best parts of the game was ruined by having a sequel.

"“Superhard bosses”? I don’t recall FFX being a difficult game."

The extra boses in the arena. Those things are tough.

Yeah, I sorta liked Khimari as well as Auron, but maybe that's because everybody else in this world treats him as non-existant. That and he shows character growth that I almost sorta somewhat care about.

"The storyline? Cliched? Certainly not compared to other Final Fantasy games. The ending kicked ass. "

Except overall it doesn't have much going for it except here and there. Like the ending which is completely ruined by having a sequel.

"I found the story to be the best part of the game and can’t really understand how anyone couldn’t take to it, if they can get past how crappy Tidus is as a main character. "

Well, Yuna is a crappy heroine as well. The people are all worthless people, and should have gotten the treatment Akira Kurosawa gave the peasants in The Seven Samurai. The story was good, I said that, but it wasn't great.

"I actually quite enjoyed the music but that’s more a question of taste – mine is good, yours is bad, naturally ;) – though I will say that the music in FFVII was better."

I can name a dozen soundtracks from Square that beat FFX's any day of the week. FFX has some exceptional tracks such as To Zanarkand, and it has some tracks like Otherworld which gave a whole new feeling that no other FF has had, but as a whole the soundtrack sucks, and most of the time I would rather listen to something else.

"The love story wasn’t all that bad aside from the “characters” having no chemistry…"

No chemistry? They couldn't have chemistry because they lack any personality or soul.

"but Ulti liked Troy in spite of that :)"

I haven't seen troy but I can't imagine the characters lacking chemistry unless it was poorly written or poorly acted.

"I didn’t find the love story in and of itself so bad, just the characters involved in it."

I'm almost troubled that they are considered characters as they hardly appear to be half the time. If I wanted a good love story though I wouldn't play a game, and if I wanted a good love story in a game I could still find better ones than FFXs.

"The culture? I found it pretty original for a Final Fantasy game. Now Ivalice…don’t get me started on Ivalice. I hate it. Hate, hate, hate."

Original? Perhaps, but utterly worthless. Ivalice, however, is a dream world. It's culture isn't the most well defined, and it's all based on the will of a child. If I were in a kid's dream world I'd expect it to be screwed up like that too.

Take a moment to remember...How annoying Pipe Land was even with a Hammer Bros suit

Steve, I would be pregnant with your babies right now if I wasn`t married to like, four different people.

Thanks Ulti :) I am already married though heh, but Ill take your respect, that is enough!

I have WW in my bracket (originally over flop KH) and I have it winning over SC by 55% in the Oracle. So yep I am convinced now after 2 wins it is no fluke, and it will give WW all it can handle, and yes an upset aint too far out of left field... It is possible, Nintendites, and it needs to be accepted...

I hear Zelda fanboy alarms...yep they are all over the place. They are starting to overrun FF fanboys on this board with their vocals...and I never thought I would say that! The matches will tell the tale, like my commentary for Mario 3 today said, its getting good now.

Vice is Nice...i hate the game and all it stands for, but it did what i expected it to do...lose, but barely. I still think MGS2 would take it, and so would Halo and Prime and WW and even Starcraft. So yep Vice is seeded right. Against KH would be too close to call...

Ummm what else....hmmm...i think thats it for now!
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SCK24: 54/62 Trivia XIII: Diehards Forever
Steve Illumina: Standing tall against fanboys for over 20 years

Oh. My. God. This topic has gone up in flames while I was away.

If there's a game I hate playing even more than Yoshi's Story, it's catch-up.

My reason is that Starcraft is one of the best games in this contest.

So what? IMO the top three seeds make LttP their *****, yet it's ready to beat all of them. Just because your opinion says so doesn't make it right. Prime is widely regarded as absolutely killing WW in terms of quality, and look the way it went.

And battle.NET is a poor excuse for why it will get close to Wind Waker, if battle.NET barely got SC by Halo what makes you think it`ll push it close to Wind Waker, much less overcome it.

Being called another Heroic Mario sounds like such a compliment now. ;)

Don’t make me break out the song again…I’m warning you…

I can break out an endless loop of Yoshi's Story's soundtrack, if you want. Just ask.

and the hypothesis that SFF plays a larger role between older games has (inconclusive) evidence going for it (as well as many other posts)

Well, here's my take on this. LttP is a powerhouse. WW is not. Therefore, if Super and Prime are much closer to each other than LttP and WW, of course WW is going to be unable to pick up SFF votes. I thought that went by itself, but guess I have to explain everything.

54% of people had MGS in the Sweet 16. everyone else thought that FFT, DDR, or RE would take it down. I wouldn`t exactly call FFT a huge underdog.

Someone didn't see my comment about the board generally being more accurate than the whole lot of bracketmakers. There's only one exception that deserves attention though, and if you can't figure out what it is, you deserve to be stuck in a room, alone, with the aforementioned YS soundtrack playing at max volume.

According to what, the so-called extrapolated ranking system that I put little stock into? Like I`ve been saying for two years, Mario would have no problems beating Sonic on our site. The numbers from the past can only tell you so much. GTA3 did beat SSBM in a past poll, you know.

I know that, and I even mentioned it in today's match's preview. However, these two games were very fresh to people's minds back then, and it's obvious that opinions will change over time. And that change reduces as time goes by, and being that Sonic and Mario are old as hell, their popularity will likely stay the same. Now, sure, Mario beats Sonic in an indirect comparison, but not by so much. A 53-47 match would be expected according to rankings... but you come and say Sonic would do worse than Shadow did against Mario. That's what I'd call "no problem", and nothing lower.

Both matches featured severe SFF, yet FF7 is in trouble?

Will you PLEASE read even a bit carefully next time? I said it was unknown whether FF7 gained votes due to SFF or not. I also said that ONLY IF IT DID, then it was in deep doo-doo. OoT's match is obvious in that aspect, however.

You put this in the Loser of the Round section even though it defeated a Squaresoft Final Fantasy title? And an amazing one, at that.

Yes. Why? "Winning" and "losing" is relative to standards we have fixed. A mix of wild guesses, summer contest results, past PotDs and first round results. The latter kinda spelled doom for FFT, then it bounced right back, also meaning that DDR is closer to RE than it was made out to be. Square and Final Fantasy have NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, to do with it.

Yet another example of why common sense > those rankings. I highly doubt that Metal Gear or Gunstar Heroes would take down Pac Man or Duck Hunt.

DAMMIT WHY DO I NEED TO SPOON-FEED EVERYTHING TO YOU! Said humiliation is only on the rankings and nothing else. A "loss" is a "loss", hence their presence on the list. Of course if I were to do a bracket with these matches I'd have PS4 thrashing GH.

On the Starcraft issue, somehow I have the same expectations as HM once again... I'm pretty confident in my Oracle pick. If I and HM are right on this one, I'll laugh so hard every karma point I lose will be worth it tenfold.

But I for one won`t be surprised is Wind Waker and Starcraft are at least neck and neck at the beginning.

Darn you for stealing my ideas. I wanted to keep that for the preview, but guess not. The hype for Starcraft on the board is insane, perhaps superior to anything CATS ever got. I could expect Starcraft winning decently in the opening moments, and a minute or two into the poll, WW takes things in hand and pushes towards whatever percentage its strength allows it, exactly like Cloud.

Next is the issue of the Link/Sephiroth theory. First, as has been mentioned, there's the Prime issue that kinda accreditates it, especially since Samus was Seph's last opponent before Link. Then, there's common sense. It's easier to describe an anomaly using one match only (Link/Sephiroth) instead of five (Samus/Ken, Samus/Ryu, Sonic/Samus, Megaman/Sephiroth I, Samus/Sephiroth). And then there's Tidus, whom I left out to make things easier. Of course, if you have any idea why these five matches are abnormal insteand of Link/Seph alone, I'm open to all suggestions. Note that I don't have any idea what could've happened on Link/Seph either. Square fanboy "survival instinct"? Meh... never counted on that sort of stuff too much. But it still makes more sense to blame one match without any theory rather than 5 or 6 without any theory either. That's how I see it anyway.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 055/062 --- Matches: 41/47 --- Rank: 00971/40940 --- Today's pick: SSBM

"What I meant was that, considering what a small and skewed percentage of the GameFAQs population this board contains, any poll on it will be pretty much meaningless."

I think I`ve already said that.

Hmm? Where? Must have missed it.

Anyway, I'm going to say that 66.6% got this match wrong.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 59/62, Next Winner: Vice City

"They deserve to die for how they think? How so? You’re saying children deserve to die for being brought up in a world where Yevon is worshipped?"

Given that the leaders of these people know a bit more of the truth and have never done anything to stop it they at least do deserve to die. They allow murderers in their ranks knowingly, and they run a corrupt system that brought them the trouble in the first place. Even if the sniveling peasants deserve a chance their leaders do not.

"By your logic, every Christian in the world deserves death."

I never said that.... I only thougth that.

"Well, uh, that’s what you’re for, isn’t it?"

When I'm nothing more than a dream I could give a rats ass about the people who destroyed the culture I was born from. When saving the world is expected to cost me my life and there is a better way to do it, I think they should be in support of you for doing it the right way. I don't like corrupt institutions that brainwash people. I'd have torn down every temple before killing sin if it were up to me.

"when a company has already made a game in the same vein, it would be expected that they would *improve* upon what they had done earlier"

Well, had you actually played FFX first you'd have known THAT wasn't possible. Hell, if you had played FFVIII first you'd know as much. Sometimes it's not about better or worse, it's about different. I hate FFX, you like it. Guess what, they were trying to get new people interested in it. If someone thought along the lines you did but didn't know much about earlier games then it works. I hate X, so obviously it wasn't made for me. FFTA wasn't made for you, it was made for people who like the genre and wanted something new. If you want another FFT learn to program, you'll have one in no time, really.

"I found FFX’s gameplay to be much more fun."

I found it to be a rip off of Grandia and other great games that actually held together well. If you're insisting that FFX is more fun to play than previous FF's you're absolutely insane, If you're saying it's more fun than FFTA's then the Tactics genre isn't for you.

"Also, I played the game a third time lately just so I could experience that wonderful sphere grid again"

The sphere grid isn't wonderful, it's not even great. It's different, I'll give it that, but it had several flaws. I tend to dislike when you can make a character do anything. I hated FF7 for a long time for that, and even now I recognize the great imbalances of such a system. Enough monotonous work playing FFX and your characters become godly.

"which is the most awesome idea I’ve seen a FF game for what seems like eons."

So um... since FF9 then? Okay, 9 wasn't especially revolutionary, but there is no departure greater than 8, no systems more solid than 7 or 6, and no system as fun as 5. FF has a pretty good legacy, and X isn't that special when you cna realize the difference between eons and years.

"The characters were better on the whole in FFTA (not that *that* is such a great feat) but there were no standouts like Auron IMO."

One standout isn't better than an entire cast that is at least solid, especially when you consider that some FFs have had entire casts that had individuals the were almost all better than X's one standout. Name one character from FF7 that isn't more well liked than Auron and I'll tell you to pick someone other than Cait Sith. You can't do it. Every FF7 character except for CS has a bigger fanbase than Auron and they are all deserving. Hell, I don't much like FF8 as a game and I think it's cast is almost as bad as FF10's yet I know most characters in that game are more well liked or equally liked on level with Auron. Squall fangirls, Seifer fangirls, Rinoa fanthings, Trepies, Edea fans even.

"And the story…well, I didn’t finish the game because I found it too boring, so I’m not sure if the ending might have redeemed it, but what I saw did not impress."

Wait, were we talking about FFX or FFTA? I mean, you said boring, and the first thing I thought of was FFX because I really couldn't give a damn about anyone or anything in that game and that makes the story sooooooo boring.

"Voting for FFTA over FFX makes no sense."

Sure it does, FFX is merely an average game that does as many things wrong as it does right, I happen to hold the things that it did wrong in higher regard than the few things it did right. FFTA is merely an average game the didn't do anythign extremely wrong or extremely right. It's averageness is felt through out it and it leaves a bad taste in many people's mouths but not as badly for me as FFXs utter failings. FFX, as I said, had a good story... but I don't liek the character's so I really could care less about the story. It failed me. It wasn't an inventive battle system, in fact half of it felt outright stolen from better games. The system was original for a FF, sure, but again... other games have done better. The music on the whole was bland, and nothing more. Outside of battles I never felt any intensity about what was going on. I like feelings of drama, and I like to have the mood hightened and intensified. The story lent nothing to that, and even scenes that were supposed to be big and dramatic failed miserably at it. It wasn't poor writing, it was poor directing. The poor writing DID give crappy characters that I couldn't care less about though.

"I still question the sanity of anyone who would do so."

I question a person's abilities of perception if they think on the whole FFX is a great game.

"I guess I should ask you what mental disorder you have"

Frankly I seek only the best, and anything that falls short of that is subject to harsh treatment. To be blunt FFTA is nothing more than average and I'll never hold it in high regard. FFX, though, is supposed to be good and makes pretense at being good and it is not. It fails in key areas and never does enough to remedy it's own short commings. It's poorly directed, and that fact remains. When I wish to see a story it MUST have a direct with great scope and vision and the ability to carry it out or it will NEVER see the day when I can fully stop insulting it.

Wait, there are Rinoa fans!? oO

...the world is a dark, dark place...

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The last thing I see in my lifetime is that fixed smile crawling out of the television, as my brain explodes into tiny, sobbing pieces.
-Videogame Recaps

Yes Seijun, it is...
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

posts
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http://media.cube.ign.com/media/572/572738/vids_1.html - LINK TO NEW ZELDA TRAILER

497
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YEAH GO SSBM
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And free MMA is coming our way as this topic ends...
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 055/062 --- Matches: 41/47 --- Rank: 00971/40940 --- Today's pick: SSBM

If anything FF7 LOST votes due to SFF. Most hardcore RPG fans would have put their vote in with the Xenogears lot like I did. Why? Because they know the rabid fanboys make up far, far more of the vote and they don't want a game as good as Xenogears to get trashed too badly. Some would give the nod to XG even if they favored FF7 personally just to make sure it didn't look too bad. I would be willing to bet FF7 hasn't had a chance to show its true strength yet.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow