Actually, I take back what I said about Starcraft not doing so good; it's doing decent. 30 minutes into the Wind Waker match it had about 51.8%, and it has 51.417% now. But in the Wind Waker match it was actually going up after falling at the start at this point; here, it's just going down. Who knows how this will turn out.

To answer an earlier point, I think Starcraft getting 3rd in the tournament is largely dependant on who wins friday's match. Should Chrono Trigger Prevail, Starcraft will likely get 3rd if it is able to overcome Ocarina's percentage (Which I see as a long shot anyhow, but that's not at issue.) Should SMB3 win, then it will be a decently close finals match, and CT will likely get the 3rd place nod.

Hey, DSX. Haven't seen you in forever!

I feel the same about this, except that I don't think SFF would be as bad in Chrono Trigger vs. Final Fantasy VII as it has presumably been in earlier matches, since they are from different generations. As I said earlier, I think a big part of the SFF we've seen is the intra-generational nature of the same company matches.

I would expect Starcraft to get about 35%-40% against Final Fantasy VII; I think Chrono Trigger can beat that, if not too much SFF is present.
---
Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

58.97% of brackets had Final Fantasy VII winning against Ocarina of Time...wow. if 74.75% of brackets that had it advancing to the 4th round had it beating Ocarina of Time/whoever (78.89% had it advancing to the 4th round), there's a chance slightly more brackets had Final Fantasy VII winning this than had Link winning SC2K3.

And if Starcraft wins, you'll have 3 #1 seeds and a 16 seed in the Final Four. Most strange.
---
Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

Starcraft vs. SSBM is almost like the irrestible force vs. the immovable ojbect. We all know about Starcraft, and SSBM has Mario in it. He is also the most prominent character in the SSBM pic.

So SSBM might have some comeback potential too. Even if Starcraft manages to overtake SSBM's lead late in the match, there's a chance SSBM can come back by the very end. I don't think anyone thought Halo or Wind Waker had good chances to come back at the end, but SSBM might.
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Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

I must say SSBM's suprised me. I didn't expect it to stall this soon. The day vote still remains in the air though.

The day vote still remains in the air though.

I hope you don`t mean "in the air" by who it will favor.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

Aw, that's devastating, Ulti. I'm at a loss for words. So close... and then Starcraft screws you over FOUR TIMES. (I think we can safely say it has the match won. SSBM's still trailing on Wind Waker.)
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 097/112 --- Matches: 50/58 --- Rank: 00301/40940 --- Today's pick: FF7

Also, in this match, Starcraft had sclegacy.com right from the beginning. Did it have that in any of the other matches? If not, this could mean that Starcraft will have less late-night power than usual.

Maybe it could. The people that were aware of this contest in the first place may have already voted. And then there's the whole spamming rush at the end that might see its effect reduced due to the day of the week... but that's me still being hopeful.

Though SSBM IS building its lead faster than Wind Waker, even though it's still behind by 100 or so.
---
SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

EXTRAPOLATED RANKINGS FOR DIVISION 32/64

01. 50.00% - (1) Final Fantasy 7 [0]
02. 46.18% - (2) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [0]
03. 28.70% - (4) Metal Gear Solid [+1]
04. 28.69% - (5) Final Fantasy Tactics [+1]
05. 24.89% - (3) Goldeneye [-2]
06. 21.93% - (7) Super Mario 64 [+1]
07. 20.27% - (11) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [+4]
08. 19.97% - (9) Xenogears [+1]
09. 18.98% - (6) Perfect Dark [-3]
10. 16.86% - (13) Resident Evil [+3]
11. 16.79% - (8) Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal [-3]
12. 14.37% - (16) Suikoden 2 [+4]
13. 13.75% - (12) Dance Dance Revolution [-1]
14. 12.64% - (15) Fallout 2 [+1]
15. 09.55% - (14) Panzer Dragoon Saga [-1]
16. 06.65% - (10) NiGHTS Into Dreams [-6]

SM64 should be a very solid third, and NiGHTS should be ahead of PDS as well. You all know why.
---
SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

I am rooting for Ulti and SSBM...

Even though my commentary proclaimed StarCraft will win cause of its fanboys and their battle.net lackeys, I am still nonetheless rooting for SSBM...for I would love nothing more than to see it defeat the forces of fanboyism and battle.net. We all know how I feel about misguided fanatical fanboys for one thing, but for two things...StarCraft ruined my bracket 3 times...and it must suffer the consequences...

Everyone here should root for Ulti, for one of our own Elites here, to win. Course, we all will be gunning to topple him in the Summer :)

Slowflake: Count me and my summer bracket in on your poll you do with the BOP standings.

Ngamer: Same with your Guru stats buddy! I will jump in on that in the summer too assuming you do those again.
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SCK24: 100/128 Trivia XIII: Diehards Forever
Steve Illumina: Standing tall against fanboys for over 20 years

I'm getting skeptical about Starcraft's chances. SSBM seems to be approximately where WW was at this point of the poll. If SSBM is able to build up a lead of around where Wind Waker was before the night vote came in, I don't know if Starcraft will be able to stop it considering The Saturday Factor is not on its side this time.
---
Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 94/112, Next Winner: Final Fantasy VII

Peeps of GameFAQ's! Only 3 battles to go! So yep, its time for...the ever forward and ever revised...

Steve Illumina Speaks

Indeed it is so, the legendary and ever humorous commentary spews forth for a few days more, to attempt to offer some funny and lighthearted yet well-honed levity, here on this the stats thread... the past, present and future bastion of proven intelligence on this overly fanboy dominated board.

And so it proceeds, with the Nintendites' grandest hope taking on the pride of old school RPG fanboys, here to get us finalist #1 in the Spring 2004 Contest.

FINAL FOUR: Match LXI (61...)

(Ancient Champ)Mario 3 vs (Greatest Generation Champ)Chrono Trigger

Steve's Prediction: Chrono by 52%
Steve's Bracket: Chrono over Mario 3! (Kudos!)
Dreamer's Pick: Mario is Missing!
Upset Chances: Irrelevant...

Comments: Considering the 32 games from these divisions...could there be a more fitting match to get us finalist #1? Yes. Should have been Zelda 1 vs Mortal Kombat. But we all know that aint ever gonna happen! Thats why I picked these two to get this far. And they both delivered.

The King of Platformers has ridden through Hyrule and now heads to Chrono's home world, traveling through the vortex to 1000 AD. Mario knows he faces the test of time...pardon the pun...when he faces Chrono.

The rabid fanboys of Trigger remember both defeats their hero suffered. They seethe at the thought of how a nitwit plumber beat their 'generic spiky haired katana wielding teeny-bopper' of a hero. They are determined this year to right this wrong, and beat Mario into the Pirahna Plant Pipe from whence he came.

It is Nintendo vs Square...and it has culminated into this, the 2nd best match of the tourney behind FFVII vs Zelda. The casuals want this match, the fanboys want it too. They are getting it, right here, Friday June 4th.

Mario vs Crono III? Almost, but not quite. Close enough though in the minds of the majority. And this time, Chrono takes it from the King, and steals his Yoshi and rides away to give Frog a playmate.

Why Chrono Will Advance: Its newer, its an RPG, its adored by the fanboys. Mario 3 is not adored in such a fashion by as many...

Why Mario Wont Advance: It will lose by a few hundred votes at most...bad luck is its only downfall!

Probable Results: Chrono takes it by a few hundred votes. Will be a dramatic match all day. Like about 10 others this year!

Random Gibberish: "Cyrus hopes and dreams!" -Frog, Cheep Cheep! Thwomp! 10000 BC, Great Ozzie, Luminaire, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, Yakra XIII, X Strike, Grand Goomba, Big Bertha, and where is the Chancellor?
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SCK24: 100/128 Trivia XIII: Diehards Forever
Steve Illumina: Standing tall against fanboys for over 20 years

Just thought of something. SSBM will probably have the luxury of the afternoon vote, something WW couldn't rely on. This could be SSBM's last stand.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

You guys sure know how to make a guy feel bad for rooting for Starcraft. I'm shocked at how FF VII vs. OoT turned out. Sure, I knew that FF VII had a very good chance at winning, but that margin is a little high for my tastes.
---
Smart Ask! National Champion (2003)
www.rpgdl.com

Luckily I'll be there tomorrow, but if you want to take over the preview for the final, just ask!

*** COMPARISONS GAME - Match #61 - (1) SUPER MARIO BROS. 3 vs. (1) CHRONO TRIGGER ***

And so the inter-era matches begin (though technically there were Starcraft's matches as well as Prime/HL before) with a clash between two giants! This time, CT is facing the real deal, SMB3... can it avenge Crono's two heartbreaking losses to Mario?

Sales

18 million is the magic number. Sure as hell ain't CT's.

- Advantage SMB3.

Franchises

With Chrono Break not in the plans anymore, CT is the sole major game in its series. Chrono Cross is like Majora's Mask, Halo and many others: either it's the best game ever, or a stinking pile of poo. The Mario series, on the other hand, have a gajillion of games, many legendary, to fall back on, as well as great spin-offs such as the SSB and Mario Kart series. Mario Party? Let's not mention it... its sole purpose is to give FF a race in the huge number category.

- Advantage SMB3.

GameFAQs Status

Number of FAQs: CT
Number of reviews: CT
Average review score: SMB3
Board activity: CT

CT wins big everywhere but in the review scores, and even there it gives rough competition to SMB3, which, may I remind you, is second only to NiGHTS in that aspect in the tournament.

- Advantage CT.

Board Odds Project

PICKS (out of 102)
Chrono Trigger - 61
Super Mario Bros. 3 - 27
Also picked: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (8), Final Fantasy 6 (4), Tetris (1), Legend of Zelda (1)

POINT VALUE
2. Chrono Trigger - 2623
4. Super Mario Bros. 3 - 2054

Self-explanatory. Don't think I need to add anything.

- Advantage CT.

Previous Rounds

Hmm. That's tough. Beating LoZ with 57%, or the much stronger LttP by 400 votes? Plus, CT beat SMW with 59%, but SMB3 is supposed to be quite a bit stronger. This is a tough one to call. Too tough, in fact.

- TIE.

Summer Contests / Polls of the Day

Ah, the Summer Contests. Mario vs. Crono. 'Nuff said.

- TIE.

Intangibles

Speaking of the Summer Contests, remember how Mario beat Crono both times? Yes? Good. That's enough of an intangible for me.

- Advantage SMB3.

Conclusion: This match could be excruciatingly close, or it could be a dud like yesterday's. But if it IS close, watch out for Mario's clutch. He could pull a fast one again, and I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

I hope you don`t mean "in the air" by who it will favor.

I meant in the air as in how SSBM would do compared to SC. And the lead has seemingly stabalized again at 1400, so it'll probably be around 15-1600 when SC makes it's surge again, which is debatable in if it's overcomeable on a weekday.

I'm seeing a pretty good lead out of SSBM right now, if it can keep building like this through the day it may become rather convinging. It really only needs to double the lead to make it look safe.
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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

Wind Waker had a bigger lead on Starcraft than SSBM does at this point (10:45 GameFAQs time)...this is going to get very ugly at night.
---
Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 94/112, Next Winner: Final Fantasy VII

BUT, this is a weekday, which means SSBM's prime time will last longer, and will be more powerful in the afternoon.
---
SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

And so SSBM looks very good.
---
ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

BUT, this is a weekday, which means SSBM's prime time will last longer, and will be more powerful in the afternoon.

SSBM should have stronger afternoon support than WW, yes. That's why I think this will get ugly. I'm guessing it should manage to garner Wind Waker's lead or maybe a little higher by the time the night vote comes into play. Battle.net will be tested.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 94/112, Next Winner: Final Fantasy VII

What was Wind Waker's biggest lead on Starcraft, roughly?
---
Go back home to Final Fantasy buddy, you might get hurt out here. -Tinek Arukena
Spring Contest Score = STARCRAFT'D

^^^
Just barely over 2000!

SSBM has almost hit 2000 already, and it's not even noon yet. Although I did see a big jump for SC on one of my refreshes, I think SSBM could earn itself a bigger lead than Zelda had pretty soon, and the day vote wont even be over yet.

I checked and I'm deffinately in better than the top 2%. If SSBM pulls this off I'll have a prefect finish. Of course I had such a bad start I can't win or anything, but that's not the point.

I am curious to see the guru standings now, as I haven't seen them for quite awhile now, it seems.
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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

Pushing 2000 votes now...and the kiddies will be coming home starting this coming hour, 3 PM eastern time.

So if SSBM wants to pad its lead, now is the time...
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SCK24: 100/128 Trivia XIII: Diehards Forever
Steve Illumina: Standing tall against fanboys for over 20 years

Things are looking good for SSBM if it can keep this up for a few more hours. SSBM has a 2081 vote lead right now, Wind Waker peaked at 2000 at a later time and fell once it hit it. With this not being Saturday and some early spamming and what not if SSBM can just get its lead higher for a few more hours it`ll be great going into the night.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

A couple minutes ago I checked and SSBM was up 2140. The push isn't going to stop now, and it should last as long as WW's push, but it's already better off than WW was. At this rate it could be possible for SSBM to take a 3000 vote lead, and that's more than comfortable to me.
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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

So, does SMB3 stand any chance whatsoever against Chrono Trigger? 'Cause it's looking to be the last interesting match of the contest...
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

3074 last I checked. Definitely a safe lead for SSBM at the moment, and it is looking like this could very well be the end of StarCraft`s wins...

Oh and SMB3 definitely stands a good chance tomorrow.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

I still think Starcraft takes this... it has the ability to gain mass night votes to the extent it needs them. It has overcome 2000 votes, and stalled because that was all it needed. Can it rally whatever it needs? Is 3200 (maybe more) within reach? We will know in the next 9 hours...
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Contest: 107/128; Division 128 absolutely pwned me... Perfect Divisions 8, 16 & 32 & 64!

If StarCraft could barely overcome a 2000 vote margin on a Saturday, I doubt it could overcome 3000 on a Thursday, supposedly the low night on battle.net.

You never know though. It's not impossible.
---
Spring Contest 2004: 104/120
Today: (2)Super Smash Brothers Melee over (9)Kingdom Hearts

Given today isn`t as strong on battle.NET as Saturday was things aren`t exactly looking on the up and up for it. SSBM already has 1000 more votes than WW did before the comeback. With it gaining around 100 votes every 10-20 minutes the lead could be over 4000 before the comeback even starts.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

Starcraft did not screw me over four times. I had it beating Halo, remember?

And I`m still alive and kicking! Only three more matches to go!
---
Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

3300! This match is in the safe zone now. SC could still win it, but it's not very likely. Nothing, NOTHING has ever come back from this.
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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

Starcraft needs to cut the lead by an average of 415 votes per hour to win this match. Starcraft averaged a cut of 279 votes per hour from the peak of Wind Waker's lead to when it finally overtook Windwaker. SSBM seems to still be gaining, so it's not good for Starcraft.
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''Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts...''
''All dreams are but another reality. Never forget...''

It's looking really bad for SC because time keep running out on it. The lead has gotten bigger, and even if it has finally killed SSBM's momentum it still hasn't gained any of its own. It'd blow my mind if SC won now. I never put it out of SC's reach against WW, but that was because I never felt that WW put it out of reach. But this, this is beyond any other competitor's ability... and I don't really doubt it's beyond SC now.
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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

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

At 17:34:47, SSBM had a lead of 3725. At 17:51:28 it is now 2904. That's an 821 vote turnaround in 16 minutes and 41 seconds. This blows away anything we've ever seen.
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Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

And Ulti, I will feel awful for you if this crap costs you the contest. But 800 votes in less than 20 minutes...uness CJayC intervenes, this match appears to be a foregone conclusion already, even though the lead is still over 2,800 votes right now (though it probably dipped below that as I wrote this).
---
Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

This is just... ugh... you just don`t gain 800 votes like that and call it legitimate.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

Earlier on I was talking about dynamic IPs, but now I've realized that proxy servers would probably result in much faster comebacks. I think even a single individual could create a multi-thousand vote turnaround in a day with proxy servers, though I'm not sure about that as I've never used one myself, so I'm not clear on how they work. Blizzard fans are well-versed in proxy servers because, for instance, they used them to circumvent IP bans in Diablo II.

Starcraft has definitely slowed down now. But let's say for the sake of speculation that it can gain 1,000 votes net every half hour, and start doing that with 6 hours left in a match. And being able to maintain such a pace isn't totally out of the question if scripts are being used; declining vote totals late wouldn't be much of a concern then. That means it could overcome 12,000 votes. That might give it a shot to beat Final Fantasy VII!

At the current power it's showing, it wouldn't be able to. But what it is doing now is already a huge jump over what it did before. And against Final Fantasy VII, which has more anti-fanboys than basically anything...<shudders>

No. I refuse to believe Starcraft cheating could be that overhwelming.
---
Nominate Frog from Chrono Trigger for the Summer 2004 Character Contest!
http://SC2k4.com/frog (click on the galleries)

This is just... ugh... you just don`t gain 800 votes like that and call it legitimate.

I agree. This is just plain wrong. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a CJayC topic...
---
Go back home to Final Fantasy buddy, you might get hurt out here. -Tinek Arukena
Spring Contest Score = STARCRAFT'D

17:30 | Starcraft | 35757 | +0452 | 47.55% | SSBM | 39448 | +0553 | 52.45% | Lead of 3691 | (Up 101)

17:45 | Starcraft | 36719 | +0962 | 47.89% | SSBM | 39958 | +0510 | 52.11% | Lead of 3239 | (Down 452)

18:00 | Starcraft | 38156 | +1437 | 48.51% | SSBM | 40500 | +0542 | 51.49% | Lead of 2344 | (Down 895)

30 minutes that will live in infamy as long as GameFAQS endures.
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Theifenburg Uncertainty Principle - Without any witnesses, who's to say what happened?
Proud warrior of THE LUCA BLIGHT ARMY

"down 895" is indeed an eye-opener.

17:45 | Starcraft | 36719 | +0962 | 47.89% | SSBM | 39958 | +0510 | 52.11% | Lead of 3239 | (Down 452)

18:00 | Starcraft | 38156 | +1437 | 48.51% | SSBM | 40500 | +0542 | 51.49% | Lead of 2344 | (Down 895)

What the ****? If it were any other game I would know it was cheating but...could it be possible that Starcraft really has this kind of power? Dear God.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 94/112, Next Winner: Final Fantasy VII

http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?FN=sc-general&T=69576&P=1&ReplyCount=5#post69576


"Vote if ya haven't already! Dial-up users can cycle their IP address just by disconnecting and reconnecting; not something that's an awful lot of fun sitting there all night and doing, but something to keep in mind if you're on and off anyway."


That many votes from dial-up though? I doubt it..

http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?FN=sc-general&T=69576&P=1&ReplyCount=5#post69576


"Vote if ya haven't already! Dial-up users can cycle their IP address just by disconnecting and reconnecting; not something that's an awful lot of fun sitting there all night and doing, but something to keep in mind if you're on and off anyway."

Someone send that to CJayC NOW! If this is true, the Starcraft cheating machine could be stopped.
---
This is the alternate account of swirldude.

Yes, telling people how to cheat goes beyond wrong...

However, Melee is looking good right now despite that less than legitimate surge it got I`ll throw a comparison out there to show the difference - around 800 - between Melee and WW at this point:

StarCraft vs. Wind Waker
20:02:01 34774 36000 49.13% 50.87% 1226

StarCraft vs. SSBM
20:02:12 42292 44363 48.81% 51.19% 2071
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Sevendust PWNED me with his superior prophet skills.

Someone explain THIS: Fallout 2 fails miserably, while Starcraft does really well. That doesn't make much sense. Does Starcraft really extend THAT much farther out to non-PC gamers than Fallout 2 does? Sheesh...

---
"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."

Well, I think that was obvious from day one. But that's just me.
---
SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 105/120 --- Matches: 51/59 --- Rank: 00200/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

SC is newer, and far more popular game. As good as Fallout 2 is, not very many games have the online communities that SC offers.
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Ah, America. The only country where both obesity and Anorexia are problems facing today's youth.