Stats websites:

Everything you could ever imagine:
http://www.sc2k4.com

Summer 2002 Contest:
http://solarshadow2002.tripod.com

Summer 2003 Contest:
http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com/2003/index.html

Spring 2004 Contest: (not currently updating)
http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com/sp2004/index.html

Stats topics:

Summer 2002 Contest:
http://solarshadow2002.tripod.com/page1.html

Summer 2003 Contest:
http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com/archive/topic1p1.html
http://www.angelfire.com/games5/sum_contest/Page1.htm (See note)

2003-2004 Off-Season:
http://membres.lycos.fr/shindohikaru/stats1.htm (See note)
Note: Don't use the links in the topic to browse through the pages, change the page number in the URL.

Spring 2004 Pre-Season:
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringPreSeason1.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringPreSeason2.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringPreSeason3.htm

Spring 2004 Contest:
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats1.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats2.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats3.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats4.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats5.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats6.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats7.htm
http://sc2k4.com/archive/04SpringStats8.htm

MMXcalibur's Site:
http://prophetchallenge.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi

!yawA tsoP
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Weeeee!
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Summer 2004 Contest Score - 6/6
Today's Pick - Bowser

It feels so empty without the Top 25 lists or the Guru list. Oh, well.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

*collapses over topic*
Sleep.......
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

Does anyone else feel Bowser is underperforming?

He should be kicking Guybrush's candy ass.
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Summer 2004 Contest Score - 6/6
Today's Pick - Bowser

His % isn't as high as most expected, but he is gaining rather quickly. Nintendo day vote does it again.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

Tagged for future reference. Let's try to fill up the other topic before we start using this one.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

tag
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Happiness is like peeing on yourself. Everyone can see it, but only you feel it's warmth.

Well yes, please fill the other topic first. I only make them when the other topic hits 450 to avoid any problems.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Tag for later.

And Bowser's gaining % at a fairly high rate.
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Current Pick: Bowser; Current Vote: Bowser; Points: 6/6
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

Tag this for now.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Home Run Bat to the top of page one!!!
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

In the last topic, someone said that even Link wouldn't be expected to break 90% on Guybrush. Personally, I'd be surprised if he didn't.

Also continuing from the last topic, Tidus will lose to Mega Man, but people will be surprised at how close it is, much like Mario-Shadow last year.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I know this has probably been asked and answered a million times already, but...who is Guybrush again?
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"Spira is full of death...only SIN is reborn, and then only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly."- Auron

In the last topic, someone said that even Link wouldn't be expected to break 90% on Guybrush. Personally, I'd be surprised if he didn't.

I really doubt that Guybrush would do worse than CATS.
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Jon Thomson - today: Bowser, tomorrow: Mario - 5/6
Nominate Ridley for Summer Contest 2005

Even Link wouldn't be expected to get 90% on Guybrush.

I'd be absolutely shocked if Link did not score 90% on Guybrush when Bowser is putting up nearly 83% himself.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Personally, I don't feel Tidus can hit 45% on Mega Man. He'll hover around 41-42%, which really won't be too bad.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

I know this has probably been asked and answered a million times already, but...who is Guybrush again?

He's from the Monkey Island games.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Guybrush is a lot like CATS. He'll get killed by everyone, but his own core of cult fans should keep anyone from hitting 90% against him.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

"Also continuing from the last topic, Tidus will lose to Mega Man, but people will be surprised at how close it is, much like Mario-Shadow last year."

You are going to be very dissapointed when Shadow beats Tidus.

Getting 45% against Mario >>> Getting 49% against Ganondorf who got 49% against Magus who got 35% against Link.

Also, looking good losing in the 2nd round >>> looking good losing in the 1st round.
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Current Contest Score: 6/6
Today's Pick: Bowser. Tough choice, eh?

Again, I'll doubt Tidus' getting mid-40's on Mega Man until I see it. I'm full expecting Mega Man to do very good in the said match.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I really doubt that Guybrush would do worse than CATS.

You'd be surprised. You think that Link couldn't pick up an extra 5% compared to Bowser, an opponent he'd crush 70-30?

Of course, I don't expect Tidus to get as high as 45%. He'll score around 43%, which is way too much for Heroic Mario to handle.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

How do you think Tidus will do against Megaman?
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Remember Dr T? Now he's back, in POG FORM!
Proud supporter of Viewtiful Joe!

How much could the MMAC benefit for Mega Man to do so well?
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Lonely Angel
Summer 2004 Contest Prediction: Match 7: Bowser wins: 79.34%-20.66%

Getting 45% against Mario >>> Getting 49% against Ganondorf who got 49% against Magus who got 35% against Link.

Actually, you should replace all of those arrows with an equal sign, since Tidus would do the same thing Shadow did, and vice-versa.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Actually, you should replace all of those arrows with an equal sign, since Tidus would do the same thing Shadow did, and vice-versa.

If that is so you are saying Shadow is equal to Tidus. What makes you so sure that Tidus will win?
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Current Contest Score: 6/6
Today's Pick: Bowser. Tough choice, eh?

Mario anti-votes, and being the main character of Final Fantasy X as opposed to being a supporting character in a series fading in popularity.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

People antivoting Mario might have helped Shadow... I'm hoping he benefitted, because I put Tidus over him.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

The good thing for Tidus is that with or without Shadow getting the anti-votes he isn't far from winning. If Shadow didn't get them, he has a slight disadvantage but it'd be better to call them equal. If Shadow benefited from anti-votes Tidus will go up over Shadow, then it would just depend on how much they affected him.

All in all, Tidus is looking to have a great match either way.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Mario anti-votes

I think their significance is highly overrated. We'll see how well Denton does tomorrow.

being the main character of Final Fantasy X

who is also one of the most hated protaganists of the Final Fantasy series


as opposed to being a supporting character in a series fading in popularity.

Just so you know, Sonic Adventure Battle 2 featured two different story-lines, one in which you play as Sonic and one in which you play as Shadow. That is not so much a supporting role as it is a co-starring role.

The series may be fading, but I doubt that'll change people's minds who've played Sonic games in the past. Does Shadow suddenly become less likeable simply because his "series is fading?"
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Current Contest Score: 6/6
Today's Pick: Bowser. Tough choice, eh?

Well, Knuckles performed 3% worse against Solid Snake last year with no real indication of a Snake popularity surge. While Knuckles isn't Shadow, that may be an indication that the series (and characters) are fading.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

The Tidus hate is being blown way out of proportion. Being the hero of an extremely popular Square RPG will do wonders. Just ask Crono.

If Tidus is so hated, then explain why he is the FFX representative to be in the contest for all 3 years and not Auron.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

well, knuckles' part in sonic adventure 2 was one of the worst parts of the game. That might have hurt his image.
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Current Contest Score: 6/6
Today's Pick: Bowser. Tough choice, eh?

Like him or not, Tidus is mucho popular. I have him lasting 'till the quarterfinals, to get whupped by Kefka. And heck, now i'm second thoughts on that one.
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Aqua's secret board to be named as soon as he finds an empty board to a game he has.

ok so here's the plan

First 15 min.: Shadow
Night Vote: Tidus
Morning Vote: Shadow
Day Vote: Shadow
Night Vote: Tidus

Now the question is which part of the day will influence the characters the most
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Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Bowser vs. Guybrush

O_o
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Like him or not, Tidus is mucho popular. I have him lasting 'till the quarterfinals, to get whupped by Kefka. And heck, now i'm second thoughts on that one.

...

Anyway, I find it funny that Tidus has been the strongest FF character outside of Cloud/Seph for two years running and people still vastly underestimate him. I wonder how Tidus/Squall or Tidus/Aeris would work out...now that has potential for reverse SFF, much more than Crono/Magus.
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Current Pick: Bowser; Current Vote: Bowser; Points: 6/6
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

Like him or not, Tidus is mucho popular. I have him lasting 'till the quarterfinals, to get whupped by Kefka

so YOU'RE the crazy guy with a Tidus/Kefka final and put Tidus over Shadow in the BOP despite Shadow being favored to beat Tidus. Evil man...and you won't win the contest.
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I'm safe until the next toss-up match, which is Bowser vs. Guybrush. ~SuperLuigiBros
SC2K4 Score: 7/7 Next Pick: Mario

Shadow being favored to beat Tidus... 60-59 isn't exactly what I'd call favored.

And yes, the first thing I thought of is that BOP entry.

Leonhart is totally correct, the Tidus hate is blown out of proportion. Ganondorf got these hate votes too, you know. And even at that he still finished 0.04% behind an anti-vote-boosted Shadow.

In the last topic there was talk about KH fading... I don't think so. See, my idea is that KH gave not only the FF characters a boost, but the games as well. As a general rule, RPG heroes are a bit less popular than their games. Consider Cloud 2002. Add a few points on top of that, and it still can't come close to OoT. More on the level of LttP. But it's not that... FF7 absolutely killed OoT, for what we've been brought to expect. Other big names, like Mario and Snake, tend to show that KHF is here to stay. Mario's a bit weaker than his strongest entry, SMB3, and Snake is a little stronger than his own strongest game, MGS2. In addition, Cloud was arguably a little bit stronger than Crono in 2002, despite what the numbers might say. However, the difference between CT and Crono is larger than between FF7 and Cloud, due to the whole Crono muteness deal probably. So, before KH, what we saw in the first hour between the two games would have lasted all day instead of just disappearing.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Wouldn't KHF have to convince those people to actually play the "older" games (FFVII, FFX) in order to actually give them a boost? Or would the knowledge that a character they liked in a different game be sufficient enough to boost that game?
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

In the last topic there was talk about KH fading... I don't think so.

When a character, Cloud, gains the most from the these "casual votes" and you take these said votes away from him there is no way he'd stay the same. Cloud got a large boost from casual increase that had played Kingdom Hearts, now take these votes away from Cloud and there is no way you can tell me he'd remain the same strength as he was in 2003. Lower vote totals, different poll position, etc. aren't leading me to believe that Cloud will be the same as last year, not a chance.

With or without Kingdom Hearts Final Fantasy VII could have done that well. There is absolutely no way of telling me without FFVII wouldn't have done what it did. For all we know, Final Fantasy VII could have won everytime in prior years. It has been the top game here for a long time. I don't believe at all that without Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII would have performed less.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT - PAGE 9 - (1) MEGAMAN vs. (16) EARTHWORM JIM

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well. Can't think of extra stuff to put here, but it'll be a must for the next match.

So it begins. Earthworm Jim is but the first bump in the way of Megaman's championship bid... argh, who am I kidding, Megaman has as much of a championship bid as Sly Cooper. No, really. Heroic Mario just really likes to butcher Cloud's name. A few people here would like to butcher its bearer as well, but oh well, can't have everything.

So anyway, Megaman is once again in the middle of a heated battle for fourth place, and Jim is not. Gotta give the guy credit though, I heard the name "Earthworm Jim" a long time ago, so it kinda rung a bell when I saw it on the bracket. Not that it means anything... I had never seen the name "Cloud Strife" before the first contest, and look.

I'll admit it, although I have a liking for the Blue Bomber himself, I only played his games once or twice, and that was a loooooong time ago. So I'm no Megaman junkie who can name every robot master, Maverick, or plot twist in the history of the series.

Some dude actually had trouble choosing between the two. I bet if Ulti was there at that time, he could've made the guy buy that Jim was going to win. That would've been far more hilarious than him guaranteeing someone a Zero win over Mega, which actually happened.

So this will pretty much be it for today. A character I know little about vs. a character I don't know. How great.

On to the match... I give up trying to determine a percentage. I have absolutely no idea how it's going to end up. Will Jim get 10%? 20%? He'll probably get brutalized badly, since Megaman is an elite and all. In fact, I'd love to see that kind of result, whatever it ends up being, in the US election this fall. In a perfect world, that would happen. Wait a second, in a perfect world Bush would have never seen the light of day. Mass Kerry-ers = Instant Win.

NUMBERS OF INTEREST

2003 extrapolated standings
4. Megaman - 37.35%
DNE. Earthworm Jim

Board Odds Project picks (119 brackets)
Megaman - 119
Earthworm Jim - 0

Board Odds Project point value
3. Megaman - 2091
52. Earthworm Jim - 0

CONTEST TRIVIA

Between his two showdowns with Sephiroth, Megaman gained 19 votes... but lost 11 percentage points.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

That "absolute killing" by the way was FFVII winning 53-47 and with a 7,000 votes. I wouldn't necessarily jump out and call that a killing.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I would. It was supposed to be THE match of the tournament. Name me a bigger dud than that.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

tag.
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...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

I think it was a killing... I was very, very disappointed with that match. OoT was losing the entire time and only managed to win one update.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

I'd rather call it "beaten with room to spare", as that was what it was. While the match was never close it was similar to Cloud vs. Link, and while the latter was closer it still was Cloud/Final Fantasy VII never being in much danger of losing to Link/Ocarina of Time.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

The fact that Final Fantasy VII dominated the contest seems to imply that Cloud and Sephiroth aren't going anywhere. I mean, come on. People aren't voting for FFVII because of Kingdom Hearts and it still dominated anything that was thrown at it.

The difference in vote totals hasn't seemed to affect percentages very much, and I don't expect that to change. Plus, there's no way to tell how much of Cloud's increase was as a result of the casual vote.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

The fact that Final Fantasy VII dominated the contest seems to imply that Cloud and Sephiroth aren't going anywhere.

Final Fantasy VII could have dominated in 2002, 2001, 2000. It's popularity on this site has never been low and/or hasn't risen only recently. If anything, it's the two characters who have become more popular as opposed to the game.

I mean, come on. People aren't voting for FFVII because of Kingdom Hearts

I don't believe they would be either.

The difference in vote totals hasn't seemed to affect percentages very much,

The only big character we've seen go at it would be Link. He's one that remained consistent between 2002 and 2003. With little to no increase, Cloud on the other hand received a rather large boost at the same time we got casual increase. Now, he's working without that casual help. It may not be anything huge, but I don't think he'll retain the same strength as he did before.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Final Fantasy VII could have dominated in 2002, 2001, 2000.

I'm not so sure about that. In favorite FF polls, FF7 keeps on gaining despite the number of games to choose from increasing. I'm not going to bring up poll #3 because of the low voter sample, but it's been a constant trend since then.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Though even a suffering a little bit takes away his small advantage over Link. He's working on about 1% stronger and roughly 4,700 votes. He doesn't have to take a huge drop to be absolutely dead even with the other two.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

For some reason, I don't think that FFVII would've won the year that OoT came out, or maybe the year afterwards...
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

But if Final Fantasy VII has ALWAYS been the most popular thing on this site, then why couldn't Sephiroth even touch Link 2 years ago? Sure, characters =/= games, but I find it hard to believe that the disparity between the two could be THAT large.

Honestly, before last year, Ocarina of Time probably would have won a Best Game Ever Contest.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Honestly, before last year, Ocarina of Time probably would have won a Best Game Ever Contest

SECOND'D

I believe that even in 2002, FF7 would've been in a three-way dance with CT and LttP for second place.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

I'm not so sure about that. In favorite FF polls, FF7 keeps on gaining despite the number of games to choose from increasing. I'm not going to bring up poll #3 because of the low voter sample, but it's been a constant trend since then.

Looking at 2003 and then 2001 Final Fantasy VII didn't even go up by 1% in a "What is your all-time favorite Final Fantasy title?" It may have had a slightly closer encounter with Ocarina of Time, but more than likely it still would have won.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I disagree. I say as soon as 2002, if you put OOT againist LTTP the winner would of been the SNES game. There are many more people who dislike OOT than dislike LTTP. And while more people might think OOT is game of all time, It has been my experience that more people have LTTP in their top 10. LTTP just doesn't have the hate OOT does.

Many apoligies for interrupting the current conversation...but is it possible for Liquid to be stronger then Frog?

That is, assuming he's better then Raiden...which would make him the second most popular character in the series. Meanwhile, Frog is the third most popular from his....

*Is picking at straws here*

Ahem.

FF10 came out in very very late 2001. Guess what? If it still could increase despite the third most popular FF coming out since then, it's a HUGE win.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

What's the big difference that occurs between 2001 and 2003? Final Fantasy X, which almost instantly became the 3rd most popular title and may even be 2nd now. If you took a poll without FFX in it, FFVII would dominate with FFVI in a distant 2nd.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

But if Final Fantasy VII has ALWAYS been the most popular thing on this site,

I've been here for many, many years dating back to the 90's and with Ocarina of Time's release aside Final Fantasy VII was always a huge, huge game at this site. Looking at prior polls (excluding the first one) Final Fantasy VII hasn't made any astronmical leap in those favorite FF polls, from what I remember.

then why couldn't Sephiroth even touch Link 2 years ago? Sure, characters =/= games, but I find it hard to believe that the disparity between the two could be THAT large.

Character's don't equal games. You touched down with it yourself. In the same reason that Gordon Freeman is a joke while Half-Life can take down plenty of games in the contest. Cloud and Sephiroth were never huge characters, but the Final Fantasy VII game was, but back then this site was less RPG character dominated. Cloud and Sephiroth both were never hot stuff until more recently, but Final Fantasy VII has always, always been big everywhere. It took a cameo in a game that didn't go to the initial fanbase for those two to catch up to someone like Link. The characters aren't the same as their games.

Honestly, before last year, Ocarina of Time probably would have won a Best Game Ever Contest.

Looking back on it I wouldn't imagine Ocarina of Time beating Final Fantasy VII.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

In the same reason that Gordon Freeman is a joke while Half-Life can take down plenty of games in the contest.

But for FF7 to be as popular in 2002 as it is now, the disparit between Cloud and FF7 would have to be anywhere near close to that between Gordon and HL. Does not compute. Cloud's character is actually compelling to those who played the game. Not Gordon.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

In the same reason that Gordon Freeman is a joke while Half-Life can take down plenty of games in the contest.

Cloud and Sephiroth go hand-in-hand with their game. Gordon Freeman does not.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Poll 1: http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1345

Poll 2: http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1638

Yep, characters =/= games.
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Points: 6/6/192 | Today's Pick: (7)Bowser vs. (10)Guybrush THREEPWOOD | Tomorrow: (2)Mario vs. (15)JC Denton

FF10 came out in very very late 2001. Guess what? If it still could increase despite the third most popular FF coming out since then, it's a HUGE win.

Judging by the poll FFX took out Final Fantasy VI for second place, but yeah. With a casual increase of about 20,000 it doesn't really surprise me .15% would add onto FFVII's difference from 2001 to 2003. Again, there hasn't been an absolute jaw dropping increase in Final Fantasy VII. I'm suprised people are finding it hard to fathom FFVII always being popular as opposed to just recently getting there.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Uh...Shadow's not in Sonic 2, but I think I understand what you're saying.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Yeah, so Sonic 2 got blown out. However, the pattern I'm mentioning for FF7 is reproduced by nearly everything RPG, which is why I called Magus/Luca so well in the first place using spring data.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Well, you'd think an immensely popular game--the next-generation FFVII, if you will--would be able to cut some percentage off of FFVII's overall lead, but it doesn't.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

How many copies has FFVII sold in the past, say, two years? I'm curious, because I see at least 2 copies every single time that I am in an Electonics Boutique, Blockbuster, or Wal-Mart...
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

But for FF7 to be as popular in 2002 as it is now, the disparit between Cloud and FF7 would have to be anywhere near close to that between Gordon and HL.

Just a rough example, probably not the best one. Regardless, there is more than enouch reason to vote for Final Fantasy VII and not vote for Cloud or Sephiroth, especially over some of the legends like Link, Mega Man, Mario, etc.

Does not compute. Cloud's character is actually compelling to those who played the game. Not Gordon.

Indeed.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Shadow may not be in Sonic 2, but if he was in that game, I don't think it will make any difference in that poll.
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Points: 6/6/192 | Today's Pick: (7)Bowser vs. (10)Guybrush | Tomorrow: (2)Mario vs. (15)JC Denton

especially over some of the legends like Link, Mega Man, Mario, etc.

The GameFAQs audience cares little for legends, and those who do vote both for the character and the game.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Well, you'd think an immensely popular game--the next-generation FFVII, if you will--would be able to cut some percentage off of FFVII's overall lead, but it doesn't.

Next-generation FFVII? Er, maybe in the sense that it was the first Final Fantasy of the generation and sold well. Overall, it wasn't in any way as huge as FFVII was.

How many copies has FFVII sold in the past, say, two years?

No idea personally. It did sell 9 million copies total though.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I concur with Slow here, especially seeing that Cloud can beat Mario without needing KH for a boost.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

The GameFAQs audience cares little for legends, and those who do vote both for the character and the game.

Now. This website wasn't as against the legends in 2002 as they are in this day and age. You can notice how more of these legendary characters did better than the coming years.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Er, maybe in the sense that it was the first Final Fantasy of the generation and sold well. Overall, it wasn't in any way as huge as FFVII was.

Except it's still extremely close between FF10 and FF6 every time there's one of these polls. In the last one, FF10 was actually second before the day vote, and an assload of topics were made on this board.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Except it's still extremely close between FF10 and FF6 every time there's one of these polls. In the last one, FF10 was actually second before the day vote, and an assload of topics were made on this board.

Which? The 2003 one or has there been a more recent poll? Wait, I think there has I'll go try to find it.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Oh, there was indeed a more recent one. Had another 20,000 votes added to it and Final Fantasy X slipped while Final Fantasy VII went up roughly 2% and FFVI took back second.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

And there was the addition of FFX-2, on top of that.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

I checked, the last 3 "Favorite FF" polls all had FF6 ahead of FFX.
---
Cold hearted orb, that rules the night; Remove the colors from my sight; Red is grey, and yellow white; but we decide which is right, and which is an illusion

I said "before the day vote". At that moment even FF8 was giving FF6 a heck of a fight IIRC.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

Let me put this little argument aside for a second and say, tomorrow should be a good indication of Mario's anti-votes. I think you, Slow, suggested earlier that if Denton got at or around 20% it'd be bad for Shadow. I'd agree with that.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I'm sorry, someone mentioned a poll where FFX came in second. I was just trying to help find it...

Anyway, here it is:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=762
---
Cold hearted orb, that rules the night; Remove the colors from my sight; Red is grey, and yellow white; but we decide which is right, and which is an illusion

Snowflake:

Yeah, so Sonic 2 got blown out.

I've already explained my "same era and genre factor" theory on why Sonic 2 got beaten so badly there.
---
Jon Thomson - today: Bowser, tomorrow: Mario - 5/6
Nominate Ridley for Summer Contest 2005

I think it was a few months after FFX's release.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 006/006 - Matches: 06/06 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Bowser - Tomorrow: Mario

That poll was taken less than a month after FFX's release I believe.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

In fact, I think it was 13 days after FFX was released.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I'll be gone until near the beggining of the match so I'll post my review/preview now

Match VI: (3) Crono vs. (14) Conker Review

Crono beat Conker, 77.99% - 22.01%

Well this is another match where it went as expected, Crono easily beat Conker. Though the only funny part in the poll was that Crono failed to get 78% and the match was 20 votes away from 80k and also this was the second easiest match to predict behind Link vs. CATS. So really there isn’t much to talk about.

In next round on Crono’s quests to see if he may get his revenge against Mario is Magus. Though the match does have the potential of being a blowout or being a close match so it could be a match to watch in this boring division where the only interesting match is Mario vs. Crono Part III: Is third times a charm?

---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Bowser vs. Guybrush

Match VIII: (2) Mario vs. (15) JC Denton Preview

Past Performances:

Mario: 2002

Defeated Servbot, 74.11% - 25.89%
Defeated Morrigan, 66.81% - 33.19%
Defeated Donkey Kong, 81.98% - 18.02%
Defeated Cloud, 50.11% - 49.89%
Defeated Crono, 50.05% - 49.95%
Lost to Link, 37.47% - 62.53%
Ranked: 6th

Mario: 2003

Defeated Captain Olimar, 88.42% - 11.58%
Defeated Shadow, 55.10% - 44.90%
Defeated Crono, 50.05% - 49.95%
Lost to Sephiroth, 38.40% - 61.60%
Ranked: 5th

JC Denton: 2002

Did not attend
Ranked: N/A

JC Denton: 2003

Did not attend
Ranked: N/A

Analysis:

Mario the red plumber and is also number one of the Mario characters. This year for once Mario is a 2 seed after being a 1 seed for the past two contests. Mario’s performances are really weird because he gets anti-votes so making all the weak characters look strong when there up against him yet he can hold his own ground when it comes to going up against stronger characters. Mario is getting setup to fight against Crono for the third time and if he wins that match he will most likely have a rematch with Link and we all know what happened to him.

JC Denton another new character to this contest yet he’s one of the few characters where I know nothing about him or his game. JC Denton is from the Deus Ex series and JC Denton is a former agent for the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO) and a maternal clone of his brother, Paul Denton. Deus Ex is a PC game and from what people has said that have played that game was that it totally rocks. Though I don’t think many people played that game, which that doesn’t make JC Denton look too good. Even though chances for JC Denton don’t look good, but could he take a big chunk of percent against Mario?

Sigh and finally we are at our last match of the first round in this boring division and this match like all the others will be so boring that many of us wouldn’t care about the poll. Let’s hope that the next three divisions will be more fun.

Well Mario is a very unpredictable character. He can do horribly against weak characters yet he can hold his own against the strong characters as well. The reason that Mario tends to do badly against weak characters is that Mario gets a lot of anti-votes, but Mario has also been known to blow away weak competitors too (Captain Olimar). So the question is; how will Mario play this round? As of now it’s a mystery so we can see anywhere from 90/10 to 80/20, but anymore will just be pushing it.

If this contest was held at a PC site this match could be as close as 55/45, but since it isn’t it looks like JC Denton will get blown away. I can see it topics tomorrow like, “Whose JC Denton”. I just find it weird that RPG characters are the top ranked characters here, but if the contest was held somewhere else I think that most of them would be first round losers or something.

The only thing JC Denton has going for him is Mario’s anti-votes and despite Mario having a lot of them I really don’t see JC Denton breaking 20% even if we have every single anti Mario voter vote. So this match doesn’t look good for JC Denton and he will probably be one of the Top 10 Least Deserving Characters awards.

Charmander’s Bracket: Mario

Charmander’s Prediction: Mario wins, 85.34% - 14.66%

---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Bowser vs. Guybrush

Hey, there's two good matches in the Hyrule division. Mario/CronoIII and Yoshi/Luigi. Both green guys have performed a tad bit under what they should have (1.02% for Luigi and 0.28% for Yoshi), but Conker performed worse against Crono than he should have (1.78%). I'd give Yoshi a slight edge next round, but that could change pending Squall, Ratchet, and Bowser's final performance (he's a little under right now).
---
Current Pick: Bowser; Current Vote: Bowser; Points: 6/6
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

just caught up with everything, also, I highly doubt Kingdom Hearts made people go out an buy the other Final Fantasies. In introduced them to more casual voters, giving them a preference to them. I really don't think it would have caused too many people to go run out and buy their games. I mean, they don't make KH what it was, they certainly helped sell the game, although, that might not even be true, because it was advertised as only having Disney really in it. So, the FF characters are nice and all, but the story isn't realyl about them, and imo Seph gets the coolest appearance in the game, with Squall in second.
---
Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15556070

Bowser is so close to getting that 83%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

From the last topic:
"And Chichiri, I'm surprised that you of all people didn't know who someone was. You're the encyclopedia."

Well, I knwo what deus ex is, and frankly I don't give a rats ass about playing. That being said, not know JC Denton pre-contest isn't surprising.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Bowser passed 83%, finally =).
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

And Bowser has finally broken 83%. He's probably not going to get too much higher though.

Personally, even though I love Mario, I'm hoping that JC Denton can get above 15% tomorrow.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Bowser is up over 83%! =)
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I'd love to see Mario finally get 90% in a match, and I'm hoping he does just that tomorrow. I can hope... =\
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

But the better Mario does, the better Shadow looks. Eh, either way, he's pretty much even with Tidus, and I feel confident the FFX star will take it. I'd just like to be able to breathe easy during the match.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I'd rather see Mario get a 90% match rather than rest easy during a one point match. Heh, I'm biased like that. Like you said, even if Mario does extremely well Tidus and Shadow are still even with each other.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Bowser/Guybrush thoughts

I don't remember if I've done this already, but whatever. Bowser has disappointed me to no end, and this match may mean that we could see Guybrsh in next year, too. Ugh.

Mario/JC Denton preview

JC Denton is cooler than you, and you all damned well know it. That said, he has no chance to do all that well here. It's Mario, for crissakes. The only drama in this match will be whether or not JC can break 20% in the end. If he does, Shadow is gone.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

I don't remember if I've done this already, but whatever. Bowser has disappointed me to no end, and this match may mean that we could see Guybrsh in next year, too. Ugh.

Ulti, would you still be disappointed about Guybrush appearing next year if I told you I've heard rumors about Monkey Island V being in development?

...Probably.
---
"Antigravity! It's not just for breakfast anymore!" - Joel
Smart Ask! National Champion (2003) www.rpgdl.com

I'm sure a new Monkey Island game will do as much for Guybrush as bribing voters with monkey poo.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Hate family...two-week vacation...spyware...everywhere. My precious...computer...years of care...gone to nothing...hate...family...hand swollen...typing...hurts...hate...spiders...but hate family...more. AND HOW DO THEY BUILD UP MORE BOOKMARKS IN TWO WEEKS THAN I HAVE IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS!? AAAAARGH!

So, how's the contest been going? Anyone want to give me a recap of the past week?
---
Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
This year is Sephiroth's year!

And Bowser/Guybrush ends with Slowflake-like accuracy.

Anyone claimed it would end 83-17? Because that would own.
---
Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

Stupid Bowser couldn't even end over 83% -_-;. I was kind of wondering what happened to smitelf... Family on your computer is never fun >_<.
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Yes! Mario is doing great right now, with 86% of the vote and rising! Go Mario!
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Anyone want to give me a recap of the past week?

Vote totals down,
CATS played the clown,
Link beat Cloud's percentage,
So people think he's got the advantage.
Ganon conks Alucard's style,
Edouble's in denial,
Luigi and Yoshi both succeed, they do
The question for Ryo is "Who?"
Magus obliterates Highland's great,
Leaving bacon in his wake,
Crono stays ever the silent,
Beating down the squirrel violent,
And nobody knows Guybrush.
The end, I'm in a rush.
---
"Antigravity! It's not just for breakfast anymore!" - Joel
Smart Ask! National Champion (2003) www.rpgdl.com

Score-Brackets-% Right
6----11324----97.7216531
5----13105----95.8031286
4----6819-----93.0488341
3----1561-----88.7892377
2----228------81.1403509
1----68-------33.8235294
0----116------0.862069

The 0's did very well in that match.
---
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts..."
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget..."

Add to Bowser's exact 83-17, that exactñly 95% had him winning.

Guess Koopa King likes his numbers round.
---
Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

2 of the top 50 fell off today. Ryo 0hki(4th) and Wutv(41st). Halosniper2003 moves into 11th.
---
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts..."
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget..."

Bowser ended with 82.99%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

oh really, that's anticlimactic
---
Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15576166

DomaDragoon...

Best. Recap. Ever.

Good night.
---
*is tnote827*

Yes, it was...
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1724

This says otherwise.
---
Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1724

This says otherwise.

It says 82.99% to 17.01% for me.
---
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts..."
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget..."

So does this mean Tidus or Shadow is gonna win?
---
GOD Bless And Keep It Fresh
The Unofficially Self-Appointed Understudy of Crimson Raziel

It says 83/17 for me.

Either my computer is stupid, or GFaqs is.
---
Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

Mario is hanging around mid-82% right now. He's doing well and only has the day vote to look forward too so he can do what Bowser didn't and stay above 80% he shouldn't have a problem breaking 85%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

just wait until the day vote comes Mario will gain like Bowser did
---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

This is looking to deny the theory of Mario anti-votes. He seems to be on a rise again with over 83%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

If people had taste, Denton would be winning this match. Not trying to break 20%, but winning.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

If people had taste, Denton would be winning this match. Not trying to break 20%, but winning.

No if people had taste Mario would be well over 90%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

If people were cool, Mario would have 100% right now. Not 82ish but 100%!
---
GOD Bless And Keep It Fresh
The Unofficially Self-Appointed Understudy of Crimson Raziel

This is looking to deny the theory of Mario anti-votes. He seems to be on a rise again with over 83%.

Mario's anti-voters are weird. I guess they would rather vote for a character that they know instead of a no-namer like JC Denton.

*runs away from Ulti*

---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

As a character, JC is far superior to Mario...
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Mario's anti-voters are weird. I guess they would rather vote for a character that they know instead of a no-namer like JC Denton.

I'm really going to doubt how significant some people make them out to be if Mario continues to stay good tonight and get that boost tomorrow morning.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Why do I let you people live?
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Well I've tested a bunch of theories about Mario's anti-votes and they've all came between 1%-5% difference so I guess we won't know until Tidus vs. Shadow

Mario is struggling to get 83% and I'm now going to bed
---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

Because you love us. Let's go Mario! 400%!!
---
My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

I'm telling ya. Why Mario doesn't have at least 1000% in this poll shocks the crap out of me. I mean honestly. =)
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I am so going to be on tilt with all of the 'Who is JC Denton?' topics that show up through the day. The only perscription is more cowbell.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Mario's sitting around the 81.70% range right now. I hope he manages to stay above 80% before the morning vote kicks in.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

So, Ulti, who is JC Denton anyway?

*FLEES*

I kid, I kid, I've actually played Deus Ex.

I need to post here more often, but I have rather little to say right now, so I guess this is a tag as much as anything.

HM, if you're doubting the existance of Mario anti-votes, how can you think Tidus will beat Shadow? Personally, I'm thinking an 18%+ finish for JC is good news for Tidus
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Even if Mario anti-votes didn't exist, there are other factors that favor Tidus.

First of all, it's true that Shadow is slightly ahead of Tidus in the rankings. But look at by how much. The difference is the same as Mario Vs. Crono, and you know how close they are. You might as well call matches like that "equal"

So in reality, you can't conclude that Shadow > Tidus from the rankings. It's more like Shadow = Tidus

And with extenuating circumstances added such as the possible fading of Sonic series popularity then the scale tips slightly in Tidus's favor.
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

That's what I think as well n00b avenger. But if there are enough Mario anti-votes for JC Denton to get more than 18% at the end of this match, Shadow is clearly higher in the rankings than he should be.
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Yeah, but I doubt Denton will end with over 18%

Morning vote should put Mario to 85% or so
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

"That's what I think as well n00b avenger. But if there are enough Mario anti-votes for JC Denton to get more than 18% at the end of this match, Shadow is clearly higher in the rankings than he should be."

Actually, no. Denton getting less than 20% against Mario means that Shadow deserves his spot in the rankings. Honestly, did it never occur to you that JC Denton might have some fans too?
---
Current Contest Score: 7/7
Today's Pick: Mario.

Yeah, I'm just giving the number that I think JC needs to aim for to give us a favourite
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Of course JC Denton has his fans. But lets look at it honestly. How many fans does he have? I'm not bashing JC, but he's not exactly Mr. Famous is he?
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

I think it's similar to the Guybrush Threepwood situation. Deus Ex, as well as Monkey Island will appeal to people who play PC a lot more than anything else, and though they do make up a minority on this site, I'd say there's a good 8 or 10% of them hovering around. And most of them probably will vote PC characters over people like Mario and Bowser.

I think it'd be easier to judge if his opponent was a fellow non-Nintendo console character.
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

And yes, I do know that Deus Ex 2 was on consoles.
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

If Mario does as well as Bowser did yesterday with the day vote, then it's Tidus' turn to be in the hotseat, I say.

But it's still going to be close. If there's someone who can win this match with any sort of comfortable margin, it's Tidus.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

Wow, while I was typing this Denton gained 0.05%. Can Mario actually be losing the day vote against a jobber AGAIN?
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Just how much did Bowser gain yesterday?
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Bowser didn't start to come back until 6 PST/9 EST

I say give it a couple more hours.
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

And Bowser, from his lowest point, gained about 5.3%
---
The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

I am of course happy with my Tidus pick as of now.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Sephiroth
Status: 7/7 Next Pick: Mario

It's not begun yet? It'll be interesting to watch this drive. JC has the looks to attract potential anti-voters, that's for sure.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

JC looks like teh Matrix!!!1!!!!
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Exactly what you want from the lil Vercetti-worshipping kiddies that want to be cool.

Better get started on that Tidus/Shadow preview... it's going to be long...
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

I am in shock--SHOCK, I say!--that people are actually trying to say that Final Fantasy VII would not have won in past years simply because Kingdom Hearts would not have been around.

Frankly, that is a totally nonsensical stance. I'm totally with Heroic Mario on this. I mean, WTF??

This site was practically *BUILT* around Final Fantasy VII. This is a FAQs site, after all, and FFVII was always the top dog FAQ-wise. It's always been numero uno at this site in terms of attention/site emphasis.

If you go back to the beginnings of the site, Final Fantasy VI and A Link to the Past would've been among the favorites, and probably been stronger than FF7. So this site has clearly evolved in terms of popularity/strength, mainly in terms of SNES era games going down--with the exception of Chrono Trigger, which probably wouldn't have been as popular back in the day.

And I can definitely imagine Ocarina of Time winning in some years. Final Fantasy VII vs. Ocarina of Time was obviously not a blowout, and it wouldn't take much to tip the scales.

But to say that Final Fantasy VII wouldn't have won without Kingdom Hearts seems absurd. Seriously, it's Final Fantasy VII. Is there any doubt as to which game would've been the favorite in Spring 2003? In 2002? In 2001? Clearly, Final Fantasy VII would've been the favorite to win a "best game" contest at GameFAQs in each of those years. That doesn't mean it would have actually won--the difference in "favorite status" between FF7 and OoT was much bigger than their difference in strength--but it would have been the clear favorite, and won in at least one of those years more likely than not.

To say that Final Fantasy VII needed Kingdom Hearts to win is really a stretch. We can't know for sure as there's no evidence to base this on, but logically it doesn't make sense.
---
Supporter of Frog
SC2K4.com/Frog

Someone said FFVII needed KH to win?

That is 4/3 x pi x r^3
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

Oh, and I don't think either Tidus vs. Shadow or Mario vs. JC Denton will say anything conclusive about Mario anti-votes.

People have set 20% as the benchmark for Denton showing Mario anti-votes exist. I agree with that number, but don't think any strong conclusions can be drawn from it. We really don't know how popular JC Denton might actually be. His game is a beloved cult classic from what I've heard. And while he is incredibly obscure as a character, 20% on Mario would put him at 15% on Link, just below Ness and a good margin above CATS, or around Kyo Kusanagi/Q-Bert/Pitfall Harry level in 2K2. Is that really so difficult to accept? JC Denton being as strong as Pitfall Harry hardly seems like something screaming "overperformance!" to me.

Also, I think Tidus could win with as much as 55% without definitively saying Shadow was boosted by anti-votes. That would be within the standard margin of error. Just because Tidus might win with, say, 53% doesn't mean that Shadow benefited from anti-votes for sure. Though, of course, a Shadow victory would put a hurtin' the possibility of him having benefited from Mario anti-votes. But a moderately clear Tidus victory would not be conclusive in favor of Mario anti-votes.

I fear that even if Tidus wins with as little as 52%, people will say that Shadow overperformed for sure against Mario, but such a deviation from extrapolated expectations could be caused by anything. It would take something along the lines of 55%+ for Tidus to really indicate that Shadow did better than he should have, and I think few of us expect Tidus to do that well. Though a "blowout" (relatively speaking) Tidus victory is more likely than a blowout Shadow victory IMO.
---
Supporter of Frog
SC2K4.com/Frog

From: DomaDragoon | Posted: 8/8/2004 3:03:51 AM | Message Detail

Vote totals down,
CATS played the clown,
Link beat Cloud's percentage,
So people think he's got the advantage.
Ganon conks Alucard's style,
Edouble's in denial,
Luigi and Yoshi both succeed, they do
The question for Ryo is "Who?"
Magus obliterates Highland's great,
Leaving bacon in his wake,
Crono stays ever the silent,
Beating down the squirrel violent,
And nobody knows Guybrush.
The end, I'm in a rush.


GENIUS.
---
Supporter of Frog
SC2K4.com/Frog

I agree with everything creativename just said.
---
Officially supporting Crono/Magus/Frog in the Spring Contest. *Steinershocker*
Guybrush(who has made no impact on the gaming world in any way.) - TheGuilty1

creativename put everything I could think of out there allready. *very confident in Tidus*
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SC2k4 Winner: Sephiroth
Status: 8/8 Next Pick: Mega Man

That's right, in a way... Denton has 19% and is falling now. That's really nothing to cream ourselves.

Geesh, I have an entire part of the preview written and I'm at Radical Highway. And I haven't even touched Tidus yet. Yikes.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

ya know, if anti-Mario votes really do boost weaklings and mid-level guys, then why hasn't anyone been able to explain this yet:

61 South 13 Tom Nook 10.82% 10.48%
62 South 16 Captain Olimar 8.84% 8.55%
63 North 16 AiAi 8.65% 8.37%
64 West 15 Mr. Resetti 8.52% 8.24%

Captain Olimar managed a whole 11.6% against Mario last year. that was good enough to put him at 62nd place, which is quite a bit behind 61st and only slightly better than the bottom two. he only got 11678 votes, which was the third lowest vote total of the contest (only 278 more votes than Mr. Resetti got). now, if people were really anti-voting Mario that much, why did Olimar fare so poorly?

why can't people just accept that Morrigan and Shadow ARE as strong as their rankings suggest? okay, so Servbot does seem like a total fluke, but ya gotta remember that that was the very first day of the very first contest. the contest hadn't gotten nearly as much exposure yet, and the voting cross-section then was most likely at least a little different than what it was in later rounds. or maybe Servbot really is that strong. *shrugs*

either way, i could easily see JC being as strong as he's performing now. Deus Ex is one of the most popular PC games out there. plus, it's a genre that appeals to GameFAQS people (in other words, not a FPS). not to mention that JC actually does look pretty cool for a name most console gamers won't recognize (unlike Guybrush or Ryo). and now, Mario is finally starting to run away with the day vote. he's gone from 81.1% to 81.25% in the past 15 minutes.

i'm sorry, but Shadow is NOT overranked due to Mario anti-votes. this doesn't mean that Shadow has a guaranteed win, but neither does Tidus.

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you guys nominated the wrong Shadow..... =(
Through great Luck (and a bit of skill) ULTI pounded me in the Spring Contest!!

A combination of Olimar being Nintendo as well and looking like a total lamer. Even the anti-Mario voters wouldn't vote THAT over Mario. Besides, Mario did reduce DK's performance by half with SFF, remember?
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

If Servbot went up against Mario in 2003, he would've got raped... 86-14 atleast.

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Summer 2004 Contest - Score: 7/7
= Mario vs. JC Denton =

Wow, Mario is gaining quite steadily. Since around 7:30 this morning he has gained about .8%
---
Current Contest Score: 7/7
Today's Pick: Mario.

actually, that's a good point about DK, Slowflake. if SFF did push DK way down, why didn't anti-Mario votes cancel that out? with supposed anti-Mario votes, D.K. should've been able to at least match Servbot's vote total. and Olimar suffering from SFF? that's pushing it.

---
you guys nominated the wrong Shadow..... =(
Through great Luck (and a bit of skill) ULTI pounded me in the Spring Contest!!

"Lesser of the two evils", I guess.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

I'm confident in Tidus.
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Remember Dr T? Now he's back, in POG FORM!
Proud supporter of Viewtiful Joe!

20XX Division: Round 1 - Match 9 – (1)Mega Man vs. (16) Earthworm Jim

Moltar’s Analysis

Mega Man
Game/Series Known From: Mega Man Series
Extrapolated Rank in 2002: 3rd
Extrapolated Rank in 2003: 4th
Seed in 2002: 6
Seed in 2003: 2
Lost to Sephiroth in both 2002 and 2003.
One of the 2 surprise 1-seeds.

With Link, Cloud, Sephiroth and Mario around, the 1-seed spots were filled. This year, Ceej decided to switch things up and give Mega a 1 seed. He deserves it too. Look at his past matches.

Earthworm Jim
Game/Series Known From: Earthworm Jim Series
Extrapolated Rank in 2002: N/A
Extrapolated Rank in 2003: N/A
Seed in 2002: N/A
Seed in 2003: N/A

Well, look who finally made it into the Contest. He might be a little late though. He at least had a chance of doing successful in 2002.

Mega Man wins. No doubt about that. Better luck next year Jim.

Moltar’s Bracket Says: Mega Man will win.

Moltar’s Prediction is: Mega Man 84% - EJ 16%



Ulti’s Analysis

So after three contests have already past, we now get to see Earthworm Jim in the field? I love the little guy (GROOVY!!), but he has no chance.

Bracket/Prediction - Mega Man/Mega Man with 83.02%


Cena’s Analysis

Uhh...oh-kay. Earthworm Jim? They left Frogger out for somebody who didn’t even originate in a video game? Ceej, give me back the shrooms. As much as I’d love to hand out the Ms. Pac-Man award here, I simply can’t. Everybody knows who Earthworm Jim is, and if you don’t, you should be castrated. His popularity, not just on GameFAQs, but by everyone in America, will probably give him better results then you’d think.

Cena’s Vote: Earthworm Jim

Cena’s Prediction: Mega Man with 87% (No 90% wins just yet)
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Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT – PAGE 10 – (8) TIDUS vs. (9) SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well.

Oh, geesh. We got our first epic clash of the tournament, between two Sweet 16 prospects that are facing each other way to early, and one of them will advance to face Megaman. Once again, too soon. So what’s the problem? Well, you’d expect the characters involved to have at least a bit of quality, since they’re so strong in contests and all. But no, this is between characters whose concepts should’ve gone inside a trash can to stay.

First, we got that pathetic excuse for a badass, Shadow. What, Knuckles wasn’t badass enough? Sega probably thought he was, AND HE WAS, so they turned him into a wuss so that the fanboys would leave him alone and cream their pants over a poop-coated carbon copy of Sonic. Because that’s all he is: a plot device that was overdone way before Waluigi even saw the light of day. Look like main character, do bad stuff that’s blamed on main character, police goes after main character, hilarity ensues. That’s SA2 for you in a nutshell.

But time to go into this more into detail. Shadow’s first appearance ever (I’ll be using game chronology) happens after the first stage of the Dark story. Eggman expects some WMD to magically fall into his hands, but instead… he gets Sonic! Well, at least that’s what Eggman thinks, anyway. It takes him a few seconds to catch on and realize what’s happening. Now it’s Shadow’s time to talk. Dear God, somebody kill me. His first line, EVER, is this piece of pure, unadultered crap: «Since you were so kind to release me, my master, I will grant you one wish!» Wait, so he’s a genie now? I though he was just a hedgehog that happened to look like Sonic! Even Eggman, in one of his rare moments of lucidity, is all «WTF is that crap?» That’s the only intelligent thing I’ve ever seen him do or say. Seriously, people. They made Eggman out to be some kind of super-genius, but your first impression upon seeing him for the first time, «Man he’s dumb», is totally correct. The first time most of us saw him, he attached a disco ball under his pod and tried to kill Sonic by swinging the disco ball wildly… ten feet above Sonic’s head.

Now Shadow is using his jet shoes to hover above thin air. Of course, this is all to make Shadow look badass, it’s not like we won’t be able to use that in actual gameplay or anything. Damn, this might have been helpful for the 3-minute Radical Highway emblem. «Behold the true power I possess!» Then he whips a guardian robot, which Eggman calls «spectacular». Idiot, it was because I was in control of Shadow that he did that. Well, I’ll take that as a comp – no, wait, I don’t, this comes from Eggman, and Eggman’s an idiot. They speak some more, then we cut to Knuckles and Rouge arguing.

We later re-join him as Eggman learns on TV that Sonic stole a Chaos Emerald. Eggman puts two and two together and figures out that it was Shadow, since Shadow asked him for more emeralds. Yay, maybe he’ll be able to beat Eugene Dinsmore in a game of chess by the end of the game. Now we see Shadow standing on top of a bridge BCUZ HES T3H BADDA55, and having THE typical RPG plot device, the flashback. It’s all weird and stuff, we don’t know what’s going on, and it’s like all the other flashbacks in the game: «Maria! Shadow! Maria! Shadow! Maria! Shadow! MARIA! SHADOW!» He promises revenge, whatever that means. Enter Radical Highway.

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT – PAGE X-2 (NOOOOOOO!) – (8) TIDUS vs. (9) SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG - CONTINUED

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well.

After the stage, we see the first Sonic/Shadow confrontation. The whole point of this scene is to get the point across that SHADOW IZ T3H BADDA55 to those who started with the Hero story. We also get our first taste of Chaos Control. We see Shadow passing by Sonic and ending up on top of a building. Wait, I though Chaos Control was teleportation! Sonic remarks that Shadow is fast, yet both were going at the same speed during that slo-mo of the two of them passing by each other. Then he realizes he’s using the Emerald he has. Sonic thinks about how Shadow is a lamer for cheating, while Shadow spurts out some more so-called badass line. Stop it already, I could puke and still sound more badass then you. Sonic still isn’t done recovering from the aura of crappiness he just fell into, and the police catches him. I’ll go off on a tangent and mention that in the Hero story, the Knuckles/Rouge argument scene happens right after this, yet we saw it three stages earlier in the Dark story. Whatever.

Next time we see him, we’re in the ARK central control room. Nothing of note here, Shadow just provides some exposition on the Eclipse Cannon and the Chaos Emeralds. This is where Rouge joins their little party. Eggman has a plan, and halfway through it, none other than Amy throws herself onto Shadow. Yes, he looks like Sonic, WE GET IT. Eggman attempts to take care of Amy – GO EGGMAN KILL HER! – boo! Bad Tails! Bad Tails!

A while after that, Shadow meets Sonic again, and when Sonic rightfully calls him a faker, Shadow throws the Most. Childish. Insult. EVER. «Faker? I think you’re the fake hedgehog around here. You’re comparing yourself to me? Hah! You’re not even good enough to be my fake!» Unfortunately, Japanese is spoken much faster than English, and since Sonic has a line left, it sounds more like «You’re not even good enough I’ll to make be you my eat fake those words!» If you’re playing as Sonic at that point, Shadow has even cheesier lines in store. «I’m the coolest!» Even compared to the bowels of a volcano it’s disputable. Think compared to Sonic, now. «I see, so you’re not just a hedgehog…» I’m not sure what that’s meant to mean, but Sonic doesn’t look like the product of a hedgehog and a tuna to me. «Not bad for an imposter!» That again. Oh my god, it almost makes me beg for Tails’ SH voice acting.

Then Shadow gets a call from Rouge, and she tells him she’s been caught and locked inside the military base. More «Maria! Shadow!» flashbacks, then Eggman tells him the island is about to blow up! Great. We’re allotted 10 minutes to go through the White Jungle stage. Oh please. I know Shadow sucks, but come on. It’s a 3-minute stage! If you can find a way to run out of time in this, I suggest you DON’T touch the Genesis games. But no matter whether there’s seven minutes or seven seconds left on the clock, the clock on the bomb magically lowers (or raises if you actually came close to running out of time… how can THAT happen?) to thirty seconds. In a James Bond-esque moment, Shadow uses Chaos Control on him and Rouge at the last second. Except James Bond would NOT have teleported the girl’s clothes. Shadow did. Complete idiot. No, I’m no furry, but Shadow probably is. Which leads me to question… no matter, I think you get the point.

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT – PAGE 10.3 – (8) TIDUS vs. (9) SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG – CONTINUED AGAIN

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well. Also, the word «wanker» or any variation is not meant to be used in a sexual sense. Rest easy automod.

After that point in the game, we get to play a little more as Shadow (damn) but on the plus side, we don’t have to endure him in cutscenes as much. So there’s not much to bash. Oh wait, yes there is. Shadow finds out that Rouge is a spy working for the government, and she kinda buys his silence when she shows him a piece of paper showing that Shadow is NOT the ultimate lifeform, and he throws a tantrum. He’s about to cry, but then he remembers Maria. Oh geez, not that again. NOW Shadow stops doing noteworthy (read: lame) stuff.

So besides me killing him a few times on Final Chase just to see him go down in flames for my personal amusement, it’s on to the Last Episode.

God loves me, so I don’t have to endure Shadow until Amy tries talking to him. Then he has one more flashback, where he remembers his promise to Maria. «All the people on this planet, give them the chance to be happy!» Whoops, I think Shadow was a wee bit off, huh? A space colony’s about to fall on Earth thanks to him, so it’s only natural that he switches sides and tries preventing it from happening. He rejoins Sonic and Knuckles at the Eclipse Cannon’s core in record time, thanks to the other five characters doing all the work for him. Loser. Anyway, Knuckles puts the Master Emerald on the pedestal, and whoops! A giant lizard creature appears from nowhere. Shadow recognizes the creature from Rouge’s newspaper cut, when she told him he was not the ultimate lifeform. So naturally, Shadow fights it. Successfully, eventually, but not before I let him fall at the hands of the Biolizard a few times. «That creature is pathetic, but it’s more of an ultimate lifeform than you will ever be!» I say. I love it. Eventually I beat the thing, because I have to finish that game someday.

So the Biolizard teleports, and he sticks the colony up his ass and attempts to crash it on Earth. Of course, that means it’s time for the Super Sonic final boss! Hey, Shadow wants to join too, so Sonic is going to teach him how to turn super. Sonic figures he can sacrifice some of his extreme coolness to make Shadow look like even more of a loser, and begins doing… well… some obscene gesture. Shadow follows suit, thinking «Damn, if only I had a wang too.» Sonic doesn’t pull out his own rocket launcher, because his partner is already enough of a loser, he doesn’t want to give him a complex on top of that just before saving the world.

So now it’s time to fight the final boss. I’m going to skip that because the best moment happens after it.

Sonic and Shadow charge toward the colony, Shadow gets another flashback (audio only, this time), and then they Chaos Control the colony to safety. But Shadow’s so dumb, he didn’t think to teleport himself along with it, so his super form runs out and he’s falling… yes, my dream is about to come tr… wait, what’s this? NO! PLEASE! DEAR GOD NO! IT’S SHADOW SPEAKING WANKESE! Well, I’ll be damned. I can’t even be happy at his death sequence.

So Sonic comes back on the colony to deliver the good news, but for some reason everybody’s sad.

Now, of course many people, for some reason, weren’t happy either, so they wanted Shadow back at all costs. And they got him back. God knows how he stayed alive through that fall, Sonic Heroes never explained it. Deus ex machina resurrection, I guess.

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT – PAGE 10.4 – (8) TIDUS vs. (9) SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG – THIS IS DRAGGING ON

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well. Also, the word «wanker» or any variation is not meant to be used in a sexual sense. Rest easy automod.

Since Sonic Heroes is much more gameplay-oriented than SA2, of course there’s not going to be nearly as many complaints from me. But there are still a few. Such as after the fight with the Egg Albatross, when Shadow finds half of a Shadow robot lying alongside the fake Eggman.God no, not another personal crisis moment. Of course, this all gets amplified with the ending when Rouge finds, much to my horror, hundreds of Shadow clones. So, is he a robot, a regular lifeform, or the ultimate lifeform? Geesh, I hate it when I have no idea what’s happening and it’s never explained eventually.

And since Shadow just HAS to have a totally horrible line somewhere (regular horrible ones abound for every character in this game), he gets one before the battle with Sonic. «Is that so? Well then, it’s going to be a date to die for!» I half-expected him to start doing the chicken dance right there and then. That idea is scary. And not just scary, but Rikku-on-a-sugar-trip scary.

Finally, before we move on, I have to mention the kind of fans Shadow has. Just check Heroic Billy Hatcher’s quote. It quotes a SH review, saying something to the effect of «I expected cool characters like Mario, Luigi and Yoshi, but instead I get crap like Cream the Rabbit and Rouge the Bat.» Yay.

Whoa there, there’s a whole character left! And he’s kinda easy to bash too, so I’ll go all out for him as well.

TIGHTASS IS A WANKER. Sorry, had to get this out of the way first.

Then, he’s been raised by an arrogant blitzball superstar weirdo who treats him like crap. (Yay!) Then he leaves him alone to rot at the young age of seven, in order to become the guy who joins the «old» party led by Braska and eventually turns evil, like Pigma was to James McCloud. Tidus hates his dad for constantly boosting himself in front of him («This is the Jecht Shot. No one else can do it. I’m the best!»).

Next, his sexual orientation is not ambiguous. Not at all. But unlike some other characters, he’s actually straight. Which is almost as scary, given the way he looks, he way he acts, the way he speaks (Wankese!). In fact, he likes girls way too much. The first night after he meets Yuna for the first time, all he can dream of is… Yuna and Rikku fighting over him. For the love of God. I’m thankful for Jecht crushing Re-Jecht’s hopes once more. (I swear, they must’ve named Jecht that way JUST for the pun.) Then, like he hasn’t had enough yet, he provides us a Lulu boob shot. With binoculars. I repeat. A LULU BOOB SHOT WITH BINOCULARS. Jeez, lusting over 100% of the party’s female population… I mean come on. Who would want anything to do with him? Yes, I know, Yuna, and that’s the most frightening thing about her. Such lust is rarely ever seen in RPGs. Yes, I know, Edgar Roni Figaro. But that was the central point of his persona. Not Tidus’. While I’m doing Star Fox references, Yuna is Fox, the daughter/son of the «old» party and leader of the «new» party. (Technically, Tidus is following Yuna around, not the reverse.) Tidus is Slippy, the party member that annoys everyone. And Lulu is Falco, the one who likes ripping on the hero, especially at the beginning of the game.

SC2K4 FIRST DRAFT – PAGE 10.5 – (8) TIDUS vs. (9) SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG – IT’S ALMOST OVER

Disclaimer: This preview series may contain mildly offensive stuff, as well as SPOILERS, not only for the characters discussed, but other stuff as well.

Oh, how can I ever forget him joining the Besaid Aurochs? I don’t know if he was aware yet when he did that, but aligning yourself with the Besaid Aurochs pretty much equates to betting your house and car on Gordon Freeman. The megaphone stint can be compared to throwing your Doom 3-running computer and your brand new plasma TV on top of that. Seriously, they suck so much, one of them sold out to Nintendo.

http://www.freewebs.com/slowflake/orgasmface.jpg

Tidus also has little consideration for his own health. He makes out with a girl who got kissed by some undead pedo the same day. God knows what kind of diseases he may have. Though Auron «lived» ten years in that state, minus the pedo part, and he’s still «alive» and well. Oh, Auron is Peppy, the one who’s in both the old and new party (sole survivor of the old one), and the Official Advisor of the hero. And Seymour is Wolf, the ever-so-annoying recurrent boss fight. But Seymour’s so damn persistent, coming back from the dead and all, he can be compared to Liquid Snake and Milady from the Three Musketeers as far as the «Why won’t you just ****ing die?» department is concerned.

Having a lamer catchphrase than Squall is also instant grounds for losing coolness points. «Huh?» once is good, but a hundred times, it gets on everyone’s nerves. And there’s a problem when other party members start saying it, too. Look, I know you got lost 1000 years into the future, but at the very least play along, okay?

Finally, he apparently comes back in FFX-2 (as if the game couldn’t get any worse by itself) without much explanation. Wait, I understand why Ceejus set this match up. Battle of the deus ex machina resurrections.

Wait, I’m not quite done with the Star Fox comparisons. Sin is Andross’ face, and Yu Yevon is Andross’ brain. But that one was easy.

Ok, now I’m done. Five parts, and I still have to drop a single word about the match itself. Well, I guess this illustrates the struggle the voters will have Tuesday come voting time.

Okay, so the Mario anti-vote was seemingly overestimated or something, as Mario is pwning JC Denton. The existence of these anti-votes seems to be more disputable than ever. But hey, still gotta be confident in my pick, no? I’ll say this, according to 2003 results, Tidus would get 49% on Sonic. I can’t imagine Shadow ever doing that. And I could imagine Tidus getting 45% on Sonic. Yes, I could. Many people picked Shadow just because they don’t think he could.

Other than that, everything has already been beaten over and over in this match. Let’s move on.

NUMBERS OF INTEREST

SC2K3 extrapolated standings
12. Shadow the Hedgehog – 33.18%
13. Tidus – 33.14%
Projection: Shadow with 50.06%

Board Odds Project picks (119 brackets)
Shadow the Hedgehog – 60
Tidus – 59

Board Odds Project point value
31. Tidus – 65
33. Shadow the Hedgehog – 60

CONTEST TRIVIA
Tidus is the only character to have been eliminated two rounds earlier than deserved in 2003 according to the standings.
Still according to the standings, Shadow was the third most underseeded character in 2003, behind Magus and Ganondorf.

weird Slow I think you just talked more about the games then the match themselves
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Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

Read the damn thing will ya? I mentioned the same thing near the end.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

Sorry I got to Tidus and quit because I thought it would just be the same thing you did to Shadow
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Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

Also, I think Tidus could win with as much as 55% without definitively saying Shadow was boosted by anti-votes.


But that would imply that Tidus is as strong as Mario.
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"How appropiate. You fight like a cow."--Guybrush Threepwood

Loved my many...hated by few...respected by all...its...

Steve Illumina Speaks

Right you are, my fans and friends! The witty humor returns for another round of contest madness. Fanboys and diehards alike can come to appreciate the mocking of their beloved characters, their contest, their likes, their dislikes, and the gaming subculture we are all a part of, not to mention sweet Board 8, as the latest fad has come to know it to be called.

And so it begins, with the final matchup of the first round in the "What Year is It?" Division...

Mega Man vs Earthworm Jim
Steve's Pick: Mega
Bracket Pick: Mega
Newbie Pick: Mega
Fanboy's Choice: Mega
My Oracle Pick: 86.60 for Mega
My Prophet Pick: 53435 for Mega
Upset Potential: Earthworms reproduce quickly, but even a flock of earthworms could not beat Mega Man!

Comments: The Blue Bomber and contest favorite of the console camp takes on...ummm...a...segmented worm?

To analyze this match, I called my colleague, Dr. Chordata, to get a more scientific view of the earthen one.

Me: "Dr. Chordata, tell us about Mega Man's opponent today. He is an earthworm named Jim."

Dr. C: "Well Steve, he certainly is that. He is an invertebrate, of the following Linnean classification: Kingdom Animalia, Phyla Annelida, Class Oligochaeta."

Me: (interrupting) "Dr. C, what all does that mean?"

Dr. C: "Well, Illumina, it means that Earthworm Jim here is a segmented worm. One of the most complex of the simple invertebrates, which are animals who lack a backbone. He is no flatworm, thats for sure!"

Me: "Yes I see...but tell me, does he have a chance here?"

Dr. C: "Afraid not..ya see...this worm needs moisture to live, hence he lives underground. When it rains he travels to the surface to seek more moisture...and when it dries up, he is too dumb to get back underground in many cases, so he dries up."

Me: "So all the Blue Bomber has to do is pull out the Heat Cannon?"

Dr. C" Yep...thats it! To quote my colleague Dr. Fuego...'Crispy'! "

So there ya have it, pure scientific proof that Earthworm Jim has no chance of defeating the Blue Bomber. So why is he here? Cause a write in campaign was begun by the National Zoo in Washington DC, wanting to shed light on the plight of earth's lesser creatures...or something.

The last ho-hum match for awhile...lets get it overwith!

Results: In another laugher, this 16 bit invertebrate who made his mark in the days where SNES was king and Sony only made Walkmans shall be bopped soundly by the pride of Capcom, 85% or more...

Quotes: Mega Man: "Ill fight for everlasting peace...but I aint no biologist!" E. Jim: "When it rains, it pours, and I get all wiggly inside!"
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Steve Illumina: The Official Satirical Commentator of GameFAQ's Contests
Pub Trivian Forever...SC2K4: 8/8

HM, if you're doubting the existance of Mario anti-votes, how can you think Tidus will beat Shadow? Personally, I'm thinking an 18%+ finish for JC is good news for Tidus

I'm just in doubt of them now. Before I was a good believer that Mario was always netted anti-votes, but if he can put someone who has the appeal to vote for over Mario, though not necessary the popularity, then I will go on and doubt it. Looking at the rankings even if Shadow got no anti-votes from Mario he is still only slightly ahead of Tidus. In fact, you could just call them equal. As far as I'm concerned Shadow, for the most part, showed it was all him so we'll get to see when the two go up in here a couple days.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Food for thought: Accuracy of the X-Sts in the Hyrule Division:

Winner's Name /Actual %/X-Sts %/Difference
Link . . . . . . . . 87.83% . 86.47% . +1.36%
Ganondorf . . . . 57.16% . 60.31% . -3.15%
Yoshi . . . . . . . 76.4% . .. 76.67% . -0.27%
Luigi . . . . . . . . 67.73% .. 68.75% . -1.02%
Crono . . . . . . . 77.99% .. 76.21% . +1.78%
Bowser . . . . . . 82.99% .. 83.66% . -0.67%

It's hard to format...Anyway, Magus/Luca and Mario/JC were excluded for obvious reasons. A + in the difference column indicates that the winner did better than expected, a - means the winner underperformed. Guybrush's 2k2 stats against Link and Bowser's 2k3 stats against Link were used for their match.

The only real anomaly is Ganondorf, and that could fall into the margin of error anyway. Remarkably accurate in the first round.
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Current Pick: Mario; Current Vote: Mario; Points: 7/7
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

I don't doubt the existence of Mario anti-votes at all. Some people were saying that JC wouldn't be able to get any more than 10% on Mario, maybe even less. I'm happy with him getting above 15, myself.

And good recap, Slowflake. At least we still have some Sonic fans left that have common sense.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Look like main character, do bad stuff that’s blamed on main character, police goes after main character, hilarity ensues. That’s SA2 for you in a nutshell.

That's also Super Mario Sunshine for you in a nutshell, come to think of it.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Hey, Ulti, who do you have winning Tidus vs. Shadow?
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DEFENCE, DEFENCE
"Alas, History is nothing but a lie agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte.

If memory serves he picked Tidus. Though I could be mistaken.
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Cold hearted orb, that rules the night; Remove the colors from my sight; Red is grey, and yellow white; but we decide which is right, and which is an illusion

I feel as though I've said this a good dozen times already, but I'll say it again:

Tidus' haters are VASTLY overrated, and so are Shadow and his supporters. Like it or not, Tidus has everything going for him;

1. He's an RPG character on RPGFaqs.
2. He's a Square RPG character, the most popular kind of RPG on RPGFaqs.
3. He's an FF Square RPG character, the most popular kind of Square RPG on RPGFaqs.
4. Though he may not be the most popular FF character, every FF fanboy WILL be voting for him. With no SFF to factor in, the vast majority of the series is behind him.

Shadow on the other hand has one game to his name in a fading series from a developer that has bowed out of the console market entirely. His performance against Mario was a fluke, and will not happen again here.
---
"Spira is full of death...only SIN is reborn, and then only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly."- Auron

Hey, I've just been thinking about something lately, and I wanna hear what you guys think about it...

...what if, for the 2005 contest, Ceej used the 2002 bracket? I think it'd certainly be interesting to see how things would differ from the original contest, and I'm rather curious as to how the poor seeding would affect the later rounds again.
---
"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

Match #7 Review:

Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Match #9 Preview:

Meh.
---
"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

...what if, for the 2005 contest, Ceej used the 2002 bracket? I think it'd certainly be interesting to see how things would differ from the original contest, and I'm rather curious as to how the poor seeding would affect the later rounds again.

The final would most likely be Link and Cloud, and believe it or not, I don't see too many matches going differently than before.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

What if for 2005 he took all the characters that have won at least one match in these contests? That would be cool too. Though it probably wouldn't add up to 64 I guess.
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Cold hearted orb, that rules the night; Remove the colors from my sight; Red is grey, and yellow white; but we decide which is right, and which is an illusion

I don't doubt the existence of Mario anti-votes at all.

All I heard was the possibility of 20%-30% due to anti-votes. I'm not trying to change your mind or anything, but given the fact that Mario is suppose to make extremely weak characters look very good I'm going to have to doubt them a lot. *shrug*
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

...what if, for the 2005 contest, Ceej used the 2002 bracket? I think it'd certainly be interesting to see how things would differ from the original contest, and I'm rather curious as to how the poor seeding would affect the later rounds again.

I'd see it playing out not to differently from more recent years. I doubt Mario would beat Cloud again, a little difference in matchups, etc. Though the winner in 2005 is set in stone if all goes well...
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Here's another thought.

Perhaps the Mario anti-vote could be down because of the poll change. Less casual voters = less anti-votes like Xenogears Vs. Pokemon proved.
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"How appropriate. You fight like a cow."--Guybrush Threepwood

Even IF Mega Man somehow wins this Summer Contest, I'd still hesitate to call him a favorite and call it set in stone, especially if he's only going to be beating Link and Cloud by the smallest of margins, as you've predicted. Year-to-year volatility and all that.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I wasn't so much referring to Mega Man as I was Link. If Nintendo really does release around June-August, and does the rumored international release there wouldn't be a soul in this contest that could stop him. With that said, if it doesn't come out then and Mega Man wins this year's contest I don't know why he wouldn't be a favorite to win again. Not to say it would be set in stone since if he wins it should be by the slimest of margins, but I'd take him to the championship again. He surely shouldn't decrease from this year to the next.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Nah, even with Zelda 10, Link wouldn't be unstoppable. Not with all of this new FFVII stuff on the horizon.

Even then, I somehow doubt Cloud, Sephiroth, or Link would get significant boosts from them. A new game doesn't result in a big popularity spike when you have games released just about every year, even if this one is especially great. When you're as well-known as these are, it's hard to attract new fans or change old opinions of them.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

You have Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children coming out between this contest and next. Given the fact that one is a cellphone game and the other is a movie that doesn't inspire much confidence in from Cloud or Sephiroth's part. I also wouldn't expect either one of them to get a boost from that as much as I would Vincent.

Link on the other hand has an actual game, with a rumored international release, and could come out right at the start of the contest. What reason there is not to pick Link would be beyond me. Of course he wouldn't dominate but I don't think he'd come in danger of losing at all.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

It's hard to change old impressions and opinions, and it's hard to expose someone as popular as he is to new audiences. I mean, Samus barely got ANY sort of boost from Metroid Prime, despite being one of the best games for the 'Cube and her first in a decade. Link is more popular, well-known, and gets new games more frequently than Samus.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Changing people's opinions certainly can happen, especially after The Wind Waker. There's always the possibility of Link doing more in the game, character-wise, it fixing the problems people had with TWW, etc. Besides, it's not like he needs a large boost in order to take care of the win. Even a percent or two would seperate him from the rest of them. I just can't take anyone but Link to the win after he gets a new game out, just wouldn't make much sense to me.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Xenogears vs. Pokémon was hidden by a sponsored poll IIRC.

And LOL at Ulti's SMS comment. So very true. The faker/evil counterpart gimmick is way overdone. Mario has two, Sonic has Shadow plus all the Sonic robots Eggman put out over the years, then there's Luigi, Link, Samus and so many others.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

If Link's new game comes out when predicted, which is right at the start of the contest, then I think Link would be a shoe-in to win, and easily. If he wins this year, which he's favored to do, then he could have a hat trick championship by the end of next year. I doubt the contest would have any appeal to anybody though.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Sephiroth
Status: 8/8 Next Pick: Mega Man

If that happens, I'm sure Ceej would handicap Link, or maybe even remove him for a year.
---
My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

Mario antivotes don't seem like much of a factor this year, as JC's current percentage (16.31) would give him 12.05% against Link. A little under CATS seems reasonable for someone who's largely unknown (sorry Ulti).

However, that by no means spells doom for Tidus on Tuesday. Just because antivotes died down this year doesn't mean that they weren't a factor last year.
---
Current Pick: Mario; Current Vote: Mario; Points: 7/7
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

There's nothing to really say that they ever were a big factor. I'm sure Mario gets them, but I doubt it's to the point of causing huge increases in strength. Either way, Tidus is fine whether Shadow benefited from them or not. If not he's still equal to Shadow and if he did Tidus has an upperhand. Then there's always the possibility of the entire Sonic crew taking a dip down again.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Oh Cidgregor. Thanks for giving me plenty of material to work with.


"Tidus' haters are VASTLY overrated, and so are Shadow and his supporters. Like it or not, Tidus has everything going for him;"

I believe Tidus' haters are overrated, perhaps not VASTLY, but I can believe that. However, how can you prove and/or say that Shadow's supporters are overrated? He blew Wario out of the water and managed a very impressive 45% against Mario. You can't do that without a dedicated fanbase.

1. He's an RPG character on RPGFaqs.

So that's why Knuckles beat Yuna, right? That's why Felix lost to Master Chief. That is why Mario and Link beat two of the most popular RPG characters (Crono & Magus.) This is a very weak claim for showing Tidus' strength.

2. He's a Square RPG character, the most popular kind of RPG on RPGFaqs.

No argument here.

3. He's an FF Square RPG character, the most popular kind of Square RPG on RPGFaqs.

Yes. All these facts do not necessarily mean that he will get more votes, though.

4. Though he may not be the most popular FF character, every FF fanboy WILL be voting for him. With no SFF to factor in, the vast majority of the series is behind him.

Here is where you are dead wrong. Should not the same logic be applied to Zelda vs. Megaman? If Zelda had the full power of Link's fanbase, Megaman would have fallen. That, however, was not the case.

Also, if that logic were true, wouldn't every Final Fantasy character be of equal strength when facing a non-FF opponent?

The fact of the matter is that you may be partially correct. I'm sure some people vote for a FF character all the time no matter the opponent. However, for this one person there are at least two people who check to see which of the two characters they like better, then vote for their personal favorite.


Shadow on the other hand has one game to his name in a fading series from a developer that has bowed out of the console market entirely.

This line is completely ridiculous. First off, get your facts straight: Shadow has three games to his name: Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle.

And WTF does Sega dropping out of the console market have to do with anything?! If anything, Shadow is now exposed to more people via the GCN, PS2, and XBOX.

His performance against Mario was a fluke, and will not happen again here.

How was his performance against Mario a fluke? JC Denton is getting thoroughly pwned today, disproving the "Mario anti-vote" conspiracy theory.

And by the way, the way you said "will not happen again here" implies that you think Tidus will kill Shadow. Check the extrapolated rankings for last year. They are equal, since Mario anti-votes apparantly do not exist.
---
Current Contest Score: 7/7
Today's Pick: Mario.

About Link's chances in 2005, I found a picture that was interesting.... It came from some talk with Aonuma.

http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/zeldatimeline_windwaker2_032404_2_1080191734.jpg

So, how many copies would the new Zelda have to sell to make a significant impact, in your opinion?


---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

"And WTF does Sega dropping out of the console market have to do with anything?!"

Actually it has a lto to do with it, because I'm sure that statement doesn't reference Sega's move to 3rd party development. Now that Sammy has essentially full control over Sega they are going to be focusing on the arcade sector. They aren't just not having new consoles, they are actually developing few games for consoles. They are litteraly getting out of the console market. They have a couple up and comming games, but in the future all of their console titles will very likely be ports from the arcades. That means no new Sonic games, is Sammy has its way. No more losing ventures. If Sega is to produce anything not for the arcade it will probably be for the GBA, as long as GBA is fully dominent. 6 months after the DS and PSP go head to head then Sega probably wont even make a handheld game. Unless something can change Sega's fate, and they can get a game out there that has stellar sales, expec only Virtua Fighters, Sega GTs and other arcade games from Sega, and nothing more than ports of those games for a long, long time.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

"So, how many copies would the new Zelda have to sell to make a significant impact, in your opinion?"

To put Link significantly higher than he is now? No less than 8 million. The game will litterally have to become the new favorite. It has to be better than OoT in every way possible and it has to extend itself to the fans that have lost interest in the series since it went 3d. It has to sell an extra 3-4 million cubes, it has to top the faqs, it has to make Link look cooler than it ever has. It will also have to be long enough to be worth its cost while not dragging on at all... so either they have to cut out the boring crap (and getting rid of the sailing is great, that's 80% of the battle right there) that every long game faces and keep it exciting all the time or they have to make the story more compelling than any Zelda has been yet. That is, without dragging the story out in a more RPG fashion which will lose some people for goign slower than an action game should. Basically it has to be perfectly balanced in terms or story, action, level design, and engine... then it has to be pushed liek no Zelda has ever been pushed before. A great ad campaign should come with the game. If not they won't be selling their extra 3 million cubes. Oh, and it cannot, under anycircumstance, be delayed. Not one month, not one week, not one day, not one freaking second. They need the game to be perfect at the deadline, they need their international release, and they need people to know that it's out there.

Then, and only then, will Link have a significant increase.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Even considering that I'm not a huge Sega fan, that would be very disappointing =(.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

I don't know if it can sell 8 million, but I'm sure it will sell significantly more than TWW did. TWW was released when there were about 6 or 7 million GCN's sold (I think that is right....), but has still managed around 3.2 or 3.3 million copies sold. Now about 15 million GCNs have been sold... I can see it selling 5 to 7 million...
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

"Even considering that I'm not a huge Sega fan, that would be very disappointing =(."

It's Sega's only chance to see profits again. In recent times Sega only avoided losing quaters because of arcade division sales. Basically all their console efforts lose them money. How do you fix this problem? Stop making console games. Then Sega makes a profit again. Once they can stay profitable for a year or so they'll probably test the waters again. And, while some people would disagree, I would be willing to bet that once they do it won't be a Sonic game they try first. Sonic dosen't sell in Japan, and right now with Sammy in control if it doesn't sell in Japan it's not happening. I can imagine a Shining Force 4 comming out before they even consider another Sonic... depending on how much control Sammy has.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I didn't say it wasn't a smart business decision - just that it would be disappointing not to see some of the Sega franchises I do like for a while.
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

"but I'm sure it will sell significantly more than TWW did."

More than Wind Waker is not enough. I doubt more than LttP is enough. They need more than OoT if they want to push Link to the next level. They need something bigger and better than OoT, they need something that will really drive GC sales. WW only pushed the 2 to 1 ratio at the time because of the preorder bonus. That's the only reason I bought the game, I'm sure I'm not the only one felt the same. Three gmaes for the price of one is an awesome deal, and that is one of the big reasons why WW sold so well early on. As we all know WW hasn't held up the same sales ratio. It's not like the game isn't available to the new people buying a GC. That's why I say the next Zelda needs to be on level with the likes of OoT. It has to brign new customers to the cube, it has to get people that normally wouldn't buy a Zelda. That is how Link hits the next level, and it's the only way he does. New fans that never really knew Link before.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

"just that it would be disappointing not to see some of the Sega franchises I do like for a while."

That's the key point, it'll be awhile, but with any luck it will happen again. If they stay the way they have been then they will go out of business altogether.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

To put Link significantly higher than he is now? No less than 8 million. The game will litterally have to become the new favorite. It has to be better than OoT in every way possible and it has to extend itself to the fans that have lost interest in the series since it went 3d. It has to sell an extra 3-4 million cubes, it has to top the faqs, it has to make Link look cooler than it ever has. It will also have to be long enough to be worth its cost while not dragging on at all... so either they have to cut out the boring crap (and getting rid of the sailing is great, that's 80% of the battle right there) that every long game faces and keep it exciting all the time or they have to make the story more compelling than any Zelda has been yet. That is, without dragging the story out in a more RPG fashion which will lose some people for goign slower than an action game should. Basically it has to be perfectly balanced in terms or story, action, level design, and engine... then it has to be pushed liek no Zelda has ever been pushed before. A great ad campaign should come with the game. If not they won't be selling their extra 3 million cubes. Oh, and it cannot, under anycircumstance, be delayed. Not one month, not one week, not one day, not one freaking second. They need the game to be perfect at the deadline, they need their international release, and they need people to know that it's out there.

Inspirational words my friend.. truly inspirational.
---
Dont blame us just because you bought an Xbox. ~azndragon94
Crono ~ Frog ~ Cloud Strife ~ Sonic the Hedgehog

I'll second that opinion...
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

I'll agree with all of that but the part about the delay. Ocarina of Time was delayed for, 22 months, I think, from it's original release date on the N64DD, wasn't it? Of course, should a delay occur, it won't be able to affect the 2005 contest, but the possibilities are still there for later contests, so long as Nintendo does not push it back into the last months of the Gamecube.
---
Summer Contest 2004: 7/7/192 ----- Rank: T-1 ----- Today's Pick: Mario

Chichiri hit it right on the nail. Unless this new Zelda makes an even bigger impact than Ocarina of Time did (a very, very difficult feat), Link's popularity isn't rising anytime soon.
---
"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

That's the problem with a delay. They cannot afford to push it back any further in the system's life, otherwise they will never achieve the game's full sales potential. In fact, every day that passes the lower its sales potential drops. I'd imagine if they released it tomorrow they'd sell half a million more copies than they would with their current release date. I don't care what they have to do, they need to devote all the man power necessary to release the game on time. Hire more programmers, move people from other projects, whatever... if they miss any deadlines they need to throw money at it. They WILL get it back, they have enough money on-hand NOW, they have to do anything and everything possible to insure that the game makes its deadline. Every day it slips they risk losing hundreds of cubes and thousands of games sold.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Recency factor may be a big plus. Remember that time someone mentioned yesterday FF10 got a very comfortable second in a favorite FF poll, mere days after its release? Or Wind Waker beating LttP following its own?

Next year will boil down to Zelda 10 vs. Advent Children IMO. Lost in the shuffle will be Sephiroth, who won't be in the movies - well, there will be clones, but it's still not Sephiroth. (As a side note, looks like it's now or never for Sephy.)
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

"Lost in the shuffle will be Sephiroth, who won't be in the movies"

We don't know that yet. He may be there for more than flashbacks and we wouldn't know it until it came out.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Recency factor may be a big plus. Remember that time someone mentioned yesterday FF10 got a very comfortable second in a favorite FF poll, mere days after its release? Or Wind Waker beating LttP following its own?

This can also be proven by seeing how much more powerful the 128-Division was overall than any other division in the Spring Contest. Sure, the 32/64-Divison had the top two games in the contest, but I can't imagine a good arguement that's against the 128-Division being the most powerful overall.
---
Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

However it doesn't take long for that effect to wear off entirely. How long was it before LttP and FF6 retook their 2nd place possitions?
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

The only point that could be made is having the Final 4's weak link. And it's not THAT weak either... just two points behind SMB3 is great. There were so many games that could've gotten 40% on SSBM in that division... Halo, Starcraft, Kingdom Hearts, Soul Calibur, Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, FF10, Vice City, MGS2. Half-Life and KOTOR aren't exactly far from it, either. Only SoA, FFTA, FE7 and Shenmue were any weak.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

However it doesn't take long for that effect to wear off entirely. How long was it before LttP and FF6 retook their 2nd place possitions?

Not long, however WW and FF10 kept going down for a while after the opening months (they are still third of their respective series as we speak though). If AC and Zelda 10 are released close enough to the contest, they could play a role.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

However it doesn't take long for that effect to wear off entirely.

Agreed, that's why it was called the recency factor earlier.
---
Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

So, how many copies would the new Zelda have to sell to make a significant impact, in your opinion?

Chichiri took care of most of it, but simply put this has to be the the Zelda. Nintendo would need to market this puppy like it was their last game. The international release, the marketing, everything needs to go into the game to make a significant impact. Quite honestly, Nintendo's one big name they released internationally was Mario Kart: Double Dash. You can thank Shigeru Miyamoto for that one too, he wanted the game to be ready for all territories and released with a week. Mario Kart went on to sell 3.6 million copies.

Though that's just from that point. You'd also need it to have great game play, Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto need to get it workin' this time around. A game that has the appeal for all sorts of people, a deeper story, better action, and a game that completely immerses you into it. Does this sound like a lot? Definitely. This is all for a significant impact on Link's popularity though. Simply put he doesn't need to just make it to where he'd dominate Cloud and Sephiroth again just so that he can reach out and get an extra percent or two. This new Zelda should do just that.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Next year will boil down to Zelda 10 vs. Advent Children IMO

If you were to ask me it's an absolute no-brainer on who gets more help from what, though the problem lies in if Zelda 10 can get out before the contest starts. Advent Children is out in Spring 2005 for the PSP launch in North America while it's out in Japan in Winter 2004. So, more up to when we'll see Zelda but if they both get released doesn't seem much like a competition as I can't see how Zelda would possibly lose to a movie.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

"Not long"

That's the only part that is important. It doesn't take long. If something is released too far before the contest it will not be as influencial. Unless, of course, it is something truly amazing beyond belief.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

How can you compare a Game to a Movie?

No delays is something that I would like to see met as well. It's coming out a little later on the console's lifetime, and is one of the reasons I believe the international release may happen. Aonuma already talked about how the game is getting plenty of pre-orders from just a trailer alone, so meeting a deadline (an estimated June 1, 2005 release) would be great. They talked about how it would be playable at E3 so we'll have to see how that goes...
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

No matter what, canning Wind Waker 2 for this = best idea Nintendo ever had.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

It's not like they really canned WW2, they just changed direction. I'm sure they did so early enough to not lose any real ground anyway. And that change of direction was a very good idea. With any luck they will push a couple million more cubes and sell more copies of the game than any other Zelda, except OoT, making a big splash. It'd be jsut the thing they need to make the cube competitive again in the US. They aren't in a distant third, but third is third. Worldwide second is nice, but being second in all regions is better.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

You know what I was just thinking.

Even though Kefka might be the second most popular FF villain according to polls, in the realm of the contest, I wouldn't be surprised if Seifer was able to get ahead of him in the extrapolated seedings.

That's just wrong.

Of course, Kefka would PWN the pants off Ultimecia should they ever meet.
---
"How appropriate. You fight like a cow."--Guybrush Threepwood

Well, I'm glad my points led to such debate.

Okay, maybe I overexaggerated a bit, but I still stand by my base points; RPG characters, and especially Square/FF characters, have a huge natural advantage over all other characters in this contest because it is an RPG-weighted site. Maybe some wouldn't do quite as well as others, but the fact that Tidus is in this contest at all proves that he has a lot more supporters and a lot less haters than many of us seem to give him credit for, and that will give him a big advantage over Shadow.

As for the number of Shadow's games, I apologize. I was told he only appeared in one game. Apparently I was misinformed.

I didn't mean to imply that it will be a blowout, however. It will definitely be close. I just think that too much is going in Tidus' favor to think he will lose.

But as I mentioned in an old thread, it's just one point so far. I'd be more worried if we we further down the road and 4 or 8 points were riding on this, but it's only one point, and it won't lead to any kind of upset considering Megaman will smash whoever ends up walking out of that match intact.
---
"Spira is full of death...only SIN is reborn, and then only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly."- Auron

As I said in an earlier topic as well, Tidus is only in this tournament because of a legal detail. But it doesn't matter, him ranking ahead of all the Square characters that could've been let in (Aeris comes to mind) just screams that he isn't as hated as he seems to be. And that's among board members. Now imagine the general GameFAQs populace.

And personally, I wouldn't call not being able to break 60% "smashing" as far as Megaman goes.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

Ugh, the closer Tuesday comes, the more I can't wait for it to be here.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

"Megaman will smash whoever ends up walking out of that match intact."

So true. Neither Tidus nor Shadow will be able to put a dent in the Blue Bomber's armor. I can see the two getting, at best, 40%.

Why can't Tuesday come any sooner?
---
Current Contest Score: 7/7
Today's Pick: Mario.

I just realized something. Strangely enough, this is the 2nd year in a row where the main event of the first round is a match featuring FFX vs. the Sonic series. It's also the third year in a row when the two will have representatives facing each other.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Because I have to listen to people suggest that Sonic would have a chance against Mario or that Shadow has a chance against Megaman and so that somehow causes the hours to take longer >_<. Or something >_>.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Indeed...
---
"Look at him, square, the shape of evil!" -Plankton, Spongebob Squarepants
You too shall come to know, fear, as I have...

Zelda 39.25% 42329
Mega Man 60.75% 65528
TOTAL VOTES 107857


Zelda almost broke 40 on Megaman, and based on the x-sts, shadow and tidus are 4 points higher than her. I don't know how to translate that to percentages, but breaking 40 shouldn't be too difficult.
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Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15576166

The winner of Shadow/Tidus is projected to get 44.39% against Mega Man. Personally, I don't think it'll be that high, but I do think it'll stay above 40%.
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Current Pick: Mario; Current Vote: Mario; Points: 7/7
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

Match VII: (7) Bowser vs. (10) Guybrush Review

Bowser beat Guybrush, 82.99% - 17.01%

Well here’s another boring match coming to a close. This match like all the other matches weren’t really that interesting. The only interesting parts was that Bowser was only as low as under 78% and he gain to about 83% that’s a great Morning/Day vote. Also the other interesting part was that this is the second match in a row to end just before the next percent.

When Guybrush didn’t return last year I never thought he would return ever again, but I was wrong and like 2003 Guybrush shouldn’t be able to come back to these contests. He’s weaker then CATS and if your weaker then CATS you’ve have to go. Guybrush started in a blowout loss and now he’s going to finish in a blowout loss.


Match IX: (1) Mega Man vs. (16) Earthworm Jim Preview

Past Performances:

Mega Man: 2002

Defeated Ms. Pac-Man, 92.30% - 7.70%
Defeated Serious Sam, 91.84% - 8.16%
Lost to Sephiroth, 49.49% - 50.51%
Ranked: 3rd

Mega Man: 2003

Defeated Mr. Resetti, 88.96% - 11.04%
Defeated Zelda, 60.75% - 39.25%
Defeated Tommy Vercetti, 66.86% - 33.14%
Defeated Solid Snake, 53.50% - 46.50%
Lost to Sephiroth, 38.82% - 61.18%
Ranked: 4th

Earthworm Jim: 2002

Did not attend
Ranked: N/A

Earthworm Jim: 2003

Did not attend
Ranked: N/A

Analysis:

Mega Man is one of the strongest character in this tournament. He’s only behind the Big Three. This year Mega Man has a very good chance of having a rematch with Solid Snake and making it to the semi-finals where he is likely to go up against someone from the Big Three. When Mega Man goes up against a very weak character he doesn’t only beat them to a bloody pulp, he annihilates them. His match with Ms. Pac-Man and Serious Sam both rank first and second in the biggest blowouts in the character battle and Mr. Resetti isn’t far behind. Will Mega Man continue the tradition of destroying his early opponents? I think so.

Earthworm Jim is another new character that joined this years contest. Earthworm Jim is another character where I know pretty much nothing about. Earthworm Jim to me is classified as a joke character, like CATS he’s only in this contest so people can watch this character to fail miserably. CATS to us is probably the strongest joke character that’s been in this contest other then Gordon. So it looks like Earthworm Jim could be going for the weakest character award.

This is the ninth and hopefully last match that has a character that blows away his opponent. This is also the first match of the 20XX Division and like most divisions this match will end in a Blowout.

As you can see from Mega Man’s past results he just doesn’t beat the weak characters, he destroys them and like those matches this match should easily look like that. But I guess we should expect that from him because Mega Man is the favorite to win this division.

When CJayC said that there were no joke characters, I guess he forgot to take a better look at Earthworm Jim. Even though Jim does have a lot of games I still don’t think he could do a lot of damage in this contest. Jim is probably the second weakest character in this division (behind Tanner).

We started a string of boring matches with a blowout I guess we could end it with a blowout. This isn’t going to be pretty, but if you’re going to lose, lose to a strong character so the x-st for you won’t get so damaged.

Charmander’s Bracket: Mega Man

Charmander’s Prediction: Mega Man wins, 89.34% - 10.66%


---
Summer 2004 Contest 6/6 Mario vs. JC Denton

Mario/JC thoughts

Yeah, JC got killed. But that's because he's cool and rebellious, and none of you infidels would be able to understand such things. 'Who is JC Denton?' my foot. I'm happy he stayed above 15%, at least.

Mega Man/Earthworm Jim preview

You're about 7 years too late, Jim. And even during your peak, you wouldn't have taken down the Blue Bomber.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Zelda almost broke 40 on Megaman, and based on the x-sts, shadow and tidus are 4 points higher than her. I don't know how to translate that to percentages, but breaking 40 shouldn't be too difficult.

Last year. According to those same stats Mega Man would have had gotten 55.86% against Tidus. I expect that percentage to be far higher this year.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I don't. Square characters don't usually get weaker until long after their games are released. Hell, Cloud/Sephy/FF7 are still getting stronger.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Mario did pretty good today by holding onto 83%. He didn't gain as much as Bowser or Ganondorf from the day vote but he got a good 2-3%.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Square characters don't usually get weaker

I'm not really relying on anyone getting weaker from last year.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Heroic Mario, a man with the faith like no other.
---
Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

*readies topic for TRE*

also, nice prediction percentage for Mario, if only that really meant something....
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Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15596187

Score-Brackets-% Right
7----11066----99.6837159
6----12813----99.0634512
5----6895-----98.3031182
4----1860-----95.4301075
3----360------88.6111111
2----66-------75.7575758
1----46-------6.5217391
0----115------0

Nice job by both the perfects and the 0s.
---
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts..."
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget..."

Not a single person fell off the top 50. I think that's the first time so far this contest.
---
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts..."
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget..."

*tag*
---
Did you know A LONG LONG time ago in the days of the mayans people used to live for more than 500 years? Some, even, FOR ETERNITY-Jax1298

Earthworm Jim is holding his own against Mega Man in the early going. I knew he couldn't be weaker than CATS. People thinking the Blue Bomber could possibly break 90 against him is just plain ridiculous.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

And Mario gets a nice 98.28% prediction percentage. A little more than half a percent lower than Link's against CATS.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I'm (Shadow Doom Blaze) one of those 115!
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

After some trouble Mega Man manages to get over 80%.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

115 of us at the moment.....can any of us make it?

I'm sure Tidus v. Shadow is gonna hurt that number a bit.

And of course, i can only get a zero bracket if gordon freeman wins a match...i swear, if my zero bracket fails because of that dumb call...
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

I got an 0 bracket ,but forgot it's nick <_<

Who is favored to win tomorrow's match based on your rankings you guys have uhh... postulated?

I have no idea if that made any sense.
---
GOD Bless And Keep It Fresh
The Unofficially Self-Appointed Understudy of Crimson Raziel

Going by the rankings Shadow would win with 50.04%.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Based on extrapolated rankings..

50.04 - 49.96 with 80,000 votes is

40032
39968

thats winning by 64 votes.


Trust the extrapolated standings? Then you look at the past for your predictions. Take this into consideration: the difference between the expected value based on extrapolated rankings and the outcome in every match so far this summer has been greater than 64 votes. Take that into account, and you have no idea which way it'll swing for this match

So far, the extrapolated standings have not shown enough confidence to mean anything in a matchup this close except: there is no favorite based on the extrapolated rankings.

--

You need to look at what has changed in the last year to decide which way it'll swing. Sonic games are decreasing, and FF games are increasing at GameFAQs, in terms of popularity and site hits. Personal opinion, Tidus has the edge.

In a match that's supposed to be as close as tomorrow's is, extrapolated rankings go out of the window.

Vote's gone in for Earthworm Jim. One of the few characters I'd vote for ahead of Mega Man, actually. Back in the day, this would have been 60-40 or closer I reckon.
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Jon Thomson - today: Mega Man, tomorrow: Tidus - 7/8
Nominate Ridley for Summer Contest 2005

I have a feeling that if Tidus is going to win, it'll be by more than we expect him to, and it'll be quite clear from the start.

On paper, it's incredibly difficult to give one a big advantage over the other. But when you factor in everything and even extrapolation margin of error, you could be looking at a victory with as much as 53% for either Tidus or Shadow...

Coughmorelikelytiduscough
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The only reason this is here is because posts without sigs look ugly.

How many of the Guru brackets have Shadow down for tomorrow? Anyone know what the split is?
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Jon Thomson - today: Mega Man, tomorrow: Tidus - 7/8
Nominate Ridley for Summer Contest 2005

Ngamer hasn't given us any stats yet.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I'm predicting Tidus over Shadow is going to be one of those epic showdowns that ends up being a romp with 70% of the brackets getting the match right in a split BoP decision. *I'm voting for Tidus, btw*

Even if it IS clear from the start, I wouldn't give it to Tidus just yet. Sonic characters are the unbeatable masters of the day vote. Tidus will need to build a large lead in the opening hours to be able to resist.
---
SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

20XX Division: Round 1 - Match 10 – (8)Tidus vs. (9)Shadow the Hedgehog

Moltar’s Analysis

Tidus
Game/Series Known From: Final Fantasy X/Kingdom Hearts
Extrapolated Rank in 2002: 11th
Extrapolated Rank in 2003: 13th
Seed in 2002: 8
Seed in 2003: 5
Lost to Sonic in Round 2 in 2002 to Ganondorf in Round 1in 2003.
Lost early in both Contests, yet still ranks up pretty high.

Another character we love to hate...at least at the Contest board. We can make fun of him all we want, but we can’t stop his strength in the Contest.

Shadow
Game/Series Known From: Sonic Series
Extrapolated Rank in 2002: N/A
Extrapolated Rank in 2003: 12th
Seed in 2002: N/A
Seed in 2003: 9
Got 45% of the vote against a top-tier character

Alright, Shadow made it back. But like Tidus, he is a bit underseeded.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=984

I’d like to start my Analysis with that poll from 2002. Tidus vs. Sonic. As you can see, Sonic won by a pretty comfortable margin. If this poll was held back then, and if Sonic was about the same strength as Shadow, it would be easy to choose who wins. However, there are 2 big things that have happened since this match that have helped Tidus.

1. Kingdom Hearts: Now Tidus didn’t get a huge boost like Cloud of Sephiroth did, but he did get
a boost nonetheless. He went from getting whooped by Sonic in 2002, to nearly taking down Ganondorf the next year, who some say could beat Sonic now. Speaking of the hedgehog...

2. Sonic’s Downfall: In 2002, Sonic lost to Samus by only 34 votes. Samus then went on to lose to Sephiroth by around 5,000 votes. This means that a match between Sephiroth and Sonic would have had a similar result. In 2003, Sonic beat Zero by only 4,000 votes and Aeris by only 6,000 votes. Then he goes on to get doubled by Cloud. Replace Cloud with Sephiroth in that last sentence to see how a Sonic/Sephiroth would have played out. Sonic has definitely lost some steam.

Now some may be asking, what does this have to do with Tidus and Shadow? I am trying to say, that Shadow in 2003 ranked around Sonic in 2003. The weaker Sonic of 2003. So the stats point to Tidus with an easy victory, right? Wrong. There is one big thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet.
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1345

Shadow vs. Mario: Remember that match? Shadow wasn’t even supposed to make it out of Round 1, yet he gave Wario a beating. Shadow then went on to get 45% of the vote on Mario. The same Shadow who wasn’t even the favorite to win his Round 1 match, just lost by only 11,000 votes to Mario. Now Mario isn’t a favorite among many people at GameFAQs. His controversial matches in the past have made him a multitude of enemies and cause him to get anti-voted in his matches, even against the weakest of opponents. But you can’t blame Shadow getting that much on Mario by just anti-votes alone.

Shadow also has another thing going for him. The Picture Factor. A lot of characters don’t get this boost, but Shadow is one of them. He would get the picture advantage over 90% of the opposition in the Contest Some say the only reason he won in 2003 against Wario was because of his match pic. Tidus can never get a really good pic, so Shadow has the advantage here. Sure he might just be Sonic painted in black with red stripes on his head, but that makes him look badass. And if you look badass, people will vote for you. See: Auron

So basically, this is a tough match to call. Look at them in the rankings. They’re practically even. Tidus can be compared to Ganondorf and Magus, while Shadow can be compared to Sonic. I would choose Sonic to beat both Magus and Ganondorf in polls, so I would also choose Shadow to beat Tidus. This match can go either way. In fact, the only reasons I haven’t been flip-flopping my winner for the match are because...

1. Shadow is one of my favorite Video game characters. I’m just a sucker for the Sonic series.

2. I promised Ulti I wouldn’t. =P

Moltar’s Bracket Says: Shadow will win.

Moltar’s Prediction is: Tidus 49% - Shadow 51%
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

Dp’s Analysis

Let's bring the contestants down to the floor for their "trial" to see who will win. First, we have 8-seeded Tidus, star of Final Fantasy X. He faces off against 9-seeded Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. This should be an interesting match up. Bring in the evidence!

Exhibit A: Poll #965 - Summer Contest 2002 first round match up between 8-seeded Tidus and 9-seeded Claire Redfield. Tidus pulled out a 55.46%-44.54% victory. Not too impressive of a win considering the opponent.

Exhibit B: Poll #984 - Summer Contest 2002 second round match up between 1-seeded Sonic the Hedgehog and 8-seeded Tidus. Sonic wins 58.83%-41.17%, a percentage that is quite difficult for Tidus to overcome against the slightly less popular Shadow.

Exhibit C: Poll #1307 - Summer Contest 2003 first round match up between 5-seeded Tidus and 12-seeded Ganondorf. Tidus gets a nice seeding boost, but all that did was make him look even worse as he loses 50.68%-49.32%.

Exhibit D: Poll #1322 - Summer Contest 2003 first round match up between 8-seeded Wario and 9-seeded Shadow. As a 9-seed last year, Shadow shocked everyone as he defeated Wario 64.9%-35.1%. Will he put up similar numbers as a 9-seed again?

Exhibit E: Poll #1330 - Summer Contest 2003 first round match up between 8-seeded Knuckles the Echidna and 9-seeded Yuna. This is a match that should be quite similar to the match at hand: a slightly-less-popular-than-Sonic star of the Sonic the Hedgehog series against one of the main characters of Final Fantasy X. Well, Knuckles defeated Yuna 55.32%-44.68%

Exhibit F: Poll #1345 - Summer Contest 2003 second round match up between 1-seeded Mario and 9-seeded Shadow. In a match that Shadow had no business in making it close, he made it close. Mario was only able to win 55.1%-44.9% in a match that showed Shadow's surprising strength and even brought about arguments that Shadow might be stronger than Sonic.

Exhibit G: Poll #1356 - Summer Contest 2003 third round match up between 2-seeded Sonic the Hedgehog and 11-seeded Aeris Gainsborough. As the main character, it can be agreed that Sonic is more popular than Shadow. Also, it can be agreed that Aeris is a more popular Final Fantasy character than Tidus, so this match may also give insight to our match at hand. Sonic beat Aeris 53.02%-46.98%.

The evidence has been brought to our attention, and the jury has made their decision: Shadow the Hedgehog will defeat Tidus. While Final Fantasy has shown to be the most dominant series, it does not mean all of its characters will be dominant. Mid-level characters such as Tidus are vulnerable, especially against a character from the loved Sonic the Hedgehog series. Sonic the Hedgehog characters can defeat and have defeated Final Fantasy characters, with examples being Sonic over Aeris, Sonic over Tidus, as well as Knuckles over Tidus' fellow FFX character Yuna. This may be one of the most disputed of the first round matches, as 8-9 matches should be, but I have no doubt in my mind that Shadow will win.

DpOblivion's Bracket says: Shadow the Hedgehog

DpOblivion's Prediction is: Shadow over Tidus 53%-47%
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

Ulti’s Analysis

Finally, a match worthy of looking into. On the surface, at least.

Let me ask you guys something. If Servbot were to go up against, say, a Fox or a Crash Bandicoot, who would you choose? Yeah, it's no contest.

Okay, so how about if Morrigan Aensland were to go up against a Squall or a Scorpion? No contest again, right?

So why is Shadow, who is just another character who has overperformed against Mario, getting so much support all of a sudden? He is nothing more than another character being overestimated because of a good past performance, and this match should prove that extrapolated standings can't tell the entire story. It's a shame that Tidus will never get the support he deserves, and I wonder if things would be different had he taken down Ganondorf and/or Magus last year.

Ulti’s Bracket/Prediction - Tidus/Tidus with 54.22%


Cena’s Analysis

Here we go. Finally a match that could possibly go either way. As much as we all loathe Tidus, he’s a Final Fantasy character and will do better than most of you want him to. Last year, he had Ganondorf by his ass the whole day. Yeah, you heard me. The Great Ganon almost got beat by Meg Ryan. Think about that for a second. And statistically speaking, I believe, Ganon > Shadow. This could pose a problem for the dark hedgehog who took a nice chunk from Mario last year. But honestly, I think Shadow’s got the fanbase, and the anti-FF votes to pull this “upset” off. At least, let’s pray to God he does.

Cena’s Vote: Shadow

Cena’s Prediction: Shadow with 53% (I’m very skeptical about this, after looking at the stats)
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

I can guarentee one thing.

If Tidus wins, there will be posts everywhere that FF got stronger and Cloud is still unbeatable.

If Shadow wins, there will be posts everywhere that FF is beatable and Link is a bit stronger, thus Link is the easy winner.

Just remember this match proves nothing about those two.

No mention of FFX-2?
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-----
-------

Yeah a 15-second cameo in a game that only Final Fantasy fans would care about is surely going to tip the scales either way.

*coughkingdomheartscough*
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

I was just about to say that..
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Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Mario vs. JC - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (7/7)

A little kid with a wooden stick, pfft. Sora > KH Tidus. Hell, Kairi > KH Tidus.
---
My doctor gave me 6 months to live, but when I couldn't pay the medical bill he game me 6 months more.

Yeah but Kingdom Hearts was a different set of circumstances, I guess I didn't clarify it enough.

KH was played by non-FF fans as well, FFX-2 wasnt. Anyone who played FFX-2 also played FFX. Plus unlike KH that cameo doesn't put Tidus in a favorable light. He is seen as a whiny girl.

So unless ANY mention of a FF character can change a match significantly, than this wont.

I think it was mentioned before, but this will not be the bracket-breaker everyone is expecting... unless of course Shadow wins. I am expecting Ganondorf/Luigi-type support for Tidus, somewhere in the mid 60's. Which of course means if Shadow wins then a huge number of brackets will go down, however if Tidus wins the affect will be the same as when Ganondorf and Luigi won their matches. At least that is how I think the brackets will break down.
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...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

Anyone who played FFX-2 also played FFX.

I'm not convinced by that logic, oh no. That's like saying everyone who played FF7 played FF6.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

I agree with that, Tnote. I mean, Tidus was actually favored to beat Ganondorf, and Shadow was the underdog against Wario. And half the brackets not even having Megaman reach the Sweet 16 last year tells a lot about the memory of the bracketmakers.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

I'm happy with my Tidus pick. Because as of what has transpired so far, and my own analysis, and the anlysis of others.... I have no reason to doubt my prediction, or believe that Shadow will stun me. But even if it does go wrong... so what? It's a point, and the winner faces Mega Man next round... so what are we all so worried about?
---
SC2k4 Winner: Sephiroth
Status: 9/9 Next Pick: Tidus

But even if it does go wrong... so what? It's a point, and the winner faces Mega Man next round... so what are we all so worried about?

Margins of Victory
SC2K2: 0 Points
SC2K3: 3 Points
SpC2K4: 0 Points

We worry about the above.
---
I'm safe until the next toss-up match, which is Bowser vs. Guybrush. ~SuperLuigiBros
SC2K4 Score: 9/9 Next Pick: Tidus

Just read the previews and I only really agree with Ulti's, which sounds a lot like mine, but I go into more depth.
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

SHOT AT ULTI'D!
---
I'm safe until the next toss-up match, which is Bowser vs. Guybrush. ~SuperLuigiBros
SC2K4 Score: 9/9 Next Pick: Tidus

No it isn't. How is playing FF7 and not playing FF6 anything like playing FFX-2 and not playing FFX.

FF7 was a new story with new characters. People knew that.

Everyone knew FFX-2 was just a continuation of the story from FFX. If someone played FFX-2, without playing FFX they would be heavily confused.

Sonic Battle will have more of an effect on this poll than FFX-2.

And FF6 and FF7 were on different systems. (Well they were when they originally came out)

---
SC2K4: 8/8
Todays Pick: Mega Man

Am I the only one that thinks that Tidus's increase in popularity has nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts, but rather FFX is so popular that it is (or most likely was) still growing in popularity and that is what gave Tidus the boost in 2003.


---
"You've got 10 seconds to beat it before I add you to the list of NSF casualties" -JC Denton

Who knows. I personally don't think Tidus is growing in popularity at all. You had the classic Nintendo vs Square last year, so every Square fan will vote Tidus if they like him or not. Same with every Nintendo fan and Gannondorf.

This year the Square v Nintendo factor is gone and many of the same Square fans who voted Tidus last year, won't this year. Shadow should receive around the same support as last year.

I think Tidus will still win, but I am predicting only by a handful of votes. I say the Koreans pull him through (:P)

Unless you can prove to me that a character's story being continued in a multi-million sales game will have absolutely no impact on his performance in what is supposed to be an insanly close match, I still believe it's worth mentioning.
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-------

The Square vs. Nintendo factor is still unproven bullcrap, to the same level as TJF. Counting on it is instant bracket suicide.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

Have you looked around these boards??? Square vs Nintendo has some effect. Maybe not a huge one but some atleast.

I still don't see even with people buying FFX-2 and not buying FFX, how Tidus who likes like a child whining in some cell will help his chances.

Like I said before Sonic Battle will have a much bigger effect on this match than FFX-2. If Sonic Battle raised Shadow's popularity, Shadow wins. If it doesn't (like I think it won't), he loses. That simple.

Yes. I mean, the board basically decides the matches!

...wait, no, it doesn't.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

Have you looked around these boards??? Square vs Nintendo has some effect. Maybe not a huge one but some atleast.

Yah it will have just as much as an effect as Repeat Champion Anti-Votes
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Snowflake, repeat after me. NewLib has Tidus WINNING this match. NewLib has Tidus WINNING this match.

And please Nintendo vs Square is a lot bigger than these boards, I was just using these boards as an example. Look anywhere. By nature, true diehard Nintendo and Square fanboys can't stand one another nor their characters.

This is especially true with FF games past VI and the Mario and Zelda series.

And like I said before I expect it to have a small effect. But I expect this match to be within 500 votes. Any small effect matters.

By nature, true diehard Nintendo and Square fanboys can't stand one another nor their characters.

...What? Because I'm a fan of Nintendo games/characters that means that "by nature" I cannot like some Square games and characters? I hate this idea that all fans of Nintendo games hate Square and vice-versa. And since when did hating Square become a part of being a Nintendo fan, or vice-versa?
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Did someone miss the word DIE-HARD Nintendo and Square Fans.

Meaning Nintendo fans who only love Nintendo games and Square fans who only love Square games.

They exist.

I think people are blowing what I am saying WAY out of proportion.

I don't expect anything I have mentioned to swing votes one way or the other by a couple thousand votes. I am expecting maybe a 50-100 vote by some things. And with a match that I THINK will be within 300 votes, THAT MATTERS.

Match #8 Review:

Mario is quite possibly the weakest and most obscure character in the contest. I still don't know who he is.

Nonetheless, JC Denton is looking to have an epic showdown with Crono in the thrid round.

Match #10 Preview:

Hmm...Shadow is a character from a series that hasn't had a well-received game in a decade. Regardless, he put up a ridiculously good fight against Mario last year. Was it just a fluke?...Maybe.

That's why I'm leaning towards Tee-dus (not Tightass) on this one.
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

I love Nintendo above all else, and my favorite game of all time is Chrono Trigger. Then Zelda. Then FF6.

You lose.
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Dont blame us just because you bought an Xbox. ~azndragon94
Crono ~ Frog ~ Cloud Strife ~ Sonic the Hedgehog

Megaman finally broke 82%.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

I'm not saying FFX-2 will drive Tidus to a 4000 vote victory. Please, don't let me give that idea. But when analyzing the characters, Tidus is the lead for FFX, and plays a role in FFX-2, which has come out since last year.

While I agree with the notion that the majority, heck even the vast majority, of FFX-2 players played FFX and as such, FFX-2 won't be changing anyone's mind, necessarily.

However, FFX-2 has helped keep FFX current, and they are 1 and 3 on the PS2 FAQ list. That means, as a result of FFX-2, there will be people wandering over to Gamefaqs and looking for FFX-2 and FFX information. That might provide a few votes, and in a close match, it's worth mentioning.

Of course, I will concede that FFX-2 might mean nothing. If it's such that you can easily dismiss it like you have, then one would think that it would perhaps have an adverse effect, and in a close match, that's also worth mentioning.
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Then you aren't a Nintendo die-hard. I am talking about people who ONLY love Nintendo games. ONLY.

And since last contest, hasn't Square released two games for Nintendo systems? Maybe that would help quench a supposed Square v Nintendo vote, even if just a little?
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HyIian is 9/9
The Return of Hylian is 0/9

I have Shadow winning in both brackets, so one is going down tomorrow. :(
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"Trying.....the first step to failure."- Homer Simpson
~I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.~

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe FFX-2 will have an effect. I just see the match hanging on ONE THING.

Not Nintendo vs Square.
Not FFX-2

Can Sonic Heroes push Shadow to a victory. I think the answer is no, but we shall see.

Yeah, that's cool. I think with so many things in this contest, we just really don't know. Maybe it is Nintendo v Square, maybe it's a Sonic game, maybe it's just a day when a few more fans of one or the other show up. I'm inclined to believe that in close matches, it's not necessarily a measurable quanitity that has propelled one contestant over the other. Maybe it is.

Who knows, eh.
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Loved my many...hated by few...respected by all...its...

Steve Illumina Speaks

Right you are, my fans and friends! The witty humor returns for another round of contest madness. Fanboys and diehards alike can come to appreciate the mocking of their beloved characters, their contest, their likes, their dislikes, and the gaming subculture we are all a part of, not to mention sweet Board 8, as the latest fad has come to know it to be called.

And so it begins, with the second matchup of the first round in the "What Year is It?" Division...

Tidus vs Shadow
Steve's Pick: Shadow
Bracket Pick: Shadow
Newbie Pick: Shadow (Picture/Sonic factor)
Fanboy's Choice: A 50-50 Split! Wow! So?
My Oracle Pick: 52.10 for Shadow
My Prophet Pick: 1212 for Shadow
Upset Potential: Finally...an upset! Bout time!

Comments: The weakest FF hero of all time takes on a palette swapped platformer.

This match has radicalized the board for the first time yet this summer. Sure there was a lot of Guybrush love and a few nerds spoke up for Ryo, but here we got 2 sides and they be arguing like Kerry & Bush come October...

My colleague, Mr. Slowflake, wrote a bonafide quality essay about this match which covers all the main points in grand detail. This is the type of effect a match like this has on the experts here. While one could say some have too much time on their hands to write that much :) It was entertaining and I recommend everyone seek out the Stats thread and read it. Now onto my 2 cents...

Tidus is a primadonna...a weakling...a sissy boy who looks weak, is weak, never won a match worth winning here in the contest. He can beat the Conkers of the world sure, but in the face of a test...he flops like a Sinspawn.

Shadow, a cheap carbon copy of Sega's greatest achievement since Alex Kidd, broke my bracket last year when he beat up Wario, and he scored high on Mario himself. Does this mean he will whip Tidus? To some, yep. To some, nope. To me, i dont care what it means! All that matters is who is liked more...and for that I break it down this way..

Tidus: Liked by RPG diehards, nerdboys, sissies, wimps, geeks, Square Squadrons, Cloud lovers, Squall supporters, and maybe even Zidane zingers!

Shadow: Liked by Sega diehards, kiddies, girls, youngsters, preschoolers, platform junkies, Tails tribesmen, Knuckles Kickers, and of course, casuals!

Casuals will play their hand, and see the black character with the cooler name and say...yah, he rocks! The lower vote turnout these days helps him too. So does SFF, extrapolated, past records, the words of Ulti, the words of Me, the fanboy chatter, poll placement on the site, pictures, seedings, bracket voters factor, and every other cheesy rationale for who will win and who will lose. It all boils down to this: who do peeps like more?

My money is on Shadow. At last...a worthy matchup!

Results: In the first true match worth analyzing half seriously...the biggest surprise this side of Squall in 2003 will upset primadonna Tidus and break half the perfects in the process, and upset many elite experts who do not agree with me. The margin? 1500 votes or less...

Quotes: Tidus: "Don't hate me because I am beautiful!" Shadow: "Blue Blur? Rubbish! I am the Black Boom! Sissy Sonic cant catch me!"
---
Steve Illumina: The Official Satirical Commentator of GameFAQ's Contests
Pub Trivian Forever...SC2K4: 9/9

Shadow: "Blue Blur? Rubbish! I am the Black Boom!

Hey Slow, add that as another stupid quote Shadow has been heard saying.
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I'm safe until the next toss-up match, which is Bowser vs. Guybrush. ~SuperLuigiBros
SC2K4 Score: 9/9 Next Pick: Tidus

"Back in the day, this would have been 60-40 or closer I reckon"

Ya know, I said the same tihnf in another topic before comming in here...
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

The weakest FF hero of all time takes on a palette swapped platformer.

FFX-2 and FF6. Sad as it is, Tidus would beat Kefka and Terra.
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Link, Alucard, Magus, Crono, Mario, Knuckles, Kefka, Cloud, Sonic...
And Frog.

Tidus is a primadonna...a weakling...a sissy boy who looks weak, is weak, never won a match worth winning here in the contest.

Shadow hasn't won a match worth winning either. Wario is just a step above fodder. Tidus could beat him into the ground, too.

Assuming Mario and Mega Man haven't changed in strength, where would JC Denton's and Earthworm Jim's performances put them in the 2003 extrapolateds?
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I say Earthworm Jim fits nicely inbetween Ness and Pac-Man, at the least.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Denton is just behind Ryo, and so far Jim is ranking just a wee bit ahead of CATS (who seeemingly decreased a bit this time around though).
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 007/007 - Matches: 07/07 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Mario - Tomorrow: Megaman

"They exist."

They also make up the smallest percentage of each companies fans.

"Assuming Mario and Mega Man haven't changed in strength, where would JC Denton's and Earthworm Jim's performances put them in the 2003 extrapolateds?"

EWJ should be able to beat Gordon in a very close match, without GFNW. XSt may have Gordon just a little higher though.

JC Denton would have a tough time with Ryo Hazuki.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Oh CRAP, I totally forgot to archive Part 32.

Anybody have Part 32 saved?
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Supporter of Frog
SC2K4.com/Frog

EWJ should be able to beat Gordon in a very close match, without GFNW.

SUH-WEET.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Actually, given the current results, Gordon would be projected to win with 58.35%. Gasp.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

I read the question wrong myself, I thought he asked where would you put Jim rather than what would the extrapolated standings have him at if everything stayed the same.

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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

Yeah, I was thinking of the % from much earlier today. At 20% on MM I do believe you can beat GF. It'd be close, obviously, and the XSt still favor Gordon, But I'm certian Pac-Man and Ness would beat GF without GFNW due to the volatility of the XSt.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I'd like to see Mega Man manage 83% before it's all over. Just 0.57% more.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I would like to see Megaman get past 85% on this one.. but i don't see it happening.. 83% will do i guess..

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"I just wanna protect the people I'm with. Doesn't matter whether I can or not. It's what I believe in."
-Zidane (Final Fantasy IX)

No Mega blowouts for Mega Man this year feels really weird to me. But that's what happens when the fodder he faces is halfway decent for a change. Mega really should have had a shot at Tanner, cause I don't like the idea of Snake getting a bigger blowout than MM.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

But I'm certian Pac-Man and Ness would beat GF without GFNW due to the volatility of the XSt.

Truth be told, I don't think Pac-Man could even beat Gordon nowadays. I think Ness could though.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

If Pac-Man couldn't beat Gordon, I'd have a hard time believing Ness could.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

I wish Earthworm Jim could get up to 20%, though I know it won't happen. We know that Mega Man has NOT lost strength and has likely gained popularity instead from MMAC (maybe not as much as SOMEBODY likes to think, HM, but still some =P). So, the more votes EWJ can get, the better he should look instead of the weaker Mega Man becomes. I'd love to see Jimmy come back next year, though I doubt it'll happen...but the more votes he gets, the more likely it'll happen (don't mention Aeris).
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Ness faced SFF last year, clearly. Of course Ness would beat Gordon. And Gordon is one of the few that I think Pac-Man actually could beat.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Bowser tripled Ness, and Luigi did a lil' more than double Pac-Man. It's not hard for me to believe that Bowser is just that much more popular than Luigi, thus my reasoning for why Ness would do better against Gordon Freeman than Pac-Man.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

I am still ticked Aeris aint in over the likes of goofs like Guybrush, JC and Tanner...

And I aint no FF7 fanboy neither!
---
Steve Illumina: The Official Satirical Commentator of GameFAQ's Contests
Pub Trivian Forever...SC2K4: 9/9

If by clearly you mean inconclusively, then yes. It's still conjecture until we see what Ness can do this year.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Meh, there was potential SFF in Bowser/Ness, but I wouldn't look into it that much; without SFF, Ness would have done about 2% better, at best, and I'm reluctant to say that much. I say this liking Ness, too.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

"without SFF, Ness would have done about 2% better"

If you had put DK in where Ness is now and made this statement during the same period of last year's contest people would believe that too. But the fact of the matter is that DK should have done some 15-16% better. That very well could be the case for Ness for all we know. It's not likely, but possible. In a direct match between Fox and Ness I'd take Ness, and you can't claim me as an Earthbound fanboy because I've played less of that game than HM.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Earthbound being much more popular than Ness is highly suspicious as well. EB would've been expected to get on FF6 what Ness actually got against Bowser. The difference is, FF6 is in the elite. Bowser is not.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

I am still ticked Aeris aint in over the likes of goofs like Guybrush, JC and Tanner...

And I aint no FF7 fanboy neither!

I hear ya. Personally, I wish they would have made Bowser/Aeris and kicked Guybrush out to the curb. I have no problems with the then-unproven JC and Tanner being in the contest, but Guybrush should have just...left. Period.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Well, Bowser was fairly close to what he was supposed to get on Guybrush. I know it's a bit risky to mix and match two different years, but if there was SFF, I'd say it was minimal. Either way, Ness isn't much more than fodder.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

"Earthbound being much more popular than Ness is highly suspicious as well."

Considering what SSB did for Samus, yes it is. I don't expect the game to hold Ness up like Samus, but I do expect Ness to perform better than a game that is 10 years old. Just like Samus performs much better than Super Metroid.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

In a direct match between Fox and Ness I'd take Ness, and you can't claim me as an Earthbound fanboy because I've played less of that game than HM.

Not many people wouldn't take Ness over Fox, I figure.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

How could you possibly think Ness could beat Fox?
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

I've played less of that game than HM

Heroic Mario played Earthbound for a 4th time and liked it, as far as his initial reaction (I didn't see any posts after Twoson)
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I GOTTA HAVE MORE COWBELL
Boot and Immune: 23 TheRye; Contest: 8/8

There's no way I'd take Ness over Fox.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I think Fox would beat Ness without much trouble. They're both from the Smash Brothers series, so whatever boost either could get from it is negated. Or if anything, Fox gets the boost since he owns Ness in Melee.

Take away SSB, and it's the Star Fox series vs. Earthbound. Fox wins.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

"Bowser was fairly close to what he was supposed to get on Guybrush."

That has nothing to do with Ness, however. Guybrush was tripled by Ryo Hazuki, and the fact of the matter is that there is probably a minimal limit for all fodder. I would bet that, should Mr. Ressetti have faced Link, his % would have been closer to what he got against MM than what he is predicted to get against Link. There just comes a point where the fodder refuse to drop any lower.

"but if there was SFF, I'd say it was minimal."

We have 0 evidence to prove it either way.

"Either way, Ness isn't much more than fodder."

Unless by some chance he was hit as badly as DK. It's as unlikely as the possibility that he wasn't hit by any at all, but if he was then Ness would be in the upper-half.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I wouldn't either, but I'm trying to understand why people are thinking this way....
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

"Take away SSB, and it's the Star Fox series vs. Earthbound. Fox wins."

Wow, yeah... Star Fox did kick a lot of ass in the SpC... oh wait, no, it didn't even make it in.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I think Ness would get about 18-19% on Link, whereas Fox got about 17.53%. It's also not hard to double Pikachu; that's the only character that I believe has legitimate hate-vote problems, plus it was SFF, so I don't think Fox is powerful enough to warrant a win over Ness.

To be fair though, I consider Jak to be about Fox's level, and I think Ness/Jak'll be pretty close.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Wow, yeah... Star Fox did kick a lot of ass in the SpC... oh wait, no, it didn't even make it in.

You'll put Ness over Fox due to that? Regardless of the Spring contest, Star Fox + Star Fox 64 > Earthbound.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

I don't think anybody could get hit with SFF as badly as DK. He's just pathetic. You stick him up against a big name from Nintendo, and even the anti-Nintendites refuse to support him.

One way or another, I can't see Ness being stronger than his game.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

With that kind of logic, Gordon Freeman would put a serious dent on Samus...
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

The Spring Contest thing, I mean.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

"Regardless of the Spring contest, Star Fox + Star Fox 64 > Earthbound."

Again, considering that neither of those games has the fanbase on this site to actually make it into the contest while Earthbound does I'm going to have to say... no, on GameFAQs they are not greater than Earthbound.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

oh wait, no, it didn't even make it in.

And Mega Man didn't have any games in the contest either, so he's probably done for when he faces Tidus next round.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

We know why Mega had no games, don't be asinine.

We know why Gordon performs lower than Half-Life, stop acting like a FPS character you rarely if ever (I mean, CounterStrike and the other mods don't even have Gordon) see gains as much from his game as a character that is constantly on the screen AND has an outside source boosting him.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Let's stop with picking on which games didn't make the contest; given a better nomination format, I am confident that Mega Man 2, Super Mario Kart, and maybe Punch-Out or Star Fox 64 would have made it into the contest.

Just because no Star Fox games made it in doesn't mean it's a fact that Fox is weaker than Ness, though I think that Fox would still lose to Ness. It's not a fact though.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Well, you know better than to assume that characters = games, or that the number of nominations means anything. Star Fox 64 had Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time to compete with amongst its own fanbase. Earthbound has its own fanbase and has no other games to worry about taking its nominations away from fellow fans.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

"The only Nintendo characters that aren't are Link, and until proof of the opposite, Ness."

Which makes so much sense... because Ness is so much like Link it's not even funny.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

How many of the fans that know both characters mainly from Smash Bros will vote Ness over Fox? It seems 50% is the best Ness can get (and I'm being very generous here), especially after sucking it up bigtime in Melee. That won't be good enough to get the job done.
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My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

Wait a second there... I totally ****ed up that line of thought. It's actually Mario who's the only one weaker than his top game.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

Umm... Chichiri? This has been established the moment we found out Earthbound outclassed SMRPG and SF2 in the nominations.
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

"It's actually Mario who's the only one weaker than his top game."

Oh, well in that case, Yeah, Ness is so like Mario... Because really, Ness is an average of the strength of all his games combined. All 1 of them realeased in the US.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

*still trying to figure out why that was so laughable*
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Earthbound was on the most competitive system for those nominations. Earthbound, frankly, amounts to more on this site than a lot of you give credit for. It may only be a cult game, but it is one of the most powerful ones around. There is no reason whatsoever, with the existance of Smash Brothers, to believe that Ness is that much weaker than his game. Why, of all things, would Smash Bros. hurt Ness? Any logical explanations at all? Any? One possibility? Please, tell me, why would Smash Bros hurt any character that appears in it? Make something up if you have to, it doesn't even have to be plausible. Just give me something.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I believe Super Smash Bros Melee could potentially hurt Ness, considered how much weaker he is in it compared to Super Smash Bros. That is why I am voting for Jak....
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Sigs are overrated.

How many of the fans that know both characters mainly from Smash Bros will vote Ness over Fox? It seems 50% is the best Ness can get (and I'm being very generous here), especially after sucking it up bigtime in Melee. That won't be good enough to get the job done.

I would, very easily. While Ness did get on my bad side with SSBM, Fox has been on my ****list for SSB and SSBM both. Gamewise, I'd give it to Fox solely because of Star Fox 64 (I couldn't get into Star Fox, and Earthbound lost my interest about a third of the way through it), but I would still believe that Ness has too many fans here at GameFAQs to let Fox escape with a win. Yes, the same Ness who got tripled by Bowser, I know this.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

Who said it would hurt Ness? But if you put him up against someone who's also in the same game, he's not going to benefit from it. If anything, he'll suffer from it because he's so outclassed in Melee.

Earthbound has its own cult devoted fanbase that will support it against anything. It doesn't even have to amount to that much to get it into the contest. CATS has the same kind of cult fanbase, though to a far lesser extent.

Fox has to deal with fellow--and far more popular--Nintendo characters and their games in the nomination process. Star Fox 64 is a great game, but if you have to choose between nominating that, Mario 64, or Ocarina of Time, it'll probably get left out.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

However, FFX-2 has helped keep FFX current, and they are 1 and 3 on the PS2 FAQ list.

FAQ lists mean jack ****. If you go by then, then Pokémon would have beat FF7 in the spring.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

"Who said it would hurt Ness?"

Earthbound manages to be about 5% close to FF7 than Ness is to Cloud....

In comparisson OoT is further from FF7 than Link is from Cloud.

"but if you have to choose between nominating that, Mario 64, or Ocarina of Time, it'll probably get left out."

And that's the point, Star Fox rates a lot lower among Nintendo than Earthbound due to a strong core fanbase that won't break. But it's not just that hardcore fanbase that will support Earthbound. In Ness vs. Fox without Earthbound I'm sure Fox has a small but noticable advantage, with Earthbound I have no doubt that Ness takes the advantage.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Back when Ragnarok Online was on top of the FAQ lists:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1669
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

Comments: The weakest FF hero of all time takes on a palette swapped platformer.

If by weak you mean 3rd strongest in the contest, sure.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

2nd, actually. Sephiroth is a villain. ;)
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SC2K4 Status - Points: 008/008 - Matches: 08/08 - Rank: 00001/33221 - Today: Megaman - Tomorrow: Tidus

Well, since I haven't played Earthbound I can only judge Ness by what I think of him in SSB and SSBM. I know diehard fans of Earthbound will vote for him, but for those people who have only played SSB and SSBM, SSBM might hurt Ness's chances of beating Jak.....
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Sigs are overrated.

Mega Man is currently at 82.50%... I wonder how high he can get...
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Please, tell me, why would Smash Bros hurt any character that appears in it? Make something up if you have to, it doesn't even have to be plausible. Just give me something.

Pokémon getting any more exposure than absolutely necessary only hurts their chances in these polls even more. Besides, some characters absolutely ****ing suck in the Smash Brothers games.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

And that's the point, Star Fox rates a lot lower among Nintendo than Earthbound due to a strong core fanbase that won't break.

Earthbound's cult is almost separate from Nintendo. Sure, it gets nomination from Nintendo fans, but I'd say the majority of it comes from diehard EB fans instead. Like I said, there are plenty of them to get it into the contest, but that doesn't mean it has a whole lot of strength.

Sure, Fox doesn't get high priority on the Nintendo ladder among his fellow characters, but you put him up against Ness one-on-one and he can benefit from those who would support him otherwise.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Tag
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Beliefs are what you get when you don't have facts to back them up.

Besides, some characters absolutely ****ing suck in the Smash Brothers games.

The only in-contest character you can say this for is Bowser, and I really don't think SSBM hurts him (probably doesn't help much, either. But I don't think it hurts).

As for Star Fox vs. Earthbound, I think Star Fox would take that fairly comfortably. Earthbound, like RCR and Gunstar Heroes, is a game with the cult following to actually get in to the contests, but simply isn't well-played enough to beat... almost anything worthwhile.

Similarly I'd be inclined to take Fox over Ness (what do the extrapolated standings say about that, btw?).

I'm sorry, but Fox vs. Ness would never be a debate to me. Yes, I have played Earthbound and it pained me just to finish that game. I will never, ever touch that game again. Fox on the other hand could be considered a Nintendo staple. He has slipped some due to not having a highly successful game for a next-gen console, but I would still say he is popular.

Star Fox was a VERY hyped game in it's day. You guys remember how Nintendo gloated over it's "Super FX" chip technology? It was the biggest thing to hit video games since "Mode 7". *snickers* Nonetheless, Star Fox was a classic! I only WISH games now had the difficulty level of that game. Play through the Hard route and see what I'm talking about.

Star Fox 64 was even MORE hyped. In fact, it carried the Nintendo flag during the gap between Super Mario 64 and OoT. I remember when I got my N64 on the first day and had SM64 and Star Wars:SotE as my only games. I was a god to my friend and his lowly SNES. Then his mom hit the Bingo jackpot and he proceeded to get a N64 WITH SM64, Star Wars, Turok, and like 3-4 more games (to my 2). But as SOON as I got Star Fox 64, he went on to complain how I had trumped him in the video game race. The hype that Star Fox wasn't even that far back! Didn't you read the thread "Do a barrel roll"? People would vote for Fox based on that experience alone!

*That being said, can you actually believe how much a splash the Rumble Pak made in the industry? It was like "Oh my gawd, the controller moves!" It went on to spawn infamous video game moments such as Psycho Mantis' famous "put your controller on the floor" scene. I actually was a bit disappointed in the Rumble Pak. I thought it would make the controller damn near jerk out of my hand when I first heard about it. Talk about unfilled expectation.... *sigh*
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"There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

FAQ lists mean jack ****. If you go by then, then Pokémon would have beat FF7 in the spring.

As I clarified, I don't mean that the FAQ lists mean one game is more popular, just that in a what may be a close match, there are is number of people visiting this site just for FFX/FFX-2, and that may provide a small bit of help for Tidus.
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"I only WISH games now had the difficulty level of that game"

I know of games that make Star Fox feel like it was made for 5 year olds.

Beatmania IIDX (think of somehting similar to Frequency but a million times harder) is so hard that after having played since last November I can say that I might be able to pass half of the songs on the easy mode. There are 4 difficulties and I'm halfway through the second on all three games I have (4th, 5th, 7th). Now that requires some serious skill.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I almost hope Shadow wins tomorrow, and the Sonic beats...well no, not that one, but the Sonic series is getting trashed in here. Also, even if Tidus wins, that really shouldn't be grounds to call the Sonic Series is failing, and if it is failing, then why did a new(?) sonic character get 45% on Mario, and even if you want to say its cause its just Sonic vs Mario, which it really isn't, 45% aint that bad regardless. Tidus and Shadow came up basically dead equal and I don't think really any valid conclusions can be drawn unless its a big win. at or above 55 I guess.
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Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15596187

"which it really isn't,"

If Shadow were any higher he'd probably have to be above Sonic. Only one character stands between Sonic and Shadow. Do you really think that Shadow is that close to Sonic in actual popularity?
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I admit that I'm going with Tidus just for bracket purposes. I enjoy SA2 WAY more than I do FFX. Shadow isn't my fav character though. That would be reserved for Knuckles. I don't think the Sonic series is dying. It's just not at the pinnacle of gaming like it used to be. Sonic was NEVER on the level of Mario, although he was close. I just don't want people to be fooled into thinking that that he was. Mario already had ESTABLISHED himself in 8-bit time.

The Sonic series had done damn well for itself regardless. If anything, it was the LONG gap between Sonic 3&K (or Sonic CD?) and Sonic Adventure that killed the series' popularity. Yes, there were the obscure ones such as Sonic 3D blast but they just didn't make a dent. THAT might have been his downfall. But there was no major Sonic game to bridge the gap between Genesis and Dreamcast. The Sega Saturn was a disappointment for Sonic fans. That racing game just didn't cut it. By the time Sonic Adventure came out, it may have been too late. I actually think the series is picking up again. At least people are TALKING about Sonic again and not basing it on his past games....
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"There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

Wow, people are yet again underestimating Tidus. Weakest FF hero? Sure, if you're not counting FFI, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, or X-2. I will laugh at you all tomorrow when Tidus emerges victorious.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
This year is Sephiroth's year!

Vote totals are pretty good today:

At 13:31:30, the match had 53,150 votes. At 12:59:27, Ganondorf vs. Alucard (the match with the current highest total) had 52,588 votes. I took an earlier time for the Ganondorf vs. Alucard match because the MM vs. EJ match started about half an hour late. Still, I'm happy that the vote total is high for this match =).
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

yeah I was just thinking that myself mumei, and chichiri, I don't understand, obviously they are very close in popularity if there is only one charcter separating them, but still, shadow isn't sonic, I meant that Shadow's performance wasn't a fluke, and probably didn't get ALL the Sonic votes.
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Go vote in today's survivor please!!!
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=15596187

Wow, people are yet again underestimating Tidus. Weakest FF hero? Sure, if you're not counting FFI, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, or X-2. I will laugh at you all tomorrow when Tidus emerges victorious

Eh. I consider the match a complete tossup, but... Tidus isn't as strong as you say.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1445

Now granted, a large part of the Cloud voters would probably take Tidus over Cecil or Terra, but at the same time, considering how popular FFX is these numbers have to be considered a disappointment.

If those polls meant anything, Knuckles would be more popular than Sonic, and Yoshi would have never lost to Bowser last year.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

At least that one is accurate insofar as that the most popular character actually won =P.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

The poll's already broken 70,000 votes and we've still got 6 hours to go. This could challenge Ganon-Alucard for the most popular poll thus far.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

To think, this poll started 30 minutes late, too.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

You serious? From all the polls I've seen so far this contest, they've always seemed to be exactly on time.

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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."

And it happened for Mario's match XD. Megaman is actually ahead of Link's vote total at this point, if you include the fact that the poll started thirty minutes late.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

On this Earthbound vs. Star Fox 64 debate: I think Star Fox 64 wouldn't have problems beating Earthbound. Earthbound got into the contest because organized cult fanbases can affect the nomination process. Star Fox 64 was a much "bigger" game than Earthbound, and I would think it would win just based on that alone.

But, then again, Earthbound was almost tied with Perfect Dark in the extrapolateds, and I wouldn't think Star Fox 64 would be stronger than Perfect Dark. Hmm...so maybe Earthbound would win after all? Huh. When I started writing this I figured Earthbound wouldn't stand much chance against SF64 but I didn't realize Perfect Dark (which I think was much more successful than SF64) was so weak.

Likewise, I'm unclear on Fox vs. Ness. Without any data to go by, I'd say Fox would easily win...but Ness isn't too far behind him in the extrapolateds, and he might have suffered from SFF (or he might just be really weak). I don't know, I guess I'd go with Fox.

therealmnm:
Star Fox was a VERY hyped game in it's day. You guys remember how Nintendo gloated over it's "Super FX" chip technology? It was the biggest thing to hit video games since "Mode 7". *snickers*

Yeah, exactly. Star Fox for the SNES is kinda forgotten now it seems but it got a lot of hype and attention at the time. I remember hearing a lot about that FX chip nonsense, and then when I saw the graphics for the actual game, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. It just looked like a bunch of really ugly polygons. The game was a big hit though. And I really liked Star Fox 64.

Star Fox 64 was even MORE hyped. In fact, it carried the Nintendo flag during the gap between Super Mario 64 and OoT.

You sure about that? I don't remember much hype for Star Fox 64 at all.

*That being said, can you actually believe how much a splash the Rumble Pak made in the industry? It was like "Oh my gawd, the controller moves!"

You know, actually, I can't! I have NO IDEA why it became so popular. I thought it was a really strange idea. I figured it would be a short-lived thing that everyone would forget about, like the Power Glove (which felt awesome to wear, but had zero usefulness). I *never* would've imagine something so odd becoming standard equipment on all next-generation system controllers.
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Supporter of Frog
SC2K4.com/Frog

Woah, really solid showing by Mega Man so far...percentage isn't all that impressive, but look at Mega Man's vote total!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1336

He got 91905 votes in his first match last year. He has 60466 so far in this match. But if we assume that vote totals are down, say...20% this year, then would that mean that MM actually received a little boost this year?

Someone do the math to figure that out. I'm too lazy. :/
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

And it happened for Mario's match XD.

Exactly. Ya gotta think this was planned by CJay to piss us off and perhaps foreshadowed what'll happen (or not happen) in the future. If Bowser/Mario have something else like this, I guarantee you that there's gonna be another controversial moment during Crono/Mario III.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

It will Always be controversial between Mario vs. Crono matches.. No matter who wins, the whole board will go dramatically insane..

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"I just wanna protect the people I'm with. Doesn't matter whether I can or not. It's what I believe in."
-Zidane (Final Fantasy IX)

and I wouldn't think Star Fox 64 would be stronger than Perfect Dark.

I would. Star Fox 64 is a classic N64 game. It's one of those games I could imagine being way stronger than any of its characters. Perfect Dark came out in the dying days of the system, and I can't think of what was so good about it. It's got nothing on GoldenEye.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Perfect Dark came out in the dying days of the system, and I can't think of what was so good about it. It's got nothing on GoldenEye.

I'd argue, but it's simply a matter of taste in this case. Regardless, I think Star Fox 64 would beat Perfect Dark, but not by very much.
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Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

I thought most people preferred Perfect Dark over Goldeneye....
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Sigs are overrated.

The FIRST night I do not stay up until 2am to try for a first vote is the first night the poll does not load at 2:00:00 (excluding that weird happening the Link/CATS poll). And it is because Mario needs an extra 30 minutes?

Uh-oh... now when it hit 2:00:01 and the poll was still up, did a giant middle finger saying " 'I PWN you, Crono' -CJayC" come on the screen?

If not, it probably should have... knew I should have gone with Mario =(
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...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

Uh-oh... now when it hit 2:00:01 and the poll was still up, did a giant middle finger saying " 'I PWN you, Crono' -CJayC" come on the screen?

I'm sorry, but that was hilarious XD.

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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

"and I wouldn't think Star Fox 64 would be stronger than Perfect Dark."

I'd put Star Fox 64 ahead of PD any day of the week. It had better timing and more originality among other things going for it.

I'd also more likely take SF64 in a direct match agaisnt Earthbound. I am still not convinced Fox would take Ness in a direct matchup though.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Earthbound vs. Starfox 64? i'd go with Earthbound in that match. but then again, i went with Earthbound over Doom, so you can't really listen to me on that one. >_>

okay, so since Square always gets the night vote and the Sonic Team is the "undisputed king of the day vote" (as i believe Slowflake said), how big of a lead does Tidus need to build up to hold off Shadow during the day; or how big of a lead does Shadow need to maintain to avoid a late night Tidus comeback? what's the safety point this time?

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you guys nominated the wrong Shadow..... =(
Through great Luck (and a bit of skill) ULTI pounded me in the Spring Contest!!

First, if any character leads by 3200 they win.
Second, I think Tidus will probably need 52% in the first part of the night vote, if he can manage that then the second night vote should be able to swing it back to his side without issue.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

"First, if any character leads by 3200 they win."

That, of course, pertains to any contest, anytime. No one has come back from that big of a deficit. Hell, Starcraft voters cheated and it STILL couldn't come back after the 3200 mark was hit. It's the point of no return, unfortunately no one will hit that tomorrow unless I've highly underestimated Tidus.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Like I said before the votes should go as follow

First 15 min.: Shadow
Night Vote: Tidus
Morning Vote: Shadow
Day Vote: Shadow
Night Vote: Tidus
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

i don't think 52% will be enough of an early morning vote for Tidus to maintain a victory. by the time the morning rush kicks in (about 7 or 8 A.M. EST) the poll is barely around 15000 votes. 52% would be 7800 - 7200 - a 600 vote lead for Tidus. Shadow can pick that up and more during the day. i think Tidus needs closer to 54 or 55% in the early morning to hang in there.

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you guys nominated the wrong Shadow..... =(
Through great Luck (and a bit of skill) ULTI pounded me in the Spring Contest!!

I doubt either is capable of creating more than a 7% gap, in fact I'm doubtful of even 7%. Unless, of course, I've severely underestimated Tidus. A 4-5% lead in this match will be huge, and it'll be enough for Tidus to hold on through the day. Once night hits again it will swing back in his favor... it's not like as soon as Tidus starts losing ground he will never gain ground agian.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Yup I agree. Tidus does need almost 55% of the vote before the morning vote and needs to get the second night vote to make sure he'll win.
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Match VIII: (2) Mario vs. (15) JC Denton Review

Mario beat JC Denton, 83.54% - 16.46%

Well, well another blowout and it ends around what we expected. JC Denton did do better then I thought he would, but that could be easily explained by a combination of Mario’s anti-votes and me underestimating the Deus Ex series. Mario now goes to round 2 to have another match against Crono. As of now both characters seem to make it look like that the rematch will be close again. Sorry for the short review there seriously not much to talk about this match.

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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Match X: (8) Tidus vs. (9) Shadow Preview

Past Performances:

Tidus: 2002

Defeated Claire, 55.46% - 44.54%
Lost to Sonic, 41.17% - 58.83%
Ranked: 11th

Tidus: 2003

Lost to Ganondorf, 49.32% - 50.68%
Ranked: 13th

Shadow: 2002

Did not attend
Ranked: N/A

Shadow: 2003

Defeated Wario, 64.90% - 35.10%
Lost to Mario, 44.90% - 55.10%
Ranked: 12th

Analysis:

Tidus the hero of FFX is usually very misunderstood and hated on our board losing to every character contest that we have. But he is stronger then we give him credit for. In 2002 he had a close match with Sonic and in 2003 after his gain popularity from Kingdom Hearts he lost in the first round, but it was a close match and Ganondorf had a close match with Magus who performed really well against Link making Tidus ranked very high. This year even though he’s Sweet 16 material he is underseeded and he may even lose in the first round and even if he does he’ll probably lose in the second round to Mega Man. Well it looks like Tidus will have an earlier exit then when he’s suppose to.

Shadow is from the Sonic series not the Final Fantasy. Last year he upset Wario and even gave Mario a run for his money. Yet this year he gets rewarded with the exact same seed he got last year. Like Tidus Shadow is Sweet 16 material yet he could lose in the first round or probably lose in the second round. Though Shadow does have one down side to him, he faced Mario. Mario as you probably know suffers from anti-votes so every time he’s up against a weak character they do better then they’re suppose to, but the question is did Shadow overperform against Mario?

After 9 boring matches we finally have a close match. According to the rankings this match would be closer then Mario vs. Crono, but as Ganondorf vs. Alucard has proved that the rankings don’t always tell the truth. Though the board is going towards Shadow, don’t be fooled. The board is very anti-Tidus and he is not given enough credit that he deserves.

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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

There are a few factors that we should look at before making a prediction and they are...

1. Mario’s anti-votes
2. Sonic Heroes
3. Kingdom Hearts

As many of you know Shadow put Sonic like numbers against Mario in round 2 last year. That did surprise us all, but it was easily caused by Mario anti-voters. The only problem is that we don’t know how much anti-votes Mario has. Also Mario’s anti-votes only seem to be on characters that are weak because Crono beat Solid Snake in 2002 and in 2003 Solid Snake would still lose to Crono at about the same percent. Now only 1 character has versed Mario that’s been in 2002 and 2003 and isn’t a strong character and that is Donkey Kong and we all know that Donkey Kong suffered from SFF. So I’ve tested a few theories made by the users and I’ve found out that the Mario anti-vote can be anywhere from 1% - 5% so that really doesn’t help us much, but this can also be the most important factor that could tell us a win or a loss.

As you know Sonic Heroes came out during this year and it’s getting mixed reviews. So this can either help or hurt Shadow. It can help Shadow because this is a new game for him and that can really help a hedgehog with little games and it can also hurt him because there really isn’t any explanation for Shadow’s return of the dead. Though I don’t believe that a new game would hurt a character’s popularity even Dante’s DMC2 was a complete flop and he didn’t lose popularity, he actually stayed the same. So for Shadow Sonic Heroes isn’t really going to help him much, but it isn’t going to hurt him either.

Finally we have Kingdom Hearts. No it won’t help Tidus like it did last year if anything it might make him weaker. Kingdom Heart is another year old and Kingdom Hearts 2 isn’t coming out until 2005 so there really isn’t too much hype. Also the Kingdom Hearts factor might be dying down because the people who went to look for FAQs about the game have probably seen them and have beaten the game. So if Tidus was going to lose it was because Kingdom Hearts has died too much and the Mario anti-votes were less then we thought it would be.

This is another match were it might give us some helpful hints on what Link vs. Cloud/Sephiroth though it won’t be much of a factor unless one of the characters breaks 55% against the other. This match does look like it can go both way and it will be the first test on how well the perfects would do in these kinds of matches, but we are already below 10k of perfects, but I would predict that after this match is over about half of the perfect will on longer have a perfect bracket. But for a match like this I think I would have to give the advantage to Tidus since he does have less going against him.

Charmander’s Bracket: Tidus

Charmander’s Prediction: Tidus wins, 52.89% - 47.11%

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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Mega/Earthworm thoughts

Mega isn't underperforming. Earthworm Jim is a damned good character.

Tidus/Shadow preview

We've beaten this one to death already. Tidus is the clear-cut favorite, despite what the board imcopetents think.
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Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Woah, really solid showing by Mega Man so far...percentage isn't all that impressive, but look at Mega Man's vote total!

The percentage is plenty impressive if Jim is at the level of Ness and Pac-Man. He would be expected to get 80% on Pac-Man last year, and so if you assume Jim is at his level (I doubt he'd be any lower, though higher is possible) then Mega Man is doing 3% better than what he should be doing. Not to mention that insane increase in votes.

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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I'm tellin' ya people, this match may be too close for anybody to have more than 53% at any time. Tidus will capture teh night vote, no doubt, and so even if he doesn't start off strong chances are he'll end up right where he left off.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I really hope Shadow wins, just to knock UltimaterializerX's ego down :/
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Current Contest Score: 9/9
Today's Pick: Shadow.

I'm tellin' ya people, this match may be too close for anybody to have more than 53% at any time. Tidus will capture teh night vote, no doubt, and so even if he doesn't start off strong chances are he'll end up right where he left off.

Shut up about your god damn mini-disc player, already!

This match better not be like FF7/OoT...
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Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Maga Man vs. E. Jim - Bracket: Mega - Vote: Mega (8/8)

Not to mention that insane increase in votes.

Sorry to disappoint you, HM, but today's Monday.

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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."

"Shut up about your god damn mini-disc player, already!"

LOL! Damn, I love you! *hugs*
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Sorry to disappoint you, HM, but today's Monday.

It's just always nice to see. The fact that Mega Man is doing just fine today, percentage-wise, is good enough for me.
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
"Just changed my image and already I got impersonators." ~ Terry Bogard

I still wouldn't be that surprised if Tidus were to win, he would get around 60%. I still think many of the voters who were fans of playstation/square/ff would have voted Shadow over Mario. And that counts for alot of votes. I know many people in real life who would vote Shadow over Mario. I want to look at the match as being a close one, like the exp ratings would say; but deep down I think this one may not be as close as it should be.
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Happiness is like peeing on yourself. Everyone can see it, but only you feel it's warmth.

*tag*
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GameFAQs can gain justice from this petition! Please visit it at http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=15026092 (790 Signs!)

We've beaten this one to death already. Tidus is the clear-cut favorite, despite what the board imcopetents think.

Clear-cut? Hardly. While I have Tidus in my bracket, that was based more on a coin-flip decision than anything else. I haven't yet heard a convincing argument for either character.
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

Tidus with 60 percent?

Jeez....

Honestly, I think if this match goes outside 55-45 most people will be surprised. Shadow got 45 percent on Mario, and no matter how you look at it, Shadow only getting 40 percent on Tidus would be just wrong.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

"Shadow only getting 40 percent on Tidus would be just wrong."

Unless Shadow was nothing more than an over-inflated Sonic proxy, which he very well could have been.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

But 40 percent?

Someone check my math if you want to, but using the 2003 extrapolateds, if Tidus would have gotten 60 percent on Shadow then Mario should have gotten roughly 70 percent on Shadow. Which would make the Mario anti-vote factor have to be so ridiculously huge as to defy belief.

Shadow is not THAT overinflated.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

"Which would make the Mario anti-vote factor have to be so ridiculously huge as to defy belief."

Or.... Shodow got more votes than he normally would because he was acting as a Sonic proxy. People who are fans of Sonic but wouldn't necessarily care for Shadow could easily make Shadow look better than he would have against say... Mega Man.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Nice pic for Shadow. Very nice.
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Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Maga Man vs. E. Jim - Bracket: Mega - Vote: Mega (8/8)

Very nice, no, but better than the average character gets, yeah. Of course, pics aren't going to matter given that people know who is on the block.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Kingdom Hearts 2 isn’t coming out until 2005 so there really isn’t too much hype.

Umm...yes there is...

And KH is #4 PS2. And I think Top 20 Total.
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Supporter of Sora for SC2K4!
freewebs.com/imdapartystar

#4 FAQ that is...
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Supporter of Sora for SC2K4!
freewebs.com/imdapartystar

I wish people would stop treating the FAQ listing as a reliable information source.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
This year is Sephiroth's year!

Ah, a Sonic Proxy. Of course. Since, like, that makes sense. Because half the people who vote are senile and cant tell the difference between the two characters.

I can see Shadow gaining votes because of his connection to Sonic, and can even see that giving him a decent gain on that factor alone. However, i can't see any reason that would cause that to drop away in this match.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

In a match this close it could make some difference... take this from the guy who said quite clearly in the SpC that you shouldn't rely on FAQ rankings as any means to determine contest strength. It may only make a difference of 20 vote in favor of Tidus, but in this match that could mean all the difference. Not on a grander scale, but in a match that is predicted to end with less than a 100 vote difference (following the XSt and current vote totals).
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Sure, Chichi, but such an advantage could be nullified by any other random factor, which makes focusing on FAQ listings idiotic even in a close match.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
This year is Sephiroth's year!

Somehow i can't see this match ending that close. More Probably, this will be 51 percent plus in either direction. One or another factor we've called into account will fail to exist, or will be weaker than expected, and the other character will run off with it.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

"Because half the people who vote are senile and cant tell the difference between the two characters."

Apparently you don't understand the meaning of te word proxy.

Main Entry: proxy
Pronunciation: 'präk-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural prox·ies
Etymology: Middle English procucie, contraction of procuracie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin procuratia, alteration of Latin procuratio procuration
1 : the agency, function, or office of a deputy who acts as a substitute for another
2 a : authority or power to act for another b : a document giving such authority; specifically : a power of attorney authorizing a specified person to vote corporate stock
3 : a person authorized to act for another : PROCURATOR
- proxy adjective

If you're not 100% sure of what a word means there are several free dictionaries online.

"However, i can't see any reason that would cause that to drop away in this match."

Becasue Sonic vs. Mario is an old-standing rivalry, there is no such relationship between FF and Sonic.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

And no, CJayC's obsession with Sonic vs. FFX doesn't counts as a rivalry.
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Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

"but such an advantage could be nullified by any other random factor,"

Yes, but it does no harm to figure out what could and what couldn't be a factor. Again, this is a close match, and unless Shadow severely overperformed agianst Mario last year or got a boost from SH then it's goign to come down to the little things. Whoever has more little things in their favor looks to have a better shot at winning.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Fully aware of the meaning of proxy, Mr. Dictionary. I just think that its bogus.

Becasue Sonic vs. Mario is an old-standing rivalry, there is no such relationship between FF and Sonic.

Because, like, the rivalry led to such a big advantage for Sonic 2 back in the Spring.

Seriously though, the Sonic vs Mario rivalry is no longer a factor in these matches. They are even on the same system at this point....while i could understand proxy voting making some sort of an impact years ago, if shadow had actually existed, at this point i dont think most voters are taking the Sonic vs Mario rivalry into account when casting their vote.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

And no, CJayC's obsession with Sonic vs. FFX doesn't counts as a rivalry.

What's the score? 2-1 Sonic?
---
Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Also does anybody think that Mega Man would break 70k? He's about 800 votes away.
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

"Fully aware of the meaning of proxy, Mr. Dictionary. I just think that its bogus."

No, that's actually what the word proxy means. You really should look it up sometime.

"Because, like, the rivalry led to such a big advantage for Sonic 2 back in the Spring."

Because we all like, really know that even Sonic fans tend to count S3&K as a better rep than Sonic 2, so onic 2 didn't perform like Sonic himself would.

"Seriously though, the Sonic vs Mario rivalry is no longer a factor in these matches."

Oh yeah, I'll bet, that's why there aren't a lot of people who continously insist that we need to have Sonic vs. Mario instead of Crono vs. Mario... oh wait, there are... because the rivalry still exists within the minds of many of the fans.

"They are even on the same system at this point"

What does that have to do with them battling out for status of being the greatest icon? Nothing.

"i dont think most voters are taking the Sonic vs Mario rivalry into account when casting their vote."

"Most"? Maybe not. A very sizeable portion? You can bet your ass.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Sonic beat Tidus
Auron beat Tails
Knux beat Yuna.

2 to 1 Sonic Team. Tied at two in 25 hours.
---
Current Pick: Mega Man; Current Vote: Mega Man; Points: 8/8
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

Yes, but it does no harm to figure out what could and what couldn't be a factor. Again, this is a close match, and unless Shadow severely overperformed agianst Mario last year or got a boost from SH then it's goign to come down to the little things. Whoever has more little things in their favor looks to have a better shot at winning.

But since you'll never be able to figure out these tiny factors accurately (since they're so tiny) it's stupid to be discussing them.
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
This year is Sephiroth's year!

Or 3-1...
---
Because how could I not do this forbidden thing, when it feels so good!

Mega has a damn good shot at it, and I'd be happy to see him there. I'm seriously putting more fanboyism behind Mega Man than usual... dunno why though.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Also does anybody think that Mega Man would break 70k? He's about 800 votes away.

He has an hour, I think he could do it...
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SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

800 in an hour... at 2am eastern... I think it'll be damn close. Cool if he makes it, but even if he doesnt, the voter turnout is a very, very good sign for Mega Man.
---
...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

Chichiri, I don't think that andaca was saying that the definition was wrong >_>.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

!!!

Go for 83% Mega Man!
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

Whatever, Sonic Team will still have the lead....yes, I'm counting out Knux/Kefka early.
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Tidus vs. Shadow - Bracket: Shadow - Vote: Shadow (9/9)

"it's stupid to be discussing them."

It's pointless to discuss anything, really, except that it occupies ones time. It's a decent waster of time while we wait, and it give insight into the tiny things that not everyone thinks about. Really, stop nitpicking over stupid bull****, it makes you sound like a nag.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

"Chichiri, I don't think that andaca was saying that the definition was wrong >_>."

I know. It's sarcasm, my man, sarcasm.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Kefka isn't from FFX
---
Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Kefka's not FFX.
---
Current Pick: Tidus; Current Vote: Tidus; Points: 9/9
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

Oh...this is just FFX....nevermind then.
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Tidus vs. Shadow - Bracket: Shadow - Vote: Shadow (9/9)

I know. It's sarcasm, my man, sarcasm.

Sorry... I can't tell sarcasm at all >_>.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

No, that's actually what the word proxy means. You really should look it up sometime.

Uh, thats what i said? I don't disagree with the definition of the word, i disagree with it being relevant. There is no reason to believe it would, apart from a supposition about the Mario vs. Sonic rivalry.

Now, not only is there little that suggests that a Sonic vs. Mario rivalry actually is on the minds of anybody else than a solid handful on these boards, but there is even less to suggest that this rivalry would suddenly cause every Sonic fan to vote for Mario by proxy.

And them being on the same system does actually have something to do with the contest. The rivalry, partially brought about by the fued between Sega and nintendo, is DEAD. Sega died as a console designer - the rivalry is not fresh enough, or relevant enough, in the minds of the majority of these voters to make a difference.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

Mega Man would be 2,000 votes off from Link's total, and it should end roughly 1,000 total votes ahead of Link vs. CATS.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

-2 points for myself for NOT picking up the sarcasm on my first read through. Mia culpa.
---
2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

I just thought of something. If Shadow does win by more then 51% then that would mean that Shadow is more popular then Sonic. So really Tidus has this won.

Sigh

and I made a long preview on Tidus vs. Shadow and most of it is covered in the above sentence
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Mega's pulling a Crono....just can't get that 83%.
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Tidus vs. Shadow - Bracket: Shadow - Vote: Shadow (9/9)

It's closer to Bowser. Bowser also stopped at 82.99% =(.
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WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Eh... Never mind. Bowser had gone down >_>.
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

He has 40 minutes to get 600 votes and .01%... hopefully he'll do it.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

Mega Man gets 83%!
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

Last I checked it was 83-17... and that was about 30 seconds ago.
---
...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

Mega Man 83% 69464
Earthworm Jim 17% 14230
TOTAL VOTES 83694

BAM
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Tidus vs. Shadow - Bracket: Shadow - Vote: Shadow (9/9)

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

So Mega has 40 minutes to gain 7%, eh HM?
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The topic is dead. Not the kind of dead that can be cured with a Phoenix Down. I'm talking FMV sequence dead.- The King in Teal

"cause every Sonic fan to vote for Mario by proxy."

Okay, I take back the sarcasm part, you really do need to look up the word proxy if you think Mario is getting extra votes in any way from his rivalry with Sonic.

"The rivalry, partially brought about by the fued between Sega and nintendo, is DEAD"

Not for fans it isn't. Hell, look at HM, he's the typical hardcore Mario fan and guess what, he really doesn't care about Sonic. If Luigi faced Sonic he'd no doubt vote for Luigi even when he may take another charatcer on Sonic's level (say, Magus) before taking Luigi.

"Sega died as a console designer"

Duh?

"the rivalry is not fresh enough"

Yeah, that's how fueds work. They never die until the bodies start hitting the cemetary.

"If Shadow does win by more then 51% then that would mean that Shadow is more popular then Sonic."

Shadow above Sonic? Yeah, we're halfway to bizarro world as we speak. See guys, Shadow can't beat Tidus.
---
True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

I've always known that and a good 50% of the brackets are going to pay
---
Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

By the looks of it Mega Man shouldn't have a problem getting over 70,000 votes in this match.
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

So, your argument revolves around a significant portion of the voters have the same level of fanaticism as Heroic Mario.

Wha?

Yeah, the rivalry exists still, for hard core die hard fans. But those fans are not nessecarily the ones voting. In fact, they are likely a very very small minority, to the point of irrelevance. Shadow was not more inflated against Mario than he would have been against any other character.
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

"Shadow was not more inflated against Mario than he would have been against any other character."

Prove it.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

If Shadow does win by more then 51% then that would mean that Shadow is more popular then Sonic. So really Tidus has this won.

Unless, i don't know, Tidus lost some popularity?
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2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

"Unless, i don't know, Tidus lost some popularity?"

There's no reason to expect that.
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True love is a fairy tale. I'm damaged, so how would I know? - Plummet: Damaged

Prove it.

Er, how about you first? You are the one making the proxy voting/rivalry match claim in the first place.

Seriously, its a nice theory, but there isnt anything that backs it up, and common sense suggests that people don't care as much about the rivalry as you want them to care.
---
2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

If Ulti doesn't make the next topic soon, who is going to do it?
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

I've seen people in this topic say it, but did Tidus really benefit from Kingdom Hearts? I didn't think that he did, but maybe I'm wrong. I figured his role wasn't big enough, and he was just a little kid in it anyway.

And I think it's possible that Shadow overperformed against Mario even if the infamous Mario anti-votes don't exist. The fact that people perceived this basically as Mario vs. Sonic could have caused Shadow to get more than he normally would.

Either way, if anybody wins this match comfortably, it's Tidus. Even at his top strength (a completely legitimate 45% against Mario), he's STILL barely stronger.
---
Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Championship
First round: (13)Bomberman

Unless, i don't know, Tidus lost some popularity?

Why would that happen?

If anything Tidus should gain popularity because were not finish this era yet so people are still buying FFX more then they are buying say FFVII, FFVIII and FFIX
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Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

There's no reason to expect that.

And there was no reason to suggest he would have a massive increase from 2002-2003 either.

It wouldnt take much of a decrease in Tidus for Shadow to pull 51 percent on him while still being weaker than Sonic.

I mean, we lost how many voters?
---
2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

Nobody unless they are named solarshadow... he is kinda anal about anyone doing something without asking permission first. An analogy could go something like trying to take a nap in a pitbull's bed... cept the pitbull spouts out lots of stars and threatens to hijack your save my <insert something video gamish here> tournament... not that I am bitter or anything.
---
...and it begins! First tough match: Shadow v. TIDUS

Mega is slipping....back down under 83%
---
Ganon vs. Alucard - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Tidus vs. Shadow - Bracket: Shadow - Vote: Shadow (9/9)

...
---
WTF is OoS? Ocarina of Sex? ~ Stop Fundamentalists

Looks like Mega Man might just break 70k unless it will end up like Kefka vs. Crono

79 999 for Crono

lol those were the days
---
Summer 2004 Contest 8/8 Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

We can rebuild him--better than ever.

23 minutes left and 200 votes to get. Go Mega Man!
---
SC2k4 Winner: Mega Man
Fight Mega Man, for everlasting peace!

He's got it in the bag; it's just another reason to abuse my F5 key right now...
---
My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass; I'm about taking names, and we're making games.

I see.
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 'Best. Game. Ever.' Contest
*Married to smitelf on 5/21/04*

Leonhart, it's not so much that Tidus went up (he did, by 1.32% weighted), it's that the rest of the returning Sonic team (Sonic/Tails/Knux) went down from 2k2 to 2k3, Sonic by nearly 15%, Knux by 5%, and Tails by 1%. Tails not going down by as much as the other two leads me to dismiss any Cloud/Auron SFF, by the way.
---
Current Pick: Tidus; Current Vote: Tidus; Points: 9/9
Supporter of Frog, Magus, Mega Man, Vivi, and Kefka!

I so want this to end at 82.99-17.01.
---
2k4 - The Summer of Sephiroth.

Mega Man should get it.
---
Supporting both Earthworm Jim AND Mega Man in 2004
Spring Contest Score: 151/192

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]