Just out of curiosity would they be allowed to use Marche and/or Ritz in KHII?
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"Heh Heh... The wind... It is blowing..."--Ganondorf Dragmire

From Wikipedia:

At least five characters from the Final Fantasy series will appear. Auron of Final Fantasy X has been confirmed to appear, and will be a party member as he helps Sora fight Cerberus and Hades in the Underworld. Selphie and Leon (Squall) of Final Fantasy VIII are reported to return as cameos. It can be implied that Selphie and Leon will appear alongside their partners from the previous game (Tidus and Wakka, & Aerith, Cloud, Cid, and Yuffie, respectively), but these are merely speculation. Yuna of Final Fantasy X/Final Fantasy X-2, and Vincent Valentine of Final Fantasy VII are also rumored to make cameos.

And just for an eyebrow raiser:

According to Buena Vista Games's Official Kingdom Hearts site, Steamboat Willie and The Lion King will be featured as worlds.
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It's just not the same without this name.
Faithful supporter of Squall Leonhart in SC2K5

Alucard has a polygon? Since when?
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Graduation: April 30, 2005 "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

http://www.sc2k5.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=4&pos=53

Well, whatever that is, it ain't pretty.
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It's just not the same without this name.
Faithful supporter of Squall Leonhart in SC2K5

Pre-Season Analysis Day 5

Top 4 Weakest Divisions

4. Gear Division
Estimate Strength: 22.58%

Solid Snake is the strongest of the division, but help from Vivi, Zelda, Sora and Alucard help a lot. I was generous and gave Agent 47 10%, Manny 12% and Kratos 15%. Those three characters dropped the average by a lot.

3. Mushroom Division
Estimate Strength: 22.36%

This and number four are very close together. After Mario and Zero the next strongest character is Carl Johnson, which I gave Tommy Vercetti numbers. Lloyd I gave a few points higher then Mithos and as for Joanna I gave around Lloyd’s numbers.

2. Choas Division
Estimate Strength: 21.82%

Other then Sonic Tifa is the strongest person in this division and I only gave her a few points higher then Luigi. Kratos I gave the same as Lloyd and for Jin I gave 12%. Only one division I was sure would be weaker then this one and that is...

1. 20XX Division
Estimate Strength: 19.92%

This is one weak division. Only three characters are above 20% and the rest are just plain fodder. As for Leon I ranked him a few points below Jill’s strength. I’m surprised that this is the only division that isn’t closely ranked between the other divisions

Top 4 Strongest Divisions

4. Dream Division
Estimate Strength: 22.96%

No Noble 9 character in this division is a real drop, but with half of the division over the top 25 helps a lot. Too bad the other four characters don’t help too much. I gave Rikku a few points below Yuna, KoaC 12%, Chun Li the same strength as M. Bison and Cecil is a few points below Kefka.

3. Zebes Division
Estimate Strength: 23.18%

With the strongest character of the contest in this division helps a lot. Also with Frog, Auron and Ganondorf in this division also give it a big boost. For Big Boss I put him slightly below Ocelot and for Yuri I gave him 14%.

2. Flood Division
Estimate Strength: 23.54%

This division is very closely ranked with first and I would’ve guessed that this bracket would’ve been the strongest. Everybody except for CATS and Sam Fisher is above 20%, sure most of them are in their low 20’s, but it’s still good. Also for Zidane I gave him about 2% below Vivi.

1. Devil Division
Estimate Strength: 23.66%

Surprisingly this division is the strongest out of the eight divisions. But after taking a good look at it, I’m not surprised. Like the Flood Division the only two characters I can see that will be below 20% is Kerrigan and Geno. I ranked Kerrigan and Geno at around 17%, I also made Terra = Kefka because no one can really decide whether she’s higher or lower same thing with Dante = Vincent.

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17 handhelds Nintendo has taken down 1 more to go (see quote for rest)

Lloyd I gave a few points higher then Mithos and as for Joanna I gave around Lloyd%u2019s numbers.

Lloyd is going to be more than just a "few points" higer than Mithos.

As for Leon I ranked him a few points below Jill%u2019s strength. I%u2019m surprised that this is the only division that isn%u2019t closely ranked between the other divisions

The absolute floor for Leon's strength is Jill's 2004 numbers, so why would you put him below Jill.

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"Why would the boost from AC be bigger than those?" - Mac Arrowny
"Because (Heroic Mario) just replayed Final Fantasy VII." - Lucid Faia

"Alucard over Snake would be the most incredible upset ever."

I'd cry tears of pure joy.
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Yoblazer just kicked my ass!

Argh... the Gear division is absolutely racking my brains. Alucard over Snake? Zelda over Snake? Bowser over Snake? Snake in the final four? GAAAAH.
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VOTE MARIO IN SC2K5
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8386/votemario26vf.gif

You keep under-estimating Snake and using those screwy 2004 numbers like their sacred, and forgetting about MGS3.
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Moltar's Comics - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar (GAC)
SC2K5: Samus is going all the way!

Even if Snake were as low as the stats make him seem, he's had MGS3 since then. Instant boost. His contest path is pretty clear.
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There is no lawyer.

What is everyone expecting out of Big Boss? This is assuming he doesn't get his Naked Snake picture, since I don't think he will. Auron has a history of going 65/35 on his opponents, though I don't quite think he can manage that since it'd make him at the same level as Ocelot.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 1: (7) Geno

Uhh..."He" being Big Boss and "that" being 35%.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 1: (7) Geno

I expect him to flop hugely. Nowhere near Ocelot or Liquid. But I tend to think that of characters from well-known series who I've never heard of.
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Mega Man will win the Summer Contest, Alistair Overeem will win the Grand Prix, and Dr. Lampowitz will find the cure.

More random thoughts:

Bowser in the Final Four kicks ass. I hope it happens.

Tifa over Luigi pains me more than any other match has.

Why am I the only one that has any faith in Terra? I refuse to believe that the main character from the 6th favorite game of the site is under 28% (Dante!) on Link. If you throw Kefka at me, I'll throw Kuja at you and say that villains don't get any love.

Kefka/Crono sucks, assuming it happens, which I'll admit isn't all that likely.

Poor Zidane.

I have 4 Square characters in the 2nd round of the Devil Division. And I'm not pissed off about SFF. Funny how that works.

Like Slow, Diablo is the first Blizzard thing I have winning a match. I'm expecting him to lose.

I love Leon/Gordon. I love the fact that the King of All Cosmos, Geno, and Manny made it, even if it is just to job.

Rikku and Riku and Yuna and still no Aeris? I'm confused, and I would have liked to see Rikku/Riku.

I don't get to have any fun with MC or Frog, and there's no Liquid.

No Ken, and Chun makes it as a jobber. Blarg.

Crono/Magus rematch sucks.

Crono winning the tournament feels really weird.

All in all, a really good bracket. I don't really see the point of the 8 character divisions, but if it means we can have more cool conference names I'll live.
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"It shall be engraved upon your soul! Divine Assault: Nibelung Valesti!" ~ Lenneth Valkyrie

Why the hell is Ryu the underdog against Bowser?

He's got the match in the bag. I sure wasn't counting on it being my upset special. o_O
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

Why the hell is Ryu the underdog against Bowser?

He's got the match in the bag. I sure wasn't counting on it being my upset special. o_O

What the ****?

WHY?
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Ability to preview contests to moderators before posting it.http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=19643565(190 Signs!)

Bowser/Ryu is probably giving me more trouble than any other match, if only because it feels like it should be so damn easy.

But Bowser's definitely a slight favorite. Why the confidence?
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Mega Man will win the Summer Contest, Alistair Overeem will win the Grand Prix, and Dr. Lampowitz will find the cure.

alright, for the umpteenth time, Vincent needs to stop being referred to as being potentially weak as an optional character -

#1) Vincent is in the FRIGGIN' INSTRUCTION MANUAL!!!! Page 11. Square wanted you to know about both him and Yuffie and they wanted you to go the extra mile to put forth a little effort to get those characters.

#2) saying Vincent is optional is no different than saying that Luigi is optional in the Super Mario Bros. series. sure, you're not FORCED to play as either Luigi or Vincent, but you are made well aware of both characters' prescence. although, now that i mention it, maybe Luigi is so much weaker than Mario because he is usually optional? =P

plus, here's a little bit of FF7 trivia for ya. does anyone remember the FF7 "Extra Knights" action figures? the characters were released in three sets. at first, the Cloud, Aeris, and Barret figures were released, with plans to release more if they caught on (which they did in Japan). so, Square and Bandai decided to release more figures. they planned on releasing Red and Tifa, later followed by Yuffie and Cid. however, there was a large public outcry for the lack of Sephiroth and VINCENT. in fact, the public was so vocal about it, that Bandai actually scrapped the Yuffie and Cid figures (even though the molds were made - they were just never mass-produced) in favor of Vincent and Sephiroth.

that's right - public outcry actually influenced Square and Bandai to release a Vincent action figure. now that's what i call casual support of a character.


From: FastFalcon05 | Posted: 7/2/2005 9:30:00 PM | Message Detail | #087
*cries*

*wants someone to at least say hello*....

heya Falcon! ^_^

---
Official Co-Host for PUB TRIVIA XV
Yoblazer is officially THE MAN for beating us all in SpC2K5!!

alright, for the umpteenth time, Vincent needs to stop being referred to as being potentially weak as an optional character

Reread #2 again you just answered your question.

Also if Nintendo did those toys, but didn't realease Luigi there will have also been a public outcry.
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17 handhelds Nintendo has taken down 1 more to go (see quote for rest)

Why the hell is Ryu the underdog against Bowser?

Because of Bowser's performance in the Spring Contest. I personally think Bowser overperformed (he did better than Mario) which makes him seem stronger than he appears, but I could be wrong. Ryu's strength, on the other hand, is pretty consistent so I went with him, but I could be wrong.
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Spring Contest 2005 - 68/80 points
"Not even death can save you from me" - Diablo

Well, if we assume Ganondorf stayed constant from 2004 to the Spring Contest 2005 (in other words, discounting the SFF-adjusted standings and claiming that Ganondorf was at his Spring Contest strength in 2004), and if we assume that Sephiroth remained constant in the same way, then Alucard would be expected to get 30.1% on 2004 Link (the SFF-adjusted stats have him at 27.74). SFF-adjusted Snake would get 30.82%, whereas non SFF-adjusted Snake would get 27.74%. Of course, this is all relying on far too many assumptions for me to actually make a pick of Alucard over Snake in my bracket, but it is something to think about.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

People are actually using the Villain Contest to argue something to do with the Summer? It's clear Bowser got a giant boost by representing the Mario series, just as Ganondorf got a giant boost by representing Zelda. Nothing else makes sense, or at least nowhere near as much sense.

I take Bowser over Ryu because it's a close match statistically, and Mario trumps Street Fighter.
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Mega Man will win the Summer Contest, Alistair Overeem will win the Grand Prix, and Dr. Lampowitz will find the cure.

It's clear Bowser got a giant boost by representing the Mario series, just as Ganondorf got a giant boost by representing Zelda. Nothing else makes sense, or at least nowhere near as much sense.

Actually, my theory is that because it was a villain contest, people voted for the competitors as villains, and not as characters. There is a significant difference, at least in my mind. Now, some characters (such as Bowser and Ganondorf) did increase, I think, but not by as much as the stats would say they did. I think that Diablo, for instance, is not nearly as strong in the Character Contest as in the Villain Contest. I mean, really: he's the flippin' Devil, of course people will vote for him in a villain contest. But in a character contest? I'm not so sure.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

So I'm gonna randomly change the subject here, and ask... why am I seeing this statement and variations of it all over the place? (a cookie if you can name who actually said this one)

just another Mario game is not going to cut it. These characters do not share the fanbase overlap that you're talking about, much less a reason for 3,000 people to suddenly change their votes for no reason at all

I mean, just think about it... the very same thing could have been said about Crono last year. Characters change yearly, Mario over Crono is not unreasonable just based on yearly fluctuations. Crono jumps from 49.95% to 53% with no new release, and for some reason it's out of the question for Mario to do the reverse this year? While actually having new (albeit slightly insignificant) releases?
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Raiden fact of the contest: Alucard is a plagiarist, this year Raiden will prove it!

Actually, my theory is that because it was a villain contest, people voted for the competitors as villains, and not as characters. There is a significant difference, at least in my mind. Now, some characters (such as Bowser and Ganondorf) did increase, I think, but not by as much as the stats would say they did. I think that Diablo, for instance, is not nearly as strong in the Character Contest as in the Villain Contest. I mean, really: he's the flippin' Devil, of course people will vote for him in a villain contest. But in a character contest? I'm not so sure.

What I'm not amused by is how people use Blizzard as an excuse to put Kerrigan over a FF7 Character, yet they don't think that will be enough to propel Diablo over Kratos.
---
PETITION: Ability to preview contests to moderators before posting it. http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=19643565 (190 Signs!)

Mario Party 6 and DDR Mario Mix is going to boost him to beat Crono?

Mario Party 6 and DDR Mario Mix is going to boost him to beat Crono?

Someone missed my point. My point was that Crono had no reason for a boost last year. When was his last release? Oh, that's right, it's still Chrono Trigger, from around a decade ago. Yet he got a huge boost seemingly out of nowhere.

What's to prevent Mario from doing the same thing in reverse this year?
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Raiden fact of the contest: Alucard is a plagiarist, this year Raiden will prove it!

You are delusional as ****. Mario's not gaining anything. He gets loads of games per year and nothing happens for him anymore. Just forget it.
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PETITION: Ability to preview contests to moderators before posting it. http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=19643565 (190 Signs!)

Actually, I have Vincent and Diablo both winning. The first because, come on, it's FFVII, and the second because I don't think Kratos is strong enough to beat Diablo, even Diablo in a character contest. I also think Diablo is going to have, besides Blizzard support (which he will have some of), some steam just from being the star of the Spring Contest. People will vote for him just because he did so well in the Spring Contest, and people will put him in their bracket and vote for him for that reason. Kratos will do better against him than most think, but Diablo will still win.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

Several people have said that Diablo over Kratos will be the first time they had a Blizzard character winning a match. For me, Vincent over Kerrigan will be the first time I'll have a Blizzard character (or game, for that matter) not winning a match.
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For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to refer to Gordon Freeman versus Tanner as Schrodinger's Match. -Phoenix Flattener

I love the counter-argument, "You're wrong". Great work, guys, that was enough to convince me.
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Raiden fact of the contest: Alucard is a plagiarist, this year Raiden will prove it!

I think Lopen has a point. Characters fluctuate for strange reasons, often for unexplained reasons. While Crono undoubtedly has the edge over Mario, it is not completely out of the question for Mario to come back. We just don't know how the characters will fluctuate from year to year, especially with the more elite characters.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

Mario's been weaking over the years through, he just rolled over and died last year.

He's gotten weaker for two years, and the second was largely due to Cloud and Sephiroth just getting a lot stronger. Just because he's gotten weaker over the last two years doesn't mean he will get weaker again this year. Cloud and Seph both got stronger from 2002-2003, and weaker from 2003-2004. This year they'll likely be stronger again. Characters don't have to follow the same pattern every year.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

Argh -- make that "the first," not the second.

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**Congratulations Naye745: Most closely predicted the release of the Summer Contest 2005 Bracket**

Mario's been weaking over the years through, he just rolled over and died last year.

How Crono has been gaining every year. Crono went from losing by 3k votes (don't forget that he cheated) to matching him to beating him by 6k votes. I don't Mario moved anymore then 1% during the 3 years
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17 handhelds Nintendo has taken down 1 more to go (see quote for rest)

A theory for Crono's increases is that Chrono Trigger gains every year from new people discovering the game. They hear about it, since it is the only "elite" game at GameFAQs that is not extremely well known to the casual fan. Then they play the game on emulator or buy a used cartridge. The contest itself perpetuates this, and greatly speeds it up. Casual fans see Crono do extremely well in the contest, and wonder who he is. Some of them find out, like him, and vote for him.
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Summer Contest 2005 --- Points: 0/0 --- Rank: T-1

From: Aprosenf | Posted: 7/2/2005 10:18:42 PM | Message Detail
Several people have said that Diablo over Kratos will be the first time they had a Blizzard character winning a match. For me, Vincent over Kerrigan will be the first time I'll have a Blizzard character (or game, for that matter) not winning a match.

Are you saying you had both Starcraft AND Diablo to win the contests?

I don't buy for a minute that people voted in the villain contest differently than they would in a full character contest. Actually the arguments for that are some of the most ridiculous I've heard.

People voted based on who was the better villain? That's news to me. Last I checked, Master Hand beat Kuja. And when did you HEAR anyone talking about voting based on who was the better villain? It looks to me like an excuse when things didn't go the way they were expected. The villain contest was just a popularity contest featuring exclusively villains. Nothing more, nothing less. I would say most voters based their votes on who was liked better.

Also, what's up with this franchise voting? You're trying to say that in the absence of Mario, people are voting for Bowser instead? What would stop them from voting for Mario AND Bowser in a normal contest? Or are you trying to say that there are a significant number of Mario fans who WOULDN'T vote for Bowser over Sephiroth, but in the absence of Mario in the contest, they change their minds and WOULD vote for Bowser against Sephiroth? I don't buy that for a minute.

There's nothing farfetched about Bowser and Ganondorf performing so well on Sephiroth. This is not 2k3... and it's not like we had tons of data on those characters anyways. Maybe Sephiroth isn't receiving the support that he did before. We don't know. So no, I don't think it's crazy at all to discredit the villain contest because things didn't go the way we expected them to. Stop using the stats as the Bible. Unless we get to see all the characters face each other, there are always going to be things in this contest that we won't expect to happen. Live with it...
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Graduation: April 30, 2005 "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/JRDeBo/braketfinal.gif

I have to say, this is pretty funny. But it's not necessarily a favorites bracket, the guy might just not know about the stats. Anyway, I hope you counted him in the BOP... not only would it make the spreadsheet look funny, but consensus estimates should include all the opinions, even the crazy ones.

Are you saying you had both Starcraft AND Diablo to win the contests?

Hehe, oops, you got me there. What I meant to say was that Vincent over Kerrigan will be the first time I'll have a Blizzard character (or game, for that matter) not win in the first round.
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For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to refer to Gordon Freeman versus Tanner as Schrodinger's Match. -Phoenix Flattener

For me, Vincent over Kerrigan will be the first time I'll have a Blizzard character (or game, for that matter) not winning a match

Technically, you're still right. If you had Starcraft beating Halo but losing later in the torunament, you still had Starcraft winning a match. As long as they win in the first round, they won a match.

</parsing>

I've been trying to make myself change back to supporting Vincent, and I know that reasonably he should win, but I can't not back Kerrigan. Damn my addiction to all things blizzard.


*Goes back to playing his happy little undead mage*

Die, Scarlet Crusaders, Die!
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Hail to the Queen of Blades.

I don't buy for a minute that people voted in the villain contest differently than they would in a full character contest. Actually the arguments for that are some of the most ridiculous I've heard.

I agree with your post 100%. Dismissing the villain contest results is foolish. Every contest has both surprises and anomolies. Some of the results from the spring may have been anomolies (Liquid Snake being the most likely), but I fully expect this contest to verify most of the spring results.
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SpC2K5 First Vote Champion

I know, eh. People are just so dead set against change.

Bowser did better than Mario against Sephiroth? The Spring contest must be false, because things never change, the same people always visit this site, and nobody can ever change their opinion.
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Yoblazer did rather well in the guru contest.
Rather well, indeed.

Why couldn't Vincent have just waited til after Dirge of Cerberus to make his appearance and then really surprise everyone?

I've got Kerrigan... but I'm less and less confident as the days go on.
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Nope. God himself couldn't beat Sephiroth. FFVII Fanboys outnumber Christians. ~ jkmill550

'Cause his performance wouldn't be a surprise after starring in his own game.
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Yoblazer just kicked my ass!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/JRDeBo/braketfinal.gif

Looks like GFW AND BEATS MEGAMAN!
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"Judge Not, that you be Not Judged." - Matthew 7:1

I am actually shocked he had MC losing to Crono.
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BertTheOne | Can't hurt this Bert
Never eat a stoner. We have powers you havent even seen!

Ness being such a heavy underdog. We don't have very good data on him, but he's probably no more than 2% away from Vercetti. Now, CJ could very easily be above Vercetti, but meh. I understand that he's the underdog, but I thought he would get a little more backing.

I actually agree with this. I have an odd feeling that Vercetti will be stronger than CJ due to the..... overwhelming race of most of the people who visit this site. I'll leave it at that.

Vivi being such a heavy underdog. Again, we don't have good data on him, but going through DK he's nearly equal to Zelda. I would have thought he'd be the favorite.

Considering what Link and Ganon have done over the past year, Vivi and Zelda are likely farther apart than the stats would suggest.

Terra being such a heavy underdog. She got screwed going against a DMC3 Dante, and she has to be lightyears away from Kefka to win, but, well, most hero(ine)s are lightyears away from their villains. She has a better chance of winning than the 7 (now 8) brackets would indicate.

Had Terra begun her contest career at the same time as Kefka, she'd probably win the match outright. But she's going to be this contest's version of 2003 Kefka.

Vincent being such a heavy favorite. I have him, too, but it seems like underestimating Blizzard is a recurring theme...

Diablo >>> Kerrigan. Vincent will win that match with complete ease.

KOS-MOS being such a heavy underdog. If it wasn't Luigi, I'd pick her to win. She's a good 2% ahead of Luigi and should be considered the favorite.

Where are you getting 2% from?

Nobody likes Auron in Auron/Gdorf?

The villain contest. I don't think it was a fluke.

I know the Spring disproved the ridiculous theories about a Magus overperformance

I ****ing love you. Can you imagine how much of a dick I'm going to act like all throughout Magus's beating of Squall? At this point, I'm just archiving every pro-Squall post I can find.

Nobody likes Kirby in Kirby/Tidus? We don't have good data on either one, sure, but I thought the mix would be more of a 50/50 spread instead of that.

Most people in the stats topic remember your Kirby/Tidus trap match <_<

I guess the Spring contest made up people's minds on Bowser/Ryu. I know I would have picked Ryu before that, but not now.

Bowser is going to the Final Four.

Why is Vincent such a heavy favorite?

A rather huge Vincent > Tifa > Aeris stigma has taken over. I think Vincent is weaker than this, but even then, he should win the fourpack with ease.

People picked Squall over Magus?

People picked Vincent over Magus?

Yeah, tell me about it. Just wait and laugh, my friend. Wait and laugh.

More people didn't pick Bowser over Snake? That's a ridiculously tempting upset.

*waves*

And, yet, still no Aeris?

Meh, no one likes Aeris anymore.

~*ST*~
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best. Game. Ever." Contest
"If my fate is to be destroyed... I must simply laugh!" -Magus

How anyone thinks that the Spring proved anything definite is beyond me. Ganondorf can still look a bit weaker than his 2003 number depending on how you view the numbers.

If you didn't need to cling onto that hope to convince yourself that Squall can beat Magus, you'd realize how ridiculous that claim truly is.

~*ST*~
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Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best. Game. Ever." Contest
"If my fate is to be destroyed... I must simply laugh!" -Magus