2) Zelda has been in two matches that give her an extrapolated value of 30.29%. However, a year after Zelda beat Lara Croft, Lara fell 7.57%. Not only that, Lara did marginally better against Zelda than her 2k2 value predicts. Something's fishy there. Additionally, a year after Zelda performed respectably on Mega Man, Link SFF'd him. This might not mean anything, but it leads me to believe that a lot of casual Mega Man fans are also rabid Zelda fans, which may have caused an overperformance by Zelda. Which has the side effect of making Lara Croft make more sense.

Why good sir, WHY did you not bring this to my attention BEFORE lockdown?

*cries in the corner*

That makes all too much sense, it's not even funny. Usually I don't base my picks off of what other people say and how they personally interpret matches, but that makes way too much sense for me to go against.

---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

Sorry, I was mostly focused on Terra, and later Luigi, before lockdown. When you have 13 BOP/Guru upsets you have to pick and choose what you argue. ;)
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"Luca Blight's insane. He's a wolf raised on the smell of fire and the taste of blood."" ~ Viktor, Suikoden II

Alternative thought:

What if Final Fantasy 7's popularity causes ALL of it's characters to benefit from SFF? Basically all of the Square SFF has been from Cloud, Sephiroth, and Aeris, (except for Crono/Kefka and their games were released right next to each other). I highly doubt that Aeris's small role in Kingdom Hearts causes most KH fans to like her better than Sora, so I'm going to assume that her being in his game had nothing to do with Aeris/Sora SFF.

I'm interested to see how Vincent/Magus and Squall/Magus turn up....
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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."

So did you end up taking Luigi or not? Just wondering, because I had Luigi for quite sometime in my bracket, only to be changed a couple days before lockdown. Not because of what other people were saying though, because if that were true I would have never had Robotnik > Hand in the spring and various other upsets.

But if Luigi ends up winning, I'm going to be much more upset with myself than if I had him winning and he lost.

---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

Zelda has been in two matches that give her an extrapolated value of 30.29%. However, a year after Zelda beat Lara Croft, Lara fell 7.57%. Not only that, Lara did marginally better against Zelda than her 2k2 value predicts. Something's fishy there. Additionally, a year after Zelda performed respectably on Mega Man, Link SFF'd him. This might not mean anything, but it leads me to believe that a lot of casual Mega Man fans are also rabid Zelda fans, which may have caused an overperformance by Zelda. Which has the side effect of making Lara Croft make more sense.

I used to feel the same way (and I think I was the one who originially brought up this theory...not sure), but there is more and more going against 20XXF; I couldn't get myself to buy 20XXF enough to stick with Vivi, though the match will definitely be close. I do think something funny happened with Lara (and most likely the Lara/Zelda match, too), but I can no longer get myself to think much/any blame is on Zelda for that.
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Hillary Clinton: We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco or alcohol.
Lewis Black: Namely as valued contributors to our re-election fund.

RPGuy, why do you think DK is stronger than his 2k3 strength? That was the only year we could accurately GAUGE his strength. <_<;
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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."

Of course I took Luigi. :)
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"Luca Blight's insane. He's a wolf raised on the smell of fire and the taste of blood."" ~ Viktor, Suikoden II

Well Zelda performing extremely well on two characters who then had sudden unexpected drops doesn't speak well for her position in the stats.

---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

Damn you!

---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

RPGuy, why do you think DK is stronger than his 2k3 strength? That was the only year we could accurately GAUGE his strength. <_<;

I didn't say he was much stronger, perhaps not even a full percent, but between a bit of bracket voting for Vercetti and the fact that Vercetti looked a lot cooler in the picture may have changed the results of Vercetti/DK a bit.
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"Luca Blight's insane. He's a wolf raised on the smell of fire and the taste of blood."" ~ Viktor, Suikoden II

Fair enough... although I'm not much of a fan of picture POSITIONING having an effect, although it could very well be likely. Question. If you think that may have had an effect on Tommy/DK, do you think that Mega Man's pic against Snake had anything to do with Snake doing so poorly against Mega Man a year after facing him before?
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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."

P.S. if that IS the case, we're all pretty much screwed for Bowser/Ryu/Tidus > Snake. It would also explain why Zero performed better against Mega Man directly than Snake, even though Snake should be stronger than Zero. <_<;
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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."

Bowser will be kicking the Snake's ass regardless of what little factor has been brought up now.

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Mario's Path to Victory: Round 2 - (4) Ness
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/135/cunningplan32kw.jpg

If that's true, that also means that Knuckles may give Magus a better fight than we think.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 1: (7) Geno

Bowser's dream will be crushed before he even leaves the Dream Division. I'm not too concerned about him even reaching Snake.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 1: (7) Geno

From: Heroic Mario | Posted: 7/23/2005 8:40:36 PM | Message Detail
Bowser will be kicking the Snake's ass regardless of what little factor has been brought up now.

He's not gonna be kicking Snake's ass because he won't get to Snake.

Ryu > Bowser and Tidus for the win!
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Summer 2005 Contest - 4/5 points
Current Match Prediction: Riku vs. Frog

P.S. if that IS the case, we're all pretty much screwed for Bowser/Ryu/Tidus > Snake.

Meh, I have Snake taking the division anyway, I don't care if you think Bowser boosted, you can't think that MGS3 isn't going to boost Snake... well actually you can, you'd just be wrong not to.

---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

Question. If you think that may have had an effect on Tommy/DK, do you think that Mega Man's pic against Snake had anything to do with Snake doing so poorly against Mega Man a year after facing him before?

Perhaps a little, but, again, not by much. I don't think pics are a huge factor unless a character is unrecognizable (Arabusa and FMV!Kefka), but in a match as close as Vivi/Zelda, every little bit helps.
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"It shall be engraved upon your soul! Divine Assault: Nibelung Valesti!" ~ Lenneth Valkyrie

Snake WILL be getting a boost from MGS3. It most likely brought new fans to the series and that's all he needs.
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Summer 2005 Contest - 4/5 points
Current Match Prediction: Riku vs. Frog

Bowser >>>>>>>> Snake
Knuckles >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Magus

But anyways, about Snake.... If he DOES indeed get back to his 2k3 levels, most people would probably attribute it to MGS3 and MGA. But like I said before, I'm not a fan of a character LOSING popularity over a year and then gaining it back. I really think it is WHO they are facing that cause fluctuations.

That being said, it still doesn't make sense because Snake did far worse on the SAME character the next year. The only things that I believe could possibly have caused that are:

1. A drastic shift in the voter pool
2. Voters seeing that Snake had no chance against Mega Man the previous year and deciding to vote for Mega Man.
3. Mega Man and Snake both being so likeable that voters decided to vote for Snake one year and Mega Man the next.
4. Mega Man's picture against Snake caused a significant number of voters to vote him over Snake.

Now most of those reasons sound and ARE probably ridiculous, especially 2 and 3. They shouldn't have caused THAT much of a change in a direct matchup although 1 and 4 theoretically COULD happen. I don't believe any of them though. I'm betting that nobody really cares about Snake anymore and he is ripe to be beaten this year.

Of course, if he DOES gain his strength back, my eyebrows are going to be raised....
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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."

Samus Aran 87.41% 69455
Yuri Hyuga 12.59% 10000
TOTAL VOTES 79455

Samus almost did it.
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Moltar's Comics - http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/Moltar
Samus vs. Yuri - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Samus (3/4)

Samus Aran 87.41% 69455
Yuri Hyuga 12.59% 10000
TOTAL VOTES 79455
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This signature avaliable for rent.

Nooooooo!
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Mario is Winnar
Next victim: Master Ness

I don't know what that ytmnd was, but it scared me. The face looks too much like something out of The Ring.

~*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

Hmmmm, Samus has 10000 less votes than Mario and there are only 3 hours left in the poll. That's rather troubling....
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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."

It most likely brought new fans to the series

I'm going to have to disagree with bringing new fans to the series. It didn't sell that well as to attract a whole new group to the series. It'll boost Snake, but I don't think it'll be by very much at all, personally.

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Mario's Path to Victory: Round 2 - (4) Ness
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/135/cunningplan32kw.jpg

It most likely brought new fans to the series

Heh, I was just about to write a post about this but decided to save it for a later day. But I'll spit now. I don't think that sequels that sell less than their predecessors do much to increase a character's popularity. Most of the people BUYING the sequel that sold less probably own the original.

There are exceptions however... If it is a relatively new character, than ANY exposure would help the character. If the sequel is significantly better than it's predecessor, it can also increase popularity. Also, if the character is portrayed much more favorably in the sequel, then that too can increase popularity.

However, in general I think the only way a sequel that sold less than its predecessors can increase a character's strength is if it is a game that would bring a lot of that character's fans to GameFAQS.
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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."

So, is Samus over-performing, under-performing or doing exactly expected of her?

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llll \|/ llll GO CANADA GO
llll ¯|¯ llll Die hard Cubs, Pistons, Patriot and Maple Leaf fan.

I have a question about my bracket. When you go to check your current score, does it show you what you have in the ToC?
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Summer 2005 Contest - 4/5 points
Current Match Prediction: Riku vs. Frog

I don't know what that ytmnd was, but it scared me. The face looks too much like something out of The Ring.

Watch Excel Saga. You'll thank me someday.

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2nd Place, Spring Contest 2005
My Video Game World Records: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=35289

So, is Samus over-performing, under-performing or doing exactly expected of her?

We don't know.
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Bracket: Samus - Vote: Samus: Points: 4/5

We'll have a better idea in Round 2.

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2nd Place, Spring Contest 2005
My Video Game World Records: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=35289

What is Excel Saga?

~*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

Unfortunately we still won't have any idea on mario because of how badly he's going to SFF Ness.
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Please sign this petition for a history board:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=21995996

From: UltimaterializerX | Posted: 7/24/2005 12:25:40 AM | Message Detail
What is Excel Saga?

Die. Now.

It's bad enough no one ever gets the:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</pedro>

Pedro's tears are flowing like waterfalls, reference.


---
Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

What is Excel Saga?

A very random anime, starring "the most certifiably insane teenage girl to ever walk the face of the planet, first name Excel, last name Excel, in other words, Excel."

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2nd Place, Spring Contest 2005
My Video Game World Records: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=35289

It being an anime explains why I've never heard of it, given that I don't care about anime in the least and don't bother keeping up with most of it. All I know is that most every anime I've ever been forced to watch sucked, and the one exception to this was Ninja Scroll.

~*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

Even if you don't like anime in general, you should check out Excel Saga or Golden Boy if you ever get the chance. They are absolutely hilarious.

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2nd Place, Spring Contest 2005
My Video Game World Records: http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&p=35289

If Ganon beats Auron, that makes one less match we could accurately judge Samus with, too...it's very possible that we only get to judge Mario and Samus with Zero and Frog (respectively) before their big match, both of which were not only in the 20XX Division but also have their own complications within that. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to get a great idea of Mario/Samus.
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Hillary Clinton: We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco or alcohol.
Lewis Black: Namely as valued contributors to our re-election fund.

So...who would you pick between KOS-MOS and Riku, and by how much?

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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."

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

I really don't know if the ToC is supposed to show up when you click "check your entry". Can someone tell me if the ToC is supposed to be there or not?
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Summer 2005 Contest - 4/5 points
Current Match Prediction: Riku vs. Frog

KOS-MOS with 55%, just because I don't think Riku is very close to Sora. Err.... this is the KH riku were talking about right?
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Please sign this petition for a history board:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=21995996

Yes, that's right. (even though KOS-MOS and Rikku probably are more comparable)

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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."

I assume KOS-MOS beats Riku with 51%-52%.
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Hillary Clinton: We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco or alcohol.
Lewis Black: Namely as valued contributors to our re-election fund.

Hopefully Riku or frog do something worth talking about. This topic has been so incredibly empty today.
---
Please sign this petition for a history board:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=21995996

I'm hopin' so too; I don't have work tomorrow, heh.
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Hillary Clinton: We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco or alcohol.
Lewis Black: Namely as valued contributors to our re-election fund.

I wouldn't get your hopes up, I expect tomorrow to be a relatively easy victory for Frog. Of course, I could always end up eating my words.
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*is Janors*
Mental note to post in the Stats topics more often.

I think the only noteworthy thing will be killing a bunch of perfect brackets due to seed bracketers... but that's completely expected and won't stimulate much discussion. Maybe break 100k but I severely doubt it.

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Explicit Content, having fun, not being warned.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

Well, we'll probably revisit the 20XXDF controversy, even if we don't get much out of the match.
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"Luca Blight's insane. He's a wolf raised on the smell of fire and the taste of blood."" ~ Viktor, Suikoden II