I think Auron will, I haven't seen any Ganon fans around board 8.

=(!!!

Then again, I won't be here to see Ganon pwn the night vote, so whatever.
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SC2K5: Samus is going all the way!
Samus vs. Frog - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Samus (32/36)

I see Ganon with a sizable board vote lead, like 60-40. I remember when we thought Vivi would get the board vote on Zelda because there were lots of vocal Vivi fans.. I get the feeling the same will happen with Ganon.

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http://picturesofwalls.com

So is there any real chance of this hitting 100k votes, or well it just fall a few thousand short? It seems to have made up for all the ground it lost in the early going, but then again I don't really follow the vote totals, so I wouldn't know.
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Please sign this petition for a history board:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=7&topic=21995996

Moltar, Sidharta...

Ganondorf for the win tomorrow pretty easily. It'll be close, but never in question. I mean, we saw what Zelda did to Vivi. Also, Ganondorf did way better on Sephiroth than Auron did. He couldn't have gotten SFF'd that badly that he'd beat Ganondorf... right?
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Vote for Yoshi
You have no chance to survive make your time.

I still think Snake can win, but I have that feeling I had before Starcraft/Windwaker. Like no way Snake can possibly lose....right....right?! And then it happens.

I've had that feelin' for Solid/Zelda since the bracket came out. I'm REALLY iffy about who'll win, though one would feel like Solid has to be the favorite.


Tomorrow's the match I wanted to see most before the bracket was even opened, for those who remembered my "Name a match you want to see." topic (despite being indifferent to Auron and only liking Ganon so much). I'm still calling for Ganon/Auron to be closer than Ganon/Tidus, and I'm still calling for a Ganon win.
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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 think this match will prove that Auron is NOT stronger than Tidus.
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"All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be."
MasterMage119

I think we've got a different population voting tomorrow than two years ago, one that is generally more pro-Nintendo; therefore, I expect Ganon to do quite a bit better than he did against Tidus.
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http://picturesofwalls.com

He never was.
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Auron is more popular than Ganon here, no doubt about it. Ganondorf might get a little benefit from being the bracket favorite, but Auron IS more popular on the board.

That Solid Snake picture is hideous beyond belief. I didn't really have a problem with his round 1 picture, but this...There are no words for how bad it is.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

Auron is more popular than Ganon here, no doubt about it. Ganondorf might get a little benefit from being the bracket favorite, but Auron IS more popular on the board.

Auron is no doubt more popular on this board. But whenever someone mentions the board vote, I seem to think of Board 8 plus whoever else is on GameFAQs at the time, including other message boards, and people on the other side of the world. Auron might convincingly take the first couple of minutes, but after that the match should pretty much play out consistently without comebacks and the like unless the match is hovering around 50%.

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MM are my INITIALS "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

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

I have a feeling Ganondorf will go 50/50 with the board vote due to bracket voters.
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The King of all Cosmos' route to summer victory:
Round 1: (0) Voters

I find it funny that when Snake is facing Kid Zelda, his pic resembles Brian Peppers.
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Moisten your dreams with man urine.
http://www.geocities.com/nicklegends/ - All the Legends of the Hidden Temple info you could possibly want.

Zebes Division Round 2 - Match 36 – (3)Ganondorf vs. (2)Auron

Ganondorf - You can’t let this pig live on a farm.
Round 1 – vs. Yuna (Ganondorf: 61.20% - Yuna: 38.80%)

Yuna does a lot better than most people expect. Uh oh Ganon.

Auron - Because all video games need a “badass” side-character.
Round 1 – vs. Big Boss (Auron: 71.47% - Big Boss: 28.53%)

Yay Big Boss over-estimation! Auron easily takes out the MGS character.

Another Round 2 match…Ganondorf vs. Auron…winner is….wait a minute, Ganondorf vs. Auron? This is actually a Round 2 match to get excited about! Let’s analyze this baby.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1307

What a nice poll to start off this analysis with. 2003 is when both characters made their debuts. Ganondorf was in the third match, and right away had to face Tidus. As you can see in the poll, Ganondorf won by a hair. Ganon then went on to lose to Magus in a match just as close. Auron stepped up to the plate a little later, and knocked Tails out quickly in Round one, winning with 64.47% He did pretty good against Tails, but then ran into a brick wall in Round 2. His opponent was Cloud, and Auron lost bad. SFF? Possibly, but we couldn’t tell for sure. Looks like we’d have to find out in 2004.

In the next year, 2004, both characters were back. Ganondorf beat Alucard in Round 1 in a 57-43 match. Ganon’s next opponent was Link, and we all know how that went…some ugly SFF there. Auron faced Scorpion in Round 1 and won 65-35. He then went on to beat Ness 65-35 as well. Then SFF raised its ugly head again and Auron lost to Sephiroth.

So let’s see, we have Ganon, who’s value might be overrated in 2003 thanks to Magus, and was SFFed in 2004. His opponent is Auron, who was SFFed both years he was in it. Isn’t this just great? Ah well, one more thing to look at, which is this year. Ganondorf faced Yuna, and won in a 61-39 match. This was disappointing to most, seeing as how Ganon was supposed to double her after his Spring Contest performance, but Yuna has undoubtedly increased since 2003. The only question is by how much. Auron easily beat Big Boss by over 70% of the vote, but that doesn’t tell us much.

Bracket support? Winner in this category goes to Ganondorf. The Spring Contest must have heavily influenced them, because Ganon had a much better percentage against a much stronger opponent.

Well, who do I think will win? Ganondorf is my favorite character, and while Auron is alright, I have a hard time seeing him winning. This match will put Ganon’s Spring performance to the ultimate test. Let’s look at some possibilities using the thing we love most in life, the Stats.

2003 Ganon beats 2003 Auron with 58.62%
2004 Ganon beats 2004 Auron with 57.70% (2004 Ganon is adjusted, no need to use un-adjusted Ganon)
2005 Ganon beats 2004 Auron with 59.17% (2005 Ganon = Spring Contest Ganon)

So, as you can see, there is a bit of breathing room for Ganon. But with Auron constantly getting SFFed, and the possibility of Ganon being overrated in the Stats, this doesn’t make it as clear-cut as it should be. The safe bet here is Ganon, as not even the main from FFX could beat him. However, if you think Auron is stronger than Tidus, and suffered a decent amount of SFF against Cloud and Seph, then you just might be the winner at the end of the day.

Moltar’s Bracket Says: Ganondorf will win.

Moltar’s Prediction is: Ganon: 51% - Auron: 49%



Outback’s Analysis

Nintendo has been getting absolutely huge boosts this year, and if you think that Ganon isn't going to receive those boosts, you're kidding yourself. Ganon has been stronger than Auron every year he's been in this contest, and he's not going to stop now.

Ganon with 54.66%

Ulti’s Analysis

(Special note from Ulti: I'm either getting married or on my honeymoon as you're reading this, so know that all of my second round writeups will suck. I'm doing the same short writeups that I did for the last round, because I don't have time to be extensive.)

(Special note from Moltar: I’m lonely…….)

It really sucks ass that I can't get to see the good matches :(

Anyway, uh... I think Ganon wins. I have no real reason for this.

Prediction: Ganon with 52.45%



Soul’s Analysis

How they got here

Ganondorf defeated Yuna 61.2% - 38.8%
Auron defeated Big Boss 71.47% - 28.53%

This match has been one of the most anticipated matches of the entire contest. Is Ganondorf overrated on the stats? Is Auron underrated? Has either or both of them got a boost?

Looking at the crappy SSF-adjusted stats, Auron is just a little bit weaker then Alucard, who Ganondorf defeated with over 57% of the vote. So, if you're a stats junkie, you would tell me that Ganondorf has this match easily. Of course, you must realize that Auron could be behind two potential SFF matches with Cloud (2003) and Sephiroth (2004).

A strong stat to look at is Ganon's 61% against Yuna, who stars in the same game as Auron. Some say that Ganondorf underperformed, but I think differently. The only stats we have on Yuna was that she lost to Knuckles in 2003. Since then, she has had FFX-2 come out, which could have given her a boost. Therefore, I believe Ganondorf performed rather well there.

Then you realize that Auron completely destroyed Big Boss in what was supposed to be a "close" match. Has Auron gained? Again, I believe it not to be so. Look at the other MGS stars. Other then Solid Snake and Liquid's match against Frog last year, they have all been a let down. Rather it's Liquid underperforming against Sephiroth in Spring or his snubbing this year; Ocelot getting beat by Pac-man or even Snake's bombing against Mega Man last year. All signs pointing to MGS being weaker then before.

So, I believe that Big Boss was fodder, or around there. If that's the case, then Auron performed pretty normally. Again, this is all assuming that MGS has fallen as a series. If it hasn't, then Auron could give Ganondorf a serious thrashing.

Basically, I'm thinking Ganondorf is going to win this. Never doubt Nintendo, especially in this contest. Plus, Ganondorf has the added strength of being part of the LoZ fanbase. Also, he has LoZ: TP hype on his side here. All of those factors, plus being stronger then Auron already and getting over 60% on someone from the same game = a good win for Ganondorf.

My prediction: Ganondorf wins with 54.10% of the vote. Speaking of MGS and LoZ, Snake Vs. Zelda is next.



Inviso’s Analysis

Before the first round, I was quite confident in Ganondorf’s winning of this match. I mean, he, like Magus and Zero, was ranked in the top 12 characters of 2004’s stats. But…after the first round, a few things jump out at me. First, Ganondorf could not double Yuna, and barely broke 60% on her. Couple this with him barely beating Tidus, and it leads me to believe that perhaps Ganny has some trouble with FFX. Auron blew out his first opponent, Big Boss, who is from Metal Gear Solid, and hence, isn’t immediately fodder. Also, the stats were completely thrown off with Zero underperforming, Magus getting beaten by Knuckles, and Ganondorf’s weak performance. This leads me to believe that perhaps the SFF adjustments for all three were a bit skewed and make them appear stronger than they actually are. Either way, this is going to be a close match.

My Bracket: Ganondorf
My Vote: Auron
My Prediction: Auron with 50.23%

Tnote’s Analysis

Now this is where the business week of hell begins. On the surface, this should line up to be an awesome match. And when you take into account that I now believe villains are at an inherent disadvantage when facing ‘good guys,’ it should make it even more interesting. I have a theory on Tidus, that he overperformed greatly against Ganondorf, as a result of being a hero, and receiving votes that he otherwise would not solely because people like heros. This then plays right into his next overperformance, against Sonic’s evil alter ego, Shadow. Against heros Sonic and Mega Man, Tidus got pasted, and against Claire, he underperformed in relation to how we think he would do. This will make his match with Kirby more interesting, however it makes this match rather dull in my mind. Until I tangibly see it happen, I refuse to believe a sidekick can be stronger than his hero (Vivi included), and based on this assumption that, two years out from FFX’s glory days, Auron will not be able to compete with Ganondorf. Now I think he will receive some slight buzz from his Kingdom Hearts II cameo, but it will not be anywhere near enough to catapult him past Tidus. Yuna cracked 38%, and Tidus cracked 49%, so Auron has to fall somewhere between the two. Taking into account the extra votes I believe Tidus received from being a hero, and the aging factor, counteracted by the KHII cameo, and I think Auron should settle in nicely between his two laughing buddies.

Pick: Ganondorf with 54.83%



Vlado’s Analysis

Now THIS is a match worth thinking about. This is a match worth waiting for. A match that can put another nail in the coffin of the X-Stats. Now, especially after his performance in the spring, Ganondorf's supposed to be the favourite. He also beat Yuna, the leading female in Auron's game, by almost 24,000 votes... Does that mean he'll have it easy against Auron? I don't think so. I really, really hope Auron is able to win here. And I believe this is possible.

Why, you'd ask. Simple. We've never really been able to determine Auron's strength. In 2003, he lost to Cloud, in 2004, he lost to Sephiroth. The SFF on both occasions was SEVERE, believe me. However, neither the 2003, nor the 2004 stats take it into account. I think that the difference between what the stats say, and reality, will be just enough to bring these two very close to each other, which will result in an intense match.

Auron's way more popular than Yuna, that's more than clear to everyone. Ganon will get the votes of Nintendo hardcore fans, but, what about the casual visitors, who will be the ones to decide the match? I think Auron can get those, which could even result in him winning. Without any doubt, Auron has the "cool" factor. Ganondorf is an ugly *******, while Auron is just awesome, not to mention he wields a sword. Ultimately, it will come down to the votes of the more casual Zelda fans versus the votes of the non-Zelda fans, or fans of both games/series, who will inevitably choose Auron.

Auron's an awesome character, who most Final Fantasy fans would surely put in their Top 10 of all FF games, while Ganon is a generic, uninspiring villain, who simply rides the popularity of his series to win matches. Even Link, a mute avatar, is a character at least ten times more awesome than Ganon. That must tell you something. I realize that my pick will surely be the only one in favour of Auron, but what the hell. It was proven plenty of times already that the stats won't really help you in this year's tournament.

Predicted percentage: Auron with 50.61%.

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SC2K5: Samus is going all the way!
Samus vs. Frog - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Samus (32/36)

fans of both games/series, who will inevitably choose Auron.

Auron's an awesome character, who most Final Fantasy fans would surely put in their Top 10 of all FF games, while Ganon is a generic, uninspiring villain

*sigh* How does this guy end up on the analysis crew anyways?
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MM are my INITIALS "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

Odd how three of the Ganon predictions have him with 54%.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

You know, I'm beginning to think that the theme for this round isn't face shots, but rather "Worst possible pictures I can find."
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

*sigh* How does this guy end up on the analysis crew anyways?

They needed someone who could make the rest look smart.
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"All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be."
MasterMage119

He really needs to at least try not to be as obvious with his bias.

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

From: Tatsumaki Senpuu | Posted: 8/22/2005 10:44:04 PM | Message Detail
He really needs to at least try not to be as obvious with his bias.

oh, the irony!
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http://picturesofwalls.com

He really needs to at least try not to be as obvious with his bias.

That's a bit too much to ask from Vlado.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

As for tomorrow's match, I'm almost leaning toward Auron pulling off a win tomorrow. I know I'll be voting for him, as he has a slight edge against Ganon in me eyes. But I'm hoping Ganon pulls out the victory for bracket purposes. Whoever wins, though, I'm expecting it to be close, but never in danger of losing the lead.

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

Whoever wins, though, I'm expecting it to be close, but never in danger of losing the lead

Final Fantasy X's close matches tend to be that way. Tidus/Shadow, Tidus/Ganon, SSBM/FFX, and Robotnik/Sin all were technically close, but the character in the lead was in control all day. Maybe Auron/Ganon and Tidus/Kirby will add to that tradition.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

Yay, I just found out that I'll be able to see most of the gauntlet. I'll be home tomorrow and Thursday since labs don't start until next week. I'll still miss a good deal of Snake/Zelda and almost all of Tidus/Kirby, though.

If Ceej's goal is to find the worst possible pictures... I can't wait for Sora's >_>
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That... was her final mission. And like a true soldier, she saw it through the end.
ZSB [aX]

oh, the irony!

The difference being that HM isn't an ass about other people's, and his own, opinions.
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Mario is Winnar
Next victim: Master Zero

If that is the theme, here's Sora's:

http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/ps2/kinghearts/art/sora--morph-cg.jpg
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

The difference being that HM isn't an ass about other people's, and his own, opinions.

HM said he would physically harm me if I didn't have Grim Fandango in my top thirty games!!!!

>>;
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"All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be."
MasterMage119

Ceej wrote an FAQ for KH.

...I don't really think I want to see Alucard's pic >_>
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The King of all Cosmos' route to summer victory:
Round 1: (0) Voters

The difference being that HM isn't an ass about other people's, and his own, opinions.

agreed.
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http://picturesofwalls.com

I can see why Auron is likeable and all, but I just don't care for FFX as a whole.

I don't care for Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time (from where he undoubtedly gets a huge chunk of his popularity), but he made up for it tremendously in WW (although his "wind is blowing" line is overatted). I was always a fan of pig Ganon from the Zelda cartoon, the first three games, and a comic series that was featured in Nintendo Power.
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MM are my INITIALS "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

Hmmm... this blows, I'm gonna be gone tomorrow from around 4ish until the end of it, so if it's close and I have to leave it'll kill me, and then I'm gonna miss Wednesday match.... all of it. I might be back for the very end.

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Explicit Content.
Cheer Up Emo Kids.

oh, the irony!

If I were to analyze a match, you would probably be able to tell who I'm favoring, but it wouldn't be blatantly obvious. And I wouldn't even bother discussing how good or bad their characters are.

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

XD. That would be the worst Sora pic ever.
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I know what I'm getting into, I don't care if I die trying!-Peppita Rossetti

I'd love to see that picture of Sora, if only for the simple fact that it would definitely reinforce the theme.

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

..damn, I just went and actually read his analysis. that is bad. next, he'll have Tifa over Crono with 96.75% of the vote.

oh well, we can always just say 'Ocelot with 69%!' at him.
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http://picturesofwalls.com

Match 36: (3) Ganondorf Dragmire vs. (2) Auron

Past Performances

Ganondorf Dragmire

Summer 2005
Beat Yuna, 61.20% - 38.80%

Win - Lose Record
3-2

Auron

Summer 2005
Beat Big Boss, 71.47% - 28.53%

Win - Lose Record
4-2

Analysis

Welcome to the first of what the board called the Gauntlet, a series of what suppose to be close matches going back to back. Tomorrow’s match to some people will go either way, but I think this is the match for Ganondorf to win, making this his first Sweet 16 appearance ever (who by the way is the strongest character to have never make it there). Another thing to add is that in 2k3 Ganondorf barley beat Tidus (but that was then and this is now).

Ganondorf seem to have underperformed against Yuna last round. This could have easily have been explained by Yuna being in Final Fantasy X-2 and attracting new fans. How much more did she gain, well that’s for you to think of?

Auron’s match against Big Boss may have seemed really great during the match, but as the contest went on (namely Ocelot/Pac-Man) it doesn’t look like that performance was so great. Even if we use Pac-Man’s best number and make BB = Ocelot Auron would only be ahead of Ganondorf by a little, but there is a huge chance of Ocelot > BB since *maybe spoilers* his name is mentioned once in the game *end spoilers*.

There’s only one problem with Ganondorf is that we don’t have much of a reading of how strong he is since he was SFF by Link in 2k4 and Magus seems to screw up in 2k3. The only thing that saves Ganondorf was probably his match against Sephiroth in the spring because the following characters show that Magus’ 4-pack should be weaker; Magus, Tidus, Sam Fisher, Luca Blight, Alucard (if he equaled 2k3) and Diablo (if Kratos = Lloyd).

For both years Auron has been in the contests he’s been behind SFF and the only characters we can adjust for him are Tails and Scorpion, but both characters give out different numbers. Scorpion may have reason to drop, but Tails also has reason to gain so it could be that Auron wasn’t SFF against Sephiroth or Cloud, but again it’s only a possibility.

Now for Tidus vs. Auron many people on the board say that Auron would beat Tidus. I don’t think this is true since Hero vs. Villains usually has the heroes winning and Tidus doesn’t really relate to the exceptions for this rule since a) Auron has been in many other games and b) this isn’t an ensemble cast. But if it is Auron > Tidus I wouldn’t be that surprised.

Auron may make this match close, but I don’t think Ganondorf will be in much danger of losing it. For Auron to have any chance of winning this match he would have to have a very strong first night vote and hope that it will be enough to keep Ganondorf away during the day.

charmander6000’s Bracket: Ganondorf Dragmire over Auron

charmander6000’s Prediction: Ganondorf wins, 53.38% - 46.62%

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I've been Pwned by KoaC. He really is the king of all cosmos.

http://pages.prodigy.net/jpena2/a_Khj.gif

There's one for Kirby.
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That... was her final mission. And like a true soldier, she saw it through the end.
ZSB [aX]

Alright, guys, make fun of me all you want. You can think you're so much better, I couldn't care less. I'm just trying to do my job writing those, and if you think a sentence that contains nothing but truth is bias, be my guests.

Seriously, ONE freaking person doesn't worship Nintendo here, and you have to all jump on him. Get a grip.
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*** Support Tifa Lockheart in the Summer Contest 2005 ***
Thanks to everyone who helped her get in!

I wouldn't be surprised if Kirby got an enlarged ASCII. (>-.-)>
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The King of all Cosmos' route to summer victory:
Round 1: (0) Voters

Seriously, ONE freaking person doesn't worship Nintendo here, and you have to all jump on him. Get a grip.

I like Auron better and I still thought that comment was unnecessary. It contained no "truth" that you said it did either.

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

yep, I'm voting for Auron too.
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http://picturesofwalls.com

http://darkyunie.altervista.org/Grafica/Animazioni/Tidus_animato.gif

Tidus sparkles!

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To the man whose spirit was so free it was bothersome... Kurosaki Ichigo, my sword has been broken by your freedom of spirit.

From: Vlado | Posted: 8/22/2005 9:57:19 PM | #441
Alright, guys, make fun of me all you want. You can think you're so much better, I couldn't care less. I'm just trying to do my job writing those, and if you think a sentence that contains nothing but truth is bias, be my guests.

Seriously, ONE freaking person doesn't worship Nintendo here, and you have to all jump on him. Get a grip.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fact

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=opinion
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That... was her final mission. And like a true soldier, she saw it through the end.
ZSB [aX]

Whatever, man.
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*** Support Tifa Lockheart in the Summer Contest 2005 ***
Thanks to everyone who helped her get in!

We really don't have to look for a bad picture of Tidus, do we?

Bowser: http://membres.lycos.fr/scoubsmk/hpbimg/Bowser-powered.jpeg

Ryu: http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper522/stills/l3w6609a.jpg

Master Chief: http://photos1.blogger.com/img/250/2014/640/CATVCG8H.jpg

Donkey Kong: http://www.fungus-amungus.com/images/don2big.jpg
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna

You know, as biased as Vlado might be, he's tied for the lead among the analysis crew.

So, maybe he's got more than what you guys give him credit for.

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Reserved for the winner of the SC2K5 Guru Challenge.

and if you think a sentence that contains nothing but truth is bias, be my guests.

Seriously, ONE freaking person doesn't worship Nintendo here, and you have to all jump on him. Get a grip.

I love Auron, but there is no way you could possibly back up your claims of "truth." That analysis was ridiculously one-sided.
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Squall Leonhart's Road to the Summer Contest 2005 Championship
Round 2: (3) Mag...Er...(6) Knuckles the Echidna