GameFAQs Contests

http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Batthink/stuff-magazine-s-100-greatest-games-scans--103398.phtml

I felt like providing this top 100 list. One thing I find silly is that of the games in the top ten, two of them did not even make the contest and two of them are already out. And the #1 game didn't win its match in the contest.

I do agree that Mario Kart Wii would have been better to put in this contest than Street Fighter IV, and with the whole idea of putting Left 4 Dead/Halo 3 in SFIV's place and putting Mario Kart Wii in Fallout 3's match. Those two matches would have been cooler to predict. And I love seeing this one guy's bracket which had Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 being eliminated in round 2 and Street Fighter IV in the finals.

And yeah, a Guitar Hero/Rock Band as well as one of the new Ninja Gaidens would have been cool.

Fallout is going 60/40 on Halo right now. Not too bad. Looks like Halo might not give up the lead to Left 4 Dead either.
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I'm bored, so it's time to assess the state of my bracket (Round 2)

Mega Man 2 > The Oregon Trail
Fun to root for, but what a mistake this turned out to be. Unless MM2 benefits from a better picture and Tetris collapses against stronger competition, it looks like I'm heading for 1/4 points.

The Legend of Zelda > Super Mario Bros.
Still impossible to unravel logically, but Majora's Mask and Wind Waker have shown that the Zelda armor might house a few tiny cracks. Still feeling pretty good.

Super Mario Bros. 3 > Street Fighter II
Sweet revenge. SFIV or not, I'm feeling certain about this one.

Super Mario World > Final Fantasy II (IV)
The winner is pretty locked. FFII is not, but I still think it should be seen as the favorite, although by no means a big one.

The Legend of Zelda: LttP > Doom
Oops. Half points are guaranteed here, but it looks like most people share my fate (Sonic backers, enjoy!). I'm hoping DKC makes it so that everyone gets half points, but SMK is the more likely upset.

Final Fantasy III (VI) > The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Zelda took out MMX easily enough, so it should be able to repeat against a Sonic game that looked gimped up. Extremely confident.

Final Fantasy VII > Goldeneye
Very confident. I'm not buying Mario Kart 64 hype at all.

Chrono Trigger > Super Mario 64
Full points for most of us. Next.

Metal Gear Solid > The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Time to dial the loony bin, because I haven't thrown this one completely away just yet. Despite Pokemon's insane performance, I still think MGS has an easy win here given the monstrously advantageous position. Of course, Zelda looks doomed, but strange things can always happen when you throw a clone in the match. Half points are a near-certainty, but near ain't quite full!

The Legend of Zelda: OoT > Final Fantasy VIII
Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. FFVIII is one of my biggest risks - I have it beating MGS in round three. In terms of intrinsic strength, I'm feeling great about that, but Half-Life had to go and **** everything up. If Pokemon still breezes by Zelda the day before, I'll feel better about this, but a part of me thinks - nay, KNOWS - that Starcraft is going to **** me over once again because it's an undeserving little turd.

Metroid Prime > Final Fantasy X
LMAO. 1/4 points guaranteed. The only thing worse than this is the guaranteed half-points I'm getting in the next round for having FFX > Melee. You can say this division didn't treat me too kindly.

SSBM > Diablo 2
Feeling good. Even with the Wind Waker split, Melee is still strong enough for the easy win, and I'm not putting a dime's worth of faith in Halo to do anything.

Metal Gear Solid 3 > World of Warcraft
Feeling great. I don't give Symphonia or Oblivion a very good chance against WoW. I don't think either of them are at Halo's level (because I think KotOR takes out both), and Diablo didn't have much trouble with Halo.

The Legend of Zelda: TP > Resident Evil 4
Feeling queezy 'n uneasy. RE4 still has a great shot to advance here, but the way it struggled against KHII doesn't make me nearly as confident. I'm hoping that Gears hindered RE4 and that Zelda will nullify any KHII Stand Out Factor. Coin flip otherwise. And don't forget Gordon!

SSBB > Call of Duty 4
These two are moving on, but order is the big question. Brawl is certainly stronger, but it'll be splitting more with Galaxy than CoD4 will with GTA. At this point, another coin flip.

Metal Gear Solid 4 > Fallout 3
Looking locked down.

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Yoblazer: http://i42.tinypic.com/avk9ie.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

As far as other snubs I thought of:

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time replaces Fire Emblem
System Shock 2/Unreal Tournament replaces Banjo-Kazooie

Valve games are funny.. they seem to have bad Europe votes. TF2 had the same thing the other day.

Halo got dis
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xyzzy

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

I’m going to assess the state of my bracket as well.
Mega Man 2 > Tetris
My thinking went like “nobody really cares about Tetris, and Mega Man is an elite character, and MM2 is perhaps the most popular game in the series.” I’m not feeling so good about this anymore.
The Legend of Zelda > Super Mario Bros.
There’s the possibility that Super Mario Bros. SFFs Zelda I, not to mention Mario had a better percentage and vote total in round 1. I’m still feeling confident.
Super Mario Bros. 3 > Street Fighter II
Seeing as how Sonic collapses when he meets Nintendo opposition, this should be the correct pick. I wonder what our old-school fans will think when they see Mario 3 and Sonic 1 in a match together, though.
Super Mario World > Final Fantasy IV
This should be the correct pick here.
Zelda: A Link to the Past > Super Metroid
I originally had DOOM taking 2nd place, but then I saw that Super Metroid placed higher than DOOM in the x-stats even before SFF was taken into account. The bad news is that I forgot that Super Mario Kart would also be in the match. Half-points are almost guaranteed here.
Final Fantasy VI > Sonic the Hedgehog 2
God, why did I pick Mega Man X to defeat Link’s Awakening? I just thought “SNES game should beat GB game” and thought that name value wouldn’t do any good. Oops. Link’s Awakening probably takes 2nd here thanks to how Sonic chokes when he meets Nintendo opposition.
Final Fantasy VII > GoldenEye
Easy enough.
Chrono Trigger > Super Mario 64
Just like the 32/64 division in the first games contest, this division is boring and predictable, save for some GoldenEye/Super Mario RPG/Resident Evil 2 debates in round 1.
Metal Gear Solid > Final Fantasy Tactics
Wow, half points are DEFINETELY guaranteed here. But seriously, who could’ve seen FFT’s bomb coming? Oh wait, the main character almost lost to Laharl in the last character contest.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time > StarCraft
Uhm, I had Half-Life advancing to round 2, so this is pure stupidity. Even with two Final Fantasies splitting votes, FF8 was one of the few games to break 50k votes in round 1, so I think Squall’s full-motion love story is heading to round 3, and possibly beyond.
Final Fantasy X > Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Good thing I didn’t have Metroid Prime getting to round 2! Though I really can’t understand well why Metroid Prime was the favorite against Kingdom Hearts and Vice City in round 1, and this is coming from somebody who loves the game a lot. And for this match, I thought that Kingdom Hearts would be screwed because of Final Fantasy X’s presence, but I no longer think so.
Halo > Super Smash Bros. Melee
My thinking went like “Halo and SSBM are about equal in the x-stats for the last games contest, and Halo benefits from this format.” OOPS
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas > Metal Gear Solid 3
Wow, I have a guaranteed ¼ points in this match. But how the hell did San Andreas bomb in its match? I thought that being #11 on the list and winning the 2004 Game of the Year on this site would be enough to get it out of its division, but not only does San Andreas not get out of round 1, it gets dead last in its match. What the hell???
Resident Evil 4 > Half-Life 2
I suppose I had too much faith in these games, as they are the only two games from this division which I would consider worthy of “Best. Game. Ever.” I actually had Half-Life 2 upsetting Twilight Princess in round 1 (WHOOPS) and ignored Kingdom Hearts 2’s presence (because IGN gave the game a 7.6/10). Hopefully both games pull off a Call of Duty 4 and prove that franchise voting shouldn’t take down modern classics.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl > Super Mario Galaxy
What the hell was I thinking when I made this decision? It was natural for me to put some personal favorites in my bracket (Metal Gear Solid in the finals, for example), but this?
Metal Gear Solid 4 > Fallout 3
This is looking good so far.

So which match is tougher competition...

LBP/Portal/Bioshock

vs.

Halo 3/Left4Dead/Mass Effect
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http://www.xboxlc.com/cards/blue2/Albion%20Hero.jpg
http://blog.codefront.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/lucky_star_i_am_a_tank_thumb.jpg

Actually, I now think I realized the answer to why I made my SSBB > SMG decision in my bracket. I expected SMG to be strong, and since most Nintendo fans prefer SMG to SSBB, I decided that SMG would be able to resist SFF. Oops.

Again, if you're questioning whether SSBB or CoD4 should take first in R2, you should have taken SSBB a lot further than your probably did. SMG caught no breaks with just D/P, so to expect SSBB to gain 7+% on CoD4 with SMG instead of D/P is a pretty wild diss on SMG. If you think it bombed, that's cool, but that's still grossly underestimating how it will hurt SSBB.

CoD4 will take first in that match, and second-place will get its vengeance on it in R3. I hate to sound too certain on anything (especially when I'm still wearing my optimistic hat for SMG > SSBB), but CoD4 has legit strength and LFF favoring it pretty clearly. I'd be surprised to see CoD4 not get first from the opening minutes onward.
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Prototype
Shorthand, do you speak it?!

Anyway, I'm about to leave for my graduation (go Big Orange!). For old time's sake...



FOUR-PACK OF FUN:

Final Fantasy 8
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
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Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Mario Bros.
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Prototype
Shorthand, do you speak it?!

BTW what's your favorite oncoming match of round 2? In regards to the actual match, I think I'm looking forward to Resident Evil 4/Kingdom Hearts 2/Zelda: Twilight Princess/Half-Life 2. In regards to the games, I'm most looking forward to Super Mario 64/Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Chrono Trigger/Yoshi's Island.

I am looking forward most to Chrono Trigger/Mario 64/SOTN/Yoshi's Island and OOT/FFVIII/FFIX/Starcraft, the former because it is an opportunity for CT to validate its post-CTDS strength and the latter because it has some great games and looks interesting (not to mention my bracket is completely dependent on the result). Nintendo vs. Square is always fun, Nintendo vs. Square vs. Starcraft is even better!
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Link he come to town to win the Gamefaqs Contests.

Darn you Left 4 Dead.
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Kleenex...at work!

*wakes up*

ah, it's about time a match went as expected

well... except the ME > L4D train... lol to that
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Today's prediction: Fallout 37.77% - Halo 25.69% - Left 4 Dead 18.81% - Mass Effect 17.73%
Status: Good (it's about damn time)

From: red sox 777 | Posted: 5/8/2009 8:47:30 AM | #314
I am looking forward most to Chrono Trigger

What a goddamn shock that is.
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"You are the king of derailing topics, by the way." -Lucid

And Oblivion/ToS/MGS3/WoW for me.
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"You are the king of derailing topics, by the way." -Lucid

How will Mario 3 do in its round 2 match? I wouldn't be surprised to see it get 60% seeing as Monkey Island is only going to get around 5% of the vote, and Sonic's going to get hurt bad.
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"Here I go! Divine judgment for an evil soul! Sacred Penance! Rest in peace." - Estellise Sidos Heurassein, Tales of Vesperia

Actually I don`t think MI will drop that much in round 2. I wouldn`t be surprised if it stayed above 8%.
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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

From: BlAcK TuRtLe | #295
Except CoD4 was being hurt by Halo, and Mario Galaxy had more reason to impress in it's poll than Brawl

Why would CoD4 be hurt in the poll more than Halo 3? That makes no sense. CoD4 was the stronger game there, if anything, Halo3 should have been hurt more. And Galaxy has nothing to do with anything, unless you think Galaxy somehow benefited Halo3
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A refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice.

FO3 is doing so well because it is getting all the xbox antivotes on this board. MGS4 is going to crush it next round, so i see Halo 3 sneaking into the 3rd round.

Fallout 3 is doing about expected, though if it wins the ASV that would impress me.

MGS4 > Fallout 3 is the favourite.
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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

BTW what's your favorite oncoming match of round 2?

I'm interested in seeing where Mario 1 stands up against Zelda 1.

How will Mario 3 do in its round 2 match?

Probably 50-55%. Above 60% is pushing it too far, even if Sonic gets pounded into the ground by SFF.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but still not as cool as FastFalcon05, Guru Champ!

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 1972-1988

Star of the Division: Tetris
In a division where only a handful of games would make a non-generation bracket even a game like Tetris can break 50%. Tetris crushing opponents based on name value is nothing new, but to the extent it did makes it a shame that the same fate will happen to it when it meets The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. in round three.

Runner-Up: Donkey Kong
First match of the contest and already the majority of the board are imperfect because of Donkey Kong wanting to take the upset. Donkey Kong also showed that it didn’t need the win in North America to win a contest match and along with Pac-Man caused many people to fear the European Vote for the first quarter of the first round.

Turd of the Division: Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2 was supposed to be the favourite to win in round 2, but after its performance it is becoming increasingly unlikely. What I found interesting was after watching Tetris’ performance people inflated Mega Man 2’s percent yet in the end it couldn’t even reach the prediction the board had for it before the contest. Had Mega Man 2 gone before Tetris maybe it wouldn’t have received as much bashing as it did, though it wouldn’t have prevented it from getting this award.

Runner-Up: Contra
This caught the board off-guard though during the match it made sense, that The Legend of Zelda would affect all NES games, even the ones that didn’t belong to Nintendo. Still the game went up against Final Fantasy in the previous contest and you would think Final Fantasy would have the same dominance over other NES games.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

Looks like L4D didn't do anything last night after all (the last update I saw was a cut on Halo).

Fallout 3 looks much better now, it's about where most expected. However it needs to keep that during the Halo ASV. L4D is probably going to get crushed then.

Mass Effect...at least it hasn't gone down! C'mon you can rise some more!
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Moltar Status: complete global saturation
Match 32 - Bracket: Fallout 3 > H3 - Vote: ME (87/124)

I know that MGS4>FO3 is the favorite but i do not see that. MGS4 crushed its competition, and we all know it is going to get 1st. FO3 i think had it easy b/c it is up against 3 xbox games, and we all know how much people on this board hate xbox games. I dont see FO3 doing that great up against MGS4 and portal sapping its votes. Halo being the only xbox exclusive game will not have a game SFFing it or be up against a blizzard game. i think it will do fine in round 2

Yeah betting on a Halo game in round two that sure seems like the smart choice (god why did I do that)
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turnturnturn your brain in
http://fc03.deviantart.com/fs14/f/2007/020/b/f/Ariel_by_lolita_art.jpg

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 1989-1991

Star of the Division: Super Mario Bros. 3
You know this division didn’t have any impressive performances that wowed anyone; everyone either failed or performed as expected. Super Mario Bros. 3 getting the highest percent was a given, but to get all three opponents under 10% while setting a record that will most likely never be broken unless SBAllen tries to make it so is pretty impressive. While many games would’ve got a high percent in that match I’m not sure any would beat because of anti-votes being a factor at this point.

Runner-Up: Sonic the Hedgehog
By the end of the round both Sonic and Street Fighter looked terrible, but that doesn’t take away that Sonic 1 was able to capitalize and take the win. This may have been more of Street Fighter looking bad, but Sonic 1 was still able to destroy both Civilization and Castlevania III. It’s a shame that Sonic 1 is forced to go up against Super Mario Bros. 3 in round 1, giving Street Fighter II almost a free win.

Turd of the Division: Street Fighter II
I guess Street Fighter II wanted to revive an old fad. With Sonic’s short comings in the character battle Street Fighter II should have had no problem winning that match. Personally I found it a shock that Street Fighter wasn’t a loved series on GameFAQs, especially when Ryu does so well in these contest, I guess games really don’t equal to characters.

Runner-Up: Prince of Persia
If you told me Prince of Persia was going to get the lowest percent in round 1 I would have thought you were crazy. I knew the original was not very popular, but you’d think fans of the later games would have voted for it. I mean Ninja Gaiden was able to get enough votes to place in its match yet Prince of Persia couldn’t even get four lousy percent? I’m glad a later Prince of Persia game didn’t make the contest.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

Halo being the only xbox exclusive game will not have a game SFFing it or be up against a blizzard game. i think it will do fine in round 2

After the other Halos bombed? I doubt it.
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"Here I go! Divine judgment for an evil soul! Sacred Penance! Rest in peace." - Estellise Sidos Heurassein, Tales of Vesperia

I guess Street Fighter II wanted to revive an old fad.

What are you getting at?
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"Here I go! Divine judgment for an evil soul! Sacred Penance! Rest in peace." - Estellise Sidos Heurassein, Tales of Vesperia

So now that Round 1 is (mostly) over, what do you guys think the ten strongest games are? I'm thinking something like
1. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. Chrono Trigger
6. Super Mario 64
7. Super Smash Bros. Melee
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Pokemon RBY
10. Metal Gear Solid
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http://thengamer.com/guru/bracket.php?id=39

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 1992-1994

Star of the Division: LoZ: Link’s Awakening
Link’s Awakening was supposed to have a close match with Mega Man X yet it proceeded to smash its opponent and got a decent percent against Final Fantasy VI. The board has been hyping that Final Fantasy VI is weaker than it was in 2004 though that shouldn’t take away from Link’s Awakening. Link’s Awakening is looking pretty good at defeating Sonic 2 though it’s a shame that Link to the Past will be waiting for it in round 3.

Runner-Up: Super Mario Kart
While Super Mario Kart was hyped along with Super Metroid and Sonic 3 it was often regarded as having only an outside chance of placing. Not only did it place with ease, but it went 50/50 with Super Metroid for the entire day only losing by about 150 votes. Mario Kart may have flopped in the series contest, but both games in this contest are looking fine. Also with an all Nintendo battle in round 2 Super Mario Kart has a chance at placing again.

Turd of the Division: Sonic the Hedgehog 3
While the game became hyped for first after Sonic 1’s performance, it was still thought it would at least get second. Not only was it destroyed, but even adding all of Gunstar Heroes’ votes to Sonic 3 would still have made Sonic 3 look like it flopped. If it wasn’t official before it was official after that Sonic is essentially a “Nintendo” franchise like Mega Man.

Runner-Up: Doom
Donkey Kong Country was able to hold up better to SFF than I thought, but the percent it got should have still given Doom the win. This was the beginning of FPS failing in several matches before redeeming themselves near the end of the bracket. Had Doom won this match it would definitely have been the favourite to reach round 3.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

Never mind. I figured it out. You meant the "WTF SF2 LOST?!?" fad, didn't you, charmander?
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"Here I go! Divine judgment for an evil soul! Sacred Penance! Rest in peace." - Estellise Sidos Heurassein, Tales of Vesperia

Yeah, DOOM failing to take advantage of SFF like that was quite surprising. There are two ways to explain it.

1. DOOM sucks. It seems that the whole Final Fantasy VI/DOOM/EarthBound trio has disappointed this contest, so this would be appropriate. So how the hell (no pun intended!) did DOOM get #33 on the list??? Ironically, two games that made the top twenty on the list are already out, with one of them being LAST in its match. I also find it semi-ironic that two games that have won a Game of the Year award from this site have already been eliminated.
2. Donkey Kong Country resisted SFF better than expected. It makes some level of sense, since Donkey Kong Country sold 8 million copies vs. A Link to the Past's 4.7 million or so, but since when have sales ever been an indicator of contest strength? Half-Life would have won (and no, I'm not kidding) its match if sales equated to GameFAQs strength.

Worst upsets of round 1 (games-wise)

1. Donkey Kong Country > DOOM
2. Portal > BioShock
3. Pokemon Gold/Silver > Final Fantasy Tactics
4. Final Fantasy IX > Half-Life
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City > Metroid Prime

WTF SF2 LOST???

It's just too hilarious right now!!! At least we could see it coming against Super Mario RPG. But this?

WTF SF2 LOST!!!

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 1995-1997

Star of the Division: Chrono Trigger
One of the things the board wanted to see is how much Chrono Trigger has dropped since the previous contest. Keeping Doom and Earthbound constant between each other puts Chrono Trigger at 48% on Link to the Past, which is barely a drop. Even disregarding that getting such a high percent is really good for a game that many thought would have dropped like a rock.

Runner-Up: Mario Kart 64
While it was expected to get second place Mario Kart 64 was able to destroy Star Fox 64 while being just shy of 30% against the reigning champion. If Super Mario Kart didn’t send the message that the Mario Kart games had strength Mario Kart 64 did. Just for laughs, but Mario Kart 64 outdid Metal Gear Solid’s percent against Final Fantasy VII, sure it was during Metal Gear Solid’s weakest year and Final Fantasy VII may have SFF it, but I do find it amusing

Turd of the Division: Donkey Kong Country 2
This was our Nomination Rally Tournament winner? I guess there was a reason why it needed the Add/Remove gimmick to enter the bracket. Thinking about it the only Add/Remove game that didn’t fail was Mortal Kombat II. Donkey Kong Country 2 wasn’t expected to place in its match, but after watching the original Donkey Kong Country you would think the sequel would have done better. I guess it wouldn’t have been a contest without Donkey Kong flopping and here I thought the curse was lifted.

Runner-Up: SMW2: Yoshi’s Island
This was the first match where having the Zelda/Final Fantasy/Mario name does not make you invincible. Excluding Earthbound fans Yoshi’s Island was never going to lose to Earthbound, yet for a while it looked like the impossible was about to become possible. It took until the dead zone before Yoshi’s Island took command of the match. Doing so poorly in an all RPG match is terrible and knowing Yoshi’s Island will fall to anything related to Mario round 2 is going to be ugly.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

Turd of the Division: Donkey Kong Country 2
This was our Nomination Rally Tournament winner? I guess there was a reason why it needed the Add/Remove gimmick to enter the bracket. Thinking about it the only Add/Remove game that didn’t fail was Mortal Kombat II. Donkey Kong Country 2 wasn’t expected to place in its match, but after watching the original Donkey Kong Country you would think the sequel would have done better. I guess it wouldn’t have been a contest without Donkey Kong flopping and here I thought the curse was lifted.

Runner-Up: SMW2: Yoshi’s Island
This was the first match where having the Zelda/Final Fantasy/Mario name does not make you invincible. Excluding Earthbound fans Yoshi’s Island was never going to lose to Earthbound, yet for a while it looked like the impossible was about to become possible. It took until the dead zone before Yoshi’s Island took command of the match. Doing so poorly in an all RPG match is terrible and knowing Yoshi’s Island will fall to anything related to Mario round 2 is going to be ugly.

I have to agree with both.
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"Here I go! Divine judgment for an evil soul! Sacred Penance! Rest in peace." - Estellise Sidos Heurassein, Tales of Vesperia

I haven't actually read a whole part of LinkSamus guy's posts.. are they.. good?
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*is Dranze*
BGE2 - Today: SMG > CoD4 - Points: 86/112 Vote: SMG

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 1998-2000

Star of the Division: Final Fantasy VIII
In terms of stars this division has to be the most stacked, each match had a game that would have taken at least runner-up in each division. Final Fantasy VIII wins because being in an all Nintendo match or over performing against a game that may or may not be as strong as some think pales in the performance that Final Fantasy VIII did. Even Final Fantasy VIII fans weren’t expecting this sort of performance. Even with Final Fantasy IX next round VIII is still the favourite despite LFF. Also with this performance Final Fantasy VIII has a realistic chance of placing in round 3.

Runner-Up: Pokemon G/S
I’m probably going to get a few angry people for not including RBY in the star or runner-up, but we’ve all seen characters taking advantage of a SFF situation then flopping in a later round, for example Fox McCloud in 2007. It was Pokemon GS that solidified the series as a powerhouse in this contest by not only defeating Final Fantasy Tactics, but by coming so close to Metal Gear Solid. Also despite being down by 6400 votes GS was able to mount a slight comeback starting from the ASV, sure it only cut 600 votes, but to do that despite being so far away is pretty impressive.

Turd of the Division: LoZ: Majora’s Mask
Even Pokemon fans didn’t expect Majora’s Mask to flop so badly. While the chance of RBY SFF Majora’s Mask is not that great, the chance existing is enough to make it embarrassing. I think this is the first time a Zelda game has flopped so badly, even in the first contest the only thing that comes close was Wind Waker/Metroid Prime and even then it was still hyped to win the division.

Runner-Up: Half-Life
In most sites Half-Life losing in round one would cause riots. Still Freeman has been working hard to improve his image and while Starcraft’s performance had a bit of foreshadowing Half-Life did perform well against Metroid Prime which did well against Wind Waker and there’s no way those two games would be that weak. Losing to Final Fantasy IX isn’t so much of a problem but letting it get 62.5% on you (FFIX > WW anyone?) is just plain terrible.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

DKC2 was the NRT Honorable Mention, for what it's worth (with SF64 being the Runner-Up and Pokemon R/B/Y being the Winner).
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Prototype
Shorthand, do you speak it?!

God, the 1995-1997 division has FOUR games that deserve the title of "Best. Game. Ever."

Chrono Trigger - Squaresoft collaborated with Enix to deliver a time-traveling RPG for the ages with this one. Random encounters were removed and a new battle system was implemented, making Chrono Trigger seem like an action rush compared to a Final Fantasy. Chrono Trigger still has the engaging story that makes Squaresoft's developers at home, and it has loads of replayability with several endings. I'd vote for this game over anything except for Ocarina of Time, to be honest.
Super Mario 64 - This was the first video game I had ever heard of. Aside from that, everybody knows that Super Mario 64 brought the high standards of Nintendo and gaming in general into the third dimension, crafting excellent level design, catchy music, a vivid art style, and put an emphasis on exploration as opposed to the largely linear level design of previously Mario titles.
GoldenEye - Some say that it hasn't aged well today, and that makes sense. But GoldenEye was one of the first big multiplayer titles on consoles, and GoldenEye is my #1 multiplayer game of all time. There were several modes, named hilariously after other James Bond films, and it was one of the N64's big party titles, if not THE party game for the N64. Even the singleplayer mode excels, with top-notch level design, an atmosphere true to the film, and loads of replayability. And let's not forget DK mode (yeah, I had to mention that)!
Final Fantasy VII - Lots of people anti-vote this game, but Final Fantasy VII is very deserving of "Best. Game. Ever." It brought gaming to a new audience, which liked story as opposed to level design. The gameplay isn't revolutionary or anything but it gets the job done. Really, the LONG tale of an ex-soldier joining a resistance force and saving the world from the Shinra Company's efforts, with several plot twists along the way, is what mostly propels this game into the fond memories of several PlayStation owners.

Yoshi's Island, Super Mario RPG, Mario Kart 64, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are also classics. But the four that I wrote about really stand out.

Stars and Turds of Round 1: 2001-2003

Star of the Division: Star Wars: KotOR
This game was supposed to come in last and not make any noise. KotOR went crazy and actually held second for a large portion of the match before the Halo ASV took over. I’m also pretty sure it cost Halo the match against Diablo II. Out of the games in the 128-bit division I thought KotOR would have aged one of the worst yet here it seems like it’s aged beautifully and was able to keep a large portion of its fanbase.

Runner-Up: TES III: Morrowind
To be truthful I didn’t expect much from Morrowind, Oblivion on the other hand had a chance to look decent. While it never had a chance at placing I thought the game would have been much closer to Silent Hill 2. Morrowind foreshadowed Oblivion’s performance; I guess not all Morrowind fans jumped ship to Oblivion.

Turd of the Division: Metroid Prime
While it was the only major upset that I called correctly I picked it because I thought Vice City was stronger. What was really interesting about Metroid fans was that they were attempting to make excuses for why it lost. The main one was that the Grand Theft Auto games are actually strong in this contest, though right away from the performance against Kingdom Hearts it was expected that the excuse was wrong.

Runner-Up: LoZ: The Wind Waker
Choosing a runner-up was hard since the three candidates were all behind SFF or LFF. In 2004 Wind Waker had better odds of beating Final Fantasy X than Melee and even at the end of the contest there were people who thought Wind Waker would still defeat Melee in a direct match. Getting almost doubled is pretty embarrassing and Melee may even take first in round two despite Wind Waker.

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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

I'll do the final two divisions and the overall a bit later.
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Board 8 BOP: http://www.freewebs.com/charmander6000/BGE2%20BOP.xls
BGE2 - Today's Match: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 Points: 89/124

It's just too hilarious right now!!! At least we could see it coming against Super Mario RPG. But this?

Some of us saw Sonic beating SFII coming, you know...
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Proud Supporter of Zero

I still love how we thought that FPSs were bombing, but then Half-Life 2 gave us a major wake-up call, and then Call of Duty 4 gave us an EVEN BIGGER wake-up call.

Metroid Prime would have advanced if it weren't for Paper Mario hindering it!!! Nuts. At least Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a cool game. Now if it lost to Donkey Kong Country, I would be in a big rage.

Jose's top 3 game performances of Round 1

1. Final Fantasy VIII - Yeah, I'm a bit biased with this one but it's still awesome. Starcraft was never in contest to take first place, and it's pretty clear that we won't see another Cinderella run like in 2004. I'm still confident FF8 takes second next round behind OoT even with FF9 there, I'm expecting 9 to be SFFed to dust and an overall non-factor. We should really get Seifer in the next Character Battle.

2. Pokemon RBY - Whoa jeez Pokebeast. I only saw this as a cute upset that probably wouldn't pan out, but RBY came bursting out of the gate from the onset of the match and never looked back. The MGS/MM/RBY/GS match is one of the most anticipated of Round 2. With the recent announcement of the Gold and Silver remakes I'm really curious how those fare for the Poke games, especially G/S.

3. Tetris - Holy crap I've got Tetris going deep, really deep. Probably too deep. But it's Round 1 squash-fest on the other 3 jobbers made it look really good. If Tetris can pull off a convincing win over Mega Man 2 tomorrow I'll feel a little better about taking this game so damn far.

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94/124 points - The Best. Game. Ever 2009 Contest
NP: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 | http://thengamer.com/guru/bracket.php?id=4

Jose's top 3 disappointing game performances of Round 1

1. Street Fighter II - I always get burned by Street Fighter in these contests (Taking Ryu behind Crono in the Div Finals last year immediately comes to mind) and this contest looks to continue that trend. I've got this game advancing a total of three times, and right now it doesn't even look like it takes second next round. Note to self for the next Character Battle: Don't count on anything Street Fighter to get the job done.

2. Resident Evil 4 - Not too shift blame too much, but I listened to Board 8 about this one and decided to take it farther (and doing better) than what I originally had it doing. And well, we saw how it barely beat Kingdom Hearts II. Should've went with my gut about this one but my love for this game really swayed me to the other side, oh well.

3. Super Mario Galaxy - Goddamn I just realized I have this game going to the Final 8. That's not going to happen. 'Nuff said. >_>

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94/124 points - The Best. Game. Ever 2009 Contest
NP: Fallout 3 > Halo 3 | http://thengamer.com/guru/bracket.php?id=4

I love how I ignored Kingdom Hearts 2's presence just because IGN gave it a 7.6/10.

Big whoops.

From: MarioSuperstar | #339
I haven't actually read a whole part of LinkSamus guy's posts.. are they.. good?

I'm too scared to.
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