GameFAQs Contests

It feels like it has been forever since the last contest.

I have to admit that I don't really get as excited these days, but I still think it will be cool.

Also, it's the only reason I ever come back here anymore hehe.

Do we only have a contest every 2 years now? Is that the new norm? Why?

transience posted...

you can use that same logic for 1990, you know!

You definitely can, but I think 90 is a much weaker year than 96. Even with a picture disadvantage, I think 2000 should pull through.

Final thoughts as the bracket closes:

- My biggest upset right now is 1987 > 1995. I feel like people are going to put more weight on historically important games this year, and that should help LoZ edge out 1995
- 1997/2001 is giving me fits. I've gone back and forth on this a couple of times, but I am liking 1997 for historical significance vs most people who seem to be relying on a Melee rally
- I still don't feel that console launches will be a factor. People associate more with games, and consoles are meaningless without their games

what's the #2 game in 96?

edit: wait, Mario RPG. what's the best non-Mario game?

Well, you can wager on recent precedent with 2001, as FFVII and its entrants have lost matches they shouldn't have going back at least 3-4 straight contests.

2015 - Melee
2013 - Cloud lost to Squirtle (I think there were other bad losses as well)
2011 - Cloud/Seph lost to Pokemon Trainers (match was just a bonus, but it still didn't look good)
2010 - Sephiroth lost to Snake (Cloud did beat Snake, but the 1v1 win against Seph was already an upset)
2009 - Lost to OoT

transience posted...

what's the #2 game in 96?

edit: wait, Mario RPG. what's the best non-Mario game?

Resident Evil

Resident Evil, Kirby Super Star, Duke Nukem 3D, Mega Man X3, Crash Bandicoot

1996 is extremely weak outside of the two Mario games. If I knew for a fact that users were making match pics in R2, I might take 2000 as my last minute switch.

yeah. 1996 has a weird amount of support for
being such a one trick pony.

96/2000 seems like a no-brainer to me. This is the Majora's Mask/GSC of this contest, fittingly enough.

swirIdude posted...

We have to submit our brackets without the match pics, which are going to be critical in determining who wins. Thanks, Allen.

Well, this isn't an issue for the wildcard matches because those are never going to be in question as to who wins those. Allen only uploads one day of match pictures at a time, with the exception of uploading the match pictures for Saturday/Sunday/Monday on Friday when Allen takes a break from GameFAQs for the weekend.

Well, 64 might be the strongest Mario game, and people still remember what Mario RPG did last contest. The support is garbage but at least its photogenic - it would look good to throw Kirby, Jill, Duke, or even Crash in a picture around Mario.

My biggest concern with 96 is that it's the only year (I think) where the top games feature the same starring character. 64 and RPG are not part of the same series, but they're both Mario, and I'm not sure how much overlap - if any - something like that would have.

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Well, 64 might be the strongest Mario game, and people still remember what Mario RPG did last contest. The support is garbage but at least its photogenic - it would look good to throw Kirby, Jill, Duke, or even Crash in a picture around Mario.

My biggest concern with 96 is that it's the only year (I think) where the top games feature the same starring character. 64 and RPG are not part of the same series, but they're both Mario, and I'm not sure how much overlap - if any - something like that would have.

Interesting point, I tried to come up with a good explanation for how SFF would factor in this contest, and erred on the side of 'like it does in a standard contest'. 2000 wins this match purely on the variety of games that came out that year. You have both Zelda and Final Fantasy, as well as Diablo 2 and Deus Ex for the PC fans (limited as they are)

CaptainOfCrush posted...

My biggest concern with 96 is that it's the only year (I think) where the top games feature the same starring character. 64 and RPG are not part of the same series, but they're both Mario, and I'm not sure how much overlap - if any - something like that would have.

Yeah in a vacuum 1996 would have the best one-two punch outside of 1994, 1998 and maybe 2001, but the overlap really dampens the pair. It's still a strong pair, but it definitely leaves them vulnerable.

Mario RPG is unlikely to get in a picture that has Mario 64 in it. I'd sooner expect Tomb Raider or RE.

If SBAllen keeps with the same format as the 80s vote-in I expect both games to be featured.

To its credit, 2000 has an amazing triple threat in Majora, FFIX, and Pokemon, but there's a hilarious chance that NONE of them make the match pic if SB is calling the shots.

Maybe if we can see the first R1 match pics before the brackets lock down, it might shed some light on this silliness.

right. the 90/00/96 trio is a killer because you just don't know what the match is.

90 - Mario 3, Final Fantasy
96 - Mario 64, Resident Evil
00 - Diablo 2, Perfect Dark

what wins here?

90 - Mario 3, Final Fantasy
96 - Mario 64, Mario RPG
00 - Majora's Mask, Diablo 2

or here?

90 - Mario 3, Final Fantasy
96 - Mario 64, Tomb Raider
00 - Final Fantasy IX, Deus Ex

or here?

you just don't know.

taking that one step further:

91 - Mario World, Sonic 1
94 - Super Metroid, FF6

here, 91 has a sense of time and place.

91 - Mario World, FF4
94 - Super Metroid, FF6

this is probably a stronger pairing but I bet it's weaker in this setting.

weird contest is weird

I think it all depends on whether Majora is in the picture or not. Majora is a legit top 10 game, and Zelda stock is at an all time high with BotW being a hit.

transience posted...

taking that one step further:

91 - Mario World, Sonic 1
94 - Super Metroid, FF6

here, 91 has a sense of time and place.

91 - Mario World, FF4
94 - Super Metroid, FF6

this is probably a stronger pairing but I bet it's weaker in this setting.

weird contest is weird

Ehh, 1991 is probably the second or third strongest year in the bracket, with SWM/Sonic/FF4/SF2 and the SNES. If 1991 was on the top half of the bracket, it would be in the finals

I'm kinda glad that 1991 and 1992 are fed to 1998.

spooky96 posted...

I'm kinda glad that 1991 and 1992 are fed to 1998.

I'm really disappointed 1993 got fed to 1998, I have a feeling that Doom could have done some damage with better placement

I always felt 1991/1994 will be decided on how much SFF occurs between Super Mario World/Super Metroid, Final Fantasy IV/Final Fantasy VI and Sonic 1/Sonic 3.

if it is, 94 should take it. FF6 is the biggest trump card there.

I'm backing 1994 but don't feel good about it

Donkey Kong country and MMX can compete with any 1991 game not named SMW

transcience posted...

if it is, 94 should take it. FF6 is the biggest trump card there.

It doesn't trump SMW and the SNES itself

I wish I had something to contribute but I honestly have no clue what we're about to experience

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Well, you can wager on recent precedent with 2001, as FFVII and its entrants have lost matches they shouldn't have going back at least 3-4 straight contests.

2015 - Melee

Eh, I don't hold that one against FFVII. It was clearly superior to Melee without a rally and would've won easily, and it has no rally base whatsoever to draw from (which is basically what you're betting on with 2001 if you want a dark horse, but still).

LeonhartFour posted...

I wish I had something to contribute but I honestly have no clue what we're about to experience

yeah, that's kind of the point. I think folks who are thinking this contest has relatively few permutations are way way off. we could see 85 beat 87 like 70/30 and then lose 70/30 to 95 and I still wouldn't say that 95 would for sure beat 87. it's all the luck of the draw here.

I think the contest will rapidly become more predictable as we progress through the first round and we figure out how people are voting. We just don't have all the necessary information yet. 1985/1987 and 1990/2000 will tell us a lot about how this thing will play out.

LeonhartFour posted...

I wish I had something to contribute but I honestly have no clue what we're about to experience

Four blowouts.

Oh you mean after that? Beats me.

I think I'd back 2000 if I knew it could get through round 1. by then we'll be making pictures and I'm sure we'll load up on the top 2-3 games.

I think taking 96 to win the fourpack is the worst option? I don't know what the consensus is but it's not that.

I think 96 is actually the board favorite.

yeah I expect it to be 96 > 00 >> 90. 96 is an easier pick because it's guaranteed to be there.

I go against a lot of board consensus this year -- though I don't think anyone really knows what they are doing. I worry about herding in a contest where we don't even know the voting criteria.

like.. remember how everyone picked Persona 3 over DQ8 even though most people thought it was a tossup? that kind of thing is what gets me. I bet there's at least one result that's a huge upset, like 2013 over 2003 or something, where we all just kinda went along for the ride and got burned.

transience posted...

Mario RPG is unlikely to get in a picture that has Mario 64 in it. I'd sooner expect Tomb Raider or RE.

Mario gets TJF, watch out.



I'm taking 2000 > 1996, but you guys are looking at a potential strength like a likely negative. SM64 and SMRPG are a huge concentrated one-two attack for Nintendo voters. LoZ:MM and Pokemon GSC are also huge as well as varied counters and the rest of 2000 beats the rest of 1996, but if you're looking at it just as...

SM64/SMRPG versus LoZ:MM/Pokemon GSC

...one of the theories I took from the Rivalry Rumble and Series Contest was that unity matters. I could see Mario-fans falling in line pretty easily for his biggest platformer and biggest RPG side-by-side, and Mario-fans are one of the biggest blocks here. LoZ and Pokemon are top-tier series too, but does that division within Nintendo actually help 2000 here? With two games that aren't the biggest of their series? While 1996 also features the launch of the Nintendo 64?

Just saying, 2000's my bet since it's got a lot of great variation, but 1996 could sap the Nintendo block enough to really have a chance.

I just now managed to figure out the URLs for the first match pictures of this contest.

https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/r1/1979.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/r1/2009.jpg

https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/r1/1983.jpg
https://gamefaqs.akamaized.net/images/byg/r1/1989.jpg

I didn't think the match pictures would use "r1" in the URL to refer to the wildcard round. Initially, I thought the URLs would have something like "wildcard" or "wc" instead of "r1" for the wildcard round match pictures.

Those were the only matches to have their match pictures uploaded. 1981/2006 and 1978/2005 were not uploaded, so I'm assuming 2 matches per day in the Wildcard Round.

transience posted...

I go against a lot of board consensus this year

I haven't been paying attention to the numbers, but I feel like I'm going against the favorites a lot until the final four.

Oh man, mouse cursor and slice of mushroom doesn't stand a chance.

2009 doesn't even get the GOTY in the match pic lawl

Also, five games represented gives 1987 and 2000 huge edges because they'll get the representation they need.

How do those pictures even fit on the front page? Does SBAllen plan to have them scroll or something?

It's four games, with one of them getting an additional nod at the top of the pic.

LeonhartFour posted...

Also, five games represented gives 1987 and 2000 huge edges because they'll get the representation they need.

Yup, I'm off the 1990 bandwagon with this development. There's no way Majora doesn't make the match picture now.

I'm going to be stubborn and stick to my guns!

These match pics make me second guess 2013 vs. 2003.

They make me second guess 1983 vs 1989

BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

They make me second guess 1983 vs 1989

what

go uh

1999?