GameFAQs Contests

1 measly point.....damn kids and not respecting the classics....

After seeing today, 2000 is going to rock 1990. Could be a doubling if it gets rough.

I had 87 at 63% and I was amazingly confused that people thought it would be closer. Then again I have 2002 in the semis.

2000 gets Perfect Dark, Diablo II, and Deus Ex in the match pic

book it

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Another premature reaction: this bodes really well for 2001, 2000, 1994, and obviously 1998.

This bodes poorly for both 1996 AND 1997 (I don't trust 97's Nintendo games). I'd lol so hard if 2000 got past both of those.

I took 2000 > 1996 on the strength of 2000 having more diversity in its depth. 2000 has FFIX, Majora's Mask, and Pokemon GSC, while 1996 has 2 different Marios.

LeonhartFour posted...

2000 gets Perfect Dark, Diablo II, and Deus Ex in the match pic

book it

how dare you

why isn't deus ex winning by more

eh, I think 97 has enough notable games to be fine. like it might not win but if it gets SOTN/007/MK64, it'll be fine from a depth perspective.

We still don't know for sure if Castlevania and Mega Man are having that big of an impact, or if it's just Metroid that's pushing Zelda's year so far ahead. We can't just say everything with more depth is automatically going to win. I still think two strong games can still be enough to win against a year with three or four.

Yeah I think 1990 is gonna need a runaway pic advantage to merely look respectable, and I doubt it'll get one. Both years are getting their big Nintendo and Square titles in the rotation. That's all 2000 needs.

FFIX is the throwback FF

which means FFIX fans are people who RESPECT THEIR ROOTS

FFI rSFFs FFIX

1990 wins

book it

I'm honestly more curious if 2010 > 2002 is possible if we are considering depth.

1995 creeping closer to 90%

I'm really not sure how I feel about 96 > 97 as my lone Guru upset.

Super Mario 64 is a hell of an anchor, and it has the second best game ever as its second, but SMRPG also being a Mario game kind of sucks right now. Then again, what else from the SNES would end up in the match pic?

Super Mario Bros vs The Legend of Zelda in a 1v1 NES throwdown tomorrow - who ya guys got

Gotta activate fanboy mode and go with Zelda after this performance.

1990's best arguments are simple. it's a more influential year -- Mario 3 and FF are big, and we're seeing that come to fruition with 87 right now -- and there's a real possibility that 2000 gets Diablo 2/Perfect Dark/Deus Ex. I'd be surprised if we saw Pokemon in a match pic and I think FF9 might be questionable too.

VeryInsane posted...

I'm honestly more curious if 2010 > 2002 is possible if we are considering depth.

2002 has plenty of depth and much stronger anchors.

I switched to 97 over 00 pretty late to kind of hedge my bets. I'm pretty nervous about 2000's whole trajectory.

_SecretSquirrel posted...

Then again, what else from the SNES would end up in the match pic?

I think Kirby Super Star and DKC3 are viable options, but you should hope for Mario RPG instead. Diversity or not, it's just way stronger than those other two.

ah shoot I picked 1985 in my bracket

already not looking good for me

DKC3 would be a disaster for 1996.

1990 looks totally screwed for sure seeing today's result, think that match would give a lot more of a gauge on what is going on with the anchor vs depth theory, there is a chance that 1985 could also just be getting SFF'ed hard that or no one gives a crap about 1985.

Maybe BOTW is still boosting Zelda in general? Though that been out for a while now, and sounds silly, I lean more towards no one giving a crap about 1985 if anything lol

Bolto4 posted...

I lean more towards no one giving a crap about 1985 if anything lol

ding ding ding ding

CaptainOfCrush posted...

_SecretSquirrel posted...

Then again, what else from the SNES would end up in the match pic?

I think Kirby Super Star and DKC3 are viable options, but you should hope for Mario RPG instead. Diversity or not, it's just way stronger than those other two.

I hadn't considered Kirby, so it might just happen. I can't imagine DKC3 getting in there, if DKC2 can't even get into the blurb for 1995.

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Super Mario Bros vs The Legend of Zelda in a 1v1 NES throwdown tomorrow - who ya guys got

Gotta activate fanboy mode and go with Zelda after this performance.

I probably would too thanks to Breath of the Wild. The NES is the one console you could really call the Mario-machine, but after an ass-whipping like this and a bif recent LiZ-release it's hard to give it the benefit of the doubt in a rematch.

Woo #2 on the leaderboard for once.

Sure it's a small contest but I'm taking it

Thanks to Luster for adding the missing updates to the database!

Wow at the beating 1987 is laying down. I didn't expect that.

I'm kinda excited to see 96 vs. 89. it feels obvious, but is it? like 95, 96 relies on basically one game unless we get Mario RPG in there too.

94-98 will be this year's equivalent of the noble 9

I dunno, RE1 isn't exactly a slouch and is a good secondary game (Though Mario RPG is better)

VeryInsane posted...

I dunno, RE1 isn't exactly a slouch and is a good secondary game (Though Mario RPG is better)

RE 1 definitely makes for a good third, and should at least be guaranteed a slot in the match picture.

MM2, Tetris and Dragon Warrior are all influential games. that could mean something. I kinda wonder if that's what's happening with 87 here - Mega Man and Castlevania might feel convincing even if they're relatively weak strengthwise here.

*votes*

Awww yeah 1987.

I'd sooner call this SFF than 1987 being a secret powerhouse. I also hope this means people are taking the whole year into account, like maybe SMB is your favourite game out of the bunch, but with Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania and Mega Man all on the other side you have to agree it was the better year.

As for next round, if 1995 can get some Nintendo support I feel it'll be safe.

I would think most nintendo fans would take CT over Zelda 1

just like how they're currently taking Zelda 1 over Mario 1

90% barrier has been broken.

Why did I lower my prediction after seeing the picture?

Heh, looks like my prediction of 1987 being the Majora's Mask of this contest is coming true. Feelin real good about the 1987 > 1995 upset.

BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

Heh, looks like my prediction of 1987 being the Majora's Mask of this contest is coming true. Feelin real good about the 1987 > 1995 upset.

what does that even mean

Team Rocket Elite posted...

Something I'm also wondering about is how much of 1985 vs 1987 is SFF? It's impossible to really say but when you have one Nintendo entry against an significantly stronger one, SFF might be on the table to make the win even bigger.

I've been simmering on a half-baked idea about whether or not our SFF will be seen more as chronologically-nearby SFF than what we're used to thinking about.

Like, spitballing here...games can and probably will SFF each other here, but I don't know if it will be as pronounced as having two years from the same generation facing each other if one's a clear favorite. I wouldn't expect 1985/2016 to has a disproportionate overlap, but 2001 against 2004? Relatively equal standing with some of its top games (MGS2/3, GTA3/SA, Halo 1/2), yet I wonder if 2001 could curbstomp 2004 in a way some more distant years couldn't. 2007 against 2009? There's an argument to be had there, and it ain't just because of Mario and CoD having the better reps. Sometimes you just know where some peaks in generations you care about are. Standard SFF can't be ignored here, but I'm trying to speak to something different and more specific.

Today's match could be an example of this same-generation SFF, but I don't really buy it yet. There's nothing else to justify this being a new kind of SFF yet and it's hard to imagine this contest giving us enough info to really build that case anyway.

1985 and 1987 are both very dependent on Nintendo games for most of their strength, so the theory of SFF sounds very plausible.

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Another premature reaction: this bodes really well for 2001, 2000, 1994, and obviously 1998.

This bodes poorly for both 1996 AND 1997 (I don't trust 97's Nintendo games). I'd lol so hard if 2000 got past both of those.

I'm more worried that 2000 will lose to 1990 than I am that it will beat 1996.

Am I the only one surprised that '85 is doing as well as it is? I figured this would be an 80-20 blowout with those line-ups of games, 4 classics against just SMB.

It does have Mario to anchor it on the year picture

I think people might be going too far on the "Diversity!!" train due to one result.

Plus my first instinct when I saw this was SFF. Not sure about that at all, but it's possible. And SFF might work differently here than in a 1v1 match - I don't think LoZ SFFs SMB directly, but maybe it's different when they are years instead.

HaRRicH posted...

Team Rocket Elite posted...

Something I'm also wondering about is how much of 1985 vs 1987 is SFF? It's impossible to really say but when you have one Nintendo entry against an significantly stronger one, SFF might be on the table to make the win even bigger.

I've been simmering on a half-baked idea about whether or not our SFF will be seen more as chronologically-nearby SFF than what we're used to thinking about.

Like, spitballing here...games can and probably will SFF each other here, but I don't know if it will be as pronounced as having two years from the same generation facing each other if one's a clear favorite. I wouldn't expect 1985/2016 to has a disproportionate overlap, but 2001 against 2004? Relatively equal standing with some of its top games (MGS2/3, GTA3/SA, Halo 1/2), yet I wonder if 2001 could curbstomp 2004 in a way some more distant years couldn't. 2007 against 2009? There's an argument to be had there, and it ain't just because of Mario and CoD having the better reps. Sometimes you just know where some peaks in generations you care about are. Standard SFF can't be ignored here, but I'm trying to speak to something different and more specific.

Today's match could be an example of this same-generation SFF, but I don't really buy it yet. There's nothing else to justify this being a new kind of SFF yet and it's hard to imagine this contest giving us enough info to really build that case anyway.

I too was thinking of generational SFF.

I wouldn't call it a "new kind" of SFF exactly. We know the first games contest was riddled with generational SFF, especially with the older games. Older years might work similarly, with generational SFF being worse. Who knows.

I'm just not willing to conclude much of anything from one match.

Yeah, we don't have enough data yet to make any definite conclusions. It's hard to tell what's happening here.

The closer to the 90s the stronger the year. 87/88/89 are strong years because that's when most of the users on gamefaqs were born. Once you get into the 90s that's when most of gamefaqs remember playing their first games. What's so hard to understand?

After thinking about it a little more thoroughly, I'm more hesitant to extend this result toward other matches. Today's match is unique in that it's being contested between five highly respected series that have put forth relatively un-loved games.

It sounds weird, but with the possible exception of LoZ, I don't think most voters personally love any of these games - they just respect the hell out of them and the series they birthed. If SMB is still stronger than LoZ individually, it's because it garners even more of that respect (because I sure as hell don't see many gamers putting SMB on their top games list).

It's very easy for me to picture a gamer thinking "well SMB is legendary, but so is LoZ, and look at all those other important games in 1987." *click*

It's easy to think that way when you don't have much of a personal connection to any of the games. But will the same hold true against a game that IS personally beloved, like Mario 64 or CT? That remains to be seen.

It's still too early to make any early prediction on 1995's trends in the 1995/1986 match, but I think a year like 1995 which is extremely dependent on a top anchor may have trends which closely mirrors the top anchor. Here, we might expect 1995 to have similar trends to Chrono Trigger.

LusterSoldier posted...

It's still too early to make any early prediction on 1995's trends in the 1995/1986 match, but I think a year like 1995 which is extremely dependent on a top anchor may have trends which closely mirrors the top anchor. Here, we might expect 1995 to have similar trends to Chrono Trigger.

The thought of Bubble Bobble or Balloon Fight gaining ground on the day vote against Chrono Trigger amuses me.

DKC2 is the GOAT.