GameFAQs Contests

Was it kinda strange to put Minecraft in 2009 in the first place? I don't know how much weight it holds on this website, but virtually no one knew about Minecraft in 2009, in gained huge popularity in 2010, and it was published in 2011. What year is it really?

Linkzcap posted...

Was it kinda strange to put Minecraft in 2009 in the first place? I don't know how much weight it holds on this website, but virtually no one knew about Minecraft in 2009, in gained huge popularity in 2010, and it was published in 2011. What year is it really?

The North American release dates are how games are put into years for this contest. Even though it didn't pick up traction til later it still has to be put in 2009.

I can't believe Minecraft is that old 0_o

Oh neat, I'm on the leaderboard. Guess we'll see how long that lasts!

I am also taking 2004 over 1994. I know this is an upset pick but we shall see on this one.

1994 has two killers: Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI. Then solid backup in Mega Man X and Donkey Kong Country. Then it fizzles.

2004 has Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metroid Prime 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Halo 2, Metroid Zero Mission, World of Warcraft, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, Far Cry, KotOR 2, and more. It is the deeper year by far, even if no one game there would beat SM or FFVI. That should help it.

02 and 04 are fun upset picks, especially 02. 04 is a banner year for video games but they're largely games that this site doesn't have a big affinity for. San Andreas and World of Warcraft and Halo 2 --those games just don't move the needle here. Super Metroid should top HL2 and FF6 beats MGS3.

now 02 -- it might have the #2-4 games of the year and KH might not be far behind Mario World. we'll see.

nope!

Lightning Strikes posted...

I am also taking 2004 over 1994. I know this is an upset pick but we shall see on this one.

1994 has two killers: Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI. Then solid backup in Mega Man X and Donkey Kong Country. Then it fizzles.

2004 has Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metroid Prime 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Halo 2, Metroid Zero Mission, World of Warcraft, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, Far Cry, KotOR 2, and more. It is the deeper year by far, even if no one game there would beat SM or FFVI. That should help it.

Go home - You're drunk!

I quoted the wrong person. Lightning is drunk with madness - not tran.

Lightning Strikes posted...

2004 has Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metroid Prime 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Halo 2, Metroid Zero Mission, World of Warcraft, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, Far Cry, KotOR 2, and more. It is the deeper year by far, even if no one game there would beat SM or FFVI. That should help it.

if you're going to name stuff like Far Cry and KotOR2 in 2004's favor, 1994 goes a lot deeper than the four you named

But three of those 1994 games would beat anything from 2004, and I think that's hard to overcome.

Lightning Strikes posted...

I am also taking 2004 over 1994. I know this is an upset pick but we shall see on this one.

1994 has two killers: Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI. Then solid backup in Mega Man X and Donkey Kong Country. Then it fizzles.

2004 has Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Metroid Prime 2, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Halo 2, Metroid Zero Mission, World of Warcraft, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, Far Cry, KotOR 2, and more. It is the deeper year by far, even if no one game there would beat SM or FFVI. That should help it.

Ya, but the top 4 of 1994 would beat every other game in 2004. This seems like a no-brainer to me

Am I the only one voting for 1994 specifically because of Donkey Kong Country?

Playing that series on the SNES is one of my fondest gaming memories from my childhood.

what are the four games that beat MGS3? MMX and Sonic 3?

The problem with 2004 is a lot of its releases are games/characters that do s*** in these contests. Half Life and WoW always disappoint in these things. KotoR isn't particularly strong also. MGS3 is strong i guess, even if 1/2 were better heh heh.

Fall 2004 was a solid time in gaming though.

Yeah, Fall 2004 was an excellent time for gaming, even on GameFAQs though it has aged a bit.

It's still one of stronger years post-90s. 2000 and 2001 obviously defeat it while 2006 and 2008 will be the favourite, but it can handle its own.

Remember when SOTC beat MGS3? I think that's when MGS other than MGS1 died on this site.

GranzonEx posted...

Remember when SOTC beat MGS3? I think that's when MGS other than MGS1 died on this site.

MGS3 was actually the game that beat SotC in 2010 after SotC beat MGS2 and MGS4. Then in 2015 MGS1 beat SotC worse before losing to MGS3.

LeonhartFour posted...

if you're going to name stuff like Far Cry and KotOR2 in 2004's favor, 1994 goes a lot deeper than the four you named

But three of those 1994 games would beat anything from 2004, and I think that's hard to overcome.

That's the thing. 2004 has the "big" three as well.

Many consider HL2 to be the best FPS of all time.
Many consider WoW to be the best MMO of all time.
Many consider MGS3 to be the best stealth game of all time.
And while not as popular, Ninja Gaiden is the best action game for many gamers who are hardcore into hack 'n slash.

Now besides the big 3 vs. big 3, 2004's line-up craps all over 1994. In my opinion, 2004 is probably the third best year of gaming. First two, 98 and 2001. I look at it as the last year we saw a huge line-up of revolutionary and AAA games. Gaming went downhill afterwards with sequels and rehashes.

But I know that even with less users today, this website is still biased towards FF and Nintendo. So fanboyism will win over general facts...

2004's games aren't particularly strong GameFAQs games, but I wonder if it'll benefit from being recognized as a huge year outside of here. I wouldn't want to gamble on it, especially against 1994, but fall 2004 had a massive holiday season and some all-time legendary games came out for it. With MSG3 as a legit anchor and having WoW, Half-Life 2, and GTA:SA/Halo 2 alongside them (or ToS if you want to diversify)...that'll be recognized as a big year to anybody who knows games. There could be a respect for 2004 that's larger than the sum of its parts.

It would have been nice to see it face a year a little weaker than 1994.

2004 is a massive influence/respect year yeah. we might see it as a negative though. 2004 is where we shifted from Japanese games dominating the market to western games and we don't like that here.

2004 is easily the most shafted year in this contest. 1994 is a really strong year, and 2004 is only a bit weaker. But the games that were amazing in 2004 arent gfaqs contest winning games so whatever.

Not sure why people think 2006 will be that strong. Oblivion is meh, and Twilight Princess was the first Zelda game that was not super hyped for. Gaming started to shift in that time period (see my sig), and I think 2004 would beat every 2000s year expect 2000 and 2001, and maybe 2007. Those 3 years area easily the strongest of the 00s.

Metal_DK posted...

Twilight Princess was the first Zelda game that was not super hyped for.

Hold your Eponas here. That game was through the roof-hyped.

AxemRedRanger posted...

GranzonEx posted...

Remember when SOTC beat MGS3? I think that's when MGS other than MGS1 died on this site.

MGS3 was actually the game that beat SotC in 2010 after SotC beat MGS2 and MGS4. Then in 2015 MGS1 beat SotC worse before losing to MGS3.

I must be remembering wrong then. I just know there was a contest where MGS series got destroyed and I never bet on them again.

Yeah, TP was super hyped, just look at how E3 reacted to its reveal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE2Dc1sx71U

https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/4178-west-division-round-3-metal-gear-solid-4-vs-shadow-of-the
https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/4160-west-division-round-2-metal-gear-solid-2-vs-shadow-of-the
https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6174-best-game-ever-day-38-quarterfinal-super-mario-rpg-vs-metal

I got those mixed up

and I can't believe this happened

https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/6170-best-game-ever-day-36-division-viii-final-metal-gear-solid

GotD was still a decent contest for MGS. It looked absolute garbage in the 2015 contest.

Metal_DK posted...

Not sure why people think 2006 will be that strong. Oblivion is meh, and Twilight Princess was the first Zelda game that was not super hyped for. Gaming started to shift in that time period (see my sig), and I think 2004 would beat every 2000s year expect 2000 and 2001, and maybe 2007. Those 3 years area easily the strongest of the 00s.

Twilight Princess not being super hyped is blatantly false, in fact it was one of the most hyped games ever. Also despite losing in the first round Oblivion has decent strength, it can likely take on Half-Life 2. Through in Kingdom Hearts II being equal to MGS3 and Twilight Princess being stronger than everything it's hard to think 2006 wouldn't be the favourite, especially if you think 2007 can take on 2004.

FlyingForever posted...

Am I the only one voting for 1994 specifically because of Donkey Kong Country?

Playing that series on the SNES is one of my fondest gaming memories from my childhood.

We have all gone through that before.

Thinking DKC has strength in this site because we played it.

Half-Life 2 is an interesting one. I think people forget how great it looked in GotD, narrowly losing to Metroid Prime which has challenged two monsters in Fallout 3 and Skyrim. GotD Half-Life 2 would have no problem with MGS3 or MMX. It would certainly beat Donkey Kong Country, even today. But then it collapsed in the 2015 contest. Gordon Freeman himself has also been weakening. I think we can agree that this is likely a result of Valve just totally ignoring the series and it descending into meme.

However, I wonder if its status as a hugely important game in 2004 will give it a boost in recognition. Maybe when people are thinking about 2004 they will remember what that game was at the time.

spooky96 posted...

GotD was still a decent contest for MGS. It looked absolute garbage in the 2015 contest.

Actually in hindsight outside of MGS4 the series did as expected. SotC caused MGS2 to be overrated and even then it still did well.

I don't think I've ever seen more hype for a game as TP had. Including from myself.

Part of the game's less than stellar reception was because of that hype. People were expecting it to revolutionize 3D gaming as we knew it, when instead it was just Ocarina on HD. They wanted it give them the feeling that Ocarina once did, but you can't repeat that by copying Ocarina.

They'd have to wait 11 years for that revolution...

Actually maybe so. I was dumb enough to not even bother to see how strong Super Mario RPG is and just picked it to lose to MGS1. I also remember picking MGS3 without thinking much but the board was heavily favoring MGS1 against Snake Eater.

Ah well, that division really ended up costing me the Guru title (thanks charmander for reminding that >_> )

TP was so ridiculously hyped that people lost their minds when 8.8 happened. The fans could not fathom the game being anything less than a 10/10

To be fair only one guru had SMRPG in the semis (Kenri) most people expected it to lose to Resident Evil 4.

I could have been that second guru had I bothered to submit a bracket. =(

I think SMRPG might be the best prediction I've ever made.

Yeah I don't remember it that well but SMRPG in the semis was probably really surprising.

charmander6000 posted...

To be fair only one guru had SMRPG in the semis (Kenri) most people expected it to lose to Resident Evil 4.

This is still one of my proudest calls. Too bad the rest of my bracket was kinda garbage lmao

Twilight Princess was hyped when it came out, but I feel like the hype has died down, and I'd probably pick Wind Waker to beat it in a contest match.

I've got 2011 winning that matchup, due to the double whammy of Skyrim/Dark Souls. Considering the "respect" factor looks like it's taking hold this contest, those two might get a boost compared to Twilight Princess and KHII, which were two games that wound up being just "another one in the series."

None of the souls game REALLY stand out in that regard. They released so many that every entry feels like 'just another in the series.'

And no, TP beats WW.

TP/WW will probably be close, making them equal would give Super Mario 64 a 53.37% win over Final Fantasy VI. I'd take Super Mario 64 to do a little bit better, but not by too much.

I can see DSII, III, and Bloodborne not being huge, but while Demon's Souls came first, Dark Souls was where that series took off. It'd be the strongest without a doubt.

As for Twilight Princess, it's looked stronger than Wind Waker in the past, but these days, I'm not so sure. It's just my gut talking, but Wind Waker HD had a huge splash, while Twilight Princess HD just came and went with no fanfare. Plus, with BotW favoring the more brightly-colored art style, people might be more receptive to WW these days.

Might just be my imagination, but voting numbers seem to be up a bit today on previous matches (with about 300 extra votes in the first match than the second). That is the Melee match too - guessing someone may have tried starting a rally (despite the match not being even slightly close)?

It could be due to 2001 being a better vote draw.

2006/1981 had 589 more votes than 2005/1978, though the other two contest days had their matches quite even.

I'm somewhat hoping that when voters are gonna see 1990 and 2000 to represent the 90s and 00s, and will vote 1990 with the entire mindset of 90s > 00s.

Hyped was the wrong word. Underwhelming would of been a better choice. Which it was. But ya i should not of used hyped, which it was plenty hyped due to looking "more adult/mature"

TP is not extremely fondly remembered though. I dont see it holding up in this contest tbh.

CaptainOfCrush posted...

I could have been that second guru had I bothered to submit a bracket. =(

I think SMRPG might be the best prediction I've ever made.

oh hey this is a fun game

My best prediction might have been Ryu to the quarterfinals in 2007. Most people had Bowser or Auron instead.

I have 15 years of failed predictions to my name

I think I enjoyed Sub-Zero over Master Chief the most. during the contest, I nailed L-Block's path outside of the semifinal which made zero sense. that was fun.

Metal_DK posted...

Hyped was the wrong word. Underwhelming would of been a better choice. Which it was. But ya i should not of used hyped, which it was plenty hyped due to looking "more adult/mature"

TP is not extremely fondly remembered though. I dont see it holding up in this contest tbh.

You act like we've never seen TP in action before. We already know it's a pretty strong game on this site. It's a bit weaker than MM and probably above WW in strength. That's not bad at all.

Sub-Zero only having 20% of the brackets to beat Master Chief is still one of the most befuddling prediction percentages I've ever seen.

also failed predictions would be much easier for me, especially the original Games Contest, where I made my first bracket

Tetris > LoZ
Kingdom Hearts > Metroid Prime in the Sweet Sixteen
Mario 3 winning the whole thing.

I took Bowser over Sora when the board was heavily favoring the keyblade weilder.

MGS3 over MGS1 is another one and its my favorite contest result.