GameFAQs Contests

Doom II was pivotal... As was Tekken. It's already SNES overload, so I'd add Doom, Warcraft, and Tekken.

Shining Force II should be on there. rated the same as Super Metroid on this site. second highest Genesis game after Phantasy Star IV.

Shining Force 2 is amazing, just as good as the fire emblems

I've never really doubted Allen's claims that the individual page hits are up, so I think there is potential for votals to grow again. The problem is that these people coming from Google and the like are going directly to the FAQS. The only reason for gamefaqs.com to be the first stop in your site navigation is if you feel you are part of the "community" so to speak, and the main page is your home. At this point, this has completely withered up.

I know that there are a lot of structural Internet-wide reasons why this has happened, but I still think it could be partly reversed if the board archiving was modified. Yes, archiving the boards stopped a great deal of repetitive topics/messages on them, but those short conversations on the game boards were the feeders into the greater GameFAQS community. If you can search for all the Aeris/Tifa topics on the FFVII board and read what people have been saying for the past 10 years, you are less likely to create an account and join the community in order to provide a viewpoint of your own, especially if you can't post in any of these topics. Now that's not to say that things have to go back to the way they were pre-2008, but I think some kind of hybrid system (maybe topics over a certain number of posts don't purge, but don't archive either, and stay open indefinitely) would be helpful.

The original Warcraft would be bottom-tier fodder garbage. Outside of the name the game is worthless. I do not think that you could justify it above Doom 2 or Tekken.

If you're looking for a PC game, I could see X-COM: UFO Defense, System Shock, or Star Wars: Tie Fighter as all being stronger than Warcraft.

XCOM might actually not be that weak!

abdou posted...

Allen has repeatedly claimed that GameFAQs is more popular than ever in term of unique visitors each months, it's just that people don't visit the homepage and don't care about the poll anymore.

I wouldn't say it's because people don't care about the poll anymore. The biggest reason our vote totals have collapsed is because most new visitors don't visit the homepage since they bypass the homepage from a Google search result. At least 90% of the collapse came from the growing use of Google to find specific content on the site and bypassing the homepage at the same time.

Even if there is less interest in the poll these days, it wouldn't come close to explaining the large drop in vote totals.

A big yellow flashing banner would help attract new voters. Don't understand why it's not done all contest long

foxhead84 posted...

A big yellow flashing banner would help attract new voters. Don't understand why it's not done all contest long

The admin is worthless.

foxhead84 posted...

A big yellow flashing banner would help attract new voters. Don't understand why it's not done all contest long

Probably would be too distracting to people visiting the site for the first time. A blue site alert is also a viable option instead of running a yellow site alert. The blue site alert wouldn't be as distracting compared to the yellow site alert.

We actually had site alerts promoting the final 4 matches of the 2013 contest, but they had no effect on vote totals because the FAQ pages had a site header that made it impossible to display the site alert. For the 2015 contest, Allen chose not to use site alerts to promote the late round matches, probably because it wouldn't have done anything to stop Undertale.

I didnt even know there was a contest and Ive been here for like a decade

I didn't know there was a contest and I'm currently winning it!

So...what are we expecting in 1995/2001 next round, percentages-wise, assuming the pics are "balanced?"

probably 58/42, maybe 60/40

LeonhartFour posted...

So...what are we expecting in 1995/2001 next round, percentages-wise, assuming the pics are "balanced?"

I still think 95 wins if it has the Cover of Chrono Trigger in prominence, and it's other excellent games actually showing up..

what "excellent" games is 1995 going to produce between now and next week

I don't even buy that 1995 is stronger than 2008. Could very well be a doubling.

60/40 in favor of 1995!!!!

LeonhartFour posted...

what "excellent" games is 1995 going to produce between now and next week

It's more that they are hidden.

where are they hidden

2001 should absolutely batter 95.Even though i have 95 winning today i still think 87 should be winning.

Yoshi's Island and Earthbound got huge boosts, yup, absolutely huge boosts.

Alternately, CT will now be getting 67%+ against FFX and Melee individually and will be getting 50% against them in a 3-way.

60/40 sounds right

It's crazy how much notable stuff from 2001 gets snubbed even if you run 8 pics deep

A-Team
Melee
FFX
Halo
GTAIII

B-Team
MGS2
Paper Mario
Devil May Cry
Sonic Adventure 2

C-Team
Silent Hill 2
Pikmin
Ico
Max Payne

D-Team
Star Wars: Rogue Leader
Gran Turismo 3
Twisted Metal: Black
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon


And I'm sure I missed a lot (like all three system launches!).

LeonhartFour posted...

where are they hidden

The fact they aren't shown in today's match picture. If we get up to 8 games in the Round 3 match pictures, that helps 1995 by allowing Earthbound, DKC2, and Yoshi's Island appear in the match picture. The PS1 could also appear too.

LeonhartFour posted...

where are they hidden

They don't appear on the banner...


(Whichnhopefully wont be scrolling next round as well.

God that's dumb. Just show all 8 games.

Why are you such a failure at everything SB?

MGS2 is a step above several games in the A-team, but I don't know if it would have as much of a 'this year was important' factor as stuff like Halo or GTA3.

Agreed, I think MGS2 is probably the #3 game as far as individual strength goes, but Halo/GTA are just more associated with that period as an iconic time in gaming (crazy to think about when considering how hyped MGS2 was before launch).

Honestly, Paper Mario is probably up there as well, but it gets lost in the storm.

*sighs*

don't make me explain the joke guys

Was Paper Mario the last great N64 game?

The only other major title I can think of after it was Pokémon Stadium 2. And that may even be before it.

I'll be gone for the weekend so I'm going to post my analyses now.

Match XXIII – Round 2 – 1997 vs. 2007

Previous Results

1997
Round 1: Defeated 1999, 77.25% - 22.75%

2007
Round 1: Defeated 2012, 76.56% - 23.44%

Analysis

Both years scored big victories last round with 1997 possibly picking up SFF against 1999 and 2007 beating down the weakest year outside of the 70s and 80s. This match will give us a better idea as to where 1997 stands and whether or not it has a chance of making the finals.

While a lot of people have been focussing on Final Fantasy VII I feel they haven’t taken its depth into a large amount of consideration. Both Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and GoldenEye 007 would be able to handle anything from 2007 and in most years ignoring the anchor. Yes, depth matters more than a strong anchor, but 1997 takes the best of both worlds.

Without a true anchor the best 2007 can hope for is a respectable performance and I think it will get it. The first round may have seen a lot of huge blowouts, but now that the weak years have been weeded out we are now seeing regular easy wins.

charmander6000’s Bracket: 1997 > 2007

charmander6000’s Prediction: 1997 wins, 67.23% - 32.77%

Match XXIV – Round 2 – 2000 vs. 1996

Previous Results

2000
Round 1: Defeated 1990, 65.30% - 34.70%

1996
Round 1: Defeated 1989, 83.69% - 16.31%

Analysis

As a person whom backed the guru underdog in my bracket I do feel pretty good about the performance by 2000 last round. With that said 1996 should easily outperform what 1990 did. Super Mario Bros. 3 was essentially going solo in that match given Final Fantasy was SFF’d by Final Fantasy IX. 1996 on the other hand has Super Mario 64 which is at around the same strength as Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario RPG and Resident Evil.

The match could go either way in my eyes and it will depend on a few things. The major question going into the match is how will Super Mario 64/Majora’s Mask play out. Super Mario 64 likely wins in an indirect close match, but could there be SFF? We saw Ocarina of Time utterly destroy Super Mario 64 in 2004 so there is precedence of a large overlap, but that was 13 years ago. Typically it is hard to SFF Zelda, but if Super Mario 64 can pull it off the match is likely over.

The other question is how many new voters Super Mario RPG would bring to 1996. I’d imagine Super Mario 64 already brings in most of the Mario fans, but Super Mario RPG could bring in some SNES fans. This match could also be a way to test the allegiance of Super Mario RPG’s Square fans. Would they abandon ship when a Final Fantasy title shows up?

I was disappointed that Pokemon Gold/Silver failed to make the picture in the first round and it looks like it will miss it again along with Diablo II. In a fair match I feel 2000 will win, though all is not lost. It’s a shame that I will miss the entire match considering my guru existence will rely on the results here.

charmander6000’s Bracket: 2000 > 1996

charmander6000’s Prediction: 2000 wins, 51.72% - 48.28%

Golden sun already beat one GTA game, it probably beats III and halo as we'll.

Match XXV – Round 2 – 1991 vs. 2002

Previous Results

1991
Round 1: Defeated 1988, 87.54% - 12.46%

2002
Round 1: Defeated 2010, 70.37% - 29.63%

Analysis

Last round both years scored an impressive victory; 1991 likely picked up some SFF against 1988 while 2002 clearly dominated 2010. On paper 1991 should win, but I feel 2002 will look impressive in its defeat. While it’s no 2001 the year does have some decent strength and some pretty good depth. Metroid Prime and Kingdom Hearts likely defeats everything outside of Super Mario World while Vice City and Warcraft III can hang around Sonic 1 and Street Fighter II.

SFF and LFF may play a role in this match. If Metroid Prime can avoid SFF while Kingdom Hearts SFFs Final Fantasy IV we could get an interesting match. I’m not exactly confident that scenario will play out, Final Fantasy IV and Kingdom Hearts don’t have as much in common relative to Final Fantasys VII – X where characters from those games actually appeared in Kingdom Hearts. They also don’t overlap in the match picture.

After the first round the board felt 1991 is now the favourite in third round against 1994 due to 1994’s performance. This will likely give us some insight about 1991’s strength and whether that favourite status is warranted. I feel 2002 will have a great chance at breaking 40%. I would probably take 2002 over 2004 in a close match so if 1991 can outdo that percentage I would consider it the favourite next round.

charmander6000’s Bracket: 1991 > 2002

charmander6000’s Prediction: 1991 wins, 57.32% - 42.68%

Match XXVI – Round 2 – 1994 vs. 2011

Previous Results

1994
Round 1: Defeated 2004, 58.69% - 41.31%

2011
Round 1: Defeated 2006, 54.86% - 45.14%

Analysis

I still maintain the belief that 2006 would have defeated 2011 if it got a better picture, but alas we are here. Regardless as to which year made it here 1994 should have no problem winning. The year did underperform to our expectation last round, but to be fair 2004 was a pretty good year in gaming and it did cause quite a few people to whine about the results.

Both Final Fantasy VI and Super Metroid should be able to handle Skyrim while Mega Man X and Sonic and Knuckles are great depth games. 2011 does have some pretty good depth as well, but it’s hard to compete with a year like 1994. The bigger question is whether or not 2011 would defeat 2004 in a match and honestly that has made me paused.

On one hand Skyrim likely defeats everything in that match, but 2004 has some pretty good depth and it’s not like Skyrim would crush Metal Gear Solid 3 or even Half-Life 2. I guess it would boil down to however strong you think Skyward Sword is. I’m going to go with 2011 having a worse performance relative to 2004, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the reverse happened.

charmander6000’s Bracket: 1994 > 2006

charmander6000’s Prediction: 1994 wins, 62.12% - 37.88%

For reference:

Melee - 36.72
FFX - 34.48
MGS2 - 28.86813516
Paper Mario - 26.36699382
GTAIII - 23.28998379~ (no 2015 results, this is an estimate)
Silent Hill 2 - 21.95927204
Devil May Cry - 21.18999131~ (no 2015 results, this is an estimate)
Sonic Adventure 2 - 20.931035 ~(no 2015 results, this is an estimate)
Halo - 18.643524

I had to double-check Halo's results to make sure it was accurate. It got destroyed in 2015 - that series has really fallen. Maybe MGS2 actually would be better than it in the pics.

windows xp also came out in 2001. arguably more important for gaming than the xbox or gamecube.

Bhaas1107 posted...

Was Paper Mario the last great N64 game?

The only other major title I can think of after it was Pokémon Stadium 2. And that may even be before it.

Stadium 2 was indeed after Paper Mario

FFVII will destroy anything that's not Nintendo. That's the only time it behaves like its old self.

There was also Conker

LeonhartFour posted...

FFVII will destroy anything that's not Nintendo. That's the only time it behaves like its old self.

Yeah. Letting Minecraft get 43% on it without any hint of a rally was pretty bad too, though.

Halo 3 also performed like ass.

Well, Halo has fallen off because the Xbox has lost favor since the XBone came out, so it's probably weaker now than it's been since the pre-360 days. Halo and Master Chief are very intricately tied to how popular the Xbox here is at any given time.

Putting a lot of faith in 2002, charmander. I think it's good but not quite 2004 good.

Also, I knew I forgot something big:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Honestly, this was important and popular enough at the time to make the A Team, GameFAQs strength be damned.

Also Luigi's Mansion and Jak & Daxter

Did I mention 2001 WAS A GOOD TIME FOR GAMES?

Conker's Bad Fur Day was also just after Paper Mario though whether it was great is debatable.

Man. I had so much fun with Luigi's Mansion at launch. I could never go back to it but it was a really great experience at the time.

Xuxon posted...

windows xp also came out in 2001. arguably more important for gaming than the xbox or gamecube.

Bhaas1107 posted...

Was Paper Mario the last great N64 game?

The only other major title I can think of after it was Pokémon Stadium 2. And that may even be before it.

Stadium 2 was indeed after Paper Mario

So, after Paper Mario, or Stadium since I know it is polarizing, were there any other great games on N64, or was that it?

_SJimW_ posted...

There was also Conker

When did that come
Out?

Was it after Stadium 2?

I don't know that I would tout Luigi's Mansion as an example of why 2001 was so great...!

https://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/775-best-of-2001-best-playstation2-game-of-the-year

but yeah look at that list for PS2 alone

Bhaas1107 posted...

_SJimW_ posted...

There was also Conker

When did that come
Out?

2001, about a month after Paper Mario

charmander6000 posted...

Bhaas1107 posted...

_SJimW_ posted...

There was also Conker

When did that come
Out?

2001, about a month after Paper Mario

Was it after Stadium 2?

Bhaas1107 posted...

charmander6000 posted...

Bhaas1107 posted...

_SJimW_ posted...

There was also Conker

When did that come
Out?

2001, about a month after Paper Mario

Was it after Stadium 2?

Stadium 2 came out about 3 weeks later in North America