I can't bear to re-read those old topics. I was 11 or 12 when I first came to this site and started posting at 13, during the pinnacle of Character Battle popularity. God knows how petulant and immature I must have been.

I nearly had a lizard brain angry reaction to Ys VIII losing, but I am not particularly surprised. I will say that, based on its quality, it should be stronger - I highly recommend to any action RPG fan.

What are people making of P5's performance? Also, is there any chance it gets stronger as the contest goes on with the Royal version releasing a week ago?
Formerly cool
shane15 4/6/2020 7:06:36 AM#302
I've been trying to find some of my old posts from back in 2003-2004. Didn't really get much chance to get online back in those days though as we never had the internet at home.
Rollthebones2 posted...
What are people making of P5's performance?
Personally? It's probably going to make it out of this division relatively easily, but any chance of it upsetting Witcher has been removed from my mind.
If you're only on this board to whine about "SJWs", please redirect whatever you type on to the nearest trash can. And hop in after it.
shane15 4/6/2020 7:08:18 AM#304
MechanicalWall posted...
Personally? It's probably going to make it out of this division relatively easily, but any chance of it upsetting Witcher has been removed from my mind.


Yeah at first glance i was a bit worried for P5. Then i took a look at it again and thought it'll be fine.
transcience 4/6/2020 7:24:52 AM#305
ah, that Kerrigan topic wasn’t so bad. I was remembering the Dante topic which was a weird mix of vindictiveness and arrogance from some of our vets.

http://thengamer.com/stats/0201-0250/Stats%20and%20Discussion%20Pt224/
add the c and back away
iphonesience
Yuri_LowelI 4/6/2020 8:03:20 AM#306
shane15 posted...
Yeah at first glance i was a bit worried for P5. Then i took a look at it again and thought it'll be fine.

in terms of what? Theres no game in this division that will even break 40% against it. It was never in danger

but yeah the witcher match is gone. After what witcher did to odyssey. Witcher is making the final unless skyrim does something insane

and were forgetting the dark horse in all of thsi...Dark Souls.

i wouldnt be surprised if dark souls beats skyrim

upset? Sure its an upset pick. But not one id be going How the hell did that happen

(edited 4/6/2020 8:04:34 AM)report
transcience posted...
ah, that Kerrigan topic wasn’t so bad. I was remembering the Dante topic which was a weird mix of vindictiveness and arrogance from some of our vets.

http://thengamer.com/stats/0201-0250/Stats%20and%20Discussion%20Pt224/
JFC that division plus Mario/Samus had us all acting like jerkoffs. What a terrible reread.

I’m embarrassed. I’m glad I eventually came around and got out of my own head, but I’m embarrassed nonetheless.
Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best Game Ever" Contest
http://www.twitch.tv/ultimaterializerx ; https://imgur.com/dsnL40n
I have Dark Souls in the finals, but I was kind of betting on a Bethesda deboost and/or people being sick of Skyrim's million re-releases.
"Nothing I could do!"
-Darksydephil
FFDragon 4/6/2020 8:13:20 AM#309
Until I can play Skyrim on a smart fridge, it has not been ported enough.
If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?
#theresafreakingghostafterus
LinkMarioSamus posted...
I have Dark Souls in the finals, but I was kind of betting on a Bethesda deboost and/or people being sick of Skyrim's million re-releases.

I'm aware of all the "Skyrim, coming soon to your toaster" memes, but... the rereleases haven't actually affected anyone's opinion of the game, have they?
The music was thud-like.
The music was... thud-like.
Not going to re-read those, but Vincent/Dante was probably the worst we've been as a whole. At least for Mario/Samus it was more "the x-stats vs. it's freaking Mario."

Anything else doesn't come close.
Game of the Decade 2 - Current Score: 34/40
Today's Picks: Persona 5, ACIV:BF, SM, SMB
(edited 4/6/2020 8:17:21 AM)report
TheCodeisBosco posted...
I'm aware of all the "Skyrim, coming soon to your toaster" memes, but... the rereleases haven't actually affected anyone's opinion of the game, have they?

I suppose not, I was more referring to the general climate of the voter base.
"Nothing I could do!"
-Darksydephil
Downloaded the ps4 bundle for 20 bucks and have been having a blast.
Sir Chris
Doom The Kanto Saga - Animated Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hH4wNFCrLM
shane15 4/6/2020 8:22:14 AM#314
Yuri_LowelI posted...
in terms of what? Theres no game in this division that will even break 40% against it. It was never in danger



For some reason i thought it wasn't doing that good. Now you've said that i'm wondering why the hell i thought that in the first place.
I guess some of us expected Heavy Rain to be bottom-of-the-barrel bad, even though it was a high-profile first-party release nominated for many GOTY awards. It's just that its flaws have become more apparent in the years since, like basically every high-profile acclaimed release that year.
"Nothing I could do!"
-Darksydephil
Yuri_LowelI 4/6/2020 8:51:50 AM#316
TheCodeisBosco posted...
I'm aware of all the "Skyrim, coming soon to your toaster" memes, but... the rereleases haven't actually affected anyone's opinion of the game, have they?

its got nothing to do with skyrim

more to do with dark souls being one of the most respected and influential games of the decade
Yuri_LowelI 4/6/2020 8:52:35 AM#317
LinkMarioSamus posted...
I guess some of us expected Heavy Rain to be bottom-of-the-barrel bad, even though it was a high-profile first-party release nominated for many GOTY awards. It's just that its flaws have become more apparent in the years since, like basically every high-profile acclaimed release that year.

HR has a high playrate compared to a ton of indies here and has its fair share of fans

also how many people here have played persona 5?

theres also that antivoting for jrpgs that exist

squexa 4/6/2020 8:57:13 AM#318
Who'd you guys take between Heavy Rain vs The Walking Dead?
congrats to BKSheikah the BYIG guru
direshall 4/6/2020 9:05:03 AM#319
Yuri_LowelI posted...
and this performance reflects that

this basically tells me two things

* persona 5 is comfortably winning the division.
* but it wont beat Witcher.

Is Persona 5 really going to win versus Red Dead Redemption 2?
squexa posted...
Who'd you guys take between Heavy Rain vs The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead? Heck if I know.
"Nothing I could do!"
-Darksydephil
shane15 4/6/2020 9:17:44 AM#321
Well i've got Persona up against Portal 2. Hoping it puts up decent numbers tomorrow. If it blows Tomb Raider away i'd say it'll make the final.
MetalmindStats posted...
Why would this matter for its GameFAQs strength? Bastion, another major vanguard of the indie boom, barely beat an opponent that was already pitifully weak in 2015, let alone now. On the other hand, Ori and Hollow Knight certainly weren't involved in said vanguard, yet they're the only two indies that have strongly exceeded expectations so far.

Well first I said “the vanguard” for a reason. Bastion was a part of that early wave, but Super Meat Boy was synonymous with indie games for years. I believe it is on another level. Secondly there is no doubt in my mind that TWD was undervalued in 2015. Weak, yes, but it wasn’t losing to 2015 Life is Strange. I would not br shocked to see TWD look better in this year’s xstats than it did in 2015. Additionally I’m not sure I agree that those are the only two that surpassed expectations. I don’t know what the Oracle averages are but Cuphead and Shovel Knight killed it. And of course, people expected Bastion to lose so surely that qualifies as much as Ori? There have been plenty of indie overperformances for sure.

Edit: Having a look now, Cuphead and Stardew Valley outperformed their Oracle predictions by 6%, and Shovel Knight ourperformed its by 4%. Bastion overperformed by 10%. All of those are absolutely significant overperformances. Minecraft also overperformed by 10% but I don't regard that as indie any more.
I just decided to change this sig.
Blaaaaaaargh Advokaiser
(edited 4/6/2020 9:47:36 AM)report
DoomTheGyarados posted...
Downloaded the ps4 bundle for 20 bucks and have been having a blast.
I saw Skyrim on a great sale for PS4 and wondered about buying it for later (like... who knows how later). Is it still worth the plunge in 2020?
8-seeds will improve to 6-0 against 9-seeds. Surely the streak will break next match, if not last match.
Sharinnegan 4/6/2020 10:01:00 AM#325
jesus Sonic managed to tank even more after i went to sleep.

at this point i dont even think sonic vs meat boy next round will be close.

there is a remote possibility YS is just a LOT stronger than everyone thinks...which would be cool, YS VIII is a great game. but i think this is mostly sonic being weak as hell.
Leonhart4 4/6/2020 10:10:16 AM#326
Dark_Koopatrol posted...
8-seeds will improve to 6-0 against 9-seeds. Surely the streak will break next match, if not last match.

Not until the last one!
shane15 4/6/2020 10:12:24 AM#327
The next 8/9 is a coin flip. I can't see how Journey loses to Fate though. Not after how good the indie stuff has been doing.
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 10:14:25 AM#328
I'd separate Super Meat Boy from Bastion regarding the "indie vanguard" for a few reasons.

1) SMB is older. Nine months isn't really too big a distance in time, but if we're talking about the indie boom and also not going into the previous decade where w're ignoring the Geometry Wars-to-Braid era, Super Meat Boy was closer.

2) SMB was in a bunch of early Humble Bundles. Lots of people had inexpensive access to that game. I think Bastion was in some too, but I think of Super Meat Boy as being one of the recurring games you could get in the early Humble Bundles as that site blew up. While SMB was late for some of the earliest years for the indie scene blowing up, it was there when indie games were almost basically being given away and we saw their rise in the early parts of the decade.

3) SMB celebrated other indie games. Bastion was a bad-ass stand-alone game, certainly. So was Super Meat Boy, but it also included multiple playable characters from other indie games. We're talking about the leading characters in Braid, I Wanna Be the Guy, Commander Video, Spelunky, Machinarium, VVVVVV, Castle Crashers, Minecraft, and even a headcrab from Half-Life. It was like an indie platform version of Super Smash Bros. and SMB is tied to the rise of other indies due to that celebration. Bastion didn't bother with that.

Bonus) SMB's genre is more like GameFAQs's tastes than Bastion's. This is more specific to the site, but platformers have a fanbase here. I'm taking SMB > Bastion in a match-up here.
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 10:43:35 AM#329
Also, this won't mean much but I thought this was fun looking for any signs of indie influence here through the character-based contests: two indie games had representation in the Rival Rumble from November 2011:

SMB's Meat Boy + Dr. Fetus straight-up made it into a contest as a 6-seed:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4528-south-division-round-1-zidane-vs-kuja-meat-boy-vs-dr-fetus

I Wanna Be the Guy's The Kid + The Guy survived a vote-in with fifth place to land an 8-seed:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4480-which-of-these-rivalries-would-you-most-like-to-see-in-the
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4522-southeast-division-round-1-samus-vs-ridley-the-kid-vs-the

July 2013's Character Battle also offered four indie characters who were in SMB:
Meat Boy
Captain Viridian
Steve
Commander Video
(two tangents: although Tim was in SMB, he was only in 2008's contest which was before SMB's release...though if you're looking for characters in 2013's contest influenced from Edmund McMillan but wasn't playable in SMB, you could add Isaac)

All entries here were weak, but if we're talking about appreciation for certain indie games it's worth noting SMB probably had more characters in a contest than any other indie game.
(edited 4/6/2020 10:44:25 AM)report
Today makes Witcher's performance look slightly less beastly. Assassin's Creed just blows.
Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best Game Ever" Contest
http://www.twitch.tv/ultimaterializerx ; https://imgur.com/dsnL40n
Leonhart4 4/6/2020 11:23:30 AM#331
UltimaterializerX posted...
Today makes Witcher's performance look slightly less beastly. Assassin's Creed just blows.

Not sure what your expectations for Assassin's Creed are, but this seems about right.
shane15 4/6/2020 11:24:37 AM#332
The original AC game was such a let down for me. Put me off the series.
Sharinnegan 4/6/2020 11:24:57 AM#333
witcher also probably sff's a portion of what little strength more recent AC games have

UltimaterializerX posted...
Today makes Witcher's performance look slightly less beastly. Assassin's Creed just blows.

Really? Civ has typically looked passable, and the match was never expected to be a stomp. This is decent fir Black Flag, it can comfortably claim the title of second strongest AC game I think.
I just decided to change this sig.
Blaaaaaaargh Advokaiser
Advokaiser 4/6/2020 2:55:45 PM#335
Who's ready to see KHIII struggling to reach a doubling?
It's an honor being part of Board 8's community.
(edited 4/6/2020 2:56:20 PM)report
Lightning Strikes posted...
Additionally I’m not sure I agree that those are the only two that surpassed expectations.
Well, it's a good thing that's not what I said, then...! I said those were the only two to significantly surpass expectations, and I'd argue said expectations were largely miscalculated for Bastion. Meanwhile, results like Cuphead's were certainly impressive, but it felt like the only reason such results deviated so much from the consensus was because a decent minority still hadn't recalibrated their very low expectations for indies in general. I don't expect most indies to keep impressing us in Round 2 when they generally start facing real competition.

Sharinnegan posted...
at this point i dont even think sonic vs meat boy next round will be close.
If Ys VIII = Slay the Spire, SMB beats Sonic with approximately 58.5% of the vote. That pretty much confirms SMB will win close if at all, since GameFAQs is much more inclined to care about even a fourth-tier JRPG than a card-based roguelite. Or to put it another way, yes this Sonic Mania result is seriously disappointing, but SMB is also underwhelming a bit in its match, which is not the best look when you're vying for an upset against another retro platformer with a relevant brand name.

HaRRicH posted...
SMB's genre is more like GameFAQs's tastes than Bastion's. This is more specific to the site, but platformers have a fanbase here.
Given what we've seen recently, I have to dispute this notion. Yes, GameFAQs cares about platformers - as long as they're either a major Mario entry or being boosted by nostalgia goggles. Otherwise, I'm not so sure about that.

Also, this is a perfectly solid result for Assassin's Creed IV, since Civ V has a distinct floor after its 2015 match. I'd certainly agree that it's the second strongest Assassin's Creed at this point, and heck, this is better than ACII would be projected to get in the 2015 stats. I tend to blame that on said stats' inevitable wonkiness plus the possible backlash from Civ VI, but still.
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
You won the CBX Guru Contest, Advokaiser! Bully for you!
(edited 4/6/2020 3:58:03 PM)report
Advokaiser 4/6/2020 3:51:40 PM#337
RE3's receiving a lot of backlash.

Will this boost or deboost RE2's performance in the next rounds?
It's an honor being part of Board 8's community.
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 3:54:02 PM#338
I have no idea what to expect from KH3/DE other than a KH3-win. Portal 2 needs a big win against Tomb Raider though to shut down KH3's potential wildcard status, and it has to have one if it wants to upset RDR2.
SwiftyDC 4/6/2020 4:04:33 PM#339
Match pics?
dilateDChemist
Leonhart4 4/6/2020 4:07:09 PM#340
HaRRicH posted...
I have no idea what to expect from KH3/DE other than a KH3-win. Portal 2 needs a big win against Tomb Raider though to shut down KH3's potential wildcard status, and it has to have one if it wants to upset RDR2.

Eh, I think Tomb Raider will be one of the stronger lower seeds. I wouldn't expect a massive number from Portal 2 there.

And we like platformers, but I don't know if we like punishingly difficult ones.
SwiftyDC 4/6/2020 4:10:18 PM#342
Thanks, Metal!
dilateDChemist
Yes, thank you.
Kampfmaschine Advokaiser punched my lights out in the 2018 Guru.
My bracket was soft... just like my heart!
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 4:18:36 PM#344
MetalmindStats posted...
Given what we've seen recently, I have to dispute this notion. Yes, GameFAQs cares about platformers - as long as they're either a major Mario entry or being boosted by nostalgia googles. Otherwise, I'm not so sure about that.

To continue this thought though, what games similar to Bastion will generally do better? I kinda think it depends on the label we go with for Bastion. Action, maybe with some RPG elements? I can see your argument. I think mechanically though Bastion plays a lot like Binding of Isaac and Hotline Miami. What are stronger games in this contest or past ones that play similarly, where you can move any direction with one stick while shooting any direction with the other? Alternatively, SMB mechanically controls like a whole bunch of games we've seen here where you move forward and jump to victory.

This is a conversation that can fall into the pitfall of "How similar is similar enough to be like something?" -- can't compare SMB to 3D platformers due to depth, can't compare SMB to Mario when you can't attack enemies, can't compare SMB to VVVVVV because jumping works differently, etc. -- so I'm okay relaxing on Bastion in this point if you feel that way.
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 4:20:54 PM#345
Leonhart4 posted...
And we like platformers, but I don't know if we like punishingly difficult ones.

Yeah, I think this is up for debate. Dark Souls earning the respect and influence it has industry-wide (and if DS3 is any indication, register voter-wise here) gives me hope, but it's a question mark.
Gall 4/6/2020 4:45:41 PM#346
Wow, Sonic sucks. It's a good thing Meat Boy isn't a Metroidvania or I'd be seriously worried about round 2.

Today we have 4 matches that are less boring than they seem:

Portal vs. TR: Portal is in a funny position this contest in that it's the favorite to make it to the division finals and yet has reasons to underperform in all three of its matches on the way. Tomb Raider's floor should be pretty high, so we'll get a decent read on Portal's strength or lack thereof.

KH vs. Disco: For those who don't know, Disco Elysium is an indie, PC exclusive, western-style RPG that released just last year and that doesn't involve combat. In other words, we'll see just how low Kingdom Hearts 3 can go based on pure antivotes. Should be a fun match.

AC vs SF: This is my personal "I hate that one of these games has no choice but to win a match" match. I have a feeling that Animal Crossing will do much worse in this match than you might expect.

Red Dead vs Dying Light: It's been a while since I've said it, but I mean it this time: Red Dead needs to justify its 2 seed. It's the definition of a game that is widely acclaimed but that GameFAQs doesn't particularly care about. That said, I've never known anyone to care about Dying Light, so Red Dead could get a blowout and still lose to Animal Crossing next round. This eightpack is weird.
(edited 4/6/2020 4:46:28 PM)report
HaRRicH 4/6/2020 4:54:10 PM#347
Animal Crossing is about to show Street Fighter V who the new mayor is.
HaRRicH posted...
so I'm okay relaxing on Bastion in this point if you feel that way.
Yeah, I'm content with that; I used 'platformer' as a general label describing Super Meat Boy, so the same general label for Bastion would be the admittedly vague 'action with RPG elements' you mentioned.

Also, for what it's worth, I would probably take Super Meat Boy over Bastion here - I just don't think there's a major difference between the two.
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
You won the CBX Guru Contest, Advokaiser! Bully for you!
Leonhart4 4/6/2020 4:57:45 PM#349
HaRRicH posted...
Animal Crossing is about to show Street Fighter V who the new mayor is.

Mayor Cody for life
Red Dead Redemption 34-0ing Dying Light?
For the best videogame commentary story on the Internet (sometimes featuring GameFAQs poll of the days and contest discussion) visit https://www.koopatv.org

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