Lurker > MartinFF7

I don't pay much attention to soccer other than having it seared into my memory that Honduras is the team that knocks Canada out pretty much every world cup qualifying. So nice that we'll be able to avoid them in the quarterfinals, not so nice as I think Costa Rica's a better team (so ideally Jamaica can pull an upset in today's game...?)

As a CONCACAF-related sidenote, if anyone wants to go on a trip down memory lane, check out the 2000 Gold Cup wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_CONCACAF_Gold_Cup

Not only having to win the play-off to actually get in, but moving on by a literal coin toss... and then winning the entire tourney. I don't remember this when it happened but 2000 was a long time ago, that must have been ridiculous (and incredible)

LiquidOshawott posted...

So Relm has to have the worst stats for a character with at least fifteen appearances in their belt, right?

In a surprise twist, per GMUN's site, Edge has 15 appearances at 35.29% overall stats.

15 of the first 18 contests (50/50 place in III so hardbooted during IV and missed V and VI too), softbooted in XVIII and been out since.

can't even get 2 days of H4 post-FoG, what a mess...

Quistis

Sephiroth

Layle

I expected FFD's response to be more like this

andylt posted...

That's pretty astounding for being arguably the best character in his game!

"Arguably" is really carrying that sentence.

yeah but on the other hand, BASCH LIVES!

5040

Cloud

hmmm... probably not getting H4 at this rate.

You and me against the world (of savers), right lefty?

5040

Sephiroth

Layle

GuessMyUserName posted...

even if he doesn't actually know it because his kid is catfishing him

Forget "Year of Good Dads", we need "Year of Bad Sons" it sounds like

...contest XXV when Vayne can get back in

Xenosaga also doesn't have the lustre of "Final Fantasy VII" attached to it.

No doubt that Part 2's sales will have a dropoff from Part 1 but it'll still be a massive hit. Though I also see the remake series being 5 games minimum so I could see the concern if Part 2's not sufficiently meeting expectations that they scale it down to 4.

The big question remains whether they continue the "fleshed out environments" they did with Midgar or if they keep area scopes smaller/insert less filler to get people moving along briskly. Which I imagine is also why they haven't pre-committed to the number of games in the remake (or similarly, the shadow of Xenosaga looms large)

mnkboy907 posted...

Yearly reminder it's been 16 contests since VI's last championship.

I hope my hype post got you hyped!!

Pretty sure the first and only time I was a Kefka supporter was... XX Day 98. But that was a good day (other than everything that preceded it, how it ended, and everything that followed)

LiquidOshawott posted...

I dont believe in an intermission boost because nobody has a PS5

Also because Sonon would have likely made it in

Anyone who hasn't Youtubed it is missing out, I'm sure there's a cutscene compilation on there. Or in my case I watched a twitch stream & just skipped battles and sidequests, either way.

And Sonon's a non-entity anyways, just like we didn't nominate in Andrea or Madame M or Roche... two FF7 hard boots were more than enough.

Xuxon posted...

No mention of Rinoa? As much as I don't like her, I feel scared of her making a deep run with Squall no longer having championship aspirations.

It didn't cross my mind and that might be my own bias, or blind spot, I just... can't see her being likeable enough to get broad-based support? And her "super strong" run ended at 11th, though this year could be different. I assumed that FF8 supporters would go to Selphie or to other games, but now you got me scared.

If worse comes to worse all we need to do is start posting English Dissidia NT clips of her, lol

andylt posted...

(my goal this year as I've said on discord is to have Rinoa kill Sephiroth lol)

Me at the beginning of reading andy's reply vs. at the end.



can I ask why Sephiroth in particular...

...today's feeling a little anticlimactic for a rule change day so rather than waiting until we're out of boots, going to take this opportunity to drop my top 10 for winning at the moment. Hope nobody takes offence if their 'main' isn't listed here. In game order:

Kefka Palazzo
First name on the list is, coincidentally, my early favourite to win it all. The perennial contender since his return from hard boot status in XX, he finished 3rd that year (boxed out in favour of everyone's favourite final), 4th in XXI (the infamous "spreadsheet snafu"), and a shock exit in 8th last year. I was feeling a Squall or Kefka win in XXII was in the cards, and with the former winning the title, it's the latter's time to shine. Kefka's problem this year is the same as last - getting support consolidated to him without other distractions lingering around in the endgame that soak up potential saves. Still a lot of runway to go but this could be his time.

Aerith Gainsborough
7th place pre-Remake and 14th last year due to a lawyering, but undoubtedly would've finished top 5 otherwise. Has the advantage of drawing strength from non-FF7 supporters in addition to regular series supporters. Considered by many to be the best part of the Remake, if last year's support is replicated to this year, with a little more luck, a run to the top 5 or beyond could be in the cards!

Sephiroth
Arguably a top victim of my only supporting Cissnei in the early years, he finished in the 30s in XX and XXI before an upsetting soft boot last year, which I feel partially responsible for (was 45 minutes late to the round, made a save when I should have held). So I'm supporting him this year as my #1, what I'm calling a "penance run" (in lieu of any 'justice' or 'redemption' runs). Maybe his surprise entry into Smash Brothers helps his cause? He's only ever had two top 10 showings (7th in XII, 3rd in XVII) so ideally he can go on a bit of a run this year, maybe all the way to the end. Or hell, maybe he gets eliminated in thirty-something place again, who knows! Will be saving him in the meantime.

Yuffie Kisaragi
Including her on this list feels bad but I can conceive of a scenario where she wins so I have to. But she really can finish anywhere between 1st place and well, 79th place as of my posting this. If you don't detect and remove this tumor in time she's going to metastasize in the endgame. But, fresh off some excellent characterization with her Remake DLC chapter, is there a possibility of I N T E R M I S S I O N BOOST fueling a deeper run for her? Can never seem to count this one out in the end and post-DLC, I am more of a fan of hers (or just a fan generally) than I ever was before. Though she's so far down the priority list that her making the finals is probably the only way I could ever throw her a save!

Selphie Tilmitt
"I believe in Harvey Dent"? More like, I believe in FFDragon. 4th and 3rd place finishes in XV and XVI, followed by the dark years (back-to-back-to-back hardboots). Is it redemption run time? Can she reassume her past glory and continue the trajectory she was on pre-hardbooting by making the finals? Or will she get eliminated far earlier because broader support doesn't coaelsce around her? I don't know who was involved in those previous runs for her and whether they're still around or would support her in the end, and there's a chance Doomtrain overlap could get in the way, but you have to like Selphie's prospects more in the long term; though Squall's win last year may ultimately hurt any Finals prospects for her, but who actually cares about back-to-back series wins? (see: XX, XXI)

Vivi Ornitier
Take that text from the Yuffie write-up about cutting out tumors before they metastasize and paste that in here. The contest's only two-time champion, the conditions are always there for him to add a 3rd to his belt. Everybody loves this little scamp; another strong top 10 showing in XX was followed by a couple of years of misfortune, with the infamous "16 seconds" in XXI and a XXII elimination while his top supporter was on a lawyering ban. A natural culmination point for FF9 supporters and Vivi fans of all stripes, you can't even stop his title aspirations by trying to invoke the disgust reaction of a repeat winner; something which he already overcame 5 years ago.

Auron
While he struggles early and midgame, which culminated in a surprise 53rd place last year, we can't forget that he finished 3rd in XXI and was only a few saves away from making the finals and likely winning that contest. You could argue that his performance in XXI was mainly driven as a "redemption run" following his XIX hard boot, but like Vivi, you can't deny that Auron is a legit fan favourite and also like Vivi, can easily become a repeat contest winner as a result. Though he could just as easily be eliminated in the middle of the game like last year, but the potential for victory is certainly there so I feel compelled to include him on the list.

Rikku
Am I putting too much stock in Y-R-P? I want to believe so just in case, might as well hedge my bets here. Can't forget that Rikku finished 5th in XX, granted that was three years ago and I don't know who was involved in that run, but that's recent enough history; if Robazoid can get some more people onboard the train, could that be the last push to go the rest of the way? Then again Rikku was also a surprising early exit last year, in 68th place, but you have to think the conditions for her success are different this year.

Yuna
The ultimate bet-hedging: who's the last standing between Rikku and Yuna? (Paine doesn't enter this equation, sorry). Yuna would certainly have the better contest story, as this is her return from the hardboot in XXI (finished 95th place). Auron was booted in 96th before making a deep run - perhaps it's her time? And if contest XVI was the "Year of FFX", then perhaps contest XXIII can truly be its sequel: "Year of FFX-2".

Ramza Beoulve
Yes, poor Ramza... he always "feels" competitive but never quite gets the saves needed to endure. Well, I still want to believe this is the year for a strong Ramza run; at last year's top 20 I called the dark horse Delita run, and while the conditions for Delita to make the finals can't immediately be replicated, I do believe there are some Ramza supporters which can fill in some gaps and help push him on a deep run. Maybe to the finals, maybe not. Time will tell!

Honourable mentions (last year's top 5 in game order):

-Tifa Lockhart: finished 4th last year but that required a tremendous amount of luck that I don't think can be replicated, and she's also not a top priority for me this year, but that doesn't necessarily spell the end for her. If some new savers fill in the gaps from mine & others' absences, maybe last year's run can be reproduced. Just not feeling it though!
-Garnet "Dagger" Til Alexandros XVII: a strong 3rd place finish last year, but another case where I can't visualize the same run, with some of her key supporters being focused on other projects this year
-Seymour Guado: I want to believe he can build off last year's success! I just can't believe that much, but hey, anything can happen...
-Delita Hyral: again, had a great run last year, but surely it's Ramza's time to shine!!!

That's it for me and predicting though, once we're out of boots I'm putting in the bare minimum, no more holding, going to try to not get invested in anything at all (especially untimely character eliminations). I'll leave the hot takes to whoever still has their finger on the pulse of the contest as it goes on. Though I'm sure I'll get pulled back in really badly once we hit the top 20, that's when things always seem to heat up, oh geez...

Cait Sith

greengravy294 posted...

Ligma Balls

Safe, but I think "Deez" is still unsafe

3006

Sephiroth

NominateMoogles posted...

Celes

god speed VII

You'll be able to get another save in, set a timer.

3006

Cissnei

page

Layle

Rygdea, but I still say it's Belle even if she's only in an obscure Wii game that nobody's played (and only two people have watched in Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers - The Movie form... well, one watched and one created)

All due respect to GMUN but she's so much better than Layle...

Uh, yeah. NORG > Cid K

wait....

Damn NORG was in Record Keeper too!!

I have a 100% serious and legitimate answer:

Belle (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers)

wiki shows her as being in nothing other than the FF trading card game and she's the best character in her game (and I assume the entire Crystal Chronicles series)

Which one's the FF13-equivalent and which is the FF4-equivalent

I thought the same thing but when I looked it up, Dan is the one that ends up in Cleyra and... yeah. The Lindblum one is Kal.

Not only did I mix that up but I thought Ktjn was in Eruyt Village until checking that one too.

Hell I don't even remember Ghido whatsoever, which is probably a sign of how long ago (or forgettable) my last FF5 playthrough was... which looking up on my hard drive, based on the dates modified, apparently was in March 2001 immediately following my first ever playthrough of Chrono Trigger? Not a good spot to be in!

MartinFF7 posted...

Cissnei is the contest's most exclusive character though, you're right about that.

Ok I lied Cissnei isn't that exclusive.

Here's the list of all characters in the contest who never either fight with you (as a temporary or permanent party member or as a summon) or against you in a battle (and not a cutscene battle, actually in a "actual" battle within that game)

(feel free to correct me if I missed something)

Matoya
Ghido
Cissnei
Jessie Rasberry
Burmecian Soldier Dan
Stiltzkin
Braska
Ktjn
Cindy Aurum

damn look at all those quality characters

He meant Crystal Chronicles (Layle/Mira)

Cissnei is the contest's most exclusive character though, you're right about that.

I like that the non-Ardyn crew has remained thus far. Though would be nicer if Aranea were here. Cindy, not sure how long she is for this world but ideally the rule change will help her get more depth saves.

(Save My Favourite Final Fantasy Babe while lefty's on vacation??)

Also didn't want to post this at the time but anyways:

StifledSilence posted...

CID h

I lol'ed because my phone still does this to this day, and in years past I set "cidh" as a text shortcut to avoid that happening. I even removed "CID" from the "learned words" list and it came right back. Just don't get why it insists on the all-caps Cid...

Only other text shortcut: "lll" for "Layle". Shortcutting priorities!

Probably should've communicated my holding intentions there, poor Wiegraf...

(as in I thought andy might've been waiting between Quistis and Wiegraf too... but I was also waiting for Cindy)

Quistis

Cissnei

Top 5(555555555) snake rankings

1. Snake5555555555
2. Midgar Zolom
3. Solid Snake
4. Snake Plissken
5. Snake (The Simpsons)

I wanted to know off days in advance but like, just 1.... not 7 in a row

So, round July 31, nothing Aug 1-7, round August 8? Time to cram 2 months of social activities to one week

Oh that was a joke more than anything andy, though I'm sure there are Cissnei compilations on youtube but they just won't hit the same...

Mobilezoid posted...

I never understood that, instead of saving first you save second, what does it matter

Cecil was eliminated in XX because of that policy so it certainly mattered then. And we've had a few rounds where there was only 1 save in the next hour and there weren't any holders so the earliest person was able to make it. But it's also like FFD said, it probably matters less nowadays than at a time where minutes could go by before someone else saving.

Though since we're facing some edge-H4 situations with the next rule change, we might run into a similar situations soon enough. The early bird gets the worm, and the potential extra save!

I don't know if my favourite part of the story is mods just giving up usermaps when asked by a random user, or lefty going on an SMFFFC recruitment drive

Getting more participation definitely isn't a concern nowadays...

andylt posted...

^So raytan and amy were the same person? Or they were just in it together...

If usermaps are tied to cookies or IP addresses and they shared the same computer at some point, they'd be on the same usermap?

Also glad you liked FF9 (I figured you would!) though that is the downside, the more you play, the more you want to save.

Though speaking of which: may I interest you in a hidden gem of a PSP game called "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII"?

Newstats should equal overall?

andylt posted...

Somebody nominated Necron this year, and Martin supported it. Mark them down as an amy alt!

Oh yeah?

> andylt
> amyvitality

Hmmm...

>amy hates Tidus, Squall and Yuna; andy mains Tidus and supported Squall
>amy's favourite game was FF9, andy just played for the first time (and I assume enjoyed since I never read the playthrough topic but always meant and maybe will on the log site sometime) FF9 recently

andy is Amy reincarnated as a pure contest soul, confirmed

FFDragon posted...

Again this is entirely my fault, not marche's.

Yeah it is

So what you're saying is, it's Necron time baby



in awe at the size of this lad. absolute unit

...now to be fair I was wanting Necron to be nominated this year, but it's the appeal of the zero world and destroying the crystal that gets me (where the crystal symbolically represents this contest) rather than any FF9 fandom

but also:

FFDragon posted...

Amy was a pretty heavy ff9 supporter.

> Contest XII (Zidane > Ashe)

eh.... I see what they mean about tainted results.

Could the tainted results retroactively go back to contest VI? In my heart they do.

but if the alt-controvery was all on amy, and amy and raytan were separate individuals, why does raytan get blamed? Or was the suspicion that amy was really a raytan alt all along?

next poll?

just throwing this out there maybe not for right now since we just did Spielberg movies, but maybe Fincher movies

Se7en
The Game
Fight Club
Panic Room
Zodiac
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Social Network
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Gone Girl
Mank

only those 10, no Alien 3 (stuffer bait)

In my mind I'm planning to not even be here next year after I put my nominations in, so, yes.

I was planning to use all my noms on Garik Ronso next year but now I'm feeling the urge to get all 10 moogles in at once as a monumental achievement. All we need are 10 users and that's 7 noms per moogle... maybe 2 more users in reserve for last second save top-ups if necessary.

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Whoops

It's all good Bane, the legion of Auron and Vivi savers are like a nice warm blanket, smothering the contest, lol

I'm just hoping we get to enjoy some H4s over the weekend. Probably going to be our only chance, unless we get a rule change to the rule change rounds.