Lurker > Ngamer64

Waluigi1 posted...

I've just literally never visited the site and kinda forgot it existed until I saw this topic lol. Also this topic only has 13 replies so I'm not sure what you're referring to.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77325434

That's where we're discussing the results/debate in depth, this one is just for posting your guesses specifically.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

HECK yes.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

It was an impostor.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

HECK yes.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Final results will be announced once I finish listening to the Day Five deliberations!

(so about February 15th)


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Board 8
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Ng's Top Ten
1. God of War
2. Dead Cells
3. Into the Breach
4. Tetris Effect
5. Celeste
6. Return of the Obra Dinn
7. Spider-Man
8. Hitman 2
9. Red Dead Redemption 2
10. Dragon Ball FigherZ


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Unbelievable! Mark your calendars Zelda fans, January 20th will mark the BotW-TP crossover event you've always dreamed of.

https://www.nbc15.com/content/news/A-Super-Blood-Wolf-Moon-eclipse-is-coming-in-January-503545631.html


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Final podcast goes up tomorrow, get your picks in tonight!
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Worst, but she's still better than characters in nearly any other show.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

@MetalmindStats #55 got eaten! Can you recover it?

https://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Transience%27s_75_Most_Important_Contest_Matches_-_Detailed


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Someone hacked the website to get the final list ahead of time, but you can still guess here if you PROMISE not to cheat and look it up.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Oh shoot, I looked up the bracket on The Show just a few weeks back so it should have been fresh in my memory, don't know why my brain inserted LttP in the place of Wind Waker today.

Okay in that case I don't count FF6 out entirely but I'd reverse that pick and move LttP into Tier Two. Not TOOOO big a deal since the winner is fed to Ocarina regardless.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

My epic quest to complete every mock bracket continues! If you'd like to give a little more thought to how a Game of the 90s Contest might go, check out my writeup on greatone's tournament setup:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77312325#41


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Final Four
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (1) Final Fantasy VI
(1) Chrono Trigger > (1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow - should be a good one, but without rallies (or unless Pokemon Switch comes out that week) I like CT to continue its run

Grand Finals
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (1) Chrono Trigger - CT looked like it had the advantage in 2015, sure, but even if you outperform it in earlier rounds its really difficult to defeat Zelda in a Grand Finals scenario. should be a good one either way though

Overall trends: I think a 90s Contest would put voters in a rose-colored, 14-years-old kind of mental headspace, giving extra oomph to the games they would have pulled down from the shelves when their friends were on the couch at a sleepover. They'll probably be less likely to factor in current trends (like anti-voting Fallout or MGS or Half-Life because gamers are down on the series recently) than they would in a characters or series or GotD environment.

The exception is, maybe SmartVoterFAQs could kick in when faced with two very similar entrants and result in them thinking "which of these held up better?" and casting their vote in that direction. Such as I'm counting on in the Smash 64/Mario Kart 64 matchup.

Overall thoughts: there are great setups all across this bracket, but I can't help feeling we have enough previous data on these games to sort them into fairly clear tiers. Something like

Tier One
Ocarina

Tier Two
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 7
Pokemon R/B/Y
Super Mario 64
Super Mario World

Tier Three
Mario 3
Final Fantasy 6
Link to the Past
Super Metroid

Tier Four
the rest of Nintendo/Square's heavy hitters
Symphony of the Night
Metal Gear Solid

Tier Five
everything else

Now don't get me wrong- even tier five is still very strong compared to the entrants we'd see in any other kind of restricted Contest. And any matchups within those tiers should be really exciting. But I do think a 90s bracket suffers a bit from so many spots being occupied with those established T2/3 games absolutely trashing weaker competition. With four matches a day it's not such a huge minus, I'm guessing 2 out of the 4 would usually be competitive...

Even so, it's got me leaning toward my initial thought of holding back the former champs to allow more inter-tier matchups in a bracket like this. If it completed the run, that potential CT/FF7 showdown would lose a little of its luster by being a bonus matchup but I still think I'd favor that layout in the interests of making the main bracket more unpredictable.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Round Three
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (4) Banjo-Kazooie
(2) Final Fantasy VIII > (6) Sonic 3 & Knuckles - this is my pick for strongest possible Sonic entrant, but mainline 90s FF still strikes me as untouchable unless you're Nintendo

(4) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars > (1) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 90s Square + Nintendo + fond childhood memories = proving its Final Four run was no fluke
(2) Super Metroid > (3) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - speaking of aging like fine wine...

(1) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past > (4) Spyro the Dragon
(2) Mega Man X > (3) Final Fantasy Tactics - I still have respect for Tactics but I like the strongest MM entrant here considering voters will have seen FF on the front page every day for a month by this point and might be a little sick of the series

(1) Final Fantasy VI > (5) Mortal Kombat
(3) Mario Kart 64 > (2) Super Smash Bros. - not having Melee in the bracket is a big deal for Smash 64 IMO, but I like Kart as a biased upset pick (plus voters will compare in their heads and realize it's held up much better)

(1) Chrono Trigger > (5) Soul Calibur
(3) Final Fantasy IV > (2) Super Mario Kart - feel like 64's the more relevant Kart game recently, so I'll avoid the second upset in a row for the series

(1) Final Fantasy VII > (5) Resident Evil 3
(2) Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening > (6) Kirby Super Star

(1) Super Mario Bros 3 > (12) Donkey Kong Country
(2) Metal Gear Solid > (3) Star Fox 64 - people are down on the MGS series + everyone loved SF64 and the RUMBLE PACK + I promised to take the 64 in close matches... but sorry, this is a bridge too far!

(1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow > (4) Super Mario World II: Yoshi's Island - YI won't threaten but should hold up pretty well here, so the x-stats will love it for not advancing into the buzzsaw it would face next round
(3) Super Mario 64 > (2) Super Mario World - they've always been close (ignoring Ocarina beat down matches) and I said I'd favor the 64 in tight ones; sticking with that
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Round Four
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (2) Final Fantasy VIII
(2) Super Metroid > (4) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - still love Mario RPG in this format but SM's just too much to handle unless you're named Zelda or FF7
(1) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past > (2) Mega Man X
(1) Final Fantasy VI > (3) Mario Kart 64

(1) Chrono Trigger > (3) Final Fantasy IV - this will be a stunning percentage
(1) Final Fantasy VII > (2) Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - great opponent for LA, will look way better than it deserves by drawing this lucky placement
(1) Super Mario Bros 3 > (2) Metal Gear Solid
(1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow > (3) Super Mario 64 - feels like a 51/49 kind of match that's decided by how many Pokefans are on the site that day
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Round Five
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (2) Super Metroid
(1) Final Fantasy VI > (1) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past - I've got immense respect for LttP but 6 had a clean win last time, should still be able to sneak by
(1) Chrono Trigger > (1) Final Fantasy VII - I'll go with the upset and pick REVENGE for 2015
(1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (1) Super Mario Bros 3 - guessing it gets by here slightly easier than against M64 or SMW


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Round Two
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (8) Secret of Mana
(4) Banjo-Kazooie > (5) Earthbound - tough choice; 2B/Bowser redeemed Ness this year but I'm sticking to my guns and backing the N64 in tight ones this bracket
(6) Sonic 3 & Knuckles > (14) Harvest Moon
(2) Final Fantasy VIII - (7) Mega Man 3

(1) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 > (9) Metroid II: Return of Samus
(4) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars > (5) Street Fighter II - cute rematch, but it would only be more dominating a blowout
(3) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night > (6) Goldeneye 007 - 4p multi memories keep GE strong in this format but this is a devastating draw. licensing pitfalls keep it from ever getting a lovingly crafted re-release as SotN has had, putting it in a bad position against a game that has aged like fine wine
(2) Super Metroid > (7) Resident Evil

(1) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past > (8) Parasite Eve
(4) Spyro the Dragon > (5) Tomb Raider - Lara looked good this year but all that character design appeal goes out the window when she has to be made out of lego blocks in the match pic
(3) Final Fantasy Tactics > (6) Fallout 2
(2) Mega Man X > (10) Suikoden

(1) Final Fantasy VI > (9) Killer Instinct
(5) Mortal Kombat > (4) Mega Man 7 - hard choice, I'll side with MK nostalgic with zero confidence
(3) Mario Kart 64 > (6) Diddy Kong Racing - some people still prefer DKR to this day. here's hoping this 90/10 beatdown opens their eyes to the truth
(2) Super Smash Bros. > (10) Breath of Fire II

(1) Chrono Trigger > (9) Marvel vs. Capcom
(5) Soul Calibur > (4) Half-Life - HL SHOULD have this easily, but it'll keep getting antivoted until HL3 wins GotY
(3) Final Fantasy IV > (6) Mega Man Legends
(2) Super Mario Kart > (7) Xenogears - don't bet against memories of battle mode

(1) Final Fantasy VII > (8) Doom
(5) Resident Evil 3 > (4) Crash Bandicoot
(6) Kirby Super Star > (3) Super Castlevania IV - never thought I'd see a Kirby game in R3 but this path seems possible?
(2) Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakeneing > (7) Suikoden II

(1) Super Mario Bros 3 > (8) Sonic the Hedgehog 1 - Sega does what Nintendon't: go out in Round Two
(12) Donkey Kong Country > (4) Final Fantasy V - the miracle run continues! (don't have anything else below a 6 seed still alive)
(3) Star Fox 64 > (6) Grand Theft Auto
(2) Metal Gear Solid > (7) F-Zero

(1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow > (8) Mortal Kombat 2
(4) Super Mario World II: Yoshi's Island > (5) Donkey Kong Country 2 - probably these two are close in strength, but hierarchy rules the day head to head
(3) Super Mario 64 > (6) Sonic Adventure
(2) Super Mario World > (7) Final Fantasy I - FF1 could probably threaten some other R2 opponents but that's okay, the series will still be very well represented in R3


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Division 6
(1) Final Fantasy VII > (16) Lemmings
(8) Doom > (9) Star Fox - close, I'd go the other way for SF64
(5) Resident Evil 3 > (12) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
(4) Crash Bandicoot > (13) Donkey Kong 64 - probably my favorite R1 match, think 64 has too much of a Black Sheep of the family vibe (see also: Mario Sunshine) to win a match but maybe I'm wrong
(3) Super Castlevania IV > (14) Panzer Dragoon Saga
(6) Kirby Super Star > (11) Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
(7) Suikoden II > (10) Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
(2) Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakeneing > (15) Seiken Densetsu 3

Division 7
(1) Super Mario Bros 3 > (16) Ski Free
(8) Sonic the Hedgehog 1 > (9) Mega Man X4 - generally I lean MM > Sonic (as I picked in Series) but I bet the series falls off in strength after X
(12) Donkey Kong Country > (5) Resident Evil 2 - jeepers poor RE2, strongest low seed in the bracket here!
(4) Final Fantasy V > (13) Myst
(3) Star Fox 64 > (14) Gran Turismo
(6) Grand Theft Auto > (11) Shining Force 2 - promised I wouldn't trust WarCraft or GTA but this matchup makes it difficult...
(7) F-Zero > (10) Twisted Metal 2
(2) Metal Gear Solid > (15) RollerCoaster Tycoon

Division 8
(1) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow > (16) Pokemon Pinball
(8) Mortal Kombat 2 > (9) Tekken 3 - doubt Tekken wins much of anywhere but this one's brutal
(5) Donkey Kong Country 2 > (12) Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - thinking RS could make noise against weaker non-Nintendo games
(4) Super Mario World II: Yoshi's Island > (13) Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
(3) Super Mario 64 > (14) Baldur's Gate
(6) Sonic Adventure > (11) Rayman
(7) Final Fantasy I > (10) Fallout 1
(2) Super Mario World > (15) The Secret of Monkey Island


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Alright let's DO THIS. As I discussed on The Show I'm in favor of turning former Champs into post-Contest Boss Battles for everything except the Everyone Is Here! super-contests going forward (All Fictional and BGE Ultimate), but I'm sure this will be a fine bracket even with FF7 and OoT included.

Division 1
(1) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time > (16) Virtua Fighter
(8) Secret of Mana > (9) Diablo - very down on the chances for older PC games in the near future, especially Blizzard
(5) Earthbound > (12) Sim City 2000
(4) Banjo-Kazooie > (13) Battletoads - could make for some entertaining memes though, to be sure!
(14) Harvest Moon > (3) StarCraft - again, hard to trust Blizzard against Nintendo nostalgia these days
(6) Sonic 3 & Knuckles > (11) Duke Nukem 3D
(7) Mega Man 3 > (10) Star Ocean 2: The Second Story
(2) Final Fantasy VIII - (15) NiGHTS Into Dreams

Division 2
(1) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 > (16) NBA Jam
(9) Metroid II: Return of Samus > (8) Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - I'm thinking the Crash resurgence this year was more Icon Factor than Remastered Collection Fever
(5) Street Fighter II > (12) Quake III: Arena
(4) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars > (13) Gunstar Heroes
(3) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night > (14) Grim Fandango
(6) Goldeneye 007 > (11) Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - yikes, brutal draw for poor Turok (not that it would win pretty much anywhere)
(7) Resident Evil > (10) Night Trap
(2) Super Metroid > (15) Metal Slug

Division 3
(1) Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past > (16) Superman 64 - I'm bullish on the N64 in a 90s Contest, but this upset might be sliiiiiightly out of reach
(8) Parasite Eve > (9) Dragon Quest V - uhhhh no idea on this one
(5) Tomb Raider > (12) Earthworm Jim - Jim would have done well in 2018's environment but I think the reboot and movie series keeps Lara more relevant
(4) Spyro the Dragon > (13) Donkey Kong '94 - I'll pick this if the R1 pic is box art, if it's just a generic picture of DK though I'd swap and bank on enough voters to confuse it for the OTHER DK game from 1994
(3) Final Fantasy Tactics > (14) Sid Meier's Civilization
(6) Fallout 2 > (11) System Shock 2 - respect/importance voting will be a factor in this format but I still trust the bigger series name overall
(10) Suikoden > (7) Warcraft II: Reign of Chaos - basically never trusting Warcraft or GTA again
(2) Mega Man X > (15) Planescape: Torment

Division 4
(1) Final Fantasy VI > (16) Worms: Armaggedon
(9) Killer Instinct > (8) Streets of Rage 2
(5) Mortal Kombat > (12) The Simpsons Arcade Game - love Simpsons nostalgia as an x-factor but it drew such a tough opponent
(4) Mega Man 7 > (13) Unreal Tournament
(3) Mario Kart 64 > (14) King of Fighters '98
(6) Diddy Kong Racing > (11) Crash Team Racing - I do like this funny go-cart setup, for the record, but I think they'll all be blowouts
(10) Breath of Fire II > (7) Power Stone
(2) Super Smash Bros. > (15) WCW vs. nWo Revenge - only a Hulk Hogan tweet could save the day!

Division 5
(1) Chrono Trigger > (16) Full Throttle
(9) Marvel vs. Capcom > (8) Mario Party - rarely betting against Nintendo for future Contests but this reminds me too much of MvC > New Mario. plus people are still bitter over their destroyed controllers
(5) Soul Calibur > (12) Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
(4) Half-Life > (13) Gunstar Heroes - Valve's fallen, but not THIS far
(3) Final Fantasy IV > (14) Wolfenstein 3D
(6) Mega Man Legends > (11) Parappa the Rapper - nostalgia might keep this close though?
(7) Xenogears > (10) Silent Hill - ouch poor SH, could have done well elsewhere
(2) Super Mario Kart > (15) Command & Conquer: Red Alert


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

I'm bringing back the Top Ten prediction contest, post your guess here or in the tally thread if you'd like to play!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77334092


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Current preds:

icon
1. RDR2
2. God of War
3. Celeste
4. Call of Duty
5. Into the Breach
6. Tetris Effect
7. Dead Cells
8. Hitman 2
9. Donut County
10. Spider-Man

Shadow Dino
1) God of War
2) Celeste
3) Red Dead Redemption 2
4) Tetris Effect
5) Into the Breach
6) Spider-Man
7) Return of the Obra Dinn
8) Dragonball Fighterz
9) Monster Hunter World
10) Hitman 2

Kleenex
1. Tetris Effect
2. God of War
3. Celeste
4. Into the Breach
5. Hitman 2
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
7. Call of Duty
8. Dead Cells
9. Spider-Man
10. Monster Hunter World

TVontheRadio
1. Tetris Effect
2. God of War
3. Dead Cells
4. Into the Breach
5. Celeste
6. Hitman 2
7. Red Dead Redemption 2
8. Monster Hunter: World
9. Return of the Obra Dinn
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Lightning Strikes
1) God of War
2) Red Dead Redemption 2
3) Celeste
4) Into the Breach
5) Tetris Effect
6) Dragon Ball FighterZ
7) Dead Cells
8) Hitman 2
9) Return of the Obra Dinn
10) Call of Duty: Black Ops 4


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

The Christmas week deliberations are underway- what will make the Top Ten on the only awards show that matters, Giant Bomb's Game of the Year?! As in past years we'll use the GameFAQs Top Ten Games of 2005 scoring method (try for lowest points, if you say #3 and it finishes #5 that's 2 points, etc). Here's every game that made an individual Top Ten or scored well in an official GB review in 2018, you can use this to construct your top ten.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Celeste
Chuchel
Dead Cells
Destiny 2: Forsaken
Donut County
Dragon Ball FigherZ
Exapunks
Far Cry 5
Forza Horizon 4
Frostpunk
God of War
Hitman 2
Into the Breach
Mega Man 11
Monster Hunter: World
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Spider-Man
Super Mario Party
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Surviving Mars
Tetris Effect
Yoku's Island Express


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

How odd, I love that phrase, but to each their own.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Stay alive little topic, I have plans for you.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Alright I'll pred this bad boy IF it's still alive on Christmas Day!
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

MetalmindStats posted...

While it was nice that he responded to early B8 trends by including various characters among the auto-suggest options, there was nought but radio silence on his end after the first 24 hours or so. The result was a bunch of notable snubs from the nomination form, including trending recent and popular B8 characters such as Cuphead, Papyrus, Max Caulfield, Metal Man, and Rosalina, as well as established characters such as Missile from previous character battles. As we've abundantly seen by now, the characters who aren't included on the nomination form have a very low chance of reaching the bracket - only something like a dozen CBX characters at most weren't included on the form, and none of them went above a 12-seed.

I tend to err on KP's side and say that Allen dumping the full list of characters in the next character battle on us beforehand and asking us to make pictures isn't a good idea.

Yes that's one criticism I forgot to bring up, further suggestion list additions beyond the first day would have been a big help. And as I've mentioned many times, I was 100% okay with sticking to traditional characters again in this one, I just wish he'd clarified things within the first couple days so we could have focused our discussion and rallies elsewhere (such as our Spidey one that went over 200 posts).

I think it would be fine legally if SB created the bracket privately, gave us the 128 names so we could create all the pictures, then opened things for predictions a week later. Regardless though it's a minor point; there would be plenty of time for us to get great images uploaded well ahead of the first day of matches even without any advanced info.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Fun fact: in 2013 I tried to listen to The Show but gave up in the first episode because I couldn't understand half of what the guys said.

Don't beat yourself up about it, you were probably thrown by @ExThaNemesis trying to find Sephiroth a path to the Grand Finals. Trust me, even native speakers were mentally shaken trying to wrap our minds around it.

MetalmindStats posted...

Poor Kleenex... The only Crew member Ng didn't mention.

HE knows what he did...


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Master Moltar posted...

enjoy the wins this time ng

coming hard for you next contest

Yikes, the 2019 intimidation is starting early!

re: Luster's thing - I want the earliest 2020 start possible. As in, announce (on B8) the Contest is coming at the start of December 2019, have nominations going on the main page by the time GotY polls are happening, start the bracketmaking by the middle of January. That gets us in the middle of GotY excitement and "best game of the decade" lists other sites will be running around that time so it will be more topical, plus it will launch more hyped 2019 releases into the bracket which should increase the unpredictability even further.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

_SecretSquirrel posted...

So, here's a relevant rejected match picture from GotD.

This was a triumph!
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
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_SecretSquirrel posted...

Undertale's match with Mass Effect 3 drew 55380 votes, while Fallout 3 vs. Life is Strange drew 52185. The day before, Uncharted 2 vs. TWD drew 35938 votes as a comparison.

So 19,442 of the people rallied to the front page bothered to cast a vote in the main match, and of those 16,247 voluntarily chose to vote in another match that day as well. Which comes out to about 83%.

I'll admit that makes our Lock Out The Rallies theory not look so hot. HOWEVER... I'd imagine 95% of those 20k voted for Undertale first, and when they saw that go through they were happy and more willing to continue contributing by voting in the other three as well. Whereas if their UT vote had been initially rejected lots would have said "well then efffffffff this, Mister Marvin!" (because that's how UT players talk) and closed the tab.

Also for Monika specifically, the whole meme was based around Just Her so I'd bet the turnoff rate on hitting that roadblock would have been twice if not thrice what we would have seen in a similar situation for Undertale.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

In case the thought of a Series Contest II intrigues you, I posted my full preds + thoughts on Trends & Stuff in MM's thread just now:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77293630#47


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

(1) Mario > (3) Xenoblade
(3) Metroid > (1) Persona - MP4 hype should make this easy
(1) Pokmon > (3) Resident Evil
(2) Smash Bros. > (1) Final Fantasy - Ultimate will have died down, but never count out the Melee fanbase. would a rally even be needed though, after what we saw happen to everyone except Cloud/Tifa/Vivi?
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(1) Mario > (3) Metroid - sorry Samus, unless it's MP4 release day you'll never get over this hump
(1) Pokmon > (2) Smash Bros. - Pokemon Switch will be just around the corner while Ultimate will have died down, but should be close regardless
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(1) Mario > (1) Pokmon - the one Nintendo thing in the bracket Mario can't SFF, should make for the best Grand Finals since GotD

Overall Trends: The voterbase is smarter (and smaller) than ever so respect voting for what they consider "real series" will be through the roof. That means good things for your Castlevanias and Resident Evils of the world, bad for things with just one strong entrant like CT, BioShock, Fallout.

They're also super tuned in to gaming news and the latest industry trends, so they're turn their backs on recent series that have been abandoned or whose latest entrant left gamers sour. And they'll also be more susceptible to HYPE when a series has an exciting new release coming out soon.

Regarding Final Fantasy... I'd have no problem with people calling it the favorite versus anything not named The Legend of Zelda. But if the bracket comes together like MetalMind set it up, I think the series is doomed because I can't see it running the Nintendo Gauntlet. A close win over Smash would leave Nintendo fans upset and out for revenge, if it then knocked off Pokemon a couple days later they'd be screaming for blood and shouting "Final Fantasy Always Wins!" at the top of their lungs heading into the Mario showdown.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

(1) Mario > (8) Ace Attorney
(13) Golden Sun > (5) Mass Effect - only a $60 remastered Mass Effect Trilogy release for every system, with all the DLC included, could flip this result!
(3) Xenoblade > (11) Kirby - cute character design doesn't go as far in a Series bracket
(2) Fire Emblem > (7) Tales of - FE might SFF this a bit?

(1) Persona > (8) Dragon Quest / Warrior
(5) Mega Man > (4) Sonic - probably closer than a character battle, but I still favor MM
(3) Metroid > (6) Monster Hunter
(2) Metal Gear > (7) Mario Kart - veeeeery tempted by this upset after they killed MGS... but that's my bias showing

(1) Pokmon > (8) Yakuza
(5) Chrono Trigger > (4) Kingdom Hearts - sorry no chance, even if KH3 is fantastic
(3) Resident Evil > (6) Donkey Kong Country - DKC could put a scare into it though!
(2) Castlevania > (7) Portal - would have been a sexy upset before the death of western games/characters

(1) Final Fantasy >.(9) EarthBound / Mother
(4) The Elder Scrolls > (5) God of War
(3) Dark Souls > (6) The Witcher - really tough choice!
(2) Smash Bros. > (7) Uncharted
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(1) Mario > (13) Golden Sun
(3) Xenoblade > (2) Fire Emblem - no idea, I assume this is 51/49 either way

(1) Persona > (5) Mega Man - Persona will always be 300% better in nominations but ehhh, bracket voting might sneak it through
(3) Metroid > (2) Metal Gear

(1) Pokmon > (5) Chrono Trigger - I'd go CT > RBY in Game of the 90s but series respect will decide this
(3) Resident Evil > (2) Castlevania - should be a good one

(1) Final Fantasy >.(4) The Elder Scrolls
(2) Smash Bros. > (3) Dark Souls
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Wraup up Show prep work took a little more time than I expected but I'm here now to live up to my promise! I'll be picking the non-Zelda version I requested. Full disclosure: I don't remember anything about the Series Contest except for the final match so there may be some blunders.

(1) Mario > (16) Harvest Moon
(8) Ace Attorney > (9) Suikoden - have to imagine Suik has fallen off hard since its glory days
(5) Mass Effect > (12) Mortal Kombat - could be close though!
(13) Golden Sun > (4) Grand Theft Auto - Nintendo nostalgia + antivotes = anything is possible
(3) Xenoblade > (14) Half-Life - reserve the right to change this opinion if HL3 launches the day before the match
(11) Kirby > (6) Fallout - I'd pick this TODAY because of the 76 disappointment but FO5 might right the ship in time
(7) Tales of > (10) Batman: Arkham - Arkham's first game was loved but the others didn't put it over the top
(2) Fire Emblem > (15) Tetris

(1) Persona > (16) Okami - never count out Ammy... but I didn't realize there even was a sequel so it's doomed!
(8) Dragon Quest / Warrior > (9) Crash Bandicoot - IconFAQs won't flourish in this environment
(5) Mega Man > (12) Dragon Age
(4) Sonic > (13) StarCraft - would have been fun in 2003/4/5 though...
(3) Metroid > (14) The Legend of Heroes
(6) Monster Hunter > (11) Warcraft - not much would lose to Warcraft or GTA these days IMO
(7) Mario Kart > (10) Mega Man X - ouch, brutal draw for MMX, should be close though
(2) Metal Gear > (15) Life is Strange

(1) Pokmon > (16) Civilization
(8) Yakuza > (9) Drakengard
(5) Chrono Trigger > (12) Assassins Creed
(4) Kingdom Hearts > (13) Tomb Raider - like Batman, the reboot was nice but the sequels didn't build on the momentum
(3) Resident Evil > (14) Star Fox - not quite the same thing as Fox > Jill
(6) Donkey Kong Country > (11) Final Fantasy Tactics - got to ashume FFT is way down these days
(7) Portal > (10) BioShock - would like to see BS elsewhere, think it gets SFFed with this draw
(2) Castlevania > (15) Bayonetta

(1) Final Fantasy >. (16) Pac-Man
(9) EarthBound / Mother > (8) Red Dead - really tough... RD isn't as antivoted as GTA and I'd pick it to win today, but it'll be old news by 2019's match day
(5) God of War > (12) Devil May Cry - 51/49 affair, I'll give GoW a boost for its GotY win
(4) The Elder Scrolls > (13) Paper Mario - difficult, would side with whatever had their next release coming sooner
(3) Dark Souls > (14) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
(6) The Witcher > (11) Street Fighter - scary choice, feel like this could flip based on any little thing
(7) Uncharted > (10) Halo - revenge for my Drake > Master Chief pick! which appears to have been wrong, and this probably is too, but I'll go down with the ship
(2) Smash Bros. > (15) Diablo - don't we guys have phones?
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Awesome, thanks for the heads up!
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

The FINAL EPISODE is hot off the presses!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77320727


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

No season would be complete without The Show taking both a look back at the last three months and a look ahead to the next three (plus) years of GameFAQs Contests, so that's just what we did. Our expert Leon returned alongside this year's Guru Champ Advokaiser, and it was a heck of an event!

http://board8.speedrunwiki.com/interviews/theshow/20181220-TheShowEP11.mp3

We continued the recent international theme by calling down to Mexico for all Advo's hot takes, which was quite fitting as he was one of the brightest stars of the whole Contest season (he also won the Streak Contest, plus had a great showing in the Oracle).

* what was your favorite thing about Character Battle X?
* breaking down all SB's new twists; were they good or bad, should they return, what could improve them
* looking forward: something small in 2019 like Best System or Best Series II (run over one month), then Game of the Decade in early 2020
* looking WAY forward: 2021 Best Character of the Century (since Jan 1 2000), 2022 Best Game of the 90s, 2023 All Fictional Character Battle, 2024 Best Game Ever ULTIMATE Edition
* breakdown of Zelda/Cloud/Link matches and picking our overall Stars and Turds of the bracket
* our final grades for CBX and where it falls on our all time rankings

Turns out there was TONS to discuss as all four of us had lots of great ideas for how these Contests could be improved and where to go with them next, I hope you'll enjoy our discussion!
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To catch last week's episode, or anything from the past, visit our home on the web

https://board8.wikia.com/wiki/The_Show
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PS - Here's the links to those Cool Things Happening on the Board I promised:

Best Game of the 90s Bracket by greatone - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77312325

Ranking the Strength of the CBX Characters by MetalMind - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77318792

Best Series II Bracket by MetalMind - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77293630

Most Important Matches In History by tran - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77315604

The Board 8 Chatroom - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77112790


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Looks cool, I'll pred this if it stays alive long enough (going to do Metamind's first though as I promised!)
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Yes versus this same field of characters. Versus a field of these guys plus all the other strongest/most important/most nostalgic characters to ever appear in videos games, however...

Let them fight.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Great job by everyone this year, except the 20 Guests who signed up and then ghosted!

Brought our page back up to date:

https://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Contest_Analysis_Crew

Lopen completed his full tour of duty so he was granted another official Year Of Service, which keeps him at #2 on the all time list.

I added Consensus Accuracy to the yearly wrapups.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Ilishe posted...

Add Into the Breach and Dead Cells to that list.

Into the Breach (2018)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/590380/Into_the_Breach/

Dead Cells (2018)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/588650/Dead_Cells/


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Pick a steam game for him to buy you in your topic.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

I'll post my picks if you keep this alive until Tuesday!
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

ZeldaTPLink posted...

Well I don't know if this could be done but I wouldn't mind waiting till a post-2020 contest to nominate a guru pick, then nominate two at once. Like we did in this contest.

If he does something along the lines of Best System Ever in 2019, he'd probably just pick the top 32 himself and seed them by sales numbers. If so, yeah, we could roll it over and do two picks for GotD.


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

I'd like to see this.
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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Yikes oh mikes, no wonder we couldn't keep it within 100 points of that team! Okay, results updated on our page

https://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Oracle_Challenge

The Boneheads are the first back to back Team Champs since Predestined Divination pulled off the feat in 2009-2010. They'll need to win again in 2019 to catch PD for most gold medals though!

Really pleased with my finish, a #2 result in the Grand Finals. Would have been sweet if Link had dropped a tiny bit more to go out with a bang and score my only win (I think?) of the season!


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Atta boy Lusty!

But I have to ask... who was Red Grunting Boneheads?


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Great work, Axem and MZero! I've updated our page with the results:

https://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Spread_Bet


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Advokaiser posted...

The Guru Champ Dilemma...

To be more precise, I haven't gone past the 6th Gen. Yes, that's right; I haven't really gone past the PS2 era. It's pretty hard to say it, honestly.

Don't stress about it, you've got a year and there's so many great indy games on steam from the past decade that you could pick up for just a few dollars during their frequent sales. And they'll run fine on even a slower/older PC. I'm sure we'll be able to find something you'll love and want to get into the bracket.

In fact here are some matching that description to get you started, pick a few that interest you, add them to your Wishlist, and steam will e-mail you when they go on sale.

Stardew Valley (2016)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/

Celeste (2018)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/504230/Celeste/

Life is Strange (2015)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/319630/Life_is_Strange__Episode_1/
(the first episode is free so you can try it and see if you like it)

FTL (2012)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/

A Hat In Time (2017)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/253230/A_Hat_in_Time/

To The Moon (2011)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/206440/To_the_Moon/
(more of a narrative experience than a game, but very well done)

Bastion (2011)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/107100/Bastion/

Ori and the Blind Forest (2016)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/387290/Ori_and_the_Blind_Forest_Definitive_Edition/

Crypt of the Necrodancer (2015)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/Crypt_of_the_NecroDancer/

Shovel Knight (2014)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/250760/Shovel_Knight_Treasure_Trove/

If you don't have any spare money to spend on new games... post your steam name, someone who loves one of the above games just might gift it to you (since you missed out on $500 in prize money by not being from the USA or Canada)!


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats

Great job Advo! But perhaps the best... is yet to come?


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Advo bested even The Show hosts in 2018, yowza!
board8.wikia.com | thengamer.com/xstats