Lurker > TsunamiXXVIII

Interesting. At this posting, 2010 has a narrow 6-5 lead in what people are voting for, yet 2002 has a commanding 9-2 lead in what people have in their brackets, as not a single person has 2010 in their bracket but is voting for 2002.

I really don't see this as much of a contest, though. 2002 has Metroid Prime, Kingdom Hearts, and Morrowind among its "marquee games", and I daresay it's a lot deeper than that. 2010 has, uh...holy crap, every one of the games listed in 2010's blurb is a sequel, and the majority of them are inferior to the originals (obviously RDR isn't since most casual gamers don't even realize that it's a sequel, and ME2 is considered the peak of the franchise, but the original Starcraft is iconic and I don't care what anyone else says, SMG2 is garbage.)
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

How have I not seen this topic series until now?

Sweet Child of Mine, with HM to November Rain
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Ah, I was going to run a contest just like this once VGMC ended.

Battle with Magus

Nominate: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Pokémon DPP, Pokémon BW.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Laguerra del Mundo
You're Mine
Knight of a Foreign Country
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

That depends. How many voters' brackets match what they actually want to happen?

Because 1991 is the Guru favorite over 1994, but either the site at large has that one different or "RPGFAQs" is going to go funny.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

BetrayedTangy posted...

I've gotten a couple of those too. I also hate when your character crits and kills an enemy just to free a spot for a new enemy to run in a kill you.

Yeah, that's probably a far more common occurrence than the "enemy 1% crit".

Though while I can't think of any instances offhand, I suspect my worst luck probably involves missing a 90+% hit chance right at the end of a turn, allowing a unit I expected to kill on the player phase to pick off a weaker unit on the enemy phase. Because that is the absolute worst.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Paratroopa1 posted...

I do want to say for the record, had it been 1981 up against 2009 instead of 1983 I actually would have voted for it

Uh, 83 was against 89. 79 was against 09.

If 81 had been up against 89 instead of 83, I...might have voted for it. But yeah, looking at the list of notable games, 2009 was apparently complete trash.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

1979
1989

Seriously, people.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

That, uh, that is not a thing that fits into 1983.

But whatever.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Sure, that's fine. Sorry for disappearing after saying I was in.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

LeonhartFour posted...

Huh, 1991 > 1994 is the favorite. Didn't expect that.

also didn't expect 2001 to be the upper half chalk

I'm not too surprised by 1991 > 1994 being favored. 1991 has Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog. Of course, 1994 has Sonic 3, which most Sonic fans consider the best in the series, plus FFVI...oh, hey, wait, 1991 has a FF game, too! Granted, VI is ahead of IV in the pecking order, but...

...Okay, let's be honest, this really comes down to the fact that SMW probably trumps anything that 1994 can throw out there. It's a close one, to be sure.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

This is a bad early sign. What happened to RetroFAQs?! Based on the games chosen for its marquee, 2009 was apparently complete and utter crap, yet it's breaking 80% on 1979 while 1989, a year that technically counts as part of the vaunted 16-bit era (but even if it didn't, it houses some all-time 8-bit classics), can't even break 70% on 1983. And let's be honest, 1979 should clearly be stronger than 1983.

Sadly, we'll have to wait quite some time to get a read on what this means, because most of the next matches that compare different eras are pretty obvious. We all knew that the pre-1985 years would all lose this round, and we expect the more recent year to win 1995-1986. So the first real gauge of whether this is just an anomaly or not would be 2001 vs. 2014, which we expect to be a blowout in favor of the older year. If 2014 manages to not completely fold, consider me panicked.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Whereabouts of Light
Liela Xea
Aquatic Ambiance
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Best Zelda race. Down to the wire.

Or perhaps this one.



Officially, the first has a closer time differential, but the latter has a better finish.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Fateful Confrontation
MARIA
Fury Sparks

Strong day
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Actually, let's change one outright result:

Round 1: 1994 with 50.11%
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

CHANGE

2009
1989
2006
2005

1995
1985
2001
2008
1997
2007
2000
1996
1991
2002
1994
2006
1998
1992
2013
2005

1995
2001
1997
1996
1991
1994
1998
2013

2001
1997
1991
1998

1997
1998

1998

Tiebreaker: 750000
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

EmDubyaSee posted...

SovietOmega posted...

I am sensing some bias going on.

Still, nobody here is going to argue that it is not a strong year and not appear foolish to some degree or another. It will do well for sure, but how well remains to be seen.

Guaranteed Final Four (unless it's gets fed to 1998 early for some reason) and it's the only year except 1998 that has even a CHANCE to win (without cheating) because as a Chrono Trigger backdrop, it may have the strongest game of all if last contest says anything. Even if CT is stonger than OoT now though, (which isn't fact for sure) is that enough to overcome OoT, RBY, AND MGS?

Uh, no. Before I saw the bracket, I was calling for the "surprise" of the tournament to be 1995 missing the Elite 8 because it just isn't that strong. None of those games are really elite (I love how we all pretend that Chrono Trigger is still elite in contests when it hasn't done squat for almost a decade now), and there's a distinct lack of Zelda and Final Fantasy. The Noble Nine still drive this thing, and their representation in 1995 amounts to Crono, Mega Man, and technically a Mario game but really just a spinoff.

In a properly balanced bracket, I'd be calling for an Elite Eight of 1998, 1997, 2001, 1996 (your final four), 2002, 1991, 2000, and either 2004 or 1994. But, nope, 2000-1996 and 2002-1991 are both Sweet Sixteen matches; the 2004-1994 debate has to be resolved in round 1, and poor 1999 doesn't even get a chance to show its worth, getting fed to 1997 right away. And 1995 gets an easy path to the Elite Eight. The only upside of this silly-as-heck placement is that 2013 also gets to go to the Elite Eight.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Wildcard

2009
1989
2006
2005

Round 1

1995
1985
2001
2008
1997
2007
2000
1996
1991
2002
1994
2006
1998
1992
2013
2005

Round 2

1995
2001
1997
1996
1991
1994
1998
2013

Elite Eight

2001
1997
1991
1998

Final Four

1997
1998

Champion

1998
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Wildcard Round

2009 with 67.67%
1989 with 55.55%
2006 with 80%
2005 with 75%

Round 1
1995 with 72.99%
1985 with 52%
2001 with 81%
2008 with 57%

1997 with 61.3%
2007 with 60.45%
2000 with 57.88%
1996 with 78.3%

1991 with 62.35%
2002 with 59.88%
2004 with 50.35%
2006 with 58.77%

1998 with 82.9%
1992 with 66.67%
2013 with 58.51%
2005 with 60%
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Soar
Excess Crayons
Blue-Eyes White Dragon
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

2009
1989
2006
2005

1995
1985
2001
2008
1997
2007
2000
1996
1991
2002
2004
2006
1998
1992
2013
2005

1995
2001
1997
1996
1991
2004
1998
2013

2001
1997
1991
1998

1997
1998

1998

Tiebreaker: 750000
---

FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Id ~ Purpose
In the Final
The True Mirror (Guitar Version)
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

lixAxil
Birth of a God
Make Up Time

Will: Goldenslaughterer
Want: Dr. Fetus's Castle
Want more: This contest to not be such a joke. I picked against all four of those songs in R1, and while Scrap I/O at least lost to a song that I put in R3, that was just dumb luck--it, like goldenslaughterer and Hopes and Dreams, was the weakest in its fourpack. DFC might've actually been my #2 song in the first 8 (it just happened to be facing my #1, and in fact the song that won my favorites bracket, in R1), but that still only made it...#8 among those 16, with #2-7 being literally every possible 4th-round opponent for the DFC-Zinnia winner except Scrap I/O and Hopes and Dreams.

I cannot stress this enough. Of the eight songs competing for the second spot in Round 4, I would have been thrilled with any of six of them retiring, and you clowns managed to put the only two bad ones in the entire eightpack in Round 3.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

LordoftheMorons posted...

I did yellow --> magenta --> cyan

Likewise.

Man, reading through this is so much fun. I remember this game being hella confusing, and it's interesting to see all of these guesses knowing which are right and which are wrong.

LordoftheMorons posted...

Yeah I think it's one of only one or two without any locks?

Correct, his and Clover's. I got Clover's first, followed by K's since his is only locked by Clover's.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

azuarc posted...

Results from day 34:

Scrap I/O > Hidra Heteromycin, 12-10
Hitomi no LAZhWARD < Hopes and Dreams, 10-12
Terra > Mortal Stampede, 12-9

Fuck I've missed a lot of days, I didn't even realize r1 was over.

These results suck and lol at being told to hold up and think before posting because the post I quoted had a tinypic in it.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

I'm game.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Sinister Gale
Undertale
You Are My Hope
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Really? I thought 1997 was pretty deep.

The real surprise of the contest will be at the bottom, where the last entry into the Elite 8 will be 2013, easily the best year of the current decade.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Butterfly
Occult Attract
Battle Music
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

LastPandemic
Liberated liberater
This Journey Without End
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Yeah, it is DKC2, not 3.

GBL Goddess Temple
Big Blue
Sky-Clad Observer

Very strong day here. GBL Goddess Temple is amazing, and it's up against a fairly good song, but one that's generally just not what I go for in VGM.

Second match is pure amazing. I loved Big Blue already knowing it only from its appearances in Smash Bros., but the MK8 version is so much better, because...I want to say saxophone? Krook's March is great too, like most DKC2 songs, but it can't compete here.

Bonus bracket brings our only stinker in Melody of Aqua, which is just blah. SCO is amazing, though.

GBL Goddess Temple > Sky-Clad Observer > Big Blue > Krook's March > Desire Blue Sky > Melody of Aqua
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Sunshine Coastline
Nebula
Still More Fighting
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Smooth McGroove
The Cosmonaut Variety Hour
Stryder7x
Periodic Videos
Malinda Kathleen Reese
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze
Scraper Sky High

For a few seconds, I was wondering if I'd gotten my tracks crossed--that opening to FCDH sounded awfully Touhou! Then it turned into a typical...Tales of (X) track, except considerably better. To be honest, I didn't even have to relisten to Ghost Lead to know I wouldn't be voting for it; the more recent Touhou games haven't had great soundtracks anyway, and FCDH could handle even some of the more peak Touhou tracks. This wasn't as close as I thought it would be.

And to be honest, that means that I probably could've voted before I was free to listen, because Ernst is painful to listen to and Scraper Sky High is incredible.

Ruriair is pretty good, but not great. Still better than Denshou no Shi.

Scraper Sky High > Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze > Ruriair > Ghost Lead > Denshou no Shi -Verum- > Ernst

Two great songs, one good song, one inoffensive song, one bad song, and one horrendous song.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Ruriair

Will listen to the tracks for today's matches soon, but tiebreaker.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Atrocious Awful Battle

(Atrocious Raid, Boss Battle, Awe of She. But "Atrocious" is the theme of the day)
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Battle with Magus
Ruriair
Sonic Boom
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

It's just a parade of home runs, isn't it?

There are base indicators on the scoreboard, and they aren't lighting up even as the O's continue to score.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Wait

What

I just looked over at the out-of-town scoreboard and my Red Sox are down 5, no, 6 runs before they've even gotten a chance to bat.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

WiggumFan267 posted...

Odubel Herrera, one day after bat-flipping on a lazy flyout, loses a ball in the not-sun.

Also Asdrubal Cabrera tagged up to 2nd on a popout to the catcher

Also Asdrubal and Cespedes just went back to back - cespedes absolutely MURDERED a baseball.

To what field?

Because I am literally in the first row of the upper deck in left field at Citizens Bank Park right now and want to know if there's any chance that a home run could come my way.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Nefertiti
Quantum Sea Lindwurm
New Castle Legions -Stage 1 Mix-
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Laguerra del Mundo
Reincarnation
Liberi Fatali
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

MariaTaylor posted...

got the free DLC on the recommendation of a friend. not sure what to do with this witch item. I guess give it to someone? also got an item that doubles EXP gains on a unit. not too bad but I really don't know who to use it on yet. the Awakening DLC seems a bit difficult so I'm thinking over whether I want to do it now or wait and do it later.

cleared the first challenge map without any trouble and noticed there was not another one. so apparently I can't grind infinitely? looks like after you finish a challenge it goes away and you have to move on to the next map. alright so I'll have to worry at least a little bit about EXP management.

DLCs actually scale as you progress, so if you complete more chapters, the enemies in the DLC will be at higher levels.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

azuarc posted...

Results day 16:

Flying Battery Zone < Sexualizer, 10-21
The Maximum High Speed = MARIA, 15-15
Las Vegas < Title, 14-16

I held off on the results post because I knew I was going to need to do some recounting. My independent consulting firm has confirmed these totals with me.

Two of the votes from yesterday that were both for Max High Speed and Title caught my attention, but Title would have won on tiebreakers, anyway, and we can settle the second pairing via rematch. Apologies to the people who hate MARIA and now have to listen to it an extra time.

...This is just all kinds of painful. The fact that Flying Battery Zone, even an inferior version, got blown out so badly is painful (it still rates as narrowly better for me, and the fact that it's only "narrowly" better says a lot about how inferior to the S3&K original I find the M&S@tLOG version because I would probably vote for the original over just about anything). The fact that I missed the original Las Vegas-Title match and my pick lost the tiebreaker is painful. The fact that mine was the last vote and it tied a match that I ended up changing my mind on for the tiebreaker is painful.

...This is a strong fourpack, though.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Fear the Dark
Liela Xea
MARIA

I'm on a huge Fire Emblem kick right now, so it hurts to vote against a Fire Emblem song, especially one from one of the most recent games where they really upped the soundtrack quality. But Fear the Dark is just amazing and I would certainly not complain if its next VGMC appearance was in ToC3. My favorites bracket has it coming up just short, but I made that bracket based on "quick impressions", and this song clocks in at almost 9 minutes and, as nice as it is already as soon as the snoozy 45-second opener ends, it gets even better somewhere in the sixth minute. (Also, I know B8's voting tendencies, and I find it making R4 far more plausible than it facing anything I'd actually want it to lose to in said round.)

This...is not one of DPP's better songs. It's acceptable, I guess, but...I don't get it. Why have so many of B8's Poké-nominations been the intentional snoozefests? *checks stats* ...Huh. Pallet Town only got in once, actually, and Littleroot never did get in. I know there was a push for it last year, but it failed. Seriously, though, Pokémon's done a great job with legendary battle themes, and main-series legendary themes have gotten in...never. Pokémon Stadium's Mewtwo Battle has, as has Dialga's Fight to the Finish (which I approve of), but the closest we've gotten to a main series legendary theme is Brawl's Spear Pillar (which is a remix of both the Spear Pillar area music and the Dialga/Palkia battle theme from DPP). ...Not that it matters because very few Pokésongs would be able to get my vote over Liela Xea. Epic rocking and foreign-language chanting in the same song? Yes please. In a different bracket placement, I'd support this song for retirement, but I guess I can settle for being happy that either it or Fear the Dark will be back next year.

Maximum High Speed is awesome jazz music. MARIA is...wait, I distinctly remember hating just about everything that came out of this game's soundtrack last year! And since I had listened to Maximum High Speed during nominations and considered throwing it some support of my own, I didn't even bother listening to make my pick in this match for my favorites bracket. This actually needs more consideration...let me just check the results of the other match from this day...okay, now let's listen to that song...

...Ouch. I know that the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games version of FBZ is inferior to the original, but that's just painful, especially since Sexualizer isn't the type of song that I thought B8 normally liked. I expect MARIA would have a better chance against Sexualizer, but...MARIA does also apparently have a major hatedom. And frankly, I'm not sure which of those three songs I want to go to Round 3! I think it's Sexualizer...but I think I'd be more okay with it losing to MARIA than to Maximum High Speed, so there's your answer! (Which shows me that I need to stop blindly following the favorites bracket I made, since that had Maximum High Speed outright retiring this year.)
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Amethyst Caverns
In the Sky
Blue Oni Theme
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

Flying Battery
Maximum High Speed
Las Vegas
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

HE4VEN ~tengoku e youkoso~
Fateful Confrontation
Still in the Dark
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle

And...thinking about it, I probably shouldn't be surprised at all the picks for the Red Sox to win the pendant or even the World Series; we've got a pretty solid lineup and a very deep rotation that will serve us well in the postseason. Bullpen is lackluster, but I feel like we can get around that. But I'm also glad to see that only one person actually picked the Sox to take the top seed in the AL, because I don't believe that will happen. The Red Sox will struggle early in the year, with Price and Pomeranz both starting the year on the DL along with their two top setup men, Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith.
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FC 5026-4424-6331 -- Native Vivillon type: Polar
Still need Marine, Sun, Icy Snow, Monsoon, River, and Jungle