Lurker > ZeroSignal620

Last bump and then I'm letting it purge

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Also on a final note, if FF7 Remake had won 2020, the Ultimate Loser would have been Cyberpunk.

Which would have been absolutely fitting considering the aftermath of that game's release.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

The End!

Best Game of 2020
https://challonge.com/uyjlysvi

Ran: January 2021
Overall top seed: Final Fantasy VII Remake
1 seeds: FF7 Remake, Hades, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Doom Eternal
Final Four: FF7 Remake, Hades, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ultimate Loser: Kingdom Hearts - Melody of Memory
Championship: Hades defeated Final Fantasy VII Remake 35-34

2020 was a crazy year; 366 days of events that included the deaths of Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman, protests, riots, murder hornets, complete political divide, complete societal divide, and a worldwide pandemic that cancelled numerous events. Nevertheless, gaming was still a thing and that's why the tournament was necessary.

FF7 Remake finally got released five years after its initial trailer announcement in 2015 and the reaction was enough for it to net the overall top seed. Hades was well received by numerous users and critics and easily picked up the 2nd #1 seed. Animal Crossing had incredible sales due to its release right at the beginning of the pandemic and netted the third #1 seed. Finally, Doom Eternal barely held off Ori and the Will of the Wisps for the final top spot.

Round 1 had its fair share of upsets to kick things off. The first one to occur was #12 seed Crusader Kings III easily stunning a Kingdom Hearts rhythm spinoff 12-6; Crusader Kings III nearly did it again a second time, but lost 6-5 to #4 seed Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Paradise Killer got in as an #11 seed and upset World of Horror 9-6. Finally, there was a certain 4-pack that got shook up immediately...

#6 Bugsnax
#11 Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

#3 Cyberpunk 2077
#14 Murder by Numbers

Bloodstained escaped against Bugsnax 12-10 for the upset. Cyberpunk 2077 lived up to its disappointing hype as it loses in overtime 22-19 to Murder by Numbers. Bloodstained would win against Murder by Numbers to get an #11 seed into the Sweet 16, but came up short against #2 seed The Last of Us Part II.

As for the #1 seeds, all of them did well. The one that didn't make the Final Four, Doom Eternal, lost 12-10 to Ori and the Will of the Wisps in the Elite Eight. In fact, Doom Eternal's entire division was an odd case. Spiritfarer, an #8 seed, only lost by 2 votes to Eternal. Crash Bandicoot 4 nearly knocked off Ori 2 in the Sweet 16. And of course Crusader Kings III as explained earlier nearly getting a date with Doom Eternal.

Animal Crossing had an easy route to the semifinals, blowing out Visage and Temtem a combined 34-5, putting up 66% on Miles Morales, and winning 14-9 against Last of Us Part II. Hades had easy wins over Love Live and Dreams, just barely avoided overtime against Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and put up 60% on Tony Hawk 1+2 for the third final four spot. Finally, FF7 Remake had monster performances in its region; 22-4 over The Pedestrian, 21-6 over Spelunky 2, 20-7 over 13 Sentinels, and 23-12 over Paper Mario: Origami King. To top it all off, Cloud continued this rampage in the semifinals with a 29-13 win over Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It appeared Final Fantasy would finally get a championship on its resume.

And then Hades appeared.

Hades made easy work out of Animal Crossing 21-11 in the final four. In the first half of the championship, Hades stormed out to a massive lead, even leading by as much as 15 votes at one point. However, FF7 Remake refused to accept defeat so easily. As the final hours wound down, Cloud and crew carved into the large lead by Hades. Once the 24 hour mark hit, I counted the final results three times just to make sure I wasn't BSing myself.

35-34......... Hades.

SuperGiant was no stranger to these tournaments. Bastion nearly capped off a Cinderella Run in 2011 as a #7 seed but came up short in the Elite Eight. Transistor got a #14 seed in 2014 and was quickly disposed of. The third time was the charm though; not only was Hades a GOTY winner across multiple sources, it took the crown for Board 8's Best Game of 2020.

Ulti stated in the championship match topic that this was the best tournament I had ever done, and after the final match, I was inclined to agree. FF7 Remake and Hades were universally acclaimed by the vast majority of this board and many of those who voted stated they would have been happy with either game winning. It was an excellent sendoff to a crazy year that most of us would like to forget.

As for Final Fantasy, well... maybe VI has a chance to win 1994, unless Super Metroid or Sonic 3 & Knuckles have anything to say about it >_>

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

This ends this weekend (hopefully)

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 1996
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=473674

Ran: June 2020
Overall top seed: Super Mario 64
1 seeds: Super Mario 64, Super Mario RPG, Resident Evil, Donkey Kong Country 3
Final Four: Super Mario 64, Super Mario RPG, Metal Slug, Donkey Kong Country 3
Ultimate Loser: Tomb Raider
Championship: Super Mario RPG defeated Super Mario 64 28-26

The idea of a 1996 tournament didn't seem that appealing to me, considering it was very likely that the winner would be a certain launch title for the debuting Nintendo 64. But nevertheless, I've gotten this far, why not continue? With nothing else going on in a dead month during the pandemic, what better time than now to conduct another GotY tournament?

The #1 seeds seemed ideal. One was the perennial launch title for a new console and would change 3D platforming forever. One was arguably the last excellent game for the Super Nintendo. One was the new face of Survival Horror. And finally, one was a fine ending to a solid SNES trilogy. There were plenty of other great reps from the Super Nintendo, PlayStation, and PC, though as the seedings got lower, the choices got more bizarre. Three kids games on PC made the cut as well as obscure PC titles to boot. All in all, it made for a semi interesting tournament.

There weren't many upsets in round 1; NIGHTS Into Dreams entered the tournament as a #12 seed but managed one upset over Phantasmagoria. In other parts, we saw #14 seed Cool Boarders stun Tomb Raider in a narrow victory. Meanwhile, we'll get to the huge upset run shortly.

The #1 seeds mostly did their thing. Super Mario 64 immediately went to work, posting up Elder Scrolls II, San Francisco Rush, and Mega Man X3 a combined 57-11. Finally, the Elite Eight was a walk in the park for Mario with a 17-5 win over #2 seed Lufia II; Lufia II struggled the entire tournament with narrow wins over Carmen Sandiego, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Crash Bandicoot. Dixie and Kiddy Kong had a solid run as well, getting dominant wins over Earthsiege and Vectorman sequels, plus Quake; it had a close bout with Kirby Super Star in the Elite Eight but still won 14-10.

Super Mario RPG looked damn good in its region, making easy work out of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Sonic 3D Blast, and Diablo a combined 54-16; finally, it managed 64% on Twisted Metal 2 with a 16-9 victory. Resident Evil barely doubled a kids' PC title before dominating Harvester. Wave Race gave Chris and Jill a scare but still lost 14-11.

And then there was Metal Slug.

Metal Slug received a few nominations, but the point values of each nom were so low that the arcade classic only got a #14 seed. Its first victim was a 11-7 win over #3 seed Civilization II. Round 2, Metal Slug got a 10-8 victory over Destruction Derby 2. In round 3, Metal Slug scored a 12-8 win over #2 seed Shadows of the Empire, becoming only the second #14 seed in history to reach the Elite Eight. At this point, Metal Slug had its growing support and managed the unthinkable: a 13-10 colossal upset over Resident Evil. This win marked Metal Slug as the lowest seeded game in tournament history to reach the Final Four.

Unfortunately, neither of the Final Four matches were interesting by any means. Super Mario 64 nearly missed doubling DKC3 with a 18-10 win. Metal Slug's Cinderella run ended immediately with a 21-11 loss to Super Mario RPG.

Little did we know how close Mario RPG and Mario 64 would be. For Mario platformers, this was the 4th one to appear in the championship after both Galaxy games and Odyssey. For Mario RPGs, this was the first of its kind. It appeared as if Mario 64 was going to run away with it, but a surge of votes for Mario RPG would push it in the lead in the final few hours and it held on to the bitter end.

Of course all of this meant one and only one thing: It took assistance from Nintendo, but Square finally won a GotY tournament!

I had plans to run a 1995 tournament almost right away, but life gets in the way as expected. With that being said, considering how much I had on my plate at the time, it was just safer to wait for 2020 to end. And boy what a tournament that ended up being...

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Appreciate it dude, and I don't expect everyone to comment but the appreciation is always there. Too much going on in my personal life keeping me off here

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Only 2 years left to do, hopefully in the next few days...

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2019
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=472920

Ran: January 2020
Overall top seed: Resident Evil 2
1 seeds: Resident Evil 2, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Kingdom Hearts III, Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Final Four: Resident Evil 2, AI: The Somnium Files, Kingdom Hearts III, Disco Elysium
Ultimate Loser: Hypnospace Outlaw
Championship: Disco Elysium defeated AI: The Somnium Files 15-13

Capcom struck gold with its remake of Resident Evil 2 released 21 years after the original, and it was more than enough for the board to vote it the overall #1 seed. Fire Emblem secured the overall #2 seed, while Kingdom Hearts III and Bloodstained got the last top seeds. As the lowest scoring of the 4 top seeds, Bloodstained barely held off Sekiro for the top spot, so Sekiro's #2 seed would have to suffice and set up a potential Bloodstained vs Sekiro showdown in the Elite Eight.

Little did we know how absolutely nuts the tournament was going to be.

On the 4th day of the tournament, Sekiro started its run against #15 seed Ring Fit Adventure. What no one expected to see, however, was a TIE at the end of regulation, 6-6. On the fifth day, the overtime session remained close, but in a shocking turn of events, Ring Fit Adventure won 8-6 in overtime for a final score of 14-12. It took 23 tournaments for a #15 seed to finally win a match, and it came at the expense of a huge Game of the Year winner across multiple sources. You'd think it would end there, but in round 2, Ring Fit Adventure got a 8-7 victory over #7 seed Astral Chain. Round 3 set up a showdown between Ring Fit and #6 seed Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. How nuts did this matchup get? Two words: Triple Overtime. Ring Fit refused to go down and put up an incredible fight. Had someone not casted a vote in the final 15 seconds for Yooka-Laylee 2, we'd have seen quadruple overtime. The final score was 60-59 in favor of the unlikely duo. Ring Fit Adventure became the first #15 seed to win a match, and then did it a second time; its performance in 2019 can never be taken away.

The rest of the tournament would definitely have crazy moments too. Slay the Spire would blow its #3 seed by losing in overtime to #14 seed Devotion. The first round ended with #12 seed Bug Fables getting the upset over #5 seed Jedi Fallen Order. Besides that, it was business as usual for most higher seeds in round 1.

Round 2? About that... Bloodstained and Fire Emblem immediately blew their #1 seed spots. Bloodstained lost 18-16 in OT to Life is Strange 2, and Three Houses loses 9-7 to Tetris 99. In Bloodstained's region, AI took advantage of the upset and knocked off Life is Strange, followed by Yooka-Laylee 2 to advance to the Final Four. In Fire Emblem's region, Super Mario Maker 2 was able to get out of the 8-pack that Fire Emblem was in, only to run into a dark horse named Disco Elysium. A #2 seed in Fire Emblem's region, Disco Elysium was a PC only title (at the time) with wins over After Party, Judgment, and the Outer Wilds. Finally, it easily put away Mario Maker 2 17-11 for the Final Four.

Kingdom Hearts III only had one struggle and that was an 8-6 win over Untitled Goose Game in round 2. Besides that, convincing wins over The Glass Staircase, Control, and The Outer Worlds would give KH3 a Final Four spot. Finally, Resident Evil 2 laid waste to Team Sonic Racing, Dragon Quest Builders 2, and Trails of Cold Steel III before winning a respectable match against Devil May Cry 5 for the last Final Four spot.

The semifinals were interesting from different perspectives. Kingdom Hearts III and Disco Elysium would actually meet later on in the GameFAQs Best Game of the Decade tournament. While KH3 would win that match, Disco Elysium would win this one 22-17. The match between Resident Evil 2 and AI would be the one that disappointed me. 2019 was the year Capcom finally listened to their fans and released two landmark titles; Resident Evil 2 ended up going into overtime against The Somnium Files... and lost 32-29.

I looked up AI. 32 of you guys voted an anime game over Resident Evil 2 -_-. Again though, that's my opinion, and it is what it is. AI brought the fight to Disco Elysium in the championship, but the PC sleeper would win 15-13 in a match where it never lost its lead. Very recently, Disco Elysium got released for PlayStation 4 and it set for Switch and Xbox releases later this year. However, at the end of 2019, Disco was only on PC, making it the first PC exclusive game to win one of these tournaments.

2019 was a crazy tournament to make up for the previous one that was straight down the middle. The upsets in the first 2 rounds definitely shook the tournament off its foundation and prevented potentially good runs from Bloodstained, Fire Emblem, and Sekiro. And in the end, the most unlikeliest of winners escaped with the gold.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Near the end with only 3 years to go! 2019 writeup hopefully tomorrow.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2018
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=471157

Ran: January 2019
Overall top seed: Super Smash Bros Ultimate
1 seeds: Smash Ultimate, Red Dead Redemption II, Spider-Man, God of War
Final Four: See above
Ultimate Loser: Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass
Championship: Smash Ultimate defeated God of War 23-18

After Breath of the Wild won 2017 for both the Switch and the Wii U, it would be all Switch for Nintendo reps in 2018. Needless to say, the board was all in on Super Smash Bros Ultimate and it easily netted the overall #1 seed. The other top seeds were expected as well, with Kratos, Arthur Morgan, and Spider-Man securing them with ease.

For the most part, the contest was average at best with low votals and no upsets. The only 9-and-below seeds to win matches were the following...

#9: Persona 3 - Dancing in Moonlight, Ni No Kuni II
#10: Iconoclasts, Dissidia NT

...that's it. It wasn't until round 3 where a few significant upsets came, with #3 seed Celeste beating Dragon Quest XI and #3 seed Monster Hunter World winning against Hitman 2, both losing games were #2 seeds.

The top seeds did their thing as usual. Smash Bros Ultimate had an insanely easy run, obliterating CrossCode, Persona 3: DiM, and a Jackbox Party Pack before netting 66% on Return of the Obra Dinn for the first final four slot. Red Dead II did the same to Octahedron, Ni No Kuni II, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey before winning a respectable 10-7 against Monster Hunter World. Meanwhile Spidey shut out Bendy, barely doubled Into the Breach, had a scare against Kirby Star Allies, and then completely wasted Octopath Traveler 15-3 for the next semifinal slot. Finally, God of War had easy wins over a Persona 5 dancing spinoff, Curse of the Moon and Dead Cells before barely escaping 15-13 against Celeste.

The semifinals weren't that much more interesting, as Smash Ultimate scored over 66% on Red Dead Redemption II while God of War barely missed 66% on Spider-Man. It wasn't until the finals where we got our first interesting match, as Kratos finally brought Smash a fight for the ages. Some (myself included) even thought God of War was going to pull off the big upset, but Smash eventually regained the lead and held on, giving the series its second victory in tournament history.

No Cinderella runs would be discussed at all in this tournament, and a lot of it was just clearly obvious at what the outcome would be. In the end, it was a tournament that happened and I could count with one hand the number of interesting matchups.

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---

Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Another bump

2018 this weekend

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Up.

Might not get to 2018 until the end of the week

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 1997
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=467558

Ran: July 2017
Overall top seed: Final Fantasy VII
1 seeds: FF7, Star Fox 64, Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing
Final Four: FF7, Star Fox 64, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Diddy Kong Racing
Ultimate Loser: Rival Schools - United by Fate
Championship: Symphony of the Night defeated Final Fantasy VII 15-13

Whoops! I forgot I did this between 2016 and 2017's tournaments!

I had just returned from Poland after a 2 month mission and with a nice chunk of time on my hands, it was time to determine the best game of 1997! With the 10-game nominating system, FF7 was the clear runaway top seed and it looked like Square finally had a chance to get the championship they long pursued. The other #1 seeds were snatched up by Nintendo 64 hits, all which came out in the first official full year of Nintendo's newest console. Playstation had a few reps, most notably FF7 and Castlevania at high seeds, the Saturn had a few small reps, and even the Super Nintendo had the first Harvest Moon title earning a #7 seed as well as Kirby's Dream Land 3 netting a #4 seed. And as soon as the tournament started, we'd see several upsets happen as a result of games getting one or two nominations, yet being top ranked so they'd get a high seed.

It didn't take long for the upsets to happen, as Turok got in with a #12 seed and upset The Curse of Monkey Island and Bushido Blade (both a #5 and #4 seed, respectably). On the second day, Cool Boarders 2 came in as a #14 seed and stunned Kirby Star Stacker and Fallout in back to back rounds. On day 3, Wild Arms as a #12 seed upset Jet Moto 2 in overtime by two votes. On day 5, House of the Dead as a #12 seed upset Worms 2 and later Croc in round 2. Day 6 treated us to two upsets; #11 seed Rampage: World Tour knocking off Blood, and #14 seed Bomberman 64 upsetting Nightmare Creatures. Those two would meet in round 2 with Bomberman scoring another upset. Finally, in another rare instance, we had two sports games win in round 1 as NFL Quarterback Club 98 and NFL Blitz picked up Ws.

How did the #1 seeds do? As you noticed at the beginning, 3 of them made the Final Four. FF7 outscored an NBA Live game, Alundra, and Turok a combined 36-5, before posting 66% on Tekken 3 and advancing to the semifinals with a 14-7 score. Diddy Kong Racing's path was slightly more challenging. After nearly missing 80% on Tetrisphere, DKR doubled Doom 64, and then survived close affairs with Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Blast Corps for the second spot. Star Fox 64 outscored Vandal Hearts, Sonic R, and Time Crisis II a combined 38-8, and then managed a 12-8 victory over Goldeneye for the 3rd semifinal spot. Finally, Mario Kart 64 fell short in the Elite Eight; after decent wins over Shadow Warrior, Mischief Makers, and House of the Dead, Mario and crew lose on the final lap to Alucard as Castlevania wins 15-10 over the hit racing title.

In the semifinals, Final Fantasy VII failed to double its opponent for the first time, only managing a 14-8 win over Diddy Kong Racing. On the other side, Castlevania blew Star Fox out the gate and won 18-10 in a match that was never close. As much as FF7 is loved by its fanbase and the community, it has nothing on The Plan, as Symphony of the Night led the entire 24 hours and escaped the championship by only 2 votes.

Six months later, Square would get another crack at glory with Nier Automata, which as explained earlier, would choke in the semifinals of 2017. The company's track record was very much similar to that of the Minnesota Vikings; so many wins and zero championships to show for it.

1997's tournament was fine, though a good portion of it didn't add up and the nominating made way for some crazy upsets that really weren't that crazy in the first place. Nightmare Creatures had no business being a #3 seed, not even by 1997 standards. We saw a Monkey Island game get a #5 seed, and not even one that people knew about compared to the 1st or 4th game.

Above all else, with this and later 2017 done, it was a quiet 2018 for any future contests. However, the 2018 tournament itself would be anything but quiet...

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Next writeup tomorrow

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2017
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=468856

Ran: January 2018
Overall top seed: Nier Automata
1 seeds: Nier Automata, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Cuphead
Final Four: Nier Automata, Breath of the Wild, Persona 5, Super Mario Odyssey
Ultimate Loser: Golf Story
Championship: Breath of the Wild defeated Mario Odyssey 21-18

2017... the tournament that had a handful of small delays due to work, including a 3 day field exercise in the middle of nowhere in early February. 2017 was a big year for gaming, due to the release of the Nintendo Switch. However, when the nominations were done, the Switch could only obtain one #1 seeded game and that was Breath of the Wild getting the second-most number of total points. The first? Nier Automata. The first Nier managed a #6 seed in 2010 and still made the Elite Eight; now it's successor was ready to run the gauntlet. Meanwhile Persona 5 had a huge following here and easily snatched up the 3rd #1 seed. Finally, Cuphead edged Mario Odyssey for the final #1 spot and would have a chance to prove it was deserving of said seed with a potential Cuphead/Mario matchup in the Elite Eight, if both games made it there.

2017 would also be the final year a Wii U and PS3 game made the bracket, as Breath of the Wild and Persona 5 had representation there. Also in a rare surprise, Star Fox 2 would get released on the mini SNES for the first time in America, therefore 19 years after the console stopped releasing new games in America, the Super Nintendo would have a game in the 2017 tournament.

Only three double-digit seeds won in round 1: #10 seeds The Evil Within 2 and Little Nightmares got a win each, and #12 seed Divinity: Original Sin II managed to get to round 3 before losing with dignity against Breath of the Wild. The rest of the matches in round 1 favored the higher seed each time. So how did those #1 seeds do?

Persona 5 made easy work out of Outlast 2, Wolfenstein II, and Metroid 2 (Samus Returns), outscoring all three a combined 36-10. It sealed the deal with a 19-7 win over Xenoblade 2 for the first semifinal spot. Breath of the Wild did the same with Butterfly Soup, Injustice 2, and Divinity: Original Sin II, and then beat Tales of Berseria 21-10 for the second semifinal slot.

Cuphead managed a shutout in round 1 and put up 66% on some Life is Strange DLC, but then ran into an Aloy-sized brick wall as Horizon Zero Dawn scored the upset 14-11. In that region's Elite Eight, Mario Odyssey embarrassed Horizon 20-8 for the 3rd semifinal slot. Finally, Nier Automata meant business. Don't believe me? Look at these scores...

14-3 over Dujanah
17-3 over Nioh
15-2 over Uncharted 2: The Lost Legacy
18-9 over Resident Evil 7

Automata outscored its first three opponents 46-8 and managed to put up 66% on Biohazard, earning the series its first Final Four appearance. It looked like Square was finally going to get the win it longed for all these years. However, there's just one problem: Some of us tend to forget where we are.

Welcome to Nintendo 8, folks. Please enjoy your stay, there's also discussion topics about wrestling, politics, anime, and more Nintendo. Automata would have the battle of a lifetime with Mario Odyssey, with both games exchanging leads multiple times in the 24 hour span. The end result was Mario stunning the overall #1 seed 21-20 and advancing to the finals, the 4th Mario 3D platformer to do so. On the other side of the bracket, the Hylian Hammer made easy work out of Persona 5; don't let the 23-18 score fool you, this match was never really that close.

In the first ever all-Nintendo final, Link and Mario kept it close nearly the entire time. However, Breath of the Wild would be too much to handle and the Zelda series wins its 2nd GotY championship with a 21-18 win.

Looking at this bracket now, there are a few things that surprise me, knowing how this board reacts to such games...

• Hollow Knight losing in round 2
• Trails in the Sky losing in round 1
• Splatoon 2 losing in round 1

All in all, the 2017 tournament was fine, although the lack of upsets was a little disappointing.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Mac Arrowny posted...

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition, of course!

You mean the game that literally came out a year earlier and lost to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes?

UF8 posted...

(my favourite was rabi ribi)

(also wish murasaki and xmas shooting scramble were there)

Admittedly I never heard of any of those games until now. 2016 was a good year for indie entrants, but those missed the cut I suppose.

UF8 posted...

also surprised fata morgana didn't make it, did b8 just ignore it until years after its release or something (i wasn't really active at that time...)

oh yeah umineko question arcs got that official release that year too. mixed feelings about those versions but still a bit of a surprise to not see them there too

No clue on Fata Morgana, though ignoring wouldn't be surprising since many people might have played the Japanese version in 2012.

And Umineko has never appeared in any of these tournaments.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

UF8 posted...

the best game of 2016 didn't even make the bracket :(

...which was?

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

2017 tomorrow!

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2016
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=465407

Ran: January 2017
Overall top seed: Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End
1 seeds: Uncharted 4, Overwatch, Dark Souls III, Final Fantasy XV
Final Four: Uncharted 4, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Dark Souls III, Final Fantasy XV
Ultimate Loser: Pocket Card Jockey
Championship: Dark Souls III defeated Pokemon Sun/Moon 35-34

Ditching the monthly polls for good, 2016's tournament would be based on nominating up to 10 games, with the top game being worth the most points. Uncharted 4 was a big deal for PS4 exclusives and easily snatched the top spot. Right behind UC4 was GameFAQs GOTY winner Final Fantasy XV, followed by Dark Souls III and Overwatch. The Wii U didn't get much representation, with Star Fox Zero being the console's only entry as a #14 seed, but Nintendo got plenty of representation from the 3DS with #2 seed Pokemon Sun/Moon leading the pack.

A few upsets rocked the opening round, including two #14 seeds advancing; The Witness upset #3 seed Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, while Hyper Light Drifter stunned #3 seed World of Final Fantasy, followed by a win over #11 seed Super Mario Run, becoming the third #14 seed to make it to round 3. Super Mario Run had a upset over #6 seed Salt and Sanctuary, becoming the third mobile game to win a tournament match; the second mobile game would also be in this year's tournament, as Pokemon Go scored a #5 seed and a victory in round 1. Other #11 seeds to create a few upsets included Amplitude beating #6 seed Pocket Card Jockey, and Hitman defeating #6 seed Forza Horizon 3 and The Witness before nearly defeating #2 seed Zero Time Dilemma. Finally, #12 seed The Last Guardian stunned Dragon Quest VII in the first round.

Most of the #1 seeds did fairly well. Uncharted 4 laid Tricky Towers, Street Fighter V, and Jackbox Party Pack 3 to waste before having a respectable 12-9 victory over Stardew Valley in the Elite Eight. Dark Souls III made easy work out of Furi and Shadow Tactics before having some close bouts with Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice and Kirby Planet Robobot to earn a semifinal spot; the highlight of Dark Souls' region was an intense double overtime match between Kirby and Doom that ended with Nintendo's adorable hero winning 35-34.

Final Fantasy XV underperformed as a #1 seed. It's highlights included barely doubling #16 seed Stellaris, and then winning 10-8 three times in a row against Oxenfree, XCOM 2, and Zero Time Dilemma. But that's more than what I could say for Overwatch; after wins over Owlboy and MLB The Show 16, Blizzard's online free for all lost in overtime to #4 seed Dishonored 2. Dishonored 2 would lose by a single vote to Pokemon Sun/Moon for the last spot in the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Final Fantasy XV had its fourth match in a row with only 10 votes; unfortunately for Noctis and his bros, Dark Souls III had 13, giving DS3 the 2nd straight championship appearance for From Software. The battle between Uncharted 4 and Pokemon Sun/Moon was more intense, going into overtime; at the end of the second day, Pokemon won 39-36 and Sun/Moon became the 3rd game in the series to attend the championship.

Dark Souls III and Pokemon had an epic battle for the ages; at the end of the first day, a 17-17 tie forces these two to go into overtime. The 24 hour overtime session was just as extreme, with neither game building a large lead at any time. The final result was a photo finish, one so close that I had to double check the time stamps on the posts. With a 34-34 tie, FFDragon casts a vote for Dark Souls III with eight seconds remaining before the 24 hours officially passed. A vote for Pokemon Sun/Moon was cast 11 seconds after the 24 hour mark, but it was too little, too late; Dark Souls III wins the closest championship match in tournament history 35-34 after 48 hours of competition.

The Soulsbourne titles slowly built a reputation in these contests as time went by. Note the titles prior to 2016...
Demon's Souls - Round 3 loss to Dragon Age in 2009
Dark Souls - Round 4 loss to Skyward Sword in 2011
Dark Souls II - Round 1 loss to Crypt of the Necrodancer in 2014
Bloodborne - Championship loss to Rocket League in 2015

...and the last of the Soulsbourne games, Dark Souls III, wins 2016 in crazy fashion.

The most ironic part? I got to this tournament on March 24, 2021, the 5th year anniversary of Dark Souls III's release.

Rankings So Far
2008
2016
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
1999
2003
2002
2004
2007
2015
1998
2014
2012
2005
2006

---

Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2015
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=461812

Ran: January 2016
Overall top seed: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
1 seeds: Witcher III, Metal Gear Solid V, Bloodborne, Xenoblade Chronicles X
Final Four: Life is Strange, Rocket League, Bloodborne, Xenoblade Chronicles X
Ultimate Loser: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Championship: Rocket League defeated Bloodborne 17-15

Two years deep into the new generation and 2015 would give us an assorted array of games competing for the crown. I brought back the monthly polls for what would be the last time, and the results were like so...

January: Dying Light
February: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
March: Bloodborne
April: Crypt of the Necrodancer
May: The Witcher III - Wild Hunt
June: Batman - Arkham Knight
July: Rocket League
August: Until Dawn
September: Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain
October: Life is Strange
November: Fallout 4
December: Xenoblade Chronicles X

And appropriately so, all 12 games listed got the top 3 seeds in each region. With its recent GOTY win on GameFAQs and its dominant performance for May, The Witcher III earned the overall top spot. Also, our Best Game Ever winner Undertale finished 2nd place in the September poll, good enough for a strong #4 seed and paired in the same region as the game that beat it, MGS5!

Only a few upsets stood out in the first two rounds. SOMA entered as a #12 seed and upset Eiyuu Senki. Rock Band 4 came in as a #11 seed and upset Mad Max, earning the franchise its first win in seven years. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes entered as a #12 seed and knocked off Her Story and Ori & the Blind Forest in a nice run. Finally, Trails of Cold Steel entered the fray as a #7 seed but managed to upset Crypt of the Necrodancer in round 2.

The two #1 seeds who made the final four did their thing as usual. Bloodborne thrashed Nintendo Badge Arcade, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes in the first three rounds; it finally got a scare from Until Dawn before advancing with an 11-8 victory. Xenoblade Chronicles X dominated Pokemon Shuffle, but then had close bouts with Hotline Miami 2, Super Mario Maker, and Fallout 4 (the craziest being the 27-23 win over Mario Maker) before earning a spot in the semifinals.

The other two #1 seeds, including the overall top seed, didn't fare so well. Witcher III shut out Fallout Shelter 14-0 and then flattened Assassin's Creed Syndicate 12-1. Once round 3 hit, Geralt had his hands full with the Splatoon crew, escaping with a 8-7 win. However, it ran into a brick wall when Life is Strange arrived in the Elite Eight; Life is Strange won 11-7 in a match where The Witcher III never led.

Metal Gear Solid V continued the nice tradition of every full length MGS game getting a #1 seed. It took matters into its own hands with big wins over Chip's Challenge and a Mario edition of Puzzles and Dragons. Then it was time for the showdown in round 3 with Undertale. Undertale was filled with determination and forced MGS5 to go into overtime. It wouldn't be enough, however, as The Phantom Pain held off the Best Game Ever with a 27-23 win. Little did we know it would be the final victory for Metal Gear Solid; MGS5 would be the first game among the 5 main Metal Gear Solid titles to miss the final four, losing to Rocket League 10-9.

The semifinals would be close from start to finish. In the battle of #2 seeds, Rocket League escapes with a 12-10 victory over Life is Strange. In the battle of #1 seeds, Bloodborne escapes with a 12-11 victory over Xenoblade Chronicles X, earning From Software its first appearance in a championship. Many thought Bloodborne would seize the day, but in a turn of events, Rocket League would pull off the big win by 2 votes.

2015 would be the year that indie games would start appearing more, and some even brought the fight to the more highly noted titles. Along with that, seeing Phantom Pain fail to live up to previous Metal Gear Solids was a shocker, but then again, Rocket League had a strong following in 2015-16. Also, don't let the upset to Life is Strange fool you; Wild Hunt's run was the best for any Witcher title in these tournaments, though the real run Witcher III would impress people with wouldn't be for another four years.

Regardless, 2015 was over, and I had a cool 11 months before even fathoming the idea of another GotY tournament, and 2016 had some hard hitters to contest for the grand prize!

Rankings So Far
2008
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
1999
2003
2002
2004
2007
2015
1998
2014
2012
2005
2006

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

2015 writeup tomorrow. But first, a prologue...

November 2015 featured the infamous Best Game Ever III tournament, best known for outside sources rallying Undertale to an extremely surprising series of upsets and winning the championship against Ocarina of Time.

Undertale's success would spread awareness of the game across Board 8, but how would it fare in January 2016 when it was time to have our own tournament?

Find out tomorrow!

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Two years in a row, WWE gets lazy with the 2nd world title match for Wrestlemania (aka the one that the Rumble winner doesn't pick).

2003 - Booker T wins battle royal
2004 - Angle beats Cena and Big Show for the WWE title shot
2005 - Cena wins tournament
2006 - HHH wins tournament
2007 - HBK beats Edge and Orton in triple threat
2008 - Undertaker wins chamber match
2009 - Edge, Big Show, and Cena storyline builds to triple threat match
2010 - Cena beats Batista by DQ
2011 - Cena wins chamber match
2012 - Jericho wins battle royal
2013 - Swagger wins chamber match
2017 - Goldberg vs Lesnar automatically becomes a title match after Goldberg beats Owens for the Universal title
2018 - Reigns wins chamber match
2019 - New Day wins a Tag Team gauntlet to earn Kofi a title shot
2020 - "........I'm next." (Followed by Strowman quietly replacing Reigns)
2021 - "I destroyed McIntyre at Elimination Chamber and I'll do it again at Wrestlemania!"

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Fastlane card
Reigns vs Bryan for Universal title, Edge is special enforcer
McIntyre vs Sheamus
Big E vs Crews for the IC title
Riddle vs Ali for the US title
Nia and Baszler vs Banks and Belair for the Women's Tag Titles
Orton vs Bliss
Rollins vs Nakamura
Braun vs Shane

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Will continue soon

2015 up next

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 1998
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=459669

Ran: July 2015
Overall top seed: Metal Gear Solid
1 seeds: MGS, Final Fantasy Tactics, Ocarina of Time, Pokemon Red/Blue
Final Four: MGS, FFT, Banjo-Kazooie, Pokemon Red/Blue
Ultimate Loser: Clock Tower II - The Struggle Within
Championship: Pokemon RBY defeated FF Tactics 24-22

1998, an incredible year for gaming, and I finally run a tournament for it 16 years later. I was back from a mission and back from vacation, so once July hit, it was ON!

Metal Gear Solid led the pack in nominees to secure the overall top seed, while the rest of the bracket was filled with classics from the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. We also had a few get in from the PC, Game Boy, and even the Saturn! All in all, it shaped up to be an interesting and solid tournament. Also in a rare first time moment, Hellnight became the first non-American released game to appear in a tournament; I allowed its entry since the contest was retroactive.

Round 1 went as expected, with only one seed below #10 winning a contest match; with a low seed of #11, Marvel vs Capcom dominated Fallout 2. Also in typical fashion, both 1998 wrestling hits WWF War Zone and WCW/nWo Revenge crapped out in round 1 to #10 seeds Space Station Silicon Valley and Einhander (as a fan of late 90s/early 2000s wrestling games, the better choices did win here). Finally, Panzer Dragoon Saga became the first Saturn game to reach the third round. Two major upsets occurred in round 2; the first being Yoshi's Story beating #2 seed Gran Turismo in sudden death, and the second one we'll discuss shortly.

Metal Gear Solid dominated its region, blowing out Liero, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Panzer Dragoon Saga before having a good 17-12 finish against Half-Life. Final Fantasy Tactics scored 80% on some Minigolf game before having fairly close bouts with Need for Speed III and F-Zero X before escaping Resident Evil 2 with a 9-8 win in the Elite Eight. Pokemon made easy work out of Daytona USA 2 and Soulcalibur before having a close match with Starcraft; the Starcraft match was nothing compared to Pokemon having to face Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped in the Elite Eight. Crash gave Pokemon a scare for two days, but ultimately RBY advanced with a 34-30 victory.

So that other upset I said we'd discuss? It happened in Ocarina of Time's division. To this day, I'll never understand what happened, as one of the most highly acclaimed titles of the past 23 years missed the finals. So who beat OoT? Was it Banjo-Kazooie? Spyro the Dragon? Hell, was it Tomba?

It was 1080 Snowboarding.

Don't get me wrong, 1080 is fun to play. But an 8-7 victory over Ocarina of Time was definitely out of nowhere. I think a lot of it was anti-voting for the sake of anti-voting and Link ended up paying for it. With the top seed in that region gone, it was fair game for nearly anyone else. The end result was Banjo-Kazooie beating Spyro by 1 vote in overtime, and then nearly doubling Baldur's Gate for the last Final Four spot.

Every match at the end was a hard hitter. Final Fantasy Tactics and Metal Gear Solid fought to the very end with Ramza and crew escaping Solid Snake by three votes. On the other side of the bracket, Banjo-Kazooie gave Pokemon a hard time, but would still come up short, losing 17-20. This of course sets up another shot for Final Fantasy in the championship, but it wasn't meant to be as Pokemon RBY gets the narrow victory by a score of 24-22.

It goes without saying that Zelda and Pokemon might have had an epic match if I did this right after 1998 ended. The only problem with that is...
1) GameFAQs didn't have message boards until November 1999
2) The GameFAQs Contests Board didn't exist until Summer 2002

But it still had its moments. The low votals weren't the greatest the first few rounds, but it picked up once the Elite Eight hit. With that, I was done for a few months and didn't worry about another GotY until January of 2016...

Rankings So Far
2008
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
1999
2003
2002
2004
2007
1998
2014
2012
2005
2006

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

1999
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=457131

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 1999
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?edit=1&tid=457131

Ran: February 2015
Overall top seed: Final Fantasy VIII
1 seeds: Final Fantasy VIII, Pokemon Snap, Super Smash Bros, Mario Party
Final Four: Final Fantasy VIII, Crash Team Racing, Super Smash Bros, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
Ultimate Loser: Driver
Championship: Spyro 2 defeated Final Fantasy VIII 70-67

The inspiration behind this tournament was that why wait for 2015 to end when we could go backwards? Think of the hottest years in the 90s, especially 1998! But before we get to 98, it was time to party like it was 1999!

Final Fantasy VIII led the pack in nominations and easily snatched the overall top seed. Nintendo would fill the void with the remaining #1 seeds, though not without a scare from Crash Team Racing and Spyro 2. The Dreamcast made its debut in 1999 and Sonic Adventure was able to power its way to a #2 seed. The end result when it was all said and done made way for some interesting matches, but too bad only two upsets happened in the first round. The first was #11 seed Planescape: Torment beating #6 seed WWF Attitude. It's no secret that most wrestling games do pretty bad in these tournaments, unless you're No Mercy and can manage a round 3 appearance. The second upset was Medal of Honor beating #5 seed Rayman 2: The Great Escape; admittedly, the first Medal of Honor was pretty solid and a groundbreaking title for FPS war games, so this upset was pretty nice to see, even if it was at the expense of a great game like Rayman 2.

FF8 was living up to its overall top seed hype, pasting San Francisco Rush and Resident Evil 3 easily, before having a surprisingly respectable match against NFL Blitz 2000; Blitz 2000 remains the only football game to make it to round 3 . After the 17-11 win over Blitz, Final Fantasy VIII met Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in the Elite Eight, and Tony Hawk wouldn't go down without a fight. After a day of overtime, Squall and crew advance 31-30 to the semifinals.

Super Smash Bros was the other #1 seed proving it earned its spot, though after easy wins over Thousand Arms and Tomba 2, Smash had close affairs against Donkey Kong 64 and Sonic Adventure, winning each by only 4 votes.

As for the 2 disappointing #1 seeds, first was Pokemon Snap. Snap looked good enough beating Aliens versus Predator and System Shock 2, and had a decent bout with Worms Armageddon. However, once it faced a more known adversary in Crash Team Racing, it was all she wrote for the N64 hit, as Crash beat Pokemon 17-14 to advance to the Final Four. Second #1 seed was Mario Party; after putting up 75% on Pac-Man World, Mario Party spent the next two rounds failing to get 66% on Pokemon Pinball and Mario Golf. Finally in the Elite Eight, Spyro 2 shuts the party down with a final score of 14-12.

In the semifinals, Final Fantasy VIII had its hands full with Crash Team Racing, and barely pulled it off in the end with a 21-18 victory. The more shocking result was Spyro 2 beating Super Smash Bros, not only because of the win itself, but also because it was an astounding 19-9, the biggest margin of victory against a Smash title in tournament history.

So when Squall and Spyro finally met in the championship, many thought Final Fantasy VIII would pull through and they could finally celebrate winning a tournament on here. However, Spyro didn't come to mess around and eventually forced overtime. On the second day, Final Fantasy VIII nearly had the match won, leading by a few votes going into the final hour. However, in the final 30 seconds of regulation, a user casted a vote for Spyro 2 to tie it up and force double overtime for the first time in championship history. And it was here Spyro 2 would cap off its crazy run, getting enough votes to win in 2OT 70-67.

The 1999 contest was fun, in my opinion. Maybe it's the good sense of nostalgia speaking, but you could never go wrong with most of the top seeded games that year. When the tournament ended, I wanted to do 1998 and knew several board members wanted to see it due to its crazy stacked lineup.

However, thanks to a mission in Germany and a baby on the way, 1998 would have to wait a few months...

Rankings So Far
2008
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
1999
2003
2002
2004
2007
2014
2012
2005
2006

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Curious question. Who would you consider the greatest 1 time world champion ever by WWE standards? The list looks like so...

Buddy Rogers
Ivan Koloff
Pedro Morales
Stan Stasiak
Billy Graham
Iron Sheik
Andre the Giant
Ultimate Warrior
Sgt Slaughter
Diesel
Vince McMahon
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Benoit
JBL
Rob Van Dam
King Booker
The Great Khali
Jack Swagger
Dean Ambrose
Finn Balor
Kevin Owens
Jinder Mahal
Kofi Kingston
Braun Strowman
Bobby Lashley

World titles won in other promotions not included here. And the ECW title is not a world belt.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

What's even crazier is they had Swagger squash Ryder for the belt and he did absolutely nothing with it for a month except defend against Justin Gabriel.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2014
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=456707

Ran: January 2015
Overall top seed: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
1 seeds: Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U, Mario Kart 8, The Wolf Among Us
Final Four: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Smash Wii U, Mario Kart 8, South Park: The Stick of Truth
Ultimate Loser: The Evil Within
Championship: Smash Bros for Wii U defeated South Park 18-13

The last leg of 2014 was different. I was stationed in Germany right after finishing training and was getting adjusted to both my new career and my new environment. During the week of Christmas, a GotY tournament was the last thing on my mind. A few days later, I saw someone post a topic asking for nominations for the Best Game of 2014, attempting to set up a tournament. Immediately, at least 3 to 4 users chimed in asking if I had okayed this.

Yes, a small handful of users wanted to see me continue running this tournament. I looked at how things were with work and such and realized I could still live a pretty normal life for the most part, despite being in the military and thousands of miles away from everyone I know.

The first thing I did? Ended Monthly polls. It's a move I don't regret and it paved the way for the traditional "nominate up to 10 games, #1 = 10 points, #10 = 1 point, etc" system. With that, the 2014 lineup was interesting. The Wii U was in its second full year and the PS4 and Xbox One were in their first full years, kicking off the new generation. So how did it fare with the nominating?

Super Smash Bros for 3DS led the way with the most nominations, possibly because it was more convenient and more owned than Smash for Wii U (even if Wii U was possibly the better version). Mario Kart 8 scooped up the third #1 seed, the first ever one for a Mario Kart game. Finally, for the 2nd time in three years, a Telltale game gets a #1 seed with The Wolf Among Us.

It didn't take long for the contest to get crazy. On the second day of the tournament, #14 seed Goat Simulator stunned Bayonetta 2 19-17 in overtime. Two years after Borderlands 2 made the championship, the Pre-Sequel falls hard in round 1 to Titanfall. Even worse, 5 years after Origins made the semifinals, Dragon Age: Inquisition loses in round 1 to Murdered: Soul Suspect. The final round 1 upset was Captain Toad at #12 beating Layton vs Phoenix, and then he managed to upset Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes in round 2, before nearly upsetting The Wolf Among Us. On a final note, Five Nights at Freddy's became the first mobile game to win a contest match, beating The Evil Within in overtime.

As for the 1 seeds, they too had a few shakeups. Super Smash Bros for 3DS became the first overall #1 seed to miss the Elite Eight, losing to Danganronpa by 3 votes in the third round. The real story in Smash 3DS's region was Goat Simulator. Entering in as a #14 seed, Goat Simulator became the lowest seed to make the Elite Eight, getting wins over Bayonetta 2, Akiba's Trip, and Bravely Default. Goat's Cinderella run came to an end, losing by 2 votes to Danganronpa in the Elite Eight. Smash for Wii U had an easier path, getting easy wins over Hearthstone, Murdered, and Walking Dead Season 2. However, it had a real challenge against DKC Tropical Freeze, winning only 13-11 to get the 2nd Final Four spot.

Mario Kart 8 had it as easy as Smash Wii U did, with easy wins over Hitman Go, Wolfenstein, and Child of Light. Finally, it survived a close affair with Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call for the third Final Four spot, and the first for a Kart game since Mario Kart DS in 2005. Finally, The Wolf Among Us would be the 2nd of two disappointing #1 seeds; Wolf barely beat a #16 seed Senran Kagura, easily beat Titanfall, and then only won by a vote against Captain Toad. When it came time for the Elite Eight, Wolf Among Us fell short against #3 seeded South Park: The Stick of Truth. South Park's RPG was a surprise hit in 2014 and was well liked among the board.

In the semifinals, Smash Wii U made easy work out of Danganronpa, putting up 66% easily, while South Park upset Mario Kart 8 for a date in the finals. The score was close, but Smash Bros for Wii U was never in any real danger of losing, and Smash gets its second championship in tournament history.

2014 was an interesting tournament if anything, but most importantly, it showed there was still life to these. We watched big titles like Bayonetta, Borderlands, Dragon Age, and the Evil Within all lose to unexpected opponents. We saw Nintendo hold 6 of the top 8 games in the bracket, and two of them make the semifinals. We saw Goat Simulator make it to the Elite Eight.

While I don't remember any of the details except one thing, I also ran a brief "NIT" for the snubbed games; only 16 games were contested in that tournament and they were ran through polls during the actual GotY matches. The only thing I remember was Sunset Overdrive winning, the only time anything Xbox exclusive won in these tournaments.

With 2014 done, I was back to chillin' off and on this board for the remainder of 2015, while figuring out the life of living overseas. However, it wouldn't be long before the tournament idea crossed my mind, and soon I decided it was time to go backwards, and that's a story for another day...

Rankings So Far
2008
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
2003
2002
2004
2007
2014
2012
2005
2006

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Obligatory bump so the next writeup begins on a new page

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

2014 tomorrow

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

My only other guess is Lashley really just wanted to murder Miz twice

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Jakyl25 posted...

https://twitter.com/wwe/status/1369032778881372161?s=21

This makes zero sense

So wait, how does Miz get a rematch? Did no-rematch-clauses get 3MR'd?

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2013
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=450690

Ran: January 2014
Overall top seed: The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds
1 seeds: Link Between Worlds, Super Mario 3D World, The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite
Final Four: See above
Ultimate Loser: The Wonderful 101
Championship: A Link Between Worlds defeated The Last of Us 65-59 in overtime

January: Ni no Kuni - Wrath of the White Witch
February: Fire Emblem Awakening
March: BioShock Infinite
April: Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Summoner Soul Hackers
May: Metro - Last Light
June: The Last of Us
July: Shin Megami Tensei IV
August: Saints Row IV
September: Grand Theft Auto V
October: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
November: Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds
December: Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 1

A little complex, and a few dead months there with Metro winning a GotM poll at one point. However, some of these results were very close and made seeding a little more challenging. BioShock and Last of Us looked damn good blowing out March and June, so they were in. A Link Between Worlds defeated Mario 3D World for November's poll by 1-2 votes, so for only the 2nd time ever, two games released in the same month got top seeds, with Link getting the overall spot. GTA5 barely edged Rayman Legends for September, so it was only right they both got 2 seeds. The weakest months settled for 4 and 5 seeds mostly.

And to the surprise of no one, those lower seeded GotM winners proceeded to exit the tournament as fast as they entered. Devil Summoner lost in OT 23-20 to #13 seeded Arkham Origins Blackgate. Metro: Last Light lost 11-6 to #12 seeded Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. That episode of Walking Dead got blown out 8-2 by #13 seeded Runner 2. They weren't alone on the upset board though for round 1; we also saw #5 seeded DmC lose 8-5 to Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, #6 seed Luigi's Mansion 2 lose 9-7 to Mega Man Unlimited, and Dragon's Crown winning 13-10 against #6 seed Tearaway.

As you noticed at the beginning, all top seeds won their regions, though all paths had different stories. The Last of Us had it the easiest, making fools out of Killer is Dead, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, and Arkham Origins (not Blackgate), before barely missing 66% on Rayman Legends but still winning 25-13 there. Super Mario 3D World would be the next easiest run, holding Sonic Lost World, Gran Turismo 6, and Shin Megami Tensei IV to 4 votes each, and then beating Phoenix Wright a respectable 17-11. Zelda would be next on the dominant order, as LBW easily disposed of the attempted SimCity reboot and Thomas Was Alone, but then had the match of a lifetime against Tomb Raider.

Many would question how that was possible, but let's be real here: the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider was fantastic and was exactly what Lara Croft needed to be relevant again, but for the right reasons this time. Tomb Raider outscored a Scribblenauts game and Arkham Origins Blackgate a combined 41-4, and then took Link to the limit in a very respectable 17-15 loss. Link carried that slight struggle into the Elite Eight, beating Fire Emblem 14-11 to earn a semifinal spot. Which leaves us with BioShock Infinite...

BioShock's region was set up for a potential BioShock vs Grand Theft Auto showdown. However, in typical GTA fashion, GTAV loses 15-11 in round 3; instead of a BioShock/GTA battle, Booker DeWitt had to go face to face with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxq_B2KPQDY

Revengeance came in all swords blazing, dicing up Cloudberry Kingdom and Dragon's Crown before upsetting GTA5. In the Elite Eight, Revengeance forced OT against Infinite, giving us a damn good 2 day match. However, it wasn't meant to be, as BioShock won with a final score of 46-43

In a shocking turn of events, BOTH semifinals matches were nuts. Link Between Worlds and Mario 3D World earned their #1 seeds in this battle, as Mario forced overtime at the end. Link turned on the thrusters and escaped into the finals with a 38-31 victory that took place over two days. The Last of Us and BioShock Infinite was close the entire 24 hours, and I had to count three times to make sure I wasn't bullshitting myself. Final score? Last of Us scraping by 24-23 over Infinite, setting up Link vs Joel in the finals.

Not to be outdone by either Mario or Lara Croft, Joel and Ellie's apocalyptic survival adventure took Link to the limit, forcing yet another overtime match for the 3DS hit, and the 2nd overtime championship match in tournament history. In day 2 of this showdown, Link pulled through in the end to win with a grand score of 65-59.

After the way 2012 ended, it was nice to see the following GotY tournament return to its glory days, even if only for a little bit. At the time, while I didn't announce it, it was almost my final tournament ran on the board. One month before the tournament started, I officially swore into the Army on Christmas Eve and had to wait roughly 2.5 months before going to Basic Training. I did announce that I would retire from running the Board 8 NFL Pick'em League, which I still consider to be my finest contribution to this board, and handed the torch to th3l3fty. I didn't know how much the Army would affect my time here, so I kept at a minimum on Board 8 for most of 2014; I retired from running the Pick'em, I "retired" from the UCA, and I sporadically just posted on B8 from time to time inbetween classes at AIT.

There's one huge positive I can take from all that I just mentioned. In the final month before Basic Training, after the Pick'em League ended, I began making a topic listing my 50 favorite games of all time. I worked on it little by little, posting detailed writeups and everything, and managed to finish one day before leaving for my new career. The one thing I didn't expect? A group of users here bumping my topic and keeping it alive for the duration of Basic Training, where I had zero access to the internet for over 2 months.

Thanks guys, that really meant a lot =)

Rankings So Far
2008
2013
2011
2009
2000
2001
2010
2003
2002
2004
2007
2012
2005
2006

Obviously I didn't retire from running GotY tournaments, and I'll get to that later >_>

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2012
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=439510

Ran: January 2013
Overall top seed: Borderlands 2
1 seeds: Borderlands 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Walking Dead, Zero Escape: VLR
Final Four: First three games, Pokemon Black/White 2
Ultimate Loser: Spelunky
Championship: Xenoblade Chronicles defeated Borderlands 2 24-18

2012... the Mayans got it wrong, Obama defeats Romney, and both Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson have incredible seasons after spending the previous year on the shelf. It was also a nice year for games for the most part! Let's start with the monthly winners...

January - Final Fantasy XIII-2
February - Resident Evil: Revelations
March - Mass Effect 3
April - Xenoblade Chronicles
May - Max Payne 3
June - Pokemon Conquest
July - Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy
August - Sleeping Dogs
September - Borderlands 2
October - Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
November - The Walking Dead
December - Far Cry 3

An interesting lineup nonetheless. Borderlands 2, Zero Escape, and Walking Dead won busy months, so their top seeds were justified. Xenoblade had the hype behind it and a dominating month so it grabbed the fourth top seed. Overall went to Borderlands 2 based on both performance and the fact that it was just recently voted GameFAQs' Game of the Year.

The stage was set, and the tournament was underway. The vote totals were lower than those in 2011 and 2010, as it was around this moment that the site (and Board 8) had slightly less visitors than usual (either that or people felt this bracket was underwhelming. Either way, I'm not trying to find that answer out). In the first round, only two upsets occurred; the first being #4 seed Pokemon Conquest losing by a single vote to Hotline Miami, and the second being #5 seed WWE '13 losing to Darksiders II. In round 2, a major unthinkable happened as Zero Escape failed to live up to its #1 seed, losing 10-7 to #8 seed Dragon's Dogma.

In the other divisions, all three remaining top seeds lived up to their hype. Walking Dead trounced FTL, Mark of the Ninja, and Kid Icarus: Uprising; its only close match was in round 3, beating Dishonored 12-7. Xenoblade Chronicles had some easy wins against some Atelier game and New Super Mario Bros U, before failing to double XCOM, and then having a respectable victory against Mass Effect 3 25-17 in the Elite Eight. Finally, Borderlands 2 mowed down a baseball game, Resident Evil 6, and Soulcalibur V before having a surprisingly close match in the Elite Eight against Halo 4.

...hold on a second, the fuck?! Halo had a history of bombing hard in these tournaments, but 4 was good enough to get a #6 seed going in. It wasted no time disposing of Paper Mario: Sticker Star and was expected to lose to Sleeping Dogs. Instead, we got a 10-9 Halo 4 victory and a date with #2 seed Final Fantasy XIII-2, so easy win for Final Fantasy, right? Nope, Master Chief put Sarah down 12-9 and headed on to face Borderlands 2 in a match that was close the whole time. Halo 4 lost that one 23-19, but hats off to Master Chief for finally getting in the Elite Eight.

It was Zero Escape and Pokemon's region where a revelation came via PM and one that possibly affected past tournaments. During round 3, I received word from a user that someone had been using 3 alt accounts in nearly every topic. After further research from other users and various sites that had some archived info, the accusation of this person using alts was confirmed true. I kept quiet, just not counting the three extra votes they were casting. For example, if I had kept counting the extra votes, Journey would have beaten Pokemon B/W2 by a score of 14-13 in the Elite Eight. Instead, Pokemon won 13-11 and made its third Final Four appearance.

Day one of the semis was whatever; Borderlands 2 smacks Pokemon 21-10 to get the finals. Xenoblade vs. Walking Dead, on the other hand... oh boy...

To the surprise of everyone, Xenoblade and Walking Dead was close. Very close. And then the cat was let out of the bag when said user with 3 extra accounts voted four times for Walking Dead; two other users called him out on it. Had I counted the extra votes, Walking Dead would have won 25-23 over Xenoblade Chronicles. Instead, Xenoblade advanced 23-22. The finals were as expected; Borderlands kept it close, but Xenoblade never lost its lead and won the match 24-18 (or 24-18-2 if you count those still voting for Walking Dead).

The tournament wasn't received by a few users, solely because of how I went through with Xenoblade/TWD. Admittedly, if I could go back and redo the tournament, I would have had an OT match to determine a true winner. It sucks, but eight years later, it is what it is.

As for if the tournament was ran today, the only thing I know for certain is Xenoblade is stomping through everyone and Borderlands 2 might not even make the semis. No clue who wins Walking Dead or Zero Escape's division today.

Regardless, 2013 looked to be a better year for gaming, and the tournament that ensued was almost my final GotY tournament, considering the events to come in 2014...

Rankings So Far
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2011
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2012
2005
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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

2012 later tonight or tomorrow

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

andylt posted...

And I have no idea who would get out of the Skyward Sword/Mario 3D Land/Dark Souls/Skyrim quadrant. Sonic Generations and Deus Ex might have something to say even!

After the Fall 2010 Contest, Deus Ex is getting sacked every chance it gets. Their fanboys whined over a fucking win.

Today, it's either Dark Souls or Skyrim getting out of that region, and they'd beat Uncharted 3 in the semis.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2011
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=417051

Ran: January 2012
Overall top seed: Uncharted 3 - Drake's Deception
1 seeds: Uncharted 3, Skyward Sword, Arkham City, Pokemon Black/White
Final Four: First three games, Portal 2
Ultimate Loser: Battlefield 3
Championship: Portal 2 defeated Uncharted 3 36-13

First off, the poll...
January: Ghost Trick - Phantom Detective
February: Marvel vs Capcom 3
March: Pokemon Black/White
April: Portal 2
May: LA Noire
June: inFamous 2
July: Catherine
August: Deus Ex - Human Revolution
September: Gears of War 3
October: Batman - Arkham City
November: Uncharted 3
December: Mario Kart 7

In a rare turn of events, considering how stacked November was, plus the results of said poll, Uncharted 3 earned the overall top seed narrowly beating Skyward Sword and Skyrim by only a few votes. Skyward Sword's performance netted a #1 seed, and Skyrim got to be #2 in its region. Arkham City won a month that featured Dark Souls and Kirby's Return to Dreamland, so a #1 seed was justified. Finally, Pokemon was in full swing as usual, so B/W got the final #1 seed.

It didn't take long for business to pick up. Gears of War 3 bombed as a #4 seed, losing to Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One in the first round. Mario Kart 7 lost to #12 seed Forza Motorsport 4 in the first round. Marvel vs Capcom 2 crapped out as a #2 seed, losing to Bastion in round 2. #11 seed Outland upset Shadows of the Damned in OT. Skyrim's chances of making the finals were dashed in round 3 when it was upset by Dark Souls. So how about those #1 seeds?

Uncharted 3 lived up to its predecessor's run in 2009, easily disposing of Corpse Party, You Don't Know Jack, Dead Space 2, and Bastion to net the first final four spot. Skyward Sword had an easy bout with FIFA 12 before having close matches with Sonic Generations, Super Mario 3D Land, and Dark Souls to get the second final four spot. Arkham City looked like a beast, tearing up a baseball game, The Witcher 2, and LA Noire in the first three rounds. Batman finally broke a sweat in the Elite Eight when Ghost Trick took the Dark Knight to overtime. Batman escaped with a 48-46 win for the third spot in the final four. Before we discuss the 4th semifinal slot, let's skip ahead, shall we?

I said 2011's tournament brought a hint of controversy, and it happened in the semifinals between Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword. Halfway through the 24 hours, Skyward Sword jumped to a ridiculously large lead. 3/4ths of the way, Uncharted 3 started surging. The one thing I noticed? A large majority of the votes were from users I've never seen on Board 8. Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword's game boards both had links directing to the match at hand. The fix was in, and a double rally had occurred. After a set period of time fishing out the rallied votes, the match was tied at 37. When it's all said and done, these are to determine what Board 8 thinks is the best game of the year, not CE or some random specified game board, so I stand by my decision to enforce overtime. The end result? Uncharted 3 pulls through, winning said match 72-64 and giving the series its 2nd championship appearance in three years; everything was looking like Nathan Drake would have his theme being played in the end.

And then Portal 2 happened.

Portal 2 must have taken it personally that Pokemon got the last #1 seed over it. First victim was Trails in the Sky, losing 16-3. Second victim was Dynasty Warriors 6 with a 21-6 blowout. In round 3, Portal 2 puts up 75% on Mortal Kombat, winning 27-9. Then it was time for #1 vs #2, and Portal 2 proceeded to beat the brakes off of Pokemon Black/White, with an astounding 29-11 final score. In the Final Four, Portal 2 had its closest match in the entire contest, still putting up 60% on Arkham City, beating the Dark Knight himself 32-18. And the championship match? The score posted at the beginning of the topic; Nathan Drake went into the Finals looking like a million dollars and came out looking like a potato as Portal 2 delivered the biggest blowout in tournament history.

Portal 2's run remains the single greatest tournament run in the 25 contests I've ran for GotY. It had a strong following here back in 2011-12, and everything fell in the right place at the right time. If the same bracket was ran today, I couldn't guarantee Portal 2 would repeat, only because of Dark Souls and Skyrim slowly gaining ground over the past few years and honestly saying the winner of that would face Portal 2 in a Championship match today. The winner between Portal 2 and Dark Souls/Skyrim is debatable on all fronts.

Two final notes. First off, Battlefield became the first series to have two Ultimate Losers.

Second off, the other hot topic of discussion was the idea of Xenoblade Chronicles being put in this tournament. At the time of August's poll, there was no news of the game coming out in North America, but I decided to hold out on hope and come to a decision by December. Thankfully by then, Nintendo finally listened to the people and announced an April 2012 release date for Xenoblade in North America.

Therefore, Xenoblade would finally have a crack at the contest come January 2013.

Rankings So Far
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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Fastbreak posted...

I was confused about why that would be a reply but then I saw who made the post so it clicked

This, pretty much.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

andylt posted...

Like does anybody talk about DKCR these days? Yet it walked to the semis, its only challenge being Heavy Rain of all things.

While mostly true, if ran today with the same bracket, I think DKCR would possibly get to the semis again unless Red Dead beats it. I wouldn't be surprised if Heavy Rain lost to Limbo.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Another tidbit I had thought about, when it was said a few months back that HHH didn't wrestle in 2020...

HHH ended a streak of 25 years with at least 1 WWF/E match last year. The same goes for Kane, who also did 25 consecutive years before not wrestling in 2020. Right now the leader of said stat is Undertaker, sitting at 31 years and counting. Considering his retirement announcement last November, that might finally come to an end this year.

Next longest streak of 1 active WWE match a year (televised matches only) goes to Orton with 20 years as of his few matches this year. Next is Cena with 19 and Miz with 16 years straight

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2010
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=384016

Ran: January 2011
Overall top seed: Super Mario Galaxy 2
1 seeds: Galaxy 2, Mass Effect 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Final Fantasy XIII
Final Four: See above
Ultimate Loser: Vanquish =(
Championship: Super Mario Galaxy 2 defeated Mass Effect 2 24-20

With retroactives done for the time being, we started with the new decade! Of course this means I brought back the polls, with the following winners...

January: Mass Effect 2
February: Ace Attorney Investigations - Miles Edgeworth
March: Final Fantasy XIII
April: Nier
May: Super Mario Galaxy 2
June: Metal Gear Solid - Peace Walker
July: Dragon Quest IX
August: Metroid - Other M
September: Civilization V
October: Kirby's Epic Yarn
November: Donkey Kong Country Returns
December: World of Warcraft - Cataclysm

Man... at least two of these results didn't age well. December's releases were so barren that only one game could be voted on that month and the WoW expansion wins the useless poll. Mario Galaxy 2 was far and away the most impressive winner, even in a month that featured Red Dead Redemption. Final Fantasy XIII barely edged God of War III for March, and finally, DKC Returns wins a busy November month and Mass Effect 2 had a good following behind it.

It didn't take long for one GotM winner to shit the bed as Cataclysm drops hard to VVVVVV by an astounding score of 22-5. The next round? Basically went like this...

*upsets a Blizzard game in round 1*
VVVVVV: "I'll fuckin' do it again."

...and do it again the game did, upsetting StarCraft II 14-10 (and StarCraft II was shitting the bed as a #4 seed anyway, barely beating a Need for Speed game 14-13 in round 1). VVVVVV respectfully bowed out to Donkey and Diddy, losing 25-14 to the Wii platforming sensation. The only other major upset in round 1 was #13 seed Valkyria Chronicles II, a PSP exclusive, beating Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, and then nearly did the same to Mega Man 10. Dragon Quest IX almost became the first #2 seed to lose in the opening round when it escaped by two votes against Enslaved: Journey to the West. We'd have to wait 9 more years for a #15 seed upset.

Most of the 1 seeds did their thing as usual. Mario Galaxy stomped Sonic 4, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and Professor Layton before having a close match with Nier in the Elite Eight; take note of Nier's 21-15 loss, as it'll get discussed in the semifinals. Mass Effect 2 looked damn good as well, posting up Split Second and a 3D Castlevania before respectfully beating MGS: Peace Walker and holding God of War III to 11 votes in the Elite Eight. Donkey Kong Country Returns did fairly well, dominating against Recettear, Sin and Punishment 2, and VVVVVV before having a fairly close bout with #6 seeded Heavy Rain in the Elite Eight.

Wait, #6 seeded Heavy Rain?! David Cage's latest interactive adventure had close encounters with Limbo and Civilization V, so after those wins, it was expected to lose hard to Red Dead Redemption, who had just made easy work out of BlazBlue and BioShock 2. Nope; Quantic Dream nets its first Elite Eight spot ever with a 15-13 upset; however, it wasn't meant to be any more than that as DKCR beats it 19-15.

So that leaves Final Fantasy XIII's region. The first three matches said it all...
1) Barely doubled a #16 seeded Final Fantasy spinoff game for DS
2) Beat #9 seeded Alan Wake 11-9
3) Beat #5 seeded Mega Man 10 20-14

...and FF13 was definitely not #1 seed material. It ran into Kirby's Epic Yarn in the Elite Eight and barely escaped with a heartbreaking score of 23-22, advancing to the Final Four. Lightning's reward? Super Mario Galaxy 2. Ouch. First and foremost, Mass Effect 2 made easy work out of DKCR in the final four, winning 29-19. Now for the other game...

...obviously I can't look at detailed results, but I'm 95% positive Mario Galaxy 2 scored the first 15 votes at minimum before Final Fantasy XIII got on the scoreboard. It was bad. Real bad. When the 24 hours ended, the biggest blowout in Final Four history was recorded, with Mario winning 40-12. Remember that 21-15 score that Galaxy 2 did over Nier? This means the following games from Mario's own region could have possibly beaten FF13 in a one on one setting: Nier, Just Cause 2, Dragon Quest IX, and Enslaved for sure. Hell, maybe even Metroid Other M might have had a shot at it. Finally, the blowout also confirmed last place in the X-Stats. Final Fantasy XIII beat Alan Wake 11-9 in round 2. Before that, Alan Wake demolished Fable III in the first round 19-3. We might antivote Halo to death in these contests, but at least they've won matches; Fable never made the 2004 tournament, Fable II lost to Lost Odyssey in 2008, and then Fable III gets dead last in this year's X-Stats.

The championship was close, but the lead never changed after the first few votes, as Super Mario Galaxy 2 nets the title 24-20, much to the dismay of various users who expressed their disappointment (and myself who expressed it silently >_>). In the end, it was Mario Galaxy's 2nd championship in four years in a fairly poppin' tournament.

And at the very least when it was all said and done, I didn't have to worry about running anything for 11 months except for the NFL Pick'em League in Fall. 2011 would have some generation defining titles, and a little controversy to go with it near the end.

WRITER'S NOTE: At the time of said contest, I didn't allow in Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver or Super Street Fighter IV, arguably one small regret. At the time I was strict on re-releases and such, and had I ran those contests today, both those games would likely be allowed in (Pokemon at the very least).

Also if this contest ran today, maybe Mass Effect 2 wins it all >_>

Rankings So Far
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2009
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2001
2010
2003
2002
2004
2007
2005
2006


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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2004
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=362344

Ran: May 2010
Overall top seed: Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater
1 seeds: MGS3, Tales of Symphonia, Half-Life 2, Halo 2
Final Four: MGS3, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Half-Life 2, Ninja Gaiden
Ultimate Loser: James Bond 007 - Everything or Nothing
Championship: Metal Gear Solid 3 defeated Half-Life 2 18-16

So... May 2010 wasn't the first time I tried a 2004 tournament. Shortly after the 2005 tournament finished, I remember having a 2004 nominating topic and a bracket set up. The matches fell victim to the purge monster and I never brought it up again. Once these tournaments began picking up steam, I finally got to 2004 as the last bracket to finish the 2000s. On top of that, once the 2004 tournament officially started (this one, not the purged one), I had to take a week hiatus due to a death in the family. If it wasn't one thing, it was something else; upon returning from travel, the tournament could finally commence without interruption.

Naked Snake and Gordon Freeman mowed down their opponents en route to the Final Four. Metal Gear Solid 3 smashed NFS Underground 2 22-1, took out Jak 3 20-8, disposed of Sly 2 17-7, and Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal a commanding 24-9. It wasn't until I typed all that just now when I realized Metal Gear Solid 3 really did beat the brakes off the PlayStation 2's three platforming mascots. On the other side of the bracket, Half-Life 2 destroys a baseball game 16-2, Red Dead Revolver 19-6, Viewtiful Joe 2 16-3, and then barely missed doubling Metroid Zero Mission 15-8. These were your top two seeds and not much explanation was needed.

Meanwhile, there wasn't just one disappointing one seed, there were two. First being Halo 2, living up to all the disappointing expectations of the series when it lost by 3 votes to #5 seed Pikmin 2 in the third round. The other #1 seed, Tales of Symphonia, made it to round 3 before losing in overtime 34-30 to #4 seed Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Shadow Hearts 2 then fell victim to Paper Mario 2 for the third spot in the semifinals, and then the final spot went to Ninja Gaiden as it barely escapes Pikmin 2 by two votes.

The only double digit seed to win a match here was Sonic Heroes at #10. The closest potential upset we nearly witnessed in round 1 was #5 seed Star Ocean 3 beating #12 seed Baten Kaitos by 2 votes. We saw 2003 finalists get sequels that were pegged down in seedings; 2003 GotY Prince of Persia had Warrior Within, now a #7 seed that lost to San Andreas in round 2. The runner up, KOTOR, had KOTOR 2 be a #6 seed and lose easily to Katamari Damacy in round 2. One match was even The Twin Snakes vs Super Mario 64 DS in a battle of unnecessary remakes, with Twin Snakes winning 11-8. Finally, San Andreas falls short in round 3 losing to Ratchet and Clank 3.

The final four went as expected, though not without a fight from Paper Mario. Snake Eater escaped the Thousand Year Door with a final score of 20-17, while Half-Life 2 easily disposed of Ninja Gaiden 17-8. The finals were set and I expected Half-Life 2 to run away with it, and it did for awhile. I remember HL2 getting a lead in the beginning, but blew it in the final 8-10 votes as Metal Gear Solid 3 finally wins a championship for the series.

2004's tournament ended the 2000s decade, and it would be awhile before I even thought about going backwards into the 90s. When the tournament ended, it was the end of May 2010 and I didn't have to worry about a GOTY tournament for the next 7 months when we'd kick off the new decade.

Rankings So Far
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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Also, shared by Steiner in the discord...

https://twitter.com/garrettkidney/status/1365481233619312644?s=19

I had to find out what 55% wasn't voted on and got the following...

Wyatt vs Bryan - Royal Rumble
Wyatt vs Strowman - Money in the Bank
Wyatt vs Strowman vs Reigns - Payback
Wyatt vs Owens - SmackDown 10/9 (also this was Wyatt's first match on either Raw or SD since 8/23/18, when he was still teaming up with Matt Hardy)
Wyatt vs Miz - Raw 11/16
Wyatt vs Orton - Raw 12/7

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Formerly known as Raven 2
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And it's a year after Wyatt won best gimmick too.

Don't get me wrong, Wyatt was in some dumb stuff this year, but Retribution was far worse.

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Formerly known as Raven 2
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Oh! Worst Gimmick. I wanna see where Retribution finished at

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

I saw the winners on Wikipedia, but I'm always curious about the following two...

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic
Worst Match of the Year

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Next writeup today

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Formerly known as Raven 2
https://twitch.tv/ZeroSignalX

Best Game of 2003
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?1&tid=356935

Ran: March 2010
Overall top seed: The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker
1 seeds: Wind Waker, Pokemon RSE, Star Wars: KOTOR, Viewtiful Joe
Final Four: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Disgaea, KOTOR, Beyond Good and Evil
Ultimate Loser: .hack//Outbreak Part 3
Championship: Prince of Persia defeated Knights of the Old Republic 18-13

The GameCube finally got its perennial Zelda title that year and it won the overall seed for 2003. It wouldn't be long, however, before things started getting awry in the bracket.

Slight correction from my 2009 writeup first off: The original Call of Duty won as an #8 seed here, and THAT would be CoD's final win to date. Anyway, the top seeds played like disappointments for the most part. Let's discuss the one that did make the semifinals first. KOTOR was a GotY across many sources in 2003 and for good reason: it was arguably the first Star Wars game that was a masterpiece, and it was an RPG? So many players were down for that. KOTOR's only close match in its region was an 11-8 win over Soulcalibur II in round 3. Otherwise, it made laughing stocks out of Tony Hawk's Underground, SSX 3, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

And now for the rest of the #1 seeds. Pokemon RSE failed to live up to its tournament-winning predecessor, losing in round 3 to a #5 seeded Jak II. Jak and Daxter peaked at the Elite Eight that year, losing a respective 12-9 to #3 seeded Disgaea; if I had actually ran this contest in 2003, Disgaea might have won the whole damn thing based on how much it was loved back then. Viewtiful Joe barely snatched the last #1 seed from Beyond Good and Evil, and it showed as Jade and crew edged Joe by a single vote in the Elite Eight to steal the last final four spot. Finally, The Wind Waker became the first overall top seed to miss the semifinals, losing 14-10 to #3 seeded Prince of Persia.

Yep, that's right; Wind Waker didn't even get the chance to play #2 seeded Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando; the highly praised sequel was stunned by #7 seed Dark Cloud 2 in the second round (which also would have been seeded higher if this contest ran six years earlier). No crazy upsets in the first round, as the lowest seed to advance was a #10, but at the very least, Jak and Dark Cloud's sequels made some noise for at least a round or two. Also on a very rare note, Madden NFL 2004 got a rare win for a sports game, beating True Crime by a single vote before getting shut down by Viewtiful Joe in round 2.

So for the second time in tournament history, none of the games involved were a Nintendo exclusive; sure, the Prince and Jade could both be found on the Gamecube, but those games were multiplatform. Knights of the Old Republic barely got by Beyond Good and Evil 13-11, while Prince of Persia scored a close 24-18 win over Disgaea. Finally, the Prince built up a small lead over Star Wars and kept it long enough to secure a slightly lower total than usual win.

2003 stands out for quite a few reasons, most notably the fact that a huge Gamecube exclusive (a Zelda one at that) gets beaten by Prince of Persia. On that note, I'll say two things:
1) I don't think that happens today
2) I'm glad I didn't run it today. Sands of Time, while not my 2003 GotY, is a damn fine title

Rankings So Far
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2006

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Formerly known as Raven 2
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