LogFAQs > #982788953

38. Final Fantasy Tactics vs. Metal Gear Solid (Sp2004) R2

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0c5e7037.jpg

Final Fantasy Tactics 49.98% 40292
Metal Gear Solid 50.02% 40330
TOTAL VOTES 80622
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/(5)Final_Fantasy_Tactics_vs_(4)Metal_Gear_Solid_2004
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/1642-division-32-round-2-final-fantasy-tactics-vs-metal-gear

GameFAQS and its tastes have been preserved in amber for so long that it can be hard to remember a time when the strengths of characters and games had the potential to vary notably from year to year, when each new contest had the potential to bring about the reordering of preferences, and a new tier list of which entrants were elite, and which were just common midcarders. You could have matches whose results, just a couple of contests later, seemed unreplicable, as if they were from a decade previous, not just a couple of years. The two games in this match would meet up five years later, in a Round 1 match that saw FFT defeated soundly, not just by MGS, but by Pokemon G/S/C as well. It wouldnt get blown out, either that year or when it returned in 2015, but its status as a foundational game for its era had clearly faded. Thats not what we saw here however. This is a definitive only on GameFAQS in 2004 kind of match and we had the good luck to see it take place on GameFAQS in the Spring of 2004.

And this wasnt a nailbiter that no one saw coming either; it was one of the most hotly contested matches of its division, and was, in some ways, the last really debated match to take place in it. Metal Gear Solids appeal was obvious and needs no explanation, however, the 2004 contest took place during a period where Snake was considered a consistent disappointment, and there were some assumptions that the game would be more of the same. And speculation on FFTs popularity was no more definitive. With 2004 being the first Games Contest, it was an open question as to how much the imprimatur of a beloved series could help the less notable games in it or spun off from it, and with some of the lesser mainline FF games blocked due to the series cap, there was a dearth of evidence to draw on when it came to determining FFTs strength. Even on a site as in love with JRPGS as GameFAQS it was hard to argue that FFT would be making a match with Metal Gear Solid competitive on its own merits. The Final Fantasy name would be doing a lot of the lifting and the only question was, would that lifting be enough?

Initially, it looked like it would not be. Despite a strong start from FFT, MGS moved into the lead very quickly and used the First Night Vote, along with the beginning of the Day Vote, to build up its lead. As the Morning Vote started to kick in, MGSs lead would go up 100 votes or so every 15 minutes. It wasnt ahead by a lot, but it was well on its way to a solid victory. And then, just as soon as Metal Gear Solids gains had started, it hit a wall. By 9 AM EST, its gains had started to slow, and it would take another two hours of fits and starts just to get the lead 100 votes or so higher, to a peak of 741 votes, the highest lead that either entrant would have for the entire match. From that point forward, the vibe would shift, and we would be in store for what was, at the time, the closest wire-to-wire match we had ever seen. Shortly after 12:00 PM EST, what had started out as some stalls from FFT here and there, and a drop in MGSs percentage throughout the morning, would turn in a full fledged comeback, FFT chopping into the lead consistently all throughout the afternoon. It looked as if the underdog Square game was on track to pull off both the comeback and the upset, until MGS struck back, and was able to stall things out for a couple hours around dinner time.

FFT was not finished yet however, and around 9:00 PM EST, it would unleash one final push, erasing the remaining 400 votes of Metal Gear Solids lead in only two hours, and bringing the match to a tie. With four hours left to go, both games had enough time left to build up a lead, if only they could get the momentum. However, instead of momentum what we got instead was four hours of deadlock, and a match that would remain within 100 votes all throughout the final portion of the poll. There have been few matches in history that remained this close for this long right at the very end, and the tension was unbearable, as both sides waited for one of the games to break through. Despite never leading any 15 minute updates, FFT remained in the match all the way to the very end, but ultimately it was Metal Gear Solid that would emerge victorious, albeit by a minuscule 38 votes. Once again, the Metal Gear series had failed to impress like the board thought it should, however, what the series might have lacked in preconceived strength it had made up for in grit, holding on throughout 24 of the closest hours we had ever seen, showing that despise being weaker than expected, you could never count the series out.