LogFAQs > #914092789

As the most objective and insightful user here, I am going to post what have been the most telling results which will leave long-lasting impacts on these contests moving forward. No fluff, let's go:

Link- We all knew he was going to win. But in a field where his normal "competition" grew weaker over the years, he not only maintained his strength but actually grew stronger. There is nary a character that can even score over 40% on this man, he's in a league of his own. Wow. As long as he is in a bracket, we are all being jipped out of potential good match-ups between other characters. Dont let this man in anymore brackets, stick him in the bonus match at the end and call it a day.

Cloud- For the most part, people knew FF would drop, especially FFVII. Contrary to that stance, Cloud hasn't fallen off that much. He can still bury most N9 members, but is no longer a juggernaut. With that being said, Cloud heard all the naysayers bash him. He scoffed at it. Although he is not guaranteed a victory against all but Link anymore, he showed up big time in this tournament. Perhaps he got lucky with how the bracket placement unfolded toward the end, but he still made a statement. His match against Mario was one for the ages. All the momentum was against him, Nintendo was looking stronger than ever, and Cloud somehow made it to a rematch with the plumber who stole a victory. After all those years where Rally Mario ended Clouds bid for victory in the first tournament, Cloud exacted his vengeance. Sure, he got mollywhopped by Link right after, but thats beside the point. Cloud emerged victorious when everyone wrote him off quicker than their taxes.

Mario- The smart pre-contest pick for the Losers Champion. In a contest where Nintendo dominated and Odyssey was received very well, Mario didn't disappoint. That is, until we saw his SFF Vacuum Ability disintegrate. Barely beating Samus before being ousted by Zelda, Mario next performed his clutchest performance yet. He had a nail-biter remath with Samus that literally came down to the final update. He, being King Nintendo himself, reigned supreme. Good on him for that, but he still lost to Zelda. In fairness, this was an OP Zelda who got stronger with each match. Mario would end up doing his damnedest to get revenge on her, but he fell just short on Cloud. Such is life. All in all, contrary to what others may say, Mario disappointed. It was finals or bust for him pre-contest, and he did not reap the Nintendo wave enough to get him to the finals, let alone even the most out of the other Nintendo cohorts.

Samus- What a contest for her. There is a lot of talk about indirect vs. direct strength when it comes to the Nintendo hierarchy. The reality is Samus is stronger than everyone except Link. She technically lost to Mario twice but would beat anyone else that he would by more than he would. She also received more votes than he did in that second match. She at last climbed over the barrier of Nintendo SFF Vacuum Mario even in her loss, and she did this without a recent game. It is difficult to realistically believe that a new game will make her any stronger than she has been in this contest, but you never know. Many will speculate whether she would have beaten Cloud and/or Zelda. The answer is yes.