Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Smackdown Hotel Conference) (10-4) – 23 (45.10%)
#8 Super Smash Bros. Melee (Fanservice Conference) (12-2) – 28 (54.90%)
--Mario RPG puts up a very respectable performance on Melee, and I'd like to point out that CT's margin of victory was twice as large as Melee's.
Doesn't surprise me in the least. Even if SMRPG wasn't technically a Square game as well, I'd argue that it has more overlap with CT than it does with Melee--SNES RPGs and all. And it's pretty obvious that SMRPG is, at best, third-best in that category, behind CT and FFVI in some order. (I prefer FFVI, but both are very good.)
Sonic Colors (Games of the Decades Conference) (5-9) – 16 (34.78%)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Zelda Overload Conference) (9-5) – 30 (65.22%)
--Link's Awakening gives Sonic Colors a rude awakening.
Link's Awakening continues to quietly put together a case to make the tournament. After a brutal early schedule that saw it start out 1-4 with all losses coming against likely tournament games, it's won 8 of its last 9 with the lone loss being a very respectable 31-22 loss to then-#3 RBY.
Max Payne (Games of the Decades Conference) (2-12) – 9 (19.57%)
Skies of Arcadia (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) (11-3) – 37 (80.43%)
--Skies of Arcadia brings the pain to Max Payne.
The Top 25 contenders list is a bit cramped, but blowouts like this help Skies of Arcadia's case.
Devil May Cry (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) (3-11) – 18 (37.50%)
Super Mario Sunshine (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) (6-8) – 30 (62.50%)
--Hey, didn't we just see a match or two with this exact same score?
Sad thing is, this is one of the stronger opponents that Sunshine has beaten, even though most of its losses are to legitimately strong games and it actually performed fairly decently in its two matches against Zelda games (breaking 40% against Twilight Princess; almost avoiding a doubling against A Link to the Past)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (Cult RPG Galaxy Conference) (12-2) – 31 (73.81%)
Legend of Legaia (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) (1-13) – 11 (26.19%)
--Path of Radiance continues on its path to victory.
PoR is another one with a nice record but somewhat questionable SoS. A couple of nice ones, though--Civ IV is 9-4 and Grim Fandango is 10-3--and the losses are to a pair of quality games in Skies of Arcadia and surging Super Mario World. If nothing else, it improves SoA's case.
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Ulti (in one of his Post-Contest Analyses): God of War turned a 5 hour deadlock into a total laugher
Anagram: Oh God, Tidus and Yuna were involved?