LogFAQs > #913483492

Ultimately, the reasons for why this could be, despite Nintendos current high-water mark, despite Odyssey, and despite Samus not having a big, well-received game in over ten years cut right down to the core of the shifts weve seen throughout this contest. To put it simply, shifts in the stock of companies, brands, and other groups of characters with similar trends are no longer the principal governing factor when considering contest-to-contest fluctuations in character strength. Instead, the stock of an individual game or series, and even voters levels of appreciation for characters within that game or series, have become much more relevant considerations. Its due to the former factor that the likes of Fox and Captain Falcon looked off, despite Nintendos rising tide, and this also explains cases such as Gordon Freeman, Commander Shepard, Ryu, and even Solid Snake himself.

Now, you might wonder how this first point relates to Samus. My theory is that nostalgia, in sufficient measure, has proven to be a substitute for actual relevance in the shining cases of games that are particularly near and dear to the hearts of voters. Perhaps in combination with the second point I make in the next paragraph, such characters as Aerith, Frog, Magus, Terra, Tifa, Vivi, and arguably even Ness have impressed despite their lack of recent relevance. There are some games that truly stand the test of time, and I think many people would agree that Super Metroid is among those games. Some would even point to Metroid Prime as being in that company, which produces two feathers in Samuss cap.

Of course, most of these examples are inexorably related to those characters being genuinely well-liked. In the past, this factor didnt matter as much as you might expect, with the likes of Crono, Sephiroth, Squall, and arguably even Sonic transcending their mixed reception or not being favorites of their games to put forth commanding performances. This year, however, Frog and Magus have looked great even as Crono has mostly failed to shake the ghosts of his past. Similarly, Sonic has seemingly lost a step, even as Tails and Knuckles proved highly impressive. Even Mario could fairly be put in the same company as Sonic and Crono as the respected symbol of Nintendo, hardly anyone dislikes him, but at the same time, very few people love him. By juxtaposing this with Samuss status as someone whos transcended the usual stereotypes to become the original and arguably the foremost badass character of gaming, we can approach an explanation for Samus looking stronger than Mario to date.

Finally, such results as Link falling short of 80% against Ganondorf, the Tifa upset I already discussed at some length, and even Cloud barely reaching 60% against Alucard suggest that formerly set SFF hierarchies of intra-company or intra-platform strength have, to some extent, broken down this contest. That can only be a good sign for Samuss chances of impressing despite being against Mr. Nintendo himself.

Does all that mean that Samus will shock everyone and actually win this match? Dont count on it, because Mario is ultimately the face of Nintendo and Samus isnt, and as Link is so ably demonstrating to us, even the diminished Nintendo hierarchy still matters. But dont be surprised if Samus is leading all through the power hour. In fact, dont be too surprised if it takes Mario until the Eastern Hemisphere night vote sets in to put this match away for good.

Prediction: Mario wins with 52.54%

Crew Consensus: Mario does it again in the runback
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