LogFAQs > #914478693

17.



There's a lot to unpack with this shocking result. Let's start with the history angle: Mario had beaten Cloud the year prior. We knew it was nonsense but it wasn't like Cloud was gonna 60/40 him. Luigi, logically, is closer to Mario than Squall is to Cloud. Luigi is an icon. Squall was in 2002 and got whipped by Snake. Luigi is the logical pick here in a world where Mario is equal to Cloud.

Round 1 comes and goes without too much of a surprise. Squall gets 60% on Jill and Luigi triples Ratchet. No big deal, really. Luigi has to be the favourite going in. The oracle expects Luigi to win with 60%.

NOPE. It's the exact opposite. Squall drops 60% on Luigi in a shocking result. I wasn't here, but my understanding is the board went wild when this happened. How was Squall this strong?

The answer was that Square in 2003 was much different than in 2002, most likely due to the release of Kingdom Hearts. Squall went from being a midcarder to an elite. It was the most obvious sign early on that Cloud was going to be good - but that was too premature at the time. We needed to see Cloud do damage against some good competition first.

Now, here's my counter take - I actually just think Luigi sucked. He got beat worse than Jill! Barely, and Jill wasn't too bad back in those days, but still. Mario also sucked in 2003, getting creamed by Sephiroth. Who the hell knows what to make of Crono/Mario. Bowser beat Yoshi and then get destroyed by Cloud. Squall was better, no doubt - but this result makes him look like a monster. Luigi beat Ratchet like he would beat Pac-Man -- quite badly -- and then got creamed by Squall.

This result might be a tad bit overblown. The reaction wasn't, though, and it was the first clear sign that Square was for real in 2003. This match is a big deal.
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xyzzy