LogFAQs > #941655251

Here, have some questionable predix from a zoomer (according to the supposed consensus definition anyways) who hadn't even heard of some of these games before you included them:

Goomba Division

1) Super Mario Bros. - there's a few 1-seeds I would have considered taking E.T. over, but this is not one of them.
8) Donkey Kong 3
5) Phantasy Star
4) Ghosts n' Goblins
11) Mach Rider - close match #1. Balloon Fight is one of my personal favorite 80s games, but I get the sense Mach Rider is the game that's held up better for most.
3) Bubble Bobble
7) SimCity
2) Ninja Gaiden

Barrel Division

1) Donkey Kong
8) Missile Command - close match #2.
5) Bomberman
4) Final Fantasy II
11) Adventure Island
14) Space Harrier - close match #3.
10) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? - close match #4.
2) Duck Hunt

Shy Guy Division

1) Super Mario Bros. 2
8) Double Dragon
5) Marble Madness
4) Kid Icarus
6) Centipede
3) Galaga
7) Final Fight - close match #5. Honestly though, considering how poorly Haggar fared in 2013, any Castlevania game would probably beat Final Fight because of the brand name alone.
2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Met Division

1) Mega Man 2
8) Golden Axe - close match #6.
5) Gradius
4) Frogger
6) Excitebike
3) Punch-Out!!
7) Tempest - close match #7.
2) Castlevania

Octorok Division

1) The Legend of Zelda
9) Street Fighter - close match #8.
5) Pitfall
4) Super Mario Land
11) Mother - I feel like Mother is the most underseeded game in this whole bracket.
3) Ms. Pac-Man
10) Wrecking Crew - close match #9.
2) Dragon Quest

Zoomer Division

1) Metroid - nice division name.
9) Tecmo Bowl - close match #10.
5) Rampage
4) The Oregon Trail
6) Blaster Master - I have no confidence in anything primarily associated with the Master System to do much on GameFAQs.
3) Contra
10) Strider - I'd be rooting for Gauntlet here, though.
2) Metal Gear

Blinky Division

1) Pac-Man
8) Super C - close match #11.
5) Q*Bert
4) Donkey Kong Jr.
11) Tapper - close match #12. I don't trust Dragon's Lair to have remotely held up for those voters who remember it, so I'm taking a probable upset here.
3) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
7) Ghouls n' Ghosts - there's some 7-seeds I'd have considered taking Minesweeper over, but this isn't one of them.
2) Mario Bros. - Mario Bros. completely neutralizes the main source of Star Wars' strength. Incidentally, I would guess these are easily the two strongest 1983 games here on GameFAQs.

Z-Block Division

1) Tetris
9) Joust - I'd be rooting for Pirates! here, though. Also, close match #13.
5) Ice Climber
4) DuckTales
6) Dig Dug
3) Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
7) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
2) Mega Man

Goomba Division

1) Super Mario Bros. - imagine how bad the Mario/DK SFF will get in a match where the Mario entrant would already break 80% (to say the least) indirectly on the DK entrant.
4) Ghosts n' Goblins - close match #14.
3) Bubble Bobble
2) Ninja Gaiden

Barrel Division

1) Donkey Kong
4) Final Fantasy II
11) Adventure Island - and so the weakest fourpack we'd have ever seen would conclude, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
2) Duck Hunt

Shy Guy Division

1) Super Mario Bros. 2
4) Kid Icarus
3) Galaga
2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Met Division

1) Mega Man 2
4) Frogger - close match #15.
3) Punch-Out!!
2) Castlevania

Octorok Division

1) The Legend of Zelda
4) Super Mario Land
11) Mother - close match #16.
2) Dragon Quest

Zoomer Division

1) Metroid
4) The Oregon Trail
3) Contra
2) Metal Gear

Blinky Division

1) Pac-Man
4) Donkey Kong Jr.
3) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
2) Mario Bros. - close match #17, I guess? I really don't know.

Z-Block Division

1) Tetris
4) DuckTales - I suspect voters would vastly prefer DuckTales on its own merits, to the point where Ice Climber's longrunning Smash exposure can't even make this close.
3) Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
2) Mega Man - This is the first of a fair few matches in this bracket between two games that seem similarly strong, of which one has a more potent brand, whereas the other is more well-regarded. In every case, I suspect most voters will have little enough experience with the 80s to favor the stronger brand, especially with forced apathy/bracket voters in mind.

Goomba Division

1) Super Mario Bros.
2) Ninja Gaiden - close match #18. Yes, Ninja Gaiden's a legendary game from its era, but I've never gotten the sense it's remembered in a way nearly on par with its reputation - something which 2009 also suggested, FWIW.

Barrel Division

1) Donkey Kong - close match #19.
2) Duck Hunt

Shy Guy Division

1) Super Mario Bros. 2
2) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Met Division

1) Mega Man 2
2) Castlevania

Octorok Division

1) The Legend of Zelda
2) Dragon Quest - close match #20. See my Ninja Gaiden write-up a bit earlier. As Mother is essentially the proto-EarthBound, it should be able to channel quite a few respect votes along the same lines as Mother 3 against a game that's purely respected rather than truly beloved today.

Zoomer Division

1) Metroid
2) Metal Gear

Blinky Division

1) Pac-Man
2) Mario Bros.

Z-Block Division

1) Tetris
2) Mega Man - close match #21.

Goomba Division

1) Super Mario Bros.

Barrel Division

1) Donkey Kong - close match #22, obviously.

Shy Guy Division

1) Super Mario Bros. 2 - close match #23 here, and one that would probably decide the finals right then and there. I'll have more to say when those finals come up.

Met Division

1) Mega Man 2

Octorok Division

1) The Legend of Zelda

Zoomer Division

1) Metroid

Blinky Division

1) Pac-Man - I don't think there'd be a real question as to whether or not Pac-Man would win here, but it would be interesting to see where the SFF would go. Would Pac-Man eat the much less popular arcade game's lunch here, or would Mario Bros. pull off rSFF because that's just how the Mario/Pac-Man relationship works?

Z-Block Division

1) Tetris

Quarterfinals

1) Super Mario Bros.
1) Mega Man 2
1) The Legend of Zelda - nice, because we all know Metroid 1 can never escape Zelda 1 in these contests.
1) Tetris

Semifinals

1) Super Mario Bros.
1) The Legend of Zelda

Finals

1) Super Mario Bros. - and this is the 24th and last truly close match of this bracket for me. I have what's apparently quite a hot take on it, which is that Zelda 1 serves as such a strong proxy for its series that it wouldn't just roll over and die here. I also think BotW has boosted Zelda 1's esteem in particular, given all the cues the former apparently took from the latter. Of course, I'm not going to say Mario 1 wouldn't win right now, just as 2009 indicated, but I'd fully expect this match (alongside Mario 2/Zelda II) to swing the other way once BotW 2's hype starts ramping up.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."