Board 8 > How would they do in a contest? Day 174 ft The Scarecrow, Mara, Jeanne

(+) Yeah! (+)

This is a topic to rate the contest strength of potential newcomers in the current contest environment.

I will pick the characters to rate and discuss for each day from user nominations - whoever the 3 most nominated characters are at that time. If there are more than 3 I will pick randomly. You can nominate any number of characters at any time, but you cannot nominate the same character twice.

All characters who were present in the 2018 Character Battle will NOT be eligible. Otherwise you can nominate any character that has appeared in video games; even comic book characters. This will exclude real-life athletes who have only appeared in long running sports series, however I will accept those who have their own games such as Shaq. I will accept nominations for iconic gaming duos too, if there is a compelling reason for both characters to be linked (either co-starring in a game ala Banjo & Kazooie, or always appearing together like Callie & Marie from Splatoon).

Each day will have a separate topic, and nominations will carry over. As far as actually rating the character's contest strength; I ask that users rank a characters potential strength with one of the following qualifiers - LAW Fodder, Low Fodder, Mid Fodder, High Fodder, Fodder Line, Low Midcarder, Midcarder, High Midcarder, Near Elite, Elite, LAW Tier (capable of beating Link). I will average all the ratings given to a character to come up with their final ranking. I have included a highlighted entrant from Character Battle X on each tier of the strength rankings below, to provide a baseline for each.

Note that LAW Fodder is meant to be a tier reserved for the weakest possible characters to put into a contest. A character will only be placed there if at least 3/4ths of the voters for that day agree on the LAW Fodder rating, and no ratings above Low Fodder are given. If either of those conditions are not met, the character will not be eligible for the LAW Fodder tier.

Current Character Strength Rankings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P1AIhHywBiLd6VAMZMNEGX-HW2td8u1D0Iw_tzHsORw/edit?usp=sharing

Nomination List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-KnSBDzppzPK5Ug1zmx8_x0bG4tqFDMPPH2k8J3s8sk/edit?usp=sharing

Results from Day 173:

C-3PO (Star Wars) is High Fodder
Young Link (Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time /SSB series) is Elite
Kimahri Ronso (Final Fantasy X) is Mid Fodder

Here is today's trio to rank:

Jeanne (Bayonetta)
Mara (Shin Megami Tensei series)
The Scarecrow (DC Comics)
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Nominate:
Luca Blight (Suikoden)
Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
Reptile (Mortal Kombat)
Red Mage (Final Fantasy)
Koopa Troopa (Mario series)
Frieza (Dragonball Z)
Krillin (Dragonball Z)
Trunks (Dragonball Z)
Peppy Hare (Star Fox)
R.O.B. (Gyromite)

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I don't know if Mara would be eligible to begin with, given its design, but that'd be funny. :P

Jeanne (Bayonetta) - Low fodder

Bayonetta herself is much more popular and well-known than any of her games and this was the case even before she was in Smash. For other characters in her series to be worth anything here, her games would have to be worth something here. And most indications are that they're kinda not.

Mara (Shin Megami Tensei series) - Low fodder
The Scarecrow (DC Comics) - Low fodder

While Scarecrow is a notable, sorta-well known member of Batman's rogue gallery, he's probably in the bottom half of that category. Think the only other live-action movie villain he beats is probably Ra's al Ghul. Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane all probably trump him. He's also not beating Harley Quinn. Does have the edge over, say, Killer Croc, Clayface, and Mad Hatter though. So yeah, he's maybe the 10th strongest Batman villain. Is the vast majority of the site that's never read a Batman comic (other than maybe the Killing Joke and the Dark Knight Returns) going to care at all about him? Probably not. Apparently he has a decent role in some of the Arkham games though; haven't played. I could see cartoon appearances, Nolan trilogy, and Arkham adding up to SOMETHING and he's got being kinda-sorta recognizable going for him but when push comes to shove I don't think people are gonna take the second-to-third-rate Batman villain over anyone with any following.

also he was in SUPERFRIENDS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98uVJW7pYk

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I will agree with Low Fodder for Jeanne, and say Mid Fodder for Mara and Scarecrow.

Mara is a d**k on a f**king chariot and thus one of the most popular individual personas/monsters in the SMT series. However only its appearances as a persona will matter here, and Mara is typically a late-game persona, so it is less well-known than lower level monsters like Jack Frost. And while Mara has a VERY memorable design, not all voters will care for the green boi.

Scarecrow is mid fodder because his appearance and role in Batman Arkham Asylum was very memorable, and he also appeared in all 3 of the Dark Knight trilogy, albeit with a minor role in TDK and Rises. His appearances in other media are often memorable, due to forcing Batman and others to face their greatest fears to beat him. I definitely would not say he is weaker than the Mad Hatter, Croc or Clayface. Assuming he gets a pic from Arkham Asylum, and not something terrible like Arkham Knight.
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Jeanne: Mid Fodder - Bayonetta 2 didn't look awful in 2015, and should be even stronger now. Jeanne's design is similar enough to Bayo's that she should get some benefit from TJF/general sex appeal, so there's only so much weaker I'd expect her to be.

Mara: Low Fodder - Mainline SMT is niche even on GameFAQs, and Mara isn't significant enough to defy that.

Scarecrow: Low Fodder - He doesn't have to be weaker than third-level members of Batman's rogues gallery to be all the way down here. I'd naturally expect him to be stronger than the likes of the Mad Hatter, but not a match for the likes of Bane, the Penguin, and the Riddler among comparable characters.
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MetalmindStats posted...

Jeanne: Mid Fodder - Bayonetta 2 didn't look awful in 2015, and should be even stronger now. Jeanne's design is similar enough to Bayo's that she should get some benefit from TJF/general sex appeal, so there's only so much weaker I'd expect her to be.

Mara: Low Fodder - Mainline SMT is niche even on GameFAQs, and Mara isn't significant enough to defy that.

I will change my ranking on Jeanne to Mid Fodder.

Mara has been in all of the Persona RPGs so I don't think it matters much that mainline SMT is very niche here.
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Day 175 is up: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78205742
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