Board 8 > Game of the Decade: 2010-2019 Contest Analysis Crew - Part 5

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah... Great day all around.... What was the thing with Allen's wife again? ??

Safer_777 posted...

The Guest came to town. Man the crew overestimated Draven so much in this match or underestimated Link or both. But I remember that match because I wasn't working back then and I was almost the whole day here. Man things were crazy.

Exploits, vote stuffing, trolling, salting, DDO's attacks, crying, the Admin coming and tryting to explain what the Hell happened, we had everything!

Say what you want about rallies but at least this place is damn active during them!

I was seriously worried this might be the last contest ever after this match.

And 2015 didn't help reduce that fear.

Amazing, turns out HM was the true villain of the 2013 contest by denying Link the crew curse he needed to beat Draven.

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Link vs Draven was an epic epic match. The best match of the 2013 contest

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Link. He came to town. *salutes while a solitary tear rolls down my cheek*

foxhead84 posted...

Yeah... Great day all around.... What was the thing with Allen's wife again? ??

In Draven's next(? I think it was R4 but who even cared after Link/Draven with the exception of Snake/Draven) match with Mewtwo the Draven rally was halted because allegedly Allen contacted the LoL Reddit or something which allowed Mewtwo to look as though he would cruise to a victory and end the menace in its tracks.

Only for Allen to come back later and claim it was his wife who sent that message or something and it wasn't official and the Draven rally came back and ended it.

Or something like that I think. The contest turned into some surrealist parody at this point.

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Friendly reminder that the contest restarts in a little less than two days from now for all you regulars

And I'm assuming guest signups will start soon so keep an eye out for that too!

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I dunno about you guys but I was in such a groove with writing about the contest and this break has really stalled out my momentum

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(on the other hand, Moltar has made me want to make a list of the biggest contest matches of all time)

(I've done most important matches before, but biggest is a little different than that)

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#1: Mario/Servbot

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I dunno. I think I wrote more about BOTW/DQXI and ME2/RE2 than I've written about any match all contest, but that was probably because I didn't feel the crunch of writing 2-4 writeups daily!
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~*Posts from the Crew Archive*~

Division 7: Round 1 - Match 25 Kirby vs. L-Block vs. Laharl vs. Nathan Hale

Moltars Analysis

Kirby
Game/Series Known From: Kirby
Seed in 2002: 14
Seed in 2003: 3
Seed in 2004: 5
Seed in 2005: 1
Seed in 2006: 3
Lost in 2002 to Jill in Round 1
Lost in 2003 to Alucard in Round 2
Lost in 2004 to Squall in the Round 2
Lost in 2005 to Bowser in Round 3
Lost in 2006 to Luigi in Round 2

Awesome character alert!

L-Block
Game/Series Known From: Tetris

I guess anyone can get in.

Laharl
Game/Series Known From: Disgaea
Seed in 2004: 9
Seed in 2005: 6
Lost in 2004 to Vyse in Round 1
Lost in 2005 to Yoshi in Round 1

Our favorite uber-obscure RPG character makes his return.

Nathan
Game/Series Known From: Resistance: Fall of Man

More like Nathan FAIL

This is awesome. So far, 4/5 of my favorite characters will have advanced to Round 2 so far, with the last getting his chance later. Who are they? Cookie to anyone who knows!

Anyway, one of those 4 is Kirby. Hes pretty much guaranteed to take the top spot here, so no need to worry about him. Theres also Nathan, who would almost be classified as one of those generic nobodies from some casual game no one cares for. Only thing is that hes the lead character in Resistance: Fall of Sony, which is the top selling PS3 game at 8 copies. Too bad GameFAQs doesnt care for PS3 (yet) and Resistance, so we know Nathan is going to bomb.

The most debate in this match comes from.and I cant believe Im saying thisL-Block vs. Laharl. Seriously, Laharl is so weak that we question his ability to take out a Tetris piece. He should have been done with his loss to Vyse. You dont go anywhere if you lose to Vyse.

Anyway, Laharl supporters are saying, Hes an actual character. No one actually likes a Tetris block, and he wont get enough joke votes to take second. Well, as a person who has L-Block winning, and thought it was downright silly to take Matt the Mii to Round 2, Im thinking that L-Block doesnt even need to depend on joke votes for second.

Stick with me here. Laharl has a small, yet devoted base to pull from, but thats about it. Then we have Tetris, a game that everyone has played. L-Block has all those people to pull from. Of course, with Kirby being a fan favorite, a good chunk of its support is gone right there. Still, I believe that L-Block will get votes just because its Tetris, and people like Tetris.

Moltars Bracket Says: Kirby > L-Block > Laharl > Nathan

Moltars Prediction is: Kirby: 52% - L-Block: 22% - Laharl: 19% - Nathan: 7%

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Ultimaterializers Analysis

Kirby is the obvious first-place here, and the other three characters (<_<) are such fodder that it's difficult to predict who will take second place.

Nathan Hale is the flagship PS3 character, so it's a safe bet to assume he takes last place. That leaves it up to L-Block and Laharl, and I won't pretend to be objective here. I want Laharl to win so I can claim one of my favorite characters has a contest win under his belt. And I'm writing this match during Matt the Mii's collapse, so I don't think L-Block has the fad power going for it.

Ulti's Prediction:

Kirby [63.00%]
Laharl [20.00%]
L-Block [10.00%]
Nathan [7.00%]

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Heroic Marios Analysis

Kirby 48%
L-Block 22%
Laharl 21%
Nathan Hale 9%

Get a load of this fourpack of winners. This actually may be one of the worst matches of the first round, because who cares about any of these guys -- not me!

But the fact that were going to get to see L-Block perform in a contest has some entertainment to it, even if the odds are its going to suck hard -- and that horrible picture it got isnt going to help matters. Im not sure how many people are actually taking the L-Block to win this match, but whoever does clearly knows whats up! Screw Laharl!

Im not sure what exactly to say about this match, though. Kirbys got a good range here because his competition is horrific -- Laharl is fodder, L-Block is fodder and Nathan Hale might just be this contests Tanner. Still, its hard to see him doing anything like 60% here just because weve seen noble nine characters go up against some crappy competition and barely manage above 55%.

Second place may seem up in the air, but Id be pretty confident in saying that Laharls probably going to take it, even Im not predicting it to happen! Hes got the hardcore fanbase backing him and hes the most independent of all the characters here. I wouldnt be too surprised if he took it pretty easy.

But, uh, go go go L-Block!!

Bracket: Kirby > L-Block
Vote: L-Block

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Yoblazers Analysis

Here's yet another match where the winner is clear as can be and any and all excitement will be generated by the two saps dueling it out for second. In this case, Kirby is the clear winner. He's an upper midcarder with some great performances under his belt, and he's up against three guaranteed turd-y fodder.

Kirby's hapless lambs to the slaughter are the L-Block from Tetris, Disgaea's Laharl, and Nathan Hale from Resistance: Fall of Man, the PS3's launch killer app. Generally, staring in a launch killer app would mean nothing but good contest news, but such isn't really the case for Nathan Hale. His game may be popular with people who've played it, but it's on the PS3, which automatically means that a vast, vast majority of the site hasn't even touched it. That, added with the fact that he's very generic and has a bland character design, and you have a guy who's destined to be one of the weakest entrants in the entire bracket. Maybe your game should have been released for the PS2, Nathan. >_>

The Resistance guy will finish in a distant fourth, Kirby will finish in a distant first, so L-Block and Laharl will battle it out to see who gets to be the top piece of bologna in this weird sandwich (hehehehoho). I have L-Block in my bracket and was feeling very good about it at the start of the contest, but my faith has slowly dwindled. The only three non-Pokemon joke characters (Midgar Zolom, CATS, and Matt) have universally bombed, and that doesn't spell good news for our angular friend. True, his potential is greater than that of Laharl's, but the RPG star already has a guaranteed voting block of niche fans who will give him support. We're not sure if the same can be said of the block.

Regardless, I'll stick with my bracket. Despite his niche fanbase, Laharl is still an extremely weak character, and the only time we've seen him was in a 2004 match with 68,000 total votes. How is he going to perform when that number is almost doubled? We have no idea, but I doubt it will be stellar. Also, unlike some of the other joke characters, I'm just hoping that people will appreciate the sheer audacity of ZANINESS of a Tetris Block in the contest (appreciate it enough to vote for it, that is!). God, I'd feel so much better about this if L-Block's picture didn't suck so much. I have no idea how you pulled it off, Bacon, but... uhh... why?

Kirby - 50%
L-Block - 22%
Laharl - 20%
Nathan Hale - 8%
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Lopens Analysis

Kirby Kirby Kirby he's the star of the show! More than you think he's got maximum pink... Kirby Ki--

What was I doing? Oh, okay. Analysis. Hum Kirby's theme song, even vote for him, but think not of Kirby right now. He wins handily.

Now Nathan Hale, generic looking star of a prestigious PS3 exclusive Res-- HAHAHAHA! PS3 exclusive. Too good. *kicks Nathan Hale out of the write-up and the match*

So what we've got is the cult Laharl vs the joke L-Block. They shall fight L to L, the basis of all combat. Alright... really, it's a damn L-Block. It's kinda funny to see lying around... and at least it won't get anti-voted like that damned S/Z-Block would... but who's gonna vote for it? Like Matt the Mii, I don't think most people will appreciate the joke that much... though it should outdo Matt at least. Also like Matt the Mii, I don't think people will vote for it based on it being the embodiment of Tetris.

Laharl has a small fanbase, but it's there. 27% on Yoshi is weak, but this four pack isn't much stronger than Yoshi alone. And I don't think they'll abandon Laharl too easily, either, his fans. Laharl should break 20% in this pretty easily, which is more than I can say for the other two.

Lopen's prediction:
Kirby - 55.05%
Laharl - 22.97%
L-Block - 18.88%
Nathan Hale - 3.10%

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Karma Hunters Analysis

...oh boy. Time for one of the weakest threepacks in the contest... and seeing what we've seen so far, that's pretty crazy.

Kirby

</not affiliated with said threepack>

Kirby had an alright 2006, though it was nothing like his 2005 run that had people putting him up with the near-elites. Going out to two Mario characters in two contests has been tough, but Kirby continues to be a force in these things and he could go far this year. How hardcore *is* that puff of fluff's fanbase...?

L-Block

When a damn block from Tetris gets support in a match, you know something's gone horribly wrong. Know what Tetris is? Ever see the "L" shape in that game? That's all you need to know, then - it's a joke, and it is on that (and, uh, Tetris) alone that its hopes of moving along with Kirby rest.

Laharl

The guy who got 60-40'd by Vyse. Laharl is about as weak as they come, though he's been something of a semi-mainstay thanks to constantly getting nominated for this thing by the hardcore as HELL Disgaea fanbase. 40% on Vyse, 27% on Yoshi... he's got a good chance here. Just depends on exactly how many people are gonna vote for the guy in this situation...

Nathan Hale

A true American hero... no, wait, that's the REAL Nathan Hale, who might do better in this guy's place (okay, a bit of exaggeration there - maybe). Forgettable star of the PS3 shooter Resistance: Fall of Man (I think?), he's a generic, unrecognizable FPS hero that should suffer from Gordon Freeman syndrome on an infinitely less popular game on an infinitely less popular platform. He'll get some hardcore PS3 votes, but he still has a chance to look *really* bad.

...his picture looks pretty badass, for what it's worth.

Kirby wins. Aside from that, I took L-Block here - and was feeling pretty good about it right up until the match picture. Will... people recognize that as being from Tetris? Maybe, but I'd feel a lot better with a screencap or something. If people don't get the joke, make the connection that L-Block = Tetris... well, worst case scenario is it loses to Nathan Hale.

Betting on that not happening though. Sorry Laharl, but the damn block has my pick here.

Karma Hunter's Vote: ...Kirby.
Karma Hunter's Krazy Prediction: Kirby with 55%, L-Block with 19%, Laharl with 17%, Nathan Hale with 9%

I'm betting on this one being close for second, for what it's worth. Nathan won't look like uber-fodder thanks to PS3 loyalty (however small, *someone* keeps answering that first option on the PS3 polls), and Kirby gets the highest non-Noble percentage by far.

Upset Prediction: 45%

Aside from the picture...? IT'S GODDAMN L-BLOCK. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN

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Transiences Analysis

you... want me to analyze a puffball, a block, a generic guy nobody's heard of and a cult rpg character? this is such a damn weird fourpack. Kirby has to dominate this thing. it's.. maybe Kirby anti-votes will be higher than Kirby votes. this pack is just such a joke.

let's start with the Block. the L-Block is my favourite of the joke entrants this year. as long as the picture is good, every person in the world should recognize it. when your competition is a silly looking cult rpg character and a guy like Nathan Hale, I like your chances. Laharl's got the whole dedicated fanbase thing, but how big is it? can it get 20%? that might be what he needs. Nathan Hale.. I know most people are looking for him to utterly bomb because of lol PS3, but I don't think so. the PS3 userbase might be small, but I'd think they'd support their guy like the xbox community does Master Chief. if enough people recognize him, maybe he has a chance - probably not though.

so yeah, give me the Block. I don't have much confidence, but at least everyone can be like "whoa, it's a damn tetris block! awesome!" that's worth far more than the bad character design of Laharl or the generic dude that is Nathan Hale.

what the hell is this
balls, blocks, Hale and Laharl
who designed this

transience's prediction: Kirby with 54.68%, L-Block with 23.56%, Laharl with 15.31%, Nathan Hale with 6.45%

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Guests Analysis - Black Turtle

Characters Involved:

Kirby

Kirby's always been a force in the contest, but his real shining year in 2005, where he got a 1-seed and managed to go toe to toe with Bowser after dominating his half of the division. Last year he seems to have disappointed against Luigi, but that was the same Luigi that beat Zero, apparantly a Luigi that was on the high-seed roids that Kirby experienced the previous year. Nonetheless, Kirby is looking to dominate this fourpack.

L-Block

Easily the best joke entrant this year, made even better by the fact that it has a chance to advance here.

Laharl

Another one of those "why do people keep nominating you?" characters, Laharl is mid-high fodder and hopes that the L-block bombs in order to advance. Yeah, he's that crappy.

Nathan Hale

Star of the PS3 exclusive Resistance: Fall of Man, Nathan hopes to set a new record for suckitude here.

Predictions:

Another fodderific fourpack with a strong character at the helm, Kirby gets to flex his muscles before being tested against Kratos of God of War fame next round. Once again the real debate lies in second place. We can basically rule out Nathan Hale because lol ps3. Which leaves us with Laharl and the L-block.

Laharl may look really weak in the 2k5 stats, but you have to remember that he was behind that Mega Man/Yoshi anomaly, so he has a decent shot here, especially given how Sailor Bacon managed to screw up the picture of a freaking Tetris block.

L-block needs some joke votes to advance here, especially since Laharl will be pulling on his cult status to favour him (though admittedly, cult characters have been extremely disappointing so far this year). I still think the L-Block pulls it off.

TuRtLe's Prediction: Kirby 48%, L-block 22%, Laharl 20%, Nathan 10%
TuRtLe's Bracket: Kirby > L-block
TuRtLe's Vote: L-block
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Leonhart4 posted...

Friendly reminder that the contest restarts in a little less than two days from now for all you regulars

And I'm assuming guest signups will start soon so keep an eye out for that too!

oh uh yeah i almost forgot lmao

i'll try and get a post up tomorrow but if i don't you can start calling dibs for the first four round 4 matches at 12:00 PM CST (11 hours from now)
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looked through the other l-block matches

only notable things are that HM and transience were the only ones that hopped on the L train early and started picking it to win second in the second round.

everyone took it for second in round 3 except for zen who put it in first (also everyone loved saying 'solid ****' for sprite snake)

actually snake/L/sonic/squall was actually pretty pivotal i'll post that one in the morning
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the crew was super resistant to the idea of L doing well. the Link match seems baffling in retrospect.

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it wasn't just the crew that was resistant - 63/101 Oracle picks had Link beating L-Block

hell, L-Block didn't even get the majority over Snake in the semis (43 favored Snake; 31 L-Block) despite winning that match the round prior
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I request No Mercy/Fire Emblem and Metroid/Call of Duty.

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~*Posts from the Crew Archive*~

Quarterfinals: Match 60 Solid Snake vs. L-Block vs. Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Squall Leonhart

Moltars Analysis

Snake - Hopes hes badass enough to beat this badass bunch.
Round 1 57.88% vs. Nightmare, Rayman and Vyse
Round 2 47.72% vs. Riku, Ryu H. and Nightmare
Round 3 32.44% vs. L-Block, Kratos and Riku

Uhis that good?

L-Block - Best. Not Really a Joke Character. Ever.
Round 1 30.89% vs. Kirby, Laharl and Nathan
Round 2 28.33% vs. Kratos, Kirby and DK
Round 3 28.63% vs. Snake, Kratos and Riku

L-Block not crumbling yet? Ha ha oh wow.

Sonic - Brawl will be the best Sonic game in years.
Round 1 39.64% vs. Sub-Zero, Prince of Persia and Joe
Round 2 44.39% vs. Sub-Zero, Gordon and Duke
Round 3 32.31% vs. Squall, Sora and Sub-Zero

Round 1 Sonic returns, and thats not good.

Squall - Representing the sexy side of Square
Round 1 35.33% vs. Aeris, Akuma and Geno
Round 2 33.56% vs. Sora, Aeris and Lara
Round 3 30.81% vs. Sonic, Sora and Sub-Zero

This is a match with two Noble Nine characters. This is supposed to be easy and predictible. This is supposed to be one of those three line analysis god this is obvious matches. WHY IS IT NOT THEN

Well, the big reason is L-Block has decided to be nothing short of a beast this contest. Three straight rounds, all against varying levels of characters and this block DOES NOT FALTER. Even Solid Snake could not faze this beast of a character. Hes practically guaranteed to get ~25% here, and uhthats definitely enough for Round 5. L-Block in Round 5, who would have thought that pre-Contest (and entered a legitimate bracket)?

And then theres Sonic, whos been really on and off. Rounds 1 and 3 he looks weak, Round 2 he looks scary strong. Well, I dont think he holds up well here either. I just cant have confidence in the hedgehog after he let Squall come within 2% of him last round, and thats WITH Sora not helping Squall.

Speaking of Squall, he also stands a very real chance here. His only real obstacle here is Solid Snake, so if he holds up well from last round, then Squall can say hello to the next round.

Saying I feel confident in any combination of these characters passing would be a lie, so it sounds like its time for some guessing game! (pulls name out of hat)

UhSnake > L-Block, Noble Nine am dead again, God this contest is wacky.

Moltars Bracket Says: Snake > Sonic

Moltars Prediction is: Snake: 28% - L-Block: 26% - Sonic: 24% - Squall: 22%

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Heroic Marios Analysis

Heading in, this is probably the best match of the entire contest. Everyone here is a player and there's no telling what could happen. With the exception of Squall > Snake, I could see any combination happening here. It's that tight right now but it may not end up being that way. After L-Block and Squall's impressive showings last round, both of them stand an equally good chance of beating either Snake or Sonic for second.

Despite most people giving the advantage to L-Block, I'm going with Squall to advance behind Snake. There is definitely the possibility of Snake/Squall weirdness, but I don't think it's going to be much of a factor in this match if it ever even was. Last year's match between those two went about how you would expect it. Snake was as strong as ever that year, and Squall still put up 42% on him. There may have been some overlap there, but it should be rather insignificant.

Assuming there's nothing weird happening with Snake, this should be Squall's first real match without behing hindered. Every round, he's had to deal with another Square character in the poll holding him back, although surprising he has remained very consistent in each match he has been in. Looking at it, he got 35% in round 1; 33% in round 2; and 31% in round 3. It could just be a coincidence, but that may speak of Squall's fanbase supporting him no matter what. Now remove the other Square character and what happens to him? He could well be up there with Snake!

I may be giving Squall too much credit (!!), but if you gave me Squall/Mega Man, or Squall/Sonic, in a normal contest, I'd take Squall there. It might not seem like that, but Squall's definitely up there with Vincent, if not above and beyond him indirectly. If nothing happens to him with Snake, I think he can take second place here over either L-Block or Sonic...

Now, on the other hand, if there is some weirdness there, L-Block might just end up advancing to the semi-finals. It almost feels wrong not taking him here. The thing seems like it gets stronger and stronger with each match its in the bandwagon is certainly growing with people on the board. When you lead Solid Snake for multiple hours...yeah. It's hard not to think that the Block is legit, because he's gone up against good competition and advanced each time. This isn't a Bidoof or Pikachu situation here. I almost wouldn't be surprised if the Block managed to take first (vincent aint got nothin on this).

The most likely outcome in this match is Snake > Sonic. They're the two noble niners; they've both win each match they've been in; and if there is any SFF or LFF, they're not going to be hurting from it. That said, I'm sticking with my pick of Squall and I might as well go ahead and put L-Block ahead of Sonic, too!

BRAWLFEAR NOT HERE

Solid Snake 29%
Squall 25%
L-Block 23%
Sonic 23%

Bracket: Snake > Squall
Vote: WHY KOJIMA WHY DELAY MGS4

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Yoblazers Analysis

This is our second of two straight too-much-can-happen quarterfinal matches, so let's cut the small talk and dive right in. Happy Halloween, by the way. =)

Today, we have two Noble Niners, a potential Noble Nine killer, and the most insanely overpowered joke character of all time. Nobody may have predicted it before the contest, but we're seeing a lot of power being split four ways here. I really can see any of these four advancing, and the only one I feel relatively confident in is Solid Snake.

Yes, despite all the wackiness, I can't really picture any one, much less two, of these entrants challenging and defeating Snake. He received his terrible sprite last round and responded in due form, underperforming like a true traditionalist. Even still, he managed to beat L-Block pretty comfortably, and he won't be heading into this round with a disadvantage like L-Block's two previous ironic victims, Kirby and Kratos. Snake won't be facing anyone stronger than himself, won't be a victim of a significant overlap, and will march into battle with an array of badass pictures, so I see him beating L-Block and securing first place once again.

The battle for second is a much more tricky one. While I wouldn't be truly shocked to see any of the three entrants moving on, I have to call Squall the significant underdog. He performed splendidly (quite splendidly!!) against Sonic last round, but unlike most people, I feel that Sonic's picture may have hampered him. Sonic runs on attitude, and attitude doesn't run on goofy looking pixels. The famous blur should be more up for the challenge with some better pics, so I think he'll get past Squall again.
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And thus, we reach the X-Factor, or in this case, the L-Factoh god XDXDXDXD I couldn't even finish the joke without losing it that's how good it was *wipes away tear* oh boy, hope you guys appreciated that one. Product of many hours, that one was. Woooo boy. There's really not a whole lot I can write about L-Block, seeing as how he's just one big, right angled enigma. He shocked us in round one, did so again in round two, and then overperformed in round three. However, I'm still gonna go with the Noble Nine for little more reason than they're the Noble Nine.

Guess I'll take blocky to beat Squall. \m/

Solid Snake - 30%
Sonic the Hedgehog - 26%
L-Block - 23%
Squall Leonhart - 21%

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Ropen's Write-up

I think the Stupid Ass Tetris Piece is going to die, here. When the going gets tough, the joke voters won't be devoted enough to the cause of the piece. Contrary to Master Chief's vote minimum, I think the Tetris Piece's is going to abandon it when it gets too far. There's a point where a joke just stops being funny. When does the Tetris Piece become beating a dead horse? Even without that, though, Sonic and Snake might just get too much anyway. If they both get 30%, the piece is as good as done.

Waah, waah, Master Chief is a joke, you say! Hush, suckas! Can't bring me down! Permit me this hate... in this moment of triumph... ha ha ha ha.... HA HA HA HA... the death of the Tetris Piece!

Okay, okay... about the rest of this match. Oh, spying the competition I see that Sonic seemed a bit weak in the previous round! Is it enough to be defeated by Mr. Whatever here? I'm not going to bet on that. As I said before, I don't think the fanbases of the pretty boy and Sora shared much membership. And heck, we've seen weird things... fishy things happen between MGS and FF before. If anything, that Renzoukuken spamming freak is going to be hurt more by Snake's presence than he was by Sora's, as crazy as that sounds.

Though I don't think he's gonna just die, not a bit. The one named after weather has some backbone in his fanbase, no doubt. In addition I don't think that he's going to be hurting Snake much either. I'm just sayin, don't expect him to go crazy without Sora here, I just don't think it's gonna happen. Sonic beat him in the previous round, and I'm not seein a reason that's gonna change this time around. Of course, Sonic might have it in him to upset Snake here... but Snake has been more impressive for the most part, so I'm gonna have to just stick with him. No big reason to doubt him now.

Now I'm gonna shape my write-up as a boot to kick the Tetris Piece's ass. No support here in this write-up, none. Aw yeah goin down end of tracks die die die.

Ropen's Prediction:
Snake - 28.67%
Sonic the Hedgehog - 26.62%
... whatever - 24.37%
Stupid Ass Tetris Piece - 20.34%

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Karma Hunters Analysis

One more cell phone writeup! What a way to spend a car trip...

SOLID SNAKE

Going from two of the most dominating performances of the contest to letting L-BLOCK lead you for half the night isn't exactly inspiring, but with Solid **** it's almost expected. The key word being 'almost'... Snake could have used a better performance, even considering a probable rebound today.

L-BLOCK

But you can't give the crap all the credit, or even most of it... our little star of the contest is aiming for the finals at this point. With an intense loyalty that only the widest joke in the contest could garner and user pictures sure to flatter it, can it be stopped?

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

And suddenly Sonic looks more vulnerable than he has yet, as Squall nearly beats him with Sora in the poll. If he can do that, what's to stop him from winning outright this time... to say nothing of L-BLOCK?

SQUALL LEONHART

And Squall has his own demons to worry about - particularly Solid Snake, with whom he is encountering for the THIRD time. He held up admirably last time, but does that really discount overlap? Can he upend Sonic and join Vincent as the NN breaker he was born to be?

The most unpredictable match of the round, and arguably the contest. If you haven't been paying attention (or if you're *sigh* red13n) it seems like Snake and Sonic are mortal locks to advance... but mortal locks don't slip past their opponents by respective 4 and 2 percent margins, especially in THIS format. And ESPECIALLY with a damn Tetris piece in the match.

There are too many arguments to count, too many possible outcomes, too many possibilities. Snake and Sonic splitting the SSB vote and letting L-Block in first? One of them getting a decisive advantage with it and leaving the other in the dust (and L-Block to pick up the pieces)? Squall slipping in without Sora holding him back? Snake and Squall holding each other back and eliminating each other?

Honestly. If you ask me, I'm gonna even put aside fanboyism and simply state:

The picture.

Yes, the most volatile, debated, and unpredictable factor there is. And while arguing wholly from it is something that most statheads are loathe to do, it's all I feel I can even partially rely on. The SFF and loyalty issues seem too volatile (imagine the shock if L drops below 20 percent...), enough to change, again, even with a picture (see: Ganon/Luigi).

And seeing as how I won't be seeing any of that, I'm forced to speculate. Probably for the best. And so I'll stick with two things: fanboyism (and the strongest character), and the damn little block I expect to make the finals at this rate.

Karma Hunter's Vote: blah blah snake blah blah metal gear blah
KARMA HUNTER'S KRAZY PREDICTION: Solid Snake with 29, L-Block with 28, Sonic with 23, Squall with 20

...ick

Upset Probability: 90 percent

GOOD LORD
---

L-Block

I'm writing this at 1am, the day before the match. I just did a search for "L-Block" on board 8 and came up with 34 topics. he hasn't had a match in like four days.

the L-Block Movement is gaining steam, and he looks to be completely static: he gets 28% in every poll. given that three *very* strong characters are fighting for votes, will that be enough for second place again?

...first?

now then, let's analyze this thing. let's start with the "real" characters - Sonic, Squall and Snake.

first, Snake and Squall. Snake beat him straight-up 57-43 last year, and there's no reason for that to change. in fact, Squall > Snake is the only result that I see as being impossible -- everything else can happen.

it's long been rumoured that Snake and Squall share a fanbase. Snake beat the hell out of Squall in 2002 and it looked like there was "SFF" in their 2006 match just because nobody wanted to believe Snake was that strong. plus, Squall had KH2 - how could he not have boosted?

Snake did end up being that strong though, and the "proof" is inconclusive. that said, there's been a lot of matches involving FF7 and MGS where Weird Crap has happened, most notably FF7 vs. MGS in the Game Contest. no one knows if that's weird or not, but you have to look at that and say "whoa." I still can't believe FFT went even with MGS, but that's for another day. anyway, I've always noticed that fans of Squall are also fans of Snake for whatever reason. people who like one seem to like the other. I think this hurts both of them. it may not be the tightest affiliation, but, um, did you see Dante/Leon/Pikachu? Something Weird happened there, and I have no idea what. the same thing could happen with Snake and Squall.

then there's the Brawl Boys -- Snake and Sonic. do they suck votes from each other based on how hyped people are over that game? I don't know, it seems unlikely given that these guys are so popular and people should have formed an opinion long ago.. but Snake flat out boosted through the roof and took Sonic down on the way, so you've gotta look at it as being worth something. it's even more if you think Snake's Brawl votes dried up when facing Samus. it's very possible that all three of these guys are not going to be at peak strength when this match comes around. it also seems likely that we're going to be seeing some low numbers for first place -- I wouldn't be surprised at all if none of these guys broke 30%.

which brings us to the Block.

L-Block looks like he's getting stronger as time passes. people are voting that thing over everything, no matter what. the one theory I've heard repeated several times is that L-Block will fold when against real competition. well, I'd say Kratos, Snake and Riku are real competition and L didn't budge -- he actually went up in percentage. the other argument is that L's had lucky bracket placement -- two Nintendo guys sucking each other off, and then three PS2 guys doing the same. I don't buy this, either - L-Block is simply not budging from that 28%. I believe that it's possible people will look at this match as a Snake/Sonic matchup and choose the one they like more there -- I believe this will happen in the Link/Cloud final to a certain extent, for example -- but not with the L-Block. L-Block is going to keep on getting that percentage, and the more split the match is, the harder his opponents are going to have to advance past him.

it's pretty much a lock that L-Block comes flying out of the gate. he'll be up hundreds of votes within minutes, unless that Snake picture absolutely destroyed him (which is a possibility). plus, if this match is even close at the end, L-Block is going to get a rally that will make Frog's look like nothing.

so, what happens? let's start with Sonic. it just hasn't been his contest. he might be able to benefit from some Squall/Snake Weirdness, but I wouldn't expect this to be too huge. plus, Sonic had a hard enough time beating Squall when there was a guy from the same damn game in the poll. it's very possible he could make a comeback here, but it's unlikely - I think the highest he can get is second, and I'm picking him to take fourth.

next, Squall. I believe he's going to look really good here unless Snake hurts him. he doesn't even need to be hurt by him though, since Snake is flat-out stronger than him. Snake's looked at Mario levels in previous matches, and with fan-made pics back, he should be back to optimal strength. Squall could arguably beat Sprite Snake, but that's not what we'll be seeing here. I don't know if he can pull 28%, which is where I think L will end up. I'll give him third place, which is pretty impressive given that he's still above a Noble. two weeks ago, people might have made a big deal out of this.

this leaves us with Snake and L. Snake is in a very good position here unless Squall hurts him. he already beat the Block last round and he'll be back to normal. first place seems logical.

...L-Block is far from logical, though. the addition of two stronger characters are going to hurt Snake a lot more than it will L. it's possible that Sonic hurts L because he's an iconic character from the same general time period, but I'm not buying it. L is getting stronger, his pictures are probably going to be as good as they've ever been, he's got all the board support in the world, he's going to come out destroying everyone in the poll...

can he win it? I don't know. do I have the balls to pick a ****ing tetris block over two Noble Niners?
OH YEAH

Noble Nine, broken
by Vincent? L-Block beats two
at the same damn time.

transience's prediction: L-Block with 27.88%, Solid Snake with 26.83%, Squall with 23.48%, Sonic with 21.81%
---

Guests Analysis - Gaddswell

First off, I would like to say thank you to those who nominated Pikachu during the nomination phase. I doubt any of us expected Pikachu to Round 4! See, your nomination went to a good cause! Be sure to nominate Pikachu for the next character battle as well (if only for teh AUGHs)!

Solid Snake
The strongest character in this poll, Snake finally runs into another Noble Niner. It should be interesting to see how that Brawl fanbase splits itself between Snake and Sonic. Even without that Nintendo backing, Snake should come in first unless that supposed funny business between FF/MGS shows up and holds him back.

L-Block
The big wildcard here, the most successful joke 'character' we've ever seen. This thing not only managed to turn a 44/31 loss at the hands of Kirby into not only a 28/24 upset win, but has managed to turn that same 32/28 loss to Kratos into a 28/20 win as well. In addition to that, L-Block also had the lead over Solid Snake for a good 4 hours! The Block seems guaranteed to have 25% of the vote, no matter the competition, and it will likely put up a similar number here today. Will the Noble Nine be thrashed around by a Tetris block?

Sonic the Hedgehog
Recently announced for SSBB, Sonic impressed in Round 2 only to disappoint in Round 3 by allowing Squall to come within 1.5% of him. Sonic team hasn't looked good all contest so the threat of him being upset by Squall or the L-Block is a probable possibility.

Squall Leonhart
Squall finally rids himself of his fellow Squaremates only to be led him right into the hands of Solid Snake, the man who defeated him twice prior. Squall's a contest powerhouse and a near-elite that went 50-50 with Vincent Valentine (the man who stole 2nd place from Crono) back in 2k5 and has had Kingdom Hearts 2 released since.

This match is essentially a total crapshoot. Any combination of the four is possible except for Squall > anyone. With L-Block eating up a quarter of the percentage, there's not much room for the three others to move around. If one starts doing too well, there won't be enough percentage to go around to the other two and L-Block will very likely place 2nd. It's a balancing act tomorrow with each of the three all having at least 20% of the vote. Should be fun to watch!

Gaddswell predicts:
Solid Snake - 29.06%
L-Block - 23.83%
Sonic the Hedgehog - 25.97%
Squall Leonhart - 21.14%
---

Snake/L-Block/Sonic/Squall also might be the greatest overall batch of match pics ever. That was such a great match in so many ways.

---

~*Posts from the Crew Archive*~

Finals: Match 63 Link vs. Cloud Strife vs. L-Block vs. Solid Snake

Moltars Analysis

Link - Im banned from the character battles. Its because Im too liked or something.
Round 1 70.50% vs. Bidoof, Miles and Agent J
Round 2 51.19% vs. Vincent, Bidoof and Zelda
Round 3 45.37% vs. Vincent, Crono and Zero
Round 4 36.42% vs. Sephiroth, Mario and Vincent
Round 5 39.02% vs. Cloud, Samus and Sephiroth

Link takes first again yawn.

Cloud - Well, Cloud is the 2nd strongest character at GameFAQs(maybe)
Round 1 61.24% vs. Ocelot, Jill and Zolom
Round 2 56.10% vs. Marcus, Ocelot and Kefka
Round 3 49.59% vs. Ryu, Auron and Marcus
Round 4 41.23% vs. Samus, Mega Man and Ryu
Round 5 28.46% vs. Link, Samus and Sephiroth

Cloud loses to Link again yawn.

L-Block - The most debate in this match comes from.and I cant believe Im saying thisL-Block vs. Laharl. Seriously, Laharl is so weak that we question his ability to take out a Tetris piece.
Round 1 30.89% vs. Kirby, Laharl and Nathan
Round 2 28.33% vs. Kratos, Kirby and DK
Round 3 28.63% vs. Snake, Kratos and Riku
Round 4 29.03% vs. Snake, Sonic and Squall
Round 5 ~34.70% vs. Snake, Master Chief and Dante

HOLY ****ING ****!

Snake - Its been a while since weve seen a Noble Nine character in action. This time around, its Snake, and you better believe hes dominating this group.
Round 1 57.88% vs. Nightmare, Rayman and Vyse
Round 2 47.72% vs. Riku, Ryu H. and Nightmare
Round 3 32.44% vs. L-Block, Kratos and Riku
Round 4 28.86% vs. L-Block, Sonic and Squall
Round 5 ~26.20% vs. L-Block, Master Chief and Dante

Snake gets pounded by L.again.

You know, posting those Round 1 quotes made me want to go look for some more! Here are some from L-Blocks Round 1 match.

Moltar - Anyway, Laharl supporters are saying, Hes an actual character. No one actually likes a Tetris block, and he wont get enough joke votes to take second.

Moltar - Then we have Tetris, a game that everyone has played. L-Block has all those people to pull from. Of course, with Kirby being a fan favorite, a good chunk of its support is gone right there. Still, I believe that L-Block will get votes just because its Tetris, and people like Tetris.

Ulti - Kirby is the obvious first-place here, and the other three characters (<_<) are such fodder that it's difficult to predict who will take second place.

Ulti - And I'm writing this match during Matt the Mii's collapse, so I don't think L-Block has the fad power going for it.

HM - But the fact that were going to get to see L-Block perform in a contest has some entertainment to it, even if the odds are its going to suck hard

HM - But, uh, go go go L-Block!!

Yo - [Kirby's] an upper midcarder with some great performances under his belt, and he's up against three guaranteed turd-y fodder.

Yo - True, [L Blocks] potential is greater than that of Laharl's, but the RPG star already has a guaranteed voting block of niche fans who will give him support. We're not sure if the same can be said of the block.

Lopen - It's kinda funny to see lying around... and at least it won't get anti-voted like that damned S/Z-Block would... but who's gonna vote for it? Like Matt the Mii, I don't think most people will appreciate the joke that much...

Lopen - Laharl should break 20% in this pretty easily, which is more than I can say for the other two.

KH - When a damn block from Tetris gets support in a match, you know something's gone horribly wrong.

KH - If people don't get the joke, make the connection that L-Block = Tetris... well, worst case scenario is it loses to Nathan Hale.

Tran - let's start with the Block. the L-Block is my favourite of the joke entrants this year. as long as the picture is good, every person in the world should recognize it.

Tran - so yeah, give me the Block. I don't have much confidence, but at least everyone can be like "whoa, it's a damn tetris block! awesome!"

Ahh, memories. Hope at least one of those made you smile. Anyway, you would think Link > Cloud would be the predictible result, but uhL-Blocks gaining momentum at an insane rate. You know, I wouldnt be surprised ifscrew it, I dont care. LINK > L-BLOCK (and GameFAQs becomes the laughing stock of the interwebs confirmed)

Moltars Bracket Says: Link > Cloud

Moltars Prediction is: Link: 32% - L-Block: 30% - Cloud: 25% - Snake: 13%

_

Heroic Marios Analysis

I don't think anything sums up this contest more than L-Block being in the final. I'm not sure how or why it's made as far as it has, but here it is in the finals. Even crazier, there seems like there's a very real shot of it placing. For whatever reason, with every match it appears in, it gets more and more support from people. The bandwagon effect had always been thrown around, but there's never been a whole lot to prove it I think the L-Block has done that. Given that the Block is going to be at its strongest, by far, there's no telling what's going to happen here.

But I know what's going to happen here Cloud domination. Think about it, Cloud may not have gotten all that close to Link last round, but that's because Sephiroth was there. You may say Yeah, but Samus was there for Link -- and here's where the other factor comes into play. With the L-Block here, how many of those Samus voters are more likely to vote for the Block over Link? I'd say a good number of them, limiting how much of that extra vote that Link is going to receive.

You're thinking, That could apply to Sephiroth fans, too! -- but no, Sephiroth fans, and by extension FF7 fans, probably aren't likely to get behind a joke vote when Cloud is in the poll. We already know that Cloud gets the vast majority of Sephiroth's votes, thanks to the Battle Royale last year. I would expect that to happen again here. Given this, Cloud can easily make up the deficit between he and Link, probably bringing it to near even.

Now here's where L-Block further comes into play. Check out his name -- L-Block. How many voters are L fanboys? A lot, I wager. Call me crazy, but they always vote for a guy named Link. Coincidence? I think not! Now if you have a lot of Link fans who are like Okay, so this other L guy is in the final match and he's been doing great, and because Link always wins, I'll toss him my vote. That's one more advantage Cloud has and no that isn't an L in Cloud's name; it's a capitalized i. Believe.

So at this point, Cloud is already ahead of Link, right? But we're going go need to widen the gap a bit. That's where the next factor comes into play, what I like to call the HAY GUYZ I'S GOT NO CHARACTER vote. You know the voters they fancy Link, Mario, Mega Man and Samus. Nintendo voters, you could say. When stuck with the question which non-character do I vote for here there's going to be some that go Link, and others that go L-Block because when you compare feats, L-Block's SHAPED LIKE A BOOT TO KICK YOUR ASS outweighs getting revived by a fairy!

The next perhaps most forgettable factor is WHAT ABOUT BRAWL HOW DO I VOTE. Let's be honest here Brawl has most of GameFAQs by the balls. How many topics do you see where people are like BIDOOF IS LEADING CAN YOU IMAGINE IF HE WAS IN BRAWL WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN. It's totally a gut reaction to them it's like breathing at this point. So now they're faced with a most interesting conundrum the latest guy on the block, Snake, or the old and tired guy in the skirt? I suspect quite a few of them are all about Snake's masculine beard at this point, so subtract a few votes there.
---

So with all of that in mind, how can you not take Cloud here? It's impossible! I can already hear cries of LOL THATS FANBOYISM RIGHT THUR, but no, sir, no it's infallible logic. Thanks to the SFVFLBTLFHGIGNCVSLABTKYAWABHDIV factor, it seems pretty clear to me what's going down here. Cloud's taking home the championship, baby!
Oh, and I guess L-Block comes in second or something.

Cloud 32%
L-Block 29%
Link 29%
Snake 10%

Bracket: Link > Cloud
Vote: Cloud

____________________________________________________________________________

Yoblazers Analysis

The finals. The culmination of two months worth of waiting, debating, yelling, laughing, and whining. This is the final day of contest matches we'll see in 2007, and likely the final day that I and many of my brethren will be so active on the board. It's been a great one, fellas. See you next time. Now, as for the match itself...

Wow! It's fair to see that this will be the first hotly contested Character Battle final in over three years. Despite this, three of the guys favored to be here (Link, Cloud, and Solid Snake) are here, so what gives? What makes his match such an impossible-to-analyze crapshoot? The biggest X-factor in contest history, that's what. The angular hammer of destruction. The 90 degree mallet that strikes fear into the hearts of Noble Niners across the bracket. The god damned L-Block.

L-Block is the most unpredictable contest force in history. He's far more unpredictable than Link 2K2, Squall/Cloud 2K3, Starcraft, Solid Snake, and The Legend of Zelda. Hell, he might be a more shocking entrant than the rest of those guys combined. Who would have thought that a humble Tetris block would have won more than a match or two, let alone make it into the final match so easily? L-Block is a product of rallied votes, unseen levels of momentum, and a voting populace tired of the same old same old. While I can't say I want to see him/it win this thing, if that's what the people want, then more power to them.

It's very fair to say, especially when analyzing his last few matches, that L-Block is gaining momentum on an unprecedented basis. He's stronger today than he was yesterday, and tomorrow, he'll be stronger still. In fact, I think I've seen more L-Block mania in the past 24 hours than I have in the first two months of the tournament. To me, that's a red light that L-Block will be marching (falling?) into this final battle insanely juiced up. The boost L-Block will have managed in a 24 hour period is equivalent to the boost Master Chief would get from Halo Wii and Halo DS arriving on match day. Yes, I honestly feel this way.

However, he now has to flex his newfound might against two entirely different beasts. Link and Cloud Strife are not Snake, Sonic, or Master Chief. They are the two most dominant forces these contest (this format included) have ever seen, and thus far, they've proven it. After the last match, Link, especially, looks truly frightening. There's no doubt in my mind that either Link and Cloud could easily outdo L-Block's current percentage against this competition. Will that be good enough to hold off the people's champ?

I really have no clue, which kinda makes you wonder what the hell I've been rambling about these past few paragraphs. While Link and Cloud still look stronger, such traditional comparisons don't work against L-Block, especially when we can be assured he'll be at his peak strength tonight.

There are so many things that are impossible to picture in this match. It's impossible to picture Cloud losing to anyone but Link. It's impossible to imagine Link losing at all, let alone potentially twice in the same match. It's impossible to imagine any character splitting Link and Cloud in the same match. And it's impossible to imagine L-Block not scoring 30%. However, at least one of those scenarios will happen, and it's going to be bonkers around here when it does. As for my prediction (ie. shot-in-the-dark guess), I'll uhh... I'll go with... good lord, this is tough. The closest thing I have resembling "confidence" is my belief that Cloud has no shot. I think Cloud Strife will lose to a Tetris block, god help me. His horrible first hour, coupled with L-Block's early vote from the heavens, will equal a complete disaster. He could be down thousands after 60 minutes, and I don't see him making that up.

A victory over Cloud would be amazing in and of itself, but I think L-Block's fanbase is smart enough to know that that isn't the real test. Link, our contest king, the god of Character Battles, has stood atop the mountain, undeterred, for years. He's the final wall, the final challenge. My friends, this could be one for the ages.

Hold your ground! Hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!!!

Link - 31%
L-Block - 30%
Cloud Strife - 24%
Solid Snake - 15%

____________________________________________________________________________

Lopens Analysis

So... the damn L-Block is triumphant. And it appears to be gaining more and more power. Some are even calling it to bring down Link and Cloud... well, I don't believe it can. There's a world of difference between Link and Cloud, and Snake. It might have mad rallies, madder than ever before... and vote stuffing. BUT it's going to lose some votes too, because Link and Cloud are beasts. I can't see it losing that much, but it won't have to to lose.

Now, I think Link has it... for two reasons. For the first, it seems like Cloud is going to be relatively abandoned in this match. I don't know, the vibe amongst Cloud voters I've seen is "I want Link to lose, so I'm voting the L-Block" On the other hand, all of us that hate L-Block like the plague are going to screen to Link, to save us from this horrible... thing. Oh, and Cloud of course is weaker, and will be drained by Solid Snake more than Link will.

The second... now... if you'll recall, Master Chief lost. But he... how did Master Chief lose...? He's INVINCIBLE! And what happened to his day vote?

... I know what happened. That coward Link... the thief... I remember, now... the camera I had propped up to protect the Game Fuel. An L-Block was in the way as I went to check it... in disgust I turned away, searching for my flamethrower to promptly dispose of it. But now... now...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c38/NeoX-Death/MissingFuel.jpg

Augh... damn you, Link. I always knew they were right in Link's Awakening when they called you "Thief." I... I... well... fine. Use it well.

FIGHT FOR US, HERO OF TIME. USE THE GAME FUEL. DESTROY THE STUPID ASS TETRIS PIECE.

Lopen's vote: Link. Believe.

Lopen's prediction:
Link - 36.04%
ACCURSED TETRIS PIECE - 32.00%
Cloud - 21.51%
Solid Snake - 10.45%

____________________________________________________________________________

Transiences Analysis

well, here we go. Link/Cloud IX, with Link leading 7-1. Cloud's looked good all contest, but he'll need a superhuman effort in order to beat Link.

oh, wait. THERE IS AN L-BLOCK IN THE WAY.
---

after round 2, I said that the L-Block had the third-best chance of winning this contest after Link and Cloud. I was mostly saying that nobody else had a chance and it would take a joke of epic proportions to beat them out for first, but here we are. seriously, how do you analyze this? the thing has gone from 30% against Kirby, Laharl and Nathan Hale to 34% on Solid Snake, Master Chief, and Dante. at one point (yesterday), it looked like the thing was static. 28% every time. I did a little math and made this post:

transience | Posted 11/2/2007 12:46:48 AM | message detail | #199
well, let's say L holds his 28%. unlikely? who knows at this point.

that leaves 72% for Link/Cloud/Snake. we've seen that match before..

Cloud Strife 35.71% 54057
Link 44.65% 67579
Solid Snake 19.64% 29733
TOTAL VOTES 151369

assume the same vote total, give them 72% of this and you get:

Cloud - 38921
Link - 48657
Snake - 21407
L-Block - 42384

...heh.

so, if you believe L-Block's 28% is static, it has a serious, legitimate shot at placing.

that was before today's match, where L-Block went insane. I think we've now proven that bandwagoning exists. the entire internet seems alerted to this thing. votefortheworst had a thread about it. I came across some insane L-Block ramblings in Russian. Kotaku is linking to us. L-Block is the most insane, unpredictable contest entrant we've ever had.

...most anticipated match of all time?

this final is absolutely illegitimate. I don't mind - I'm loving every second of it - but there's no way to even begin to analyze it. if Cloud beats Link tomorrow, you absolutely cannot say he's stronger than Cloud, not when there's a big old L-Block in the way. if Link crushes Cloud, the same is true. you can't draw a single conclusion about the two based on this match. it's the main flaw of the format for anyone who takes the contest "seriously" -- there's so many other factors that can be tossed in that make you say "uhhh". like, you know, GameFAQs's finest being rocked by a Tetris block.

so, um, how am I going here? with that momentum, is it even possible to pick against the Block? there was an argument, once upon a time, that voters would abandon the block when it got to the final because it's freaking Link vs. Cloud. everyone knows their history, and even if they thought the L-Block was funny and awesome, they'd get serious and vote for the one they liked more. think of it as being like supporting a political candidate in primaries, but then voting for the lesser evil when the Real Thing comes around. or something like that.

but, um, the L-Block is real. it's legitimate. seriously, the thing had a god damn 1172 vote lead on Solid goddamn Snake in the first five minutes. Link and Cloud combined couldn't manage that. I've never seen anything even remotely like this, and I refuse to believe that momentum will suddenly stop because it's up against Link and Cloud. who the hell votes it over Snake, Sonic and Master Chief and then stops for Link and Cloud? not many people, and for those that do, another bunch will protest Link vs. Cloud IX by voting for the Block. and the momentum may take it even farther.

the one thing that makes me doubt L? the day this is on, daylight savings time. 25 hours. I don't know how SB is going to handle this, but the longer the poll goes, the less support L will be able to muster up. put it in a six hour poll and it'd crush everything ever seen - the longer this goes, the more it's going to bleed percentage and votes. we'll see how this is taken care of, but it's something to remember.

it's crazy, but the Tetris Block seems like the safe pick right now. the main question is: who gets hurt by the thing more, Link or Cloud?

my guess would be Link. Link's always had a crazy early vote, which L-Block absolutely rocks now. seriously, he's going to be down at least 500 votes within five minutes. it might be a lot more. that's the one area where Link always destroys Cloud. if you believe in the "L-Block has Nintendo ties so it hurts Link more" idea, which is stupid, it probably hurts Link even more.

this match comes down to who's fans are more loyal, and I don't care to even hazard a guess. I'm going with the guy who has been stronger for four years now -- Link. Cloud has had a fantastic tournament and has a real shot at Link in a real format *or* in this one, but I'll just play it safe.

I know one thing: I don't care what I get up to tonight, I will make some weirdass excuse about how I have to be home by midnight. there's no way I'm missing our two contest gods get owned by a Tetris block for the world. call me a dork, I don't care. this will be epic.

six years of contests
Link, Cloud, Zelda, FF7
beaten by a Block

transience's prediction: L-Block with 31.47%, Link with 29.89%, Cloud with 27.56%, Snake with 11.08%

____________________________________________________________________________

Guests Analysis - THE GREAT HOCHIMINH155

All of my life I have been persecuted because of my race. My family and I migrated from Vietnam to America when I was nine years old. I was immediately an outcast from the white Americans. However, I did not care because I thought I could hang with my fellow Asians. Much to my udder dismay, I was mistaken. Because of my Vietnamese heritage, I was barred from being friends with the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese. I had nobody. My parents were killed shortly after. I was truly alone. I was also 15 years old but still alone. I was a vagrant. I traveled back to Vietnam. This is where I started reading the teachers of esteemed leader, Ho Chi Minh. For those of you who don't know, think of Ho Chi Minh as the "George Washington" of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh's teachings of communism really resonated with me. I wouldn't be a loner any more if we could all live in Ho Chi Minh's dream world. I spent ten years at a communist monastery learning to harness the art. I exited the monastery as a badass, I knew what I had to do. To achieve my master's goals, I had to take on the single biggest communication medium the Internet. And what better place than GameFAQs, a forum of happy, open-minded individuals? The only way to make GameFAQs grovel before me was to win the Character Contest.
---

I was 17 years old at the time and my mother was working two jobs to afford me to go to college. While she worked, I studied the GameFAQs contest history. I also devised secret formulas that the "gurus" of Board 8 didn't even dared to dream. Well, I DARED TO DREAM and I am great position to take first place in the contest. As of yesterday, I am the highest Cloud bracket. Cloud > Link is all I need to net first place and I'm here to tell you why it is inevitable that this particular result happens.

My bracket has the finals being Cloud, Link, Snake and Sonic. Let me start by saying that I knew L-Block would make it to the finals, I just didn't want to change it. This is actually good for Link because Sonic would have drained the holy hell out of him. We confirmed this is Zelda/Tails. Regardless, Cloud will still beat Link. Cloud has consistently outperformed Link very round. No exceptions. While Link was struggling to break 70% on Agent J, Edgeworth and Bidoof, Cloud was SFFing everyone into oblivion left and right. Cloud has gotten stronger and received new SFF powers this contest thanks to the site's second playthrough of Kingdom Hearts II or SPF. Conversely, Twilight Princess has weakened Link and the other Zelda characters as well as causing him to lose his SFF powers. Link failed to SFF Samus, Mario and Bidoof. How sad. I refer to the negative affects of Twilight Princess to be TPFF (Twilight Princess Flop Factor). Solid Snake is a no-factor here and he won't even get 10%. He's embarrassed himself this contest and anyone voting for him is wasting their vote.

Now onto L-Block. I for one am not amused. However, some of you think he has been getting stronger this round. Well, as Lux Luthor would put it "Wrooong!" L-Block got 30% last round against 3 stronger characters of radically different fanbases. This round, he's only doing 5% better despite facing a much weaker four-pack of characters that are somewhat similar (compared to last round anyways). Also, 35% on this four-pack is impressive, but Link and Cloud would be getting close to 45% here. L-Block is going to fold in the face of real competition. To summaries, I am a communist, I am in college, Solid Snake is a joke, Cloud is stronger this year, Link is weaker this year and L-Block is not as strong as you think he is.

Hochiminh's Krazy Prediction: Cloud with 32%, Link with 31%, L-Block with 28%, Solid Stupid with 9%
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Freaking four-way match predictions.

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Get HM back on the Crew

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hochi was a trip that contest

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Only ONE person had L-Block winning? I know you were all so young back and didn't know better then but damn!

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We all believed that L-Block had some sort of hard cap on percentages or votes (it got very similar percentages in its first few matches), and so we kept thinking that as the opponents got stronger, it would eventually run out of steam.

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I did until that semifinal, when L-Block clearly showed that it was up to the test. I was surprised that nobody was taking L after that.

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Can someone remind me where exactly that votes came from back then? I mean sure we did had Social Media but they were at their infancy back then. Plus no Reddit and Tumblr right? Okay Reddit did existed but barely anyone knew that.

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Safer_777 posted...

Can someone remind me where exactly that votes came from back then? I mean sure we did had Social Media but they were at their infancy back then. Plus no Reddit and Tumblr right? Okay Reddit did existed but barely anyone knew that.

Russia.com

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Guys, we all know what 2007 was...

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2007 was a golden time. Shaped like a boot to _________________

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Safer_777 posted...

Can someone remind me where exactly that votes came from back then? I mean sure we did had Social Media but they were at their infancy back then. Plus no Reddit and Tumblr right? Okay Reddit did existed but barely anyone knew that.

We had loads of dedicated gaming forums and websites with the kind of userbases that would actually care to show up for character and game contests.

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Yeah, people actually used to care about GameFAQs

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Man, more people picked Cloud than L-Block

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L/Link is still the most voted on poll in contest history, I think

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speaking of, what happened to KH in that match? was he hochiminh?

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transcience posted...

L/Link is still the most voted on poll in contest history, I think

By a pretty wide margin, too, I think. I double checked Draven and Undertale just to be sure, but the highest vote total there was the Undertale/Melee match at around 175k.

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guest sign-ups open

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78653367
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~*Posts from the Crew Archive*~

East Division: Round 1 - Match 22 (6) WWF No Mercy vs. (11) Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Moltars Analysis

WWF No Mercy
World Wildlife Fund No Mercy

Fire Emblem
From that series that was nothing until Melee came around.

Man I love No Mercy. Best wrestling game ever. However, Im not going to sugar-coat its chances here. Im pretty sure GameFAQs never really cared for wrestling or wrestling games. I also dont see why they would care today when its not really cool to like wrestling.

Also, its opponent is a JRPG, which GameFAQs eats up. Even better, its a fairly obscure JRPG game, which GameFAQs really eats up. Maybe if No Mercy was up against some weak trash from a who cares series, Id go for it. However, its Fire Emblem, so I like its chances here despite it not being all that strong.

I certainly wont complain if No Mercy wins though!

Moltars Bracket: Fire Emblem > No Mercy

Moltars Prediction: Fire Emblem - 57%

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Lopens Analysis

This match I really have no idea how to call. I could see 70% for No Mercy or 70% for Fire Emblem.
On one side, you've got a series that has never established itself as more than fodder, and what is probably one of the weaker games from said series. BUT it's Nintendo, could that be enough?

On the other side, you've got WWF No Mercy, something that could be anti-voted to hell, nostalgia voted, or even joke voted. The game itself was well received, but I don't think that matters too much here, as the WWF brand name is going to account for more than the game itself could hope to.

Anyway, I'm putting my money on No Mercy here. Wrestling was actually popular back then (note WWF not WWE), and yeah, I could see people thinking voting for it is funny... look at that box art with THE ROCK... I mean it didn't work for John Madden, but well, they SHOULD. Really though as I already said I call this match a total crapshoot, so discard my thoughts at your leisure.

Well if nothing else, No Mercy has the top seed. Maybe this'll be a Vyse/Laharl special? Sure. I'll bet on that.

Lopen's prediction:
NO MERCY with 60.05%

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Transiences Analysis

Okay, so, I don't "get" this match. I've never heard of No Mercy, probably because I wasn't like 13 years old when it came out. Wrestling had long since passed me, so I won't be posting a bunch of dumb wrestling gifs or catch phrases and use that as proof that it's going to win.

What I do know is that Fire Emblem is weak and looks weaker every year. This is a lower-tier FE, too - FE7 is the game that has some strength but this one is a second-rate Gamecube RPG. I would pick so much stuff over this game.

And yet No Mercy isn't one of those things. FE is, at the very least, a recognizable name. I don't think a n64 wrestling game is going to be enough to get 50% of the vote. It very well *could* but I wouldn't bet on it. This game has no shot to ever make a contest without a big board 8 rally and is only spoken about glowingly amongst big wrestling fans. I don't think there's enough of them for it to win a contest match against a relatively known name.

transience's prediction: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance with 55.79%
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Leons Analysis

Oh look, a Nintendo game against an old N64 wrestling game. Seems like a pretty easy decision, doesnt it?

Well, thats where youre wrong, Jabroni! Finally, The Rock has COME BACK to GameFAQs! Let me tell you something, this isnt just any old wrestling game! This is a wrestling game from the glory days of the WWF, during the height of the Attitude Era, when most people on this site were kids or teenagers. They will fondly remember this game and this era, especially once they see a picture of The Rock, Triple H, and Edge on the cover. Those memories will come flooding back of seeing The Rock laying the smacketh down on some punks, delivering some Peoples Elbows, and smack-talking everyone in the business! Theres no room for logic here! No Mercy is the clear pick here! In fact, No Mercy is a perfect name for this game because thats exactly what this roody-poo so-called game is going to receive!

Fire what? Path of what? It doesnt matter what this games name is! Does it really think its going to walk into the Peoples Poll and beat No Mercy? All The Rock knows is that this game needs to know its role and shut its mouth! This games got a reservation for one at the Smackdown Hotel right on Jabroni Drive, so it better start packing its bags, if you SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL what The Leonis cookin! *leaves to everyone on GameFAQs chanting The Leons name*

Leonharts Embarrassing Confession of the Match: Despite going into fanboy mode, I havent followed wrestling in 7-8 years, but seriously, those were the glory days!

Leonharts Vote: What do you think, Jabroni? It doesnt matter what you think!

Leonharts Prediction: <em>WWF No Mercy with 51.07%</em>

And thats the bottom line, cause Leonhart said so!

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Kleenexs Analysis

Oh hey the guru nomination. I think I'm supposed to post gifs in this writeup.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif1.gif

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif2.gif

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif3.gif

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif4.gif

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif5.gif

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b146/KleenexTissue501/gif6.gif

Aw yeah, suck it down stupid wrestling game. Go Fire Emblem.

Kleenex's Prediction: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance with 55.55%

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Applekidjoshs Analysis

and yeah I doubt I'll be awake saturday morning so this ****ty writeup is courtesy of me having friday night plans. I'm sure the other guys will have elaborate predictions with wrestling memes and images and stuff so just go reread Moltar's and then come back down and check my percentage okay?

AKJ - WWF:NM > FE:PoR /w 52.00%

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Guests Analysis - Ultimaterializer

Fire Emblem 9 was basically the game that upended Final Fantasy Tactics for awhile as my favorite game ever. Its as outstanding an SRPG as you'll ever find, and the plot is nothing to sneeze at either. Yes a few things are clich and overdone, but that's everything coming out of Japan these days. But you can have clich and still be well done, like how FE9 does it. The characterization is top-notch, and the relationships they all have with each other is what makes the game special for me. It's one thing to have one area of a game done super well, but doing everything well is hard. And Fire Emblem 9 does everything well: characters, graphics, plot, gameplay, intangibles, the mythical "it", whatever. Path of Radiance has that spark that makes a game difficult to describe because snobby fans like me won't be able to put its greatness into words.

One might say I'm the biggest Fire Emblem 9 fan on all of GameFAQs. And that's why I chose this match to be a guest for, because I'm here to tell you all that as FE9's biggest fan you people are out of your goddamn minds for supporting it.

I don't care what past polls say about WWF No Mercy or whatever idiotic "GameFAQs doesn't care about sports games" stigma you guys want to tack onto the game in an attempt to discredit it. I remember this game's launch. It was huge. It came out at the apex of the Attitude era and everyone loved it. It single-handedly convinced the WWF-- errr, WWEEEEEE that those terrible annual WWF vs RAW vs Smackdown! vs Diva vs WWE vs Roster Split vs ECW vs WCW vs TNA vs WhateverTF games are a worthy annual investment. To date, No Mercy is still far and away the most popular wrestling game ever made. It's also not a "sports" game, either, so drop it. It's like calling marijuana a drug when it's only a plant -- a natural poison. This isn't Madden 2004 we're talking about. There isn't a wrestling fan out there who didn't play this. Hell, it probably doesn't even need the wrestling fanbase to win this match -- though the sizable wrestling fan base on this site certainly won't hurt. Fire Emblem 7 (the Game Boy Advance one) is the only FE that will ever do well in a poll here.

Furthermore, stop with the Brawl thing. No really, stop it. Ike on the box art is irrelevant. Is Lucas or anything related to Mother 3 strong? No. Is EarthBound strong? No. Is any Kirby game strong? No. Is Game & Watch strong? Is F-Zero strong?

You get the idea. Ike being the character every god-awful online noob uses to score kills in random lag lobbies doesn't make his game strong or relevant on this site. WWF didn't get a 6 seed because of the guru nominations, either, because over half of every guru roster is made up of little bastards who don't hold true to their word. Christ, stop signing up for that contest if you're going to forget about nominating the winner's choice. With how spread out the noms were this contest, No Mercy should have gotten a higher seed with full guru support. But noooo, people magically disappear whenever the previous winner makes his topic. So now we're stuck with people thinking Fire Emblem 9 can actually win this match instead of giving No Mercy the jabroni it deserves. If I win the guru and Jugglypuff doesn't get in next contest to complete the original 12, heads will effing roll. I'm not kidding. I will lube up my size 14 shoe and stick it straight up the collective roody-poo candy ass of every welching punk out there. You people sicken me.

Oh right, predix. Unlike 2/3rds of the so-called gurus, I actually know the Fire Emblem series. Let's go with, oh.... Metal Gear's number from the series contest against a very RELEVANT opponent. Fire Emblem barely won the day vote against Metal Gear, back when all things Metal Gear went down in the day harder than Jenna Haze at a casting call. Why FE9 is favored here is just beyond me.

WWF No Mercy with 65.23%

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Crew Consensus: The Crew is split on this one. WWF No Mercy has the 4-3 edge.
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you monsters

its funny how FE is super weak by that contests standards and strong now!

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In the non-darkest timeline the Crew gets that one right.

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always glad to be on the right side of history

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transcience posted...

you monsters

its funny how FE is super weak by that contests standards and strong now!

Would probably get at least 60-40'd by Awakening. Is that even strong?
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