Board 8 > Best Year in Gaming Contest Analysis Crew

(+) Yeah! (+)

Kleenex’s Analysis

There haven't been any really surprising results so far, and that trend definitely continues with this match. There's probably a case to be made for '99 to be the weakest year out of all the '90s. FF8 aside, there's not a while lot of depth, at least as far as games that have any sort of strength on GameFAQs.com. And systems have proven to not matter, though I doubt the Dreamcast would have made any waves regardless.

I will note, however, that much like 2001, I'm not entirely sold on 1997 being a monster. Sure, it has FF7. And SotN + Goldeneye is a decent second string - definitely enough to smash 1999, but I need to see some results that impress me first. Not that the year is in danger of not making the semis or anything, this quarter is weak. I just need to lay the groundwork for my ridiculous 1995 upset in a few weeks.

Kleenex's Prediction: 1997 with 73%

Guest’s Analysis - Dilated Chemist

Cloud: Crawling. In. My. Skiiiiin.
Squall: …
Cloud: These. Wounds. They. Will. Not. Heaaaaaal.
Squall: You’re so emo.
Cloud: At least I’m alive.
Squall: Huh?
Barrett: GOT ‘EM!
Squall: ...I’m so confused.
Cloud: I know how that feels.
Aeris: lol dead.


1997 with 83.77%



Crew Consensus: Final Fantasy 1997
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Round 1 – 2007 vs. 2012

Moltar’s Analysis

2007 isn’t a monster year, but 2012 isn’t going to look good here. It was a pretty weak year for games with no big titles on GameFAQs (save all your jokes about ME3 being the #2 game here pls)

2007 has a bunch of solid midcarders, and that’s enough to put it over in this match.

Moltar’s Bracket: 2007

Moltar’s Prediction: 2007 - 71%



transience’s Analysis

2012 is my favorite gaming year. It's also the absolute worst gaming year for big, popular games since the modern era began. You can go through a history of GOTY picks and find that they all usually focus on the same kinds of games -- big, sprawling action or adventure games. 2012's biggest games to the public were an episodic adventure game and an indie walking simulator. They're both great games but they're not great GameFAQs games. The #1 game of 2012 might be Xenoblade.

Meanwhile, 07 is like a western version of 01. The entire 7th generation of video games was basically defined here. Bioshock, COD4, Halo 3, Portal, Mass Effect, Galaxy.. the list goes on. 07 got a raw deal because it could have been interesting if it faced, say, 2004 or 2006 or even something older like 1990 or 1992. 2007 will wreck 2012 and then put up a fight against 97 before bowing out clean. In general, I think 2001 is going to go into that potential semifinal with 97 looking better because it has a better chance to flex its muscles. Anyway, that's like two weeks in the future. 07 wins and wins big.

transience's prediction: 2007 with 79.12%



Leonhart’s Analysis

2007 could’ve been interesting in a lot of different places in this bracket. Its strongest Nintendo game (Super Mario Galaxy) is good but not great. It’s got three of the best western franchises you could have in your corner represented here in Mass Effect, Portal, and BioShock, but GameFAQs has been reluctant to assimilate western games into its “mainstream.” It would’ve been fun to debate how it would do against some of the other years from this decade, but its path is set. It’s going to crush 2012, whose GOTY got rolled by EarthBound and Xenoblade couldn’t even beat DKC2. Plus, it feels like SBAllen is rigging the match by shafting Mass Effect 3, our #2 game on the site, from the picture…! Seriously though, 2007 rolls here and then gets rolled by 1997 next round.

Leonhart’s Vote: 2007

Leonhart’s Prediction: 2007 with 72.50%
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Kleenex’s Analysis

Okay, so this is actually the first match I think is in question. Both of these are middle-of-the-pack years, game-wise. I have 2012 in my brackets, but I'm feeling a lot less comfortable with that than I was when I submitted. It's probably some Xenoblade bias.

2007 is probably the most medium collection of mid-carders in the contest. Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, Bioshock. These are all games that do okay, but never really impress anyone. 2012 has a lot of untested stuff. Mass Effect 3 got Undertale'd (aka was the second strongest game in BGE3 !!). Journey got squashed by FF7. Borderlands 2 lost to EarthBound (yikes, I forgot about this!). Xenoblade barely lost to DKC2.

Huh, you know after writing all that out, I'm not sure why I even took 2012 in the first place.

Damnit.

Kleenex's Prediction: 2007 with 60%



Guest’s Analysis - Ranticoot

After all this time I still don't know what the fuck even is this contest. But I picked what I thought should be an easy match so whatever.

2007's strongest game is Mario Galaxy, which isn't terrible but could be a lot stronger. Bioshock and Portal are decent, the former especially in games contests because that game gets almost unparalleled amounts of respect. Other things like Mass Effect and COD4 were this year. 2007 also had crazy things like the peak of Brawl hype (SONIC!) and Halo 3 hype behind it.

2012's strongest game is a Wii RPG that barely managed to get localized. And uh...well the Wii U came out. And Borderlands 2 was a good game or something.

So, 2007 stomps. Pretty hard too. I expect some very, very, very bad blowouts in this contest - sometimes from matches you wouldn't expect.

Rant's prediction - 2007 with 68%



Crew Consensus: 2007 got this
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that writeup is from 10 years ago, guest
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did someone say ME3 is the #2 game on the site
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damn you undertale

Kleenex you picked 2012? that's grounds for crew expulsion! watch it do better than 1985 I'll stop talking now

what do people think Galaxy gets on MGS3?
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I made my actual bracket with very little thought and never went back to amend

The allure of Xenoblade was too strong
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Kleenex’s Analysis

Okay, so this is actually the first match I think is in question. Both of these are middle-of-the-pack years, game-wise. I have 2012 in my brackets, but I'm feeling a lot less comfortable with that than I was when I submitted. It's probably some Xenoblade bias.

2007 is probably the most medium collection of mid-carders in the contest. Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, Bioshock. These are all games that do okay, but never really impress anyone. 2012 has a lot of untested stuff. Mass Effect 3 got Undertale'd (aka was the second strongest game in BGE3 !!). Journey got squashed by FF7. Borderlands 2 lost to EarthBound (yikes, I forgot about this!). Xenoblade barely lost to DKC2.

Huh, you know after writing all that out, I'm not sure why I even took 2012 in the first place.

Damnit.

Kleenex's Prediction: 2007 with 60%

One less bracket.

Actually it looks Kleenex's bracket is so crazy it should survive this mistake.

is 5 risks really 'so crazy'
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The Mana Sword posted...

is 5 risks really 'so crazy'

In this contest? Yes.

I dunno, it's not like this is the series contest or anything
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you'll probably regret that post!
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MasterMoltar posted...

(save all your jokes about ME3 being the #2 game here pls)

too late

transcience posted...

what do people think Galaxy gets on MGS3?

Probably somewhere around 46-48%, I think. I don't think it wins, but it could. I think it'd be close either way.
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No LoL rallying for 2009? Disappointing.
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Reading these analyses was really weird. The analysts were referring to Bioshock and Borderlands 2 as middle of the road games. These were both games that won multiple Game of the Year awards from major players in the industry.

It also boggles my mind that not a single analyst remembered that Portal also means The Orange Box. That means that 2007 doesn't only represent the out-of-nowhere success of Portal, but also the runaway success of Team Fortress 2 and the long awaited, surpassing expectations, Half-Life 2.

-MS

you're not wrong, but in the context of this site you are. this site isn't crazy about those games. it likes Bioshock a good amount (that's why I asked the MGS3/Galaxy question - Bioshock might be the strongest 07 game), but Borderlands 2 is barely worth mentioning at this point.
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Borderlands 2 lost to Earthbound in the games contest a few years ago. That should tell you all about this site's tastes.

Also, HL2 was a 2004 game.
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Big Bob posted...

Borderlands 2 lost to Earthbound in the games contest a few years ago. That should tell you all about this site's tastes.

Also, HL2 was a 2004 game.

The extra episodes were launched in 2007, in the Orange Box.

Episode 1 came out in 2006
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Round 1 – 2000 vs. 1990

Moltar’s Analysis

This...this can’t be another blowout right? On paper, this isn’t like most of the other matches so far, where it’s either been a super deep year against a weak year, or a strong anchor year against a weak year.

Here, we’ve got two years with some strength and some depth. With this falling in the middle, we may actually get a good match. 2000 is led by GameFAQs Game of the Decade Majora’s Mask. It also has backup of other strong Nintendo games, notable PC games, and even a Final Fantasy. There’s definitely depth here.

1990 is led by SMB3, which is one of the strongest games on GameFAQs. It also has the original Final Fnatasy backing it up and other classics like River City Ransom and Monkey Island and…

…

oh who am I kidding 2000 just has more depth this probably won’t even be close

Moltar’s Bracket: 2000

Moltar’s Prediction: 2000 - 64%



transience’s Analysis

Here's a hyped match! It's actually two years that have some strength to it, as opposed to 87 and 85 which are only competitive because they're both facing each other. Well, we'll see if that's true next round with 95. Gaming years have a tendency to rely on historical significance more than pure game quality. I'm curious to see if that's the case with this contest too.

When looked through that lens, 1990 looks a lot better. 2000 is a notable year for hardware, but the big software titles are just sequels. Final Fantasy IX is a throwback to earlier games in the series. Majora's Mask is notorious for being an Ocarina rom hack. Pokemon Gold/Silver is a better (?) version of Red/Blue. Perfect Dark, the same. The truly notable games of 2000 - Diablo 2, Deus Ex, either aren't in the match picture or are seen as net negatives.

Meanwhile, 1990 has Super Mario Bros. 3, still considered to be the purest platformer ever made. It has the birth of Final Fantasy. Those two alone have some serious cred. Is it enough? Probably not. The other games in the picture are weak and, for some reason, Allen skipped Mega Man yet again. It's really making me wonder what we'll see with 1994. River City Ransom and Wing Commander but not Mega Man 3? That's a hard pill to swallow.

It's awfully hard to pick 1990 after we saw the 87/85 result: big Mario game vs. Zelda and other big franchises and it gets tripled. Maybe 1990 makes a better game of it? I won't bet on it. Normally I'd go like 58/42 on this but given how lopsided this contest has been, I'm gonna go into the 60s to be safe.

transience's prediction: 2000 with 64.44%


Leonhart’s Analysis

I’ve started to leak confidence in my 1990 > 2000 pick for the last couple of days. I knew 1990 was heavily dependent on Mario 3 and FFI, but it didn’t dawn on me how precipitous the dropoff is until I saw the match pic. There was also the 1987 > 1985 result, where depth trumped the singular strong anchor. I think this match is a different situation than that one. Mario 1 is a well-respected game, but Mario 3 is a beloved game. It’s still a top 25 caliber game in the eyes of many, including myself. I think that distinction matters (although it may only lessen how badly 1990 loses!).

There was also some question about whether there was some sort of strange generational SFF involved in 1985/1987. Nobody knows for sure, but it was far more lopsided than anyone predicted. This will be the first time a year from the ‘90s clashes with a year from the ‘00s, so I’ll be curious to see how that plays out, even if 1990 barely qualifies as a ‘90s year since it was pre-SNES and 2000 might as well be an honorary member of the ‘90s since the N64 and PS1 were still alive and kicking!
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All that being said, I’m a stubborn person by nature, so I’m going to stick with my 1990 pick. The Crew can thank me later for averting a Crew Curse…! I do think Majora’s Mask and FFIX are a little overvalued. Those SM/LTTP results still feel weird to me, and OoT wasn’t its normal self in 2015, so I don’t totally trust FFIX’s number on it either. Regardless, 2000 has a massive depth advantage and a good picture to demonstrate that, so I expect it wins pretty big if it does. Just gotta hope Mario 3’s got a P-Wing it’s been saving for just this moment!

Leonhart’s Vote: 1990

Leonhart’s Prediction: 1990 with 53.44%



Kleenex’s Analysis

1990 got screwed. Zelda, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, PS2, Chrono Cross. 2000 has it all! The Mario 3 + Final Fantasy combo is definitely no slouch, but I have a hard time seeing that win against 2000. 1990 probably could have done some work in other parts of the bracket, but 2000 is probably one of the top 5 strongest years in the contest (one that I have losing next round because I'm an idiot).

Kleenex's Prediction: 2000 with 70%



Guest’s Analysis - tennisboy213

2000 has Game of the Decade winner Majora's Mask, Pokemon Gold/Silver, and Final Fantasy IX as its three strongest games. It also has Chrono Cross, Deus Ex, Diablo II, and Perfect Dark. If you want to argue consoles matter, it has one of the best in the Playstation 2. It's an interesting year. Pre-contest I could see it losing in the first round or going all the way to the finals. With its depth and its strong top 3, it's a fun upset pick to go deep. In fact, in the 2015 adjusted x-stats: http://thengamer.com/xstats/ranks.php?year=2015g, it has the highest ranked #3 of any year (FF9, 23rd).

1990 has a large anchor in Mario 3 and an okay 2nd in the original Final Fantasy. Other than those, it has nothing with any strength, although on a personal level, Dr. Mario, Mega Man 3, and Castlevania 3 are games I enjoy. Other games are River City Ransom, The Secret of Monkey Island, and Wing Commander.

Mario 3 should be the strongest game in either year, though Majora's Mask may be close, especially with Breath of the Wild hype. Slight edge to 1990 there. After that, the edge clearly lies with 2000. As we saw in the 1985/1987 match, having the strongest game in the match isn't enough if you don't have depth. Actually this match is pretty similar to that one when you think about it.

I was all set to go big here but then Allen left Pokemon Gold/Silver out of the match picture. I think that will hurt 2000 by a few percentage points, but it should still have enough to win.

tennisboy213's bracket: 2000
tennisboy213's vote: 1990
tennisboy213's prediction: 2000 with 59%



Crew Consensus: Y2K
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one thing I like about 1990: Final Fantasy and Mario in the first two slots.
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I'm starting to think the best strategy is to ask, "Which one is most likely to win in a massive blowout?"

advantage 2000 there
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I kind of like the "which year is closer to 1998" method. It has held up so far!
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we'll see if 2002 can beat 91. that's the real test of my theory!
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Round 1 – 1996 vs. 1989

Moltar’s Analysis

Think waaaaaaaaay back to that 2008/2009 match. Remember when 2009 looked good in the wildcard round only to get crushed when it faced actual competition in the bracket?

Yeah that same thing is going to happen here. 1996 is even stronger too with Mario 64 and RPG leading it, so this should be even uglier.

Moltar’s Bracket: 1996

Moltar’s Prediction: 1996 - 79%



transience’s Analysis

I'm excited about this match! I feel like it will tell us a lot. I honestly feel like 1996 is a weak year. It has Mario 64 and Mario RPG and... well, games that are notable but not strong. Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Crash, all the PS1 stuff that got iterated on and became much better over time. Those games suck in contests outside of the original RE and I think that's helped out by its remake. 1996 lacks diversity and lacks depth. I would take the 90/00 winner over it without much thought.

1989 has depth and has notable games. But it somehow forgot to include freaking Mega Man 2! Tetris, Dragon Warrior and Mega Man 2 is pretty similar to Zelda/Metroid/Castlevania, just without the big bullet on top. 1989 wouldn't win, mind you, but I think it could make things interesting if 1996 is a one-bullet year like I think it might be. Yeah, 96 has an RPG and a platformer on two different systems, but come on - that's Mario.

Hopefully 1989 can hang tight. Shame about the picture.

transience's prediction: 1996 with 71.65%



Leonhart’s Analysis

I wrote a lot in the previous writeup, so I’ll make this short. Plus, there isn’t much to say anyway! 1989 had a nice win in the vote-ins, and there are some questions about 1996’s potential since its top two anchors are both Mario games and Allen is basically ignoring console releases, so it can’t take advantage of being the N64’s launch year either. However, 1989’s anchor is Tetris, which has proven that it will fold in the face of classic games, and 1996 has a classic game in Mario 64. 1996 might have problems next round, but it should win pretty easily here.

Leonhart’s Vote: 1996

Leonhart’s Prediction: 1996 with 75.75%



Kleenex’s Analysis

Poor 1989, we hardly knew ye. I had 1996 pegged as pretty darn strong when I made my bracket. Upon closer inspection, I'm less sure about that. Mario 64 and surprise BGE3 semifinalist SMRPG are no slouches, and they are backed up by Resident Evil which is...uh...there. That's all great, but I was also anticipating the consoles having some effect on the outcome which, again, doesn't appear to be the case at the time I'm writing this. Given that, I'm expecting '96 to get gobbled up by 2000 next round, but not before it can lay a savage beatdown on 1989 sans Mega Man 2 picture.

Kleenex's Prediction: 1996 with 78%



Guest’s Analysis - spooky

1989 is stronger than a good chunk of pre-1990s years, as it has Tetris and Mega Man 2 to go along with it. However on the other side you have a year like 1996, which has Super Mario 64 (a game which can only be beaten by a handful of games) and Super Mario RPG (That one game which has everything that GameFAQs loves: Nintendo, Square, SNES, RPG, Mario, and 90s). This match just isn't a threat for 1996, this match's only relevance is how it performs on 1989, because 1990/2000 and 1997 aren't gonna give 1996 an easy time. It would be moral victory for 1989 if it manages to get 35% on 1996. And that's really all I can think of this match.

spooky's prediction: 1996 with 70%



Crew Consensus: Reverse 69 wins
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eciN
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Crew Prediction Challenge:

Moltar: 10
Guest: 10
Kleenex: 10
transience: 9
Leonhart: 9

Crew Accuracy Challenge: tran gets the point for 95, 07, and 08, Kleenex gets the point for 87 and 01, Leon gets the point for 97.

Kleenex: 4
transience: 3
Moltar: 1
Guest: 1 (Dp)
Leonhart: 1
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I'm actually a little surprised nobody on the crew had 96 breaking 80
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finally got something
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Round 1 – 1991 vs. 1988

Moltar’s Analysis

A week in and I’ve already run out of things to say about matches like this. 1991 is a strong year with Mario World, Sonic, FF4, SF2, and more. It’s up against a year that’s got nothing except for weak games in very popular franchsies (Zelda 2, Mario 2, etc.) We’ve frequently seen what happens in these cases, and that means that 1991 is going to win big here.

Moltar’s Bracket: 1991

Moltar’s Prediction: 1991 - 86%



transience’s Analysis

Okay, Zelda, prove it to me. Prove to me that Breath of the Wild boosted Zelda across the board. Show that you can get 20% on 1991 which has Mario and Sonic and Street Fighter.

1988 is a weak year made worse by Mario 2 somehow missing the match picture. It wouldn't have mattered, of course, because hey Mario World. But I like to see years get represented the best they can and this one isn't. 1991 should go big -- BIG -- and get 1994 people scared. But I think this is more SFF than anything else. 1991 just dwarfs these early Nintendo years.

transience's prediction: 1991 with 90.91%



Leonhart’s Analysis

All right, my Guru bracket is dead, but I still have high hopes for 1991. I think it’s got depth and variety, as well as the potential Mario/Sonic nostalgia bomb waiting in round three against 1994, which I’m sure will come into play if we have user made pics by that point. You’ve got a classic in Mario World, certainly in contention as the strongest Mario game and perhaps a borderline top ten game overall. You’ve got a classic Sonic game for those on the other side of the aisle. You’ve got Street Fighter II, which is THE fighting game to many people and is practically universal. Final Fantasy IV might as well be universal with how many platforms it’s been ported to at this point, and it’s the game that began the series’ transformation into what it is today.

I say all that to preface the fact that 1988 is about to get obliterated here. It’s got the black sheep of the 2-D family for many of the biggest franchises, like Zelda II, Mario 2, and the original Metal Gear. If “generational SFF” is a thing, I imagine it will come into play because 1988 is just outclassed on every front here.

Leonhart’s Vote: 1991

Leonhart’s Prediction: 1991 with 90.25%



Kleenex’s Analysis

1988 sucks. Nobody actually likes Zelda 2. Nobody actually like the original Metal Gear. 1988 has no games. It's a barren wasteland of NES trash.

1991, on the other hand, has Super Goddamn Mario World. It has Final Fantasy IV. It has Street Fighter 2. There's even a Sonic game for the people who are into that kind of thing. This match is going to be (another) blowout. This entire division is just going to be a dickwaving contest for the first two rounds until the '91/'94 division final.

Kleenex's Prediction: 1991 with 84%



Guest’s Analysis - BT



Crew Consensus: A perfect victory for 1991
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aw yeah Leon I price it righted you
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emergency guest analysis if BT doesn't show up

1988 is 1986 but somewhat stronger. 1991 is 1995 but a little weaker. 1995 got 89% on 1986. So 1991 should get a little less.

91 - 85%
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Round 1 – 2002 vs. 2010

Moltar’s Analysis

2002 doesn’t have any killers, but it does have a bunch of proven midcarders on GameFAQs with Metroid Prime, Kingdom Hearts, and Vice City. That’s more than I can say about 2010 on this site. Galaxy 2 definitely isn’t as strong as the original here, and ME2 hasn’t impressed either. In fact, all the big 2010 games here looked bad in the last contest.

The gap here doesn’t seem as big as some of the other strength discrepancies we’ve seen in super deep vs. nothing years, but I don’t see 2002 struggling here at all despite being a middle of the road year. Might as well adjust the percentage too since blowouts are the name of the game here.

Moltar’s Bracket: 2002

Moltar’s Prediction: 2002 - 75%



transience’s Analysis

I'm really fascinated (well, by this contest's standards) by 02's trajectory. 1991 is still a little old in the tooth and is really relying on nostalgia over pure game strength. It's like a superpowered 1987. 02, on the other hand, has legitimate games beyond Mario World. it's got Metroid Prime, and Metroid seemed to be overall stronger last contest. Kingdom Hearts is always legit, stronger than FF4. Vice City's okay. It's almost too bad that 02 got its best picture -- though I'd argue Morrowind is better than Warcraft 3 -- this early on in the contest. All those games look so good.

2010 has Mass Effect 2, RDR and Galaxy 2 which sounds fine on paper but all of those games bombed in the last game contest. 2002 probably goes big here.

transience's prediction: 2002 with 80.01%



Leonhart’s Analysis

2002 is an interesting year. It’s got a couple of strong upper midcarders in Metroid Prime and Kingdom Hearts, but I think they’re just shy of being in “elite” territory because they’ve fallen short in a couple of notable matches. Metroid Prime narrowly lost to Fallout 3 in GOTD and Skyrim in 2015. It’s an odd look for a Nintendo game to lose two close matches to western games, even if they’re probably the two strongest ones we have. Usually, Nintendo finds a way to “clutch” those wins out, one way or the other.

Kingdom Hearts faltered against its superior sequel (yeah I said it, come at me) in GOTD and squandered an opportunity to beat a mainline FF in 2015. It almost always looks good in defeat, but it can never quite break through. It’s also got Vice City, Warcraft III, and Morrowind on its side, which are fine games, but they’re low midcarders through and through. 2002 is one of those years that would be fun to predict elsewhere, but I don’t see how it beats 1991 next round. It’s just not good enough. It’s really going to put that “year closest to 1998” theory to the test!

Beating 2010 is easy enough though. The biggest games from 2010 flopped in 2015, or at the very least, they squandered opportunities to prove their worth. Mass Effect 2 got pummeled by MGS3 the round after it nearly lost to BioShock, which is still the weirdest back-to-back performance from that contest. Mario Galaxy 2 lost to the original Mass Effect, and Red Dead Redemption got rolled by Shadow of the Colossus. This might not be a super blowout like we’ve become accustomed to seeing (or it might! Who knows! This contest is weird), but it won’t be close.

Leonhart’s Vote: 2010

Leonhart’s Prediction: 2002 with 68.25%
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Kleenex’s Analysis

This is a tough one. On paper, 2010 looks great. Galaxy 2, RDR, Mass Effect 2, God of War 3. These are some goddamn video games. But, they aren't necessarily video games that this website tends to take a liking too. And even Galaxy 2 couldn't beat the original Mass Effect last time around. There weren't even any God of War games in the last contest!

2002 doesn't exactly inspire confidence either, but at least Metroid Prime and Kingdom Hearts have some results behind them (although KH1's loss to FF9 last contest is worrisome). I don't really think the likes of Morrowind, GTA3 and Warcraft 3 add a whole lot to the equation. Also hey, Mario Sunshine came out this year too. It's not even listed on the blub! I wonder if that's to protect 2002 from its negative influence.

At the end of the day, I think I'm going to trust the year that has at least one game we know is worthwhile, and that's 2002. This is one of the few matches this round I could see going either way, however, so I won't be shocked if 2010 manages to win the honor of getting crushed by 1991 next round.

Kleenex's Prediction: 2002 with 56%



Guest’s Analysis - whatisurnameplz

Yet another blowout. If this match was on any other site, I have a feeling it would be at least debatable; 2010 was a great year for gaming, with Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Starcraft II, etc.

2002 has some decent depth but doesn’t have a really strong “anchor” game. Thankfully for it, 2010 doesn’t have a strong anchor either, so 2002 should easily be able to break 70 here.

2002 – 76%



Crew Consensus: 2002 ftw
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what piece of paper was Kleenex looking at that made 2010 look great

I just realized I said I was going to vote for 2010 but I voted for 2002 anyway because who cares
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ouch
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whoops wrong topic
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the same piece of paper tran was looking at !!

man, maybe someday we'll get a sub-60% match

maybe
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Yikes. It's been ez mode for me so far. I picked every battle correctly...But tomorrow it's finally going a little off-rails. '04 isn't exactly expected by most to win tomorrow against '94 (Super Metroid alone is one of the gods. Then it has a few other top-tiers to back it up). But we'll see about that.

Then i made another big gamble elsewhere. Moments like these are where the whole thing becomes interesting, though.
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"sounds fine - 80%" and "looks great - 56%" don't sound like the same piece of paper to me
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cant believe mass effect 2 and rdr AND GOW3 are losing to metroid prime and WOW
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Epicness2012 posted...

Yikes. It's been ez mode for me so far. I picked every battle correctly...But tomorrow it's finally going a little off-rails. '04 isn't exactly expected by most to win tomorrow against '94 (Super Metroid alone is one of the gods. Then it has a few other top-tiers to back it up). But we'll see about that.

It would take some serious mess up and sabotage to screw the '94 pic so no way it's going down that round. They can choose from FF6/Super Metroid/MMX/Phantasy Star IV/ Sonic & Knuckles/ Donkey Kong Country.

Though now that I think about it, putting something like Tekken is a way of trolling the year. At least they should put Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
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As long as FFVI and Super Metroid make the picture it should be fine, though the match could be close if we get Phantasy Star IV and Tekken.
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1994 match pic:

Jazz Jackrabbit
Earthworm Jim
System Shock
Wario's Woods
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Wario's Woods would legit influence my vote. Throw it in at #3.
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Tekken
Killer Instinct
Primal Rage
ClayFighter: Tournament Edition
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Ayyy tabarnack. Totally spaced that that match was today. I guess I didn't relize that 'second half of round 1' was literally the 5th day of the contest lol
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Round 1 – 1994 vs. 2004

Moltar’s Analysis

FF6 vs MGS3

Super Metroid vs San Andreas

MMX vs. Half-Life

S&K vs ToS

1994 is a strong year with a lot of depth, but 2004 is no slouch either. On GameFAQs, 1994 looks good in all those matches, but none of them would be blowouts.

A blowout here would make 1994 look really impressive going into its inevitable match with 1991 later, but 2004 has a lot more bite than 1988. Mid or high 70s would look crazy against a solid year like 2004, but I’m hesitant to say this is under a doubling with all the blowouts we’ve already had.

Moltar’s Bracket: 1994

Moltar’s Prediction: 1994 - 71%



transience’s Analysis

This is probably our first matchup between two legit years! 1994 is the sweet spot of the SNES with a fantastic one-two of Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI and some okay depth behind it in Donkey Kong Country, Mega Man X and Sonic 3. Chances are that we get a little more, um, diverse than that and end up getting a PC game like Doom 2 or an arcade fighter like Tekken. Best case scenario though has 1994 with two killers and two great action platformers. 1994 could make a case for being a top 5 year.

2004 is also a monster. Take this poll outside of GameFAQs and 04 probably is a big favourite. Half-Life 2, Halo 2, San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Prime 2, World of Warcraft, etc. Unfortunately, most of those games have fallen from grace a little bit and the others are kinda weak from a GameFAQs perspective. 2004 is notable as being the first year where western games really dominated and this site isn't so crazy about them there guns.

What's the best case scenario for 2004? Probably MGS3/Half-Life 2/San Andreas/Tales of Symphonia. World of Warcraft could theoretically pull in a rally but that's never happened in the ten years that we've teased it out and WOW is as small-time as ever. Let's match up the top games of the year:

FF6 vs. MGS3 - edge Super Metroid. if Mario RPG can beat MGS3, FF6 can do it worse.

Super Metroid vs. Half-Life 2 - edge Super Metroid. Metroid Prime beat HL2 58/42 last contest after losing narrowly in 2009. HL2 gets bonus points for historical impact but Super Metroid literally has a genre named after it.

Mega Man X vs. San Andreas - edge MMX, MMX got 45% on FFX. San Andreas got 45% on Chrono Cross.

Sonic 3 vs. Tales of Symphonia - tough one. Sonic did well against Uncharted while Tales put up a decent fight with Paper Mario. I'll go Sonic but could go either way.

So yeah, unless 1994 gets gimped by a bad game lineup or 2004 gets a historical edge (which it deserves), I'll go with 1994.

transience's prediction: 1994 with 64.32%




Leonhart’s Analysis

Man, I really wish 2004 had a chance, or that it had been put somewhere else in the bracket. It’s got a bunch of games I love a lot, especially MGS3, which has been my #3 favorite game for years now. It’s probably 2004’s strongest representative at this point, too. It’s just a step below elite level, which doesn’t help considering 1994 has two elite level games in Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI. I’m good with 1994 winning, too, because it’s got a great lineup and props to Allen for finally giving Sonic & Knuckles some love! I think 2004 will hold up decently well (at least as far as this contest is concerned) and might make some people second-guess their 1994 > 1991 pic, but it’s still gonna get rocked, sadly.

Leonhart’s Vote: 2004

Leonhart’s Prediction: 1994 with 73.66%
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