Board 8 > Character Battle X Contest Analysis Crew

(+) Yeah! (+)

I could definitely see Cecil being stronger than Chun Li or Zidane, and I could definitely see Spyro holding up better than Crash despite Crash having more winnable matches. I think Crash has a Pac-Man x-factor that may get him punished against a recognizable character (which Cecil is-- Dark Robo Cecil not so much though he might be good in the sprite round)

I could see Crash winning big too. I don't think this one is going to be any closer than 55-45 though. Either Cecil has enough coverage to win easily or doesn't and loses easily. People actually like Knuckles and arguably Spyro more than Crash imo.
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LeonhartFour posted...

seriously though why does Allen keep using these lame Paladin pics

cause thats what he looks like the majority of the game! I cant help you nonbelievers who cant get past the first 5 hours
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Ridley does feel like he is the "face" of Smash Ultimate hype. Don't underestimate him.

sure but Paladin Cecil is a lamer

Dark Knight is a cooler look

I don't even like Cecil that much either way, but it seems like the more iconic look to me.
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NightTundra posted...

Ridley does feel like he is the "face" of Smash Ultimate hype. Don't underestimate him.

if Ridley beats Big Boss I might just resign from the Crew and these contests forever
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youve threatened that before with worse results that have happened!
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I'm trying to think of worse results that have happened that would be worse than that

like maybe Hogger beating Ramza? it'd be a pretty short list
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LeonhartFour posted...

I'm trying to think of worse results that have happened that would be worse than that

like maybe Hogger beating Ramza? it'd be a pretty short list

sonic > crono
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The crew picked Cecil? Seriously?
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My headcanon where Dark Knight Cecil is an alternate character in a timeline where Cecil didn't become a Paladin (inspired from the many mobile games that have them as separate entities) makes me like Dark Knight Cecil a lot better as I think that would be a much better story anyway.

But like, as far as who's more photogenic it has to be Paladin Cecil. Every piece of art, Amano or not, with Dark Knight Cecil does not lend itself to a good contest match pic unless Cecil somehow made it to the sprite round.
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The Mana Sword posted...

sonic > crono

top 5 result of all time imhotbqh
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I've got Crash beating Cecil. I think he put up a good showing in his last couple appearances and N Sane trilogy might give him a boost.
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i'm thinking big boss will underperform cuz he got the old man pic and now that you are forced to vote in all matches by glorious leader allen some uninformed peeps might just vote for the big purple smash bros meme

i dunno if anyone else has posted these thoughts yet but I can't actually read any analysis yet
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I like Paladin Cecil more than Dark Knight Cecil
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Round 1 Big Boss vs. Ridley

Moltars Analysis

i see what allen did here

Nintendo has looked really good so far, but this is its first really tall hurdle. Going off past history, Big Boss is a few tiers stronger than Ridley, as he was hanging around with Kirby and Luigi the last time we saw him. Ridley, on the other hand, lost cleanly to Zidane.

Ridley could look better than one would expect here if Nintendo is stronger this Contest. Plus, Ridleys now got that Smash hype, which legitimately will make him stronger based on how Smash hype has worked in the past. Big Boss, and MGS as a whole, havent really had anything to boost them (since MGSV didnt really blow up on GameFAQs), so Im just going to take their expected 2013 result and bump Ridley up a few points.

Moltars Bracket: Big Boss

Moltars Prediction: Big Boss 59%

transiences Analysis

Big Boss probably doesn't look that great here? It's not the naked snake picture that we always like to see and Ridley's the only character that I would say has a legitimate Smash boost since last contest. (Eh, maybe Bayonetta. But Ryu, Cloud, all those guys -- eh.) I want to see a 2005 reenactment here -- not Ridley dropping the ball in a pathetic way, but a Snake/Sora rematch with that exact same picture. Give it to me, gamefaqs.

transience's prediction: Big Boss with 61.11%
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Leonharts Analysis

Based on the profile pictures, it looks like Big Boss is going to be stuck with an old man pic for this match and maybe next round, too. Fortunately for him, hes not facing anyone who can really take advantage of this and beat him in the first two rounds. Plus, the last time we actually saw him with an old man pic in 2008, he did really well with it. He probably wouldve beaten Kirby and Master Chief if not for Raiden being in the match with him. While looking like Solid Snake is an advantage, I think everyone knows who Big Boss is at this point, so I dont know that it matters too much what kind of pic he gets (barring a terrible sprite pic, of course). Plus, Metal Gear Solid 3 is the most popular game in the series now (as the most recent Games Contest established), and that can only help Big Boss.

Ridley is finally in Smash, but I dont think it even helps him all that much. The people who were clamoring for him to be in Smash are the people who would be voting for him anyway, and I dont think everyone else really cares all that much that hes in now (even if his reveal trailer was pretty cool). Plus, everyone is in Smash these days in one form or another, so I dont think you can really expect massive boosts for anyone from that anymore unless its someone totally unexpected. He might do a little better this year than he has in times past, but it wont be enough. Ridley is no longer too big for Smash, and he was never too big for Big Boss.

Leonharts Vote: Big Boss

Leonharts Prediction: Big Boss with 63.07%

Kleenexs Analysis

Oh boy, Smash boost!!! Ridley is no longer barely too big for Smash, but is he too big for Big Boss? Barely being beaten by Zidane back in 2013, can Ridley bounce back? No, Big Boss blows Ridleys bracket chances despite the boost. Baseless to believe Big Boss will botch this based on bygone brackets. Believe in a big win for Big Boss.

Kleenexs Prediction: Big Boss with 65%

Guests Analysis - Ranticoot

Big Boss is too strong for even FUCKING PLAYABLE Ridley to take out; Ridley's never been close to the level Big Boss has been in most contests. Ridley should put up a decent % here from a combination of being a big (heh) Smash announcement and Big Boss getting an old man pic; he looked pretty ok in 2010 and 2013 and he has one of the best reasons to boost from Smash of any post-Brawl character. Indeed I think Ridley got some wasted bracket placement.

Ranticoot's prediction: Big Boss with 57.24%

Crew Consensus: Ridley is not big enough for Big Boss
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i have the low pick huh

i actually feel better about that % with the recent nintendomination
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do you think we all made too many TOO BIG jokes
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another accuracy point for guest coming up

hey I made it without resorting to the lowest level jokes
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anyway, if BB can't pull 57% on Ridley then I would have real concerns about Solid Snake doing well in the champions bracket
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this is the first match of the contest where I am actually ready to panic at a bad performance yeah
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if this isn't a super mario sunshine situation I don't know what is

https://twitter.com/steam_games/status/1054496395443429376
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I'm interested in seeing what Cecil Harvey can do tomorrow because it can give us some information on the state of old school Final Fantasy on this site. If Cecil loses tomorrow, it might mean bad news for Kefka as they're both from an SNES Final Fantasy.

New school Final Fantasy characters haven't done well so far, but I'm willing to reserve judgment on Lightning for now because she faced a very bad fodder opponent. Vivi (and FFIX in general) acts more like old school Final Fantasy and Vivi looked just fine in round 1.

Master Moltar posted...

transiences Analysis

Look, I'm a bit of a video game historian and pride myself on knowing at least a little about a lot of video games. Hyperdimension Neptunia is one that I can honestly say I know *nothing* about. I think Inafune was in it or had some role with it? That's about all I remember. I don't think Red is anywhere near his Pokemon but I am curious to see if he can hang with Sora. I'm always waiting for Sora to fail and one day it's gonna happen!

Hyperdimension Neptunia is a JRPG series on a site where JRPGs are top dog here. However, I think Hyperdimension Neptunia is too niche for even the GameFAQs audience despite this.

Before the contest started, this looked like it would be the most lopsided 8/9 match-up we've ever seen.
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LusterSoldier posted...

Vivi (and FFIX in general) acts more like old school Final Fantasy

yeah this is a fallacy

(Zidane says hi as proof)
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okay time to panic
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yeah Red could beat Sora (and BB)

and I wouldnt want to have a bracket with Bowser over Charizard
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Crash vs. Cecil is close. I went with Crash since he seems to have more iconic status, plus FF2/4 never seems to fair well in these.
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Red/Sora was a coinflip from the start

Big Boss is maybe putting on the worst performance of the contest so far?
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this is too soon, but it looks like Cecil got the board vote and is just going to slowly bleed out.
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I don't think it's too soon. This is what Tidus and Zidane did too. He's done
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KamikazePotato posted...

Red/Sora was a coinflip from the start

Big Boss is maybe putting on the worst performance of the contest so far?

I can at least keep blaming the old man pic for a couple rounds and give myself some false hope...!
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wow that was a heck of a board vote for Ridley

as usual you disappoint me B8
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WarThaNemesis2 posted...

transience posted...

pikachu vs ganondorf who you got

but ganondorf will be facing mega man in the losers bracket, not pikachu

Lopen posted...

Leonhart's analysis posted...

Are Uranus jokes still funny?

No.

Lopen posted...

Now I'm in a doctored chain quote this is horrible.

No you're not.
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Ridley getting the board vote is the least surprising thing. BB should, uh, recover
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Squall gonna lose to Hat Kid at this rate
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Not surprised by Cecil, remember FF4 tends to do poorly in these battles. Granted I like Final Fantasy more then Crash, but Crash is considered more iconic.
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transcience posted...

this is too soon, but it looks like Cecil got the board vote and is just going to slowly bleed out.

Cecil started off strong for the first minute, but I blame that on bracket voting more than anything else.
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its interesting - we havent actually seen proper square yet. so far its just old farts, tidus and sora. no squall, no auron, no ff7. I wouldnt want to have them but those guys are in another league from bums like sora and tidus.
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KommunistKoala posted...

Cloud gonna lose to Hat Kid at this rate

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oh and I guess vivi. he looked good! I wouldnt want to have Squall over Sonic though. Id sooner discuss the Zelda match.
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I regret nothing.
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Yeah it's up to the A-team to save face for final fantasy here.
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I feel like vivi can just become the strongest FF character even after a series deboost so he tells me nothing.
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ZenOfThunder posted...

KommunistKoala posted...

Cloud gonna lose to Hat Kid at this rate

I do hope to see Mario vs. Bowser or Mario vs. Sonic. Mario vs. Sonic could happen during the losers, maybe, though I think Mario will make it farther. (I doubt Luigi will reach it to Mario)
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ZeldaTPLink posted...

I picked Crash in my bracket as one of those sexy upsets picks you aren't confident with but feel like could happen.

After the recent FF flops I'm feeling great about it.

Yeah, I didn't even feel like it was really an upset, even though I know in my heart that Cecil should be stronger on this site, because Cecil has never done anything in Character Battles.

...actually, I take that back. Cecil actually did manage to beat the presumed "favorite" last time out. Unfortunately for him, the character that we all had pegged for third place ended up winning. I'm honestly not sure what to make of that, actually. I just remembered that he's never won a match, but I forgot that his last match was Wrex > Cecil > Pit. That feels like a potential STF match, so winning the battle with Pit may actually be more telling than losing to Wrex (and it was a 37-33-29 type of affair).

Still, FFIV as a whole has been a major disappointment in contests. Its characters have zero wins, and the game itself has as its best win...coming out on top of a SFF match with FFI for second place in a fourway behind SMW. Technically there's also coming in 3rd the following round, but that was against three platformers so it had STF in its favor there and still couldn't beat either of the two Mario games in the poll.
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Dark Knight Cecil would be winning right now
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get on my level crew
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