Board 8 > what is the second strongest game this decade?

(+) Yeah! (+)

it's probably between 3 or 4 games for the consensus, but let's go with these ten.

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Probably Smash or Skyrim.

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Smash is the clear #2, eh? I guess i'm not surprised. it's the easiest one to rely on not sucking, whereas all the others could bomb for various reasons.

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I just don't know what the argument is for any of the others.

Well, Witcher 3 has a really high ceiling now, but yeah.

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Any result other than BotW > Ultimate would be a really huge surprise to me, short of them being placed on the same side of the bracket. I don't think anything that isn't BotW can compete with Ultimate

LeonhartFour posted...

I just don't know what the argument is for any of the others.

The argument for Skyrim is easy: 2015 Skyrim was comfortably ahead of 2015 Smash 4, and Smash Ultimate underwhelmed in its GotY showing. I'm not a believer myself, but I wouldn't be shocked if Skyrim winds up being second.

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Well, I said Skyrim is the only other possibility I can see.

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I ran this poll a few months ago, Ultimate won with 55% of the vote. Skyrim was a distance second, with a few votes for Mario and Witcher and a couple for ME2.

I can't disagree with that result, though I give Mario a slightly better chance than the non-Smash options, myself.


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I think the biggest argument against Skyrim is that Bethesda has pissed people off in recent years. Even if the game was strong once, I'd comfortable pick it to lose against Metroid Prime.

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Didnt P5 prove to be stronger than Odyssey in the 2017 GotY poll?

I mean Odyssey was SFFed by BotW sure but Im confident P5 is stronger than at least The Last of Us and non rallied Undertale (barely beat Xenoblade X in 2015 GotY poll) from the poll options.

Also Skyrim vs Ultimate will be a lot closer than people think if they ever meet. People are forgetting how Fallout 3 wrecked the competiton in GotD1, and Skyrim is definitely a lot stronger.

Odyssey was under SFF so there's not really anything we can draw from that poll. We don't have very much information so any attempts to adjust for SFF would just be a blind guess.
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So what about God of War? It's definitely a contender for non-Nintendo enthusiasts yes? Does it stand a chance?

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LeonhartFour posted...

Well, I said Skyrim is the only other possibility I can see.

My bad, I somehow interpreted your second post as not contingent on your first post.

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

but Im confident P5 is stronger than at least The Last of Us and non rallied Undertale

That's an awful lot of confidence for a game/series with precious few results. The Last of Us would have won 2013's GotY in a fair poll, looked strong in 2015, and has generally stuck in a way most games this decade haven't. Persona 5 might be stronger, especially given how Persona 4 also impressed in 2015, but there's no reason to be so confident about it.

As for Undertale, you're not exactly reinventing the wheel by saying Persona 5 would be stronger in the absence of major rallies, but even a minimal chance of such rallies is enough to merit its presence here, whereas I can't see how you can justify Persona 5 as the second strongest game in the field.

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Also Skyrim vs Ultimate will be a lot closer than people think if they ever meet. People are forgetting how Fallout 3 wrecked the competiton in GotD1, and Skyrim is definitely a lot stronger.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/ 4189-final-rounds-quarterfinal-fallout-3-vs-metroid-prime
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/ 6153-best-game-ever-day-28-round-3-skyrim-vs-metroid-prime (remove the spaces)

Of course, Skyrim is certainly the stronger game now, but that's more because Fallout 3 has likely collapsed since GotD.

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I wouldn't expect Odyssey to contend. People like Mario games, but there hasn't been a universally beloved one since Mario 64.

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Dude. Im not saying P5 is anywhere close to being the 2nd strongest game. Im saying it is almost certainly stronger than TLOU and Undertale from the options.

As for 2nd strongest, There are only 2 real options and they are Smash Ultimate and Skyrim. Undertale shouldnt be an option because it is either gonna job to the likes of Arkham City or get a rally and 60-40 BotW in the finals or worse.

I think you're underselling TLOU a bit if you think P5 beats it easily (or you're overrating P5, whichever). It did really well in 2015 and it's probably a bit stronger now.

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I think it depends largely on bracket placement. If BotW is on the top half and destroys everything en route to the final, I can see Skyrim, Dark Souls, or Witcher giving whatever Nintendo heavies (Smash and Odyssey?) on the bottom half of the bracket a good fight or getting the win outright. If any of those big western games run into Smash early on, though, I might side with Ultimate.

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sounds like the actual poll should be who is third strongest. I'm seeing decent cases for Skyrim, Odyssey and maybe Witcher if you believe it's replaced Skyrim.

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LeonhartFour posted...

I think you're underselling TLOU a bit if you think P5 beats it easily (or you're overrating P5, whichever). It did really well in 2015 and it's probably a bit stronger now.

Really? I get the sense that if anything, it didn't age too well. Tons of people regard it as overrated. I've seen sentiment for Dark Souls and Witcher 3 grow over time (especially Souls), but not for TLoU.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

I think it depends largely on bracket placement. If BotW is on the top half and destroys everything en route to the final, I can see Skyrim, Dark Souls, or Witcher giving whatever Nintendo heavies (Smash and Odyssey?) on the bottom half of the bracket a good fight or getting the win outright. If any of those big western games run into Smash early on, though, I might side with Ultimate.

I mean, we saw this backlash with Brawl for the last few rounds in GOTD and it still took Zelda to actually take it down.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

Really? I get the sense that if anything, it didn't age too well. Tons of people regard it as overrated. I've seen sentiment for Dark Souls and Witcher 3 grow over time (especially Souls), but not for TLoU.

Well, TLOU2 is due out this year and it's one of the most hyped games of the year, so I don't get that sense.

(Now I personally think TLOU is overrated, but I've definitely got the feeling that's a minority opinion)

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Witcher 3 barely won its GotY (against Fallout 4) and was just average in the 2015 contest. Granted it is probably a lot stronger now, it still cannot contend with Skyrim. I can see it make a case for Top 5110 though.

Smash bends the knee to BotW this decade, whereas Melee and Brawl were arguably the two biggest Nintendo games on this site in the 2000s. BotW's dominance may be so total in this contest that the fanbase may not care to throw their full weight behind Ultimate at the end of the bracket.

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yeah it's probably going to come out too soon, but Last of Us 2 hits in the next six weeks or so, I think. right before FF7R.

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oh wait, it got pushed to May. nevermind!

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Well, it was initially slated to come out in late February, but it's been pushed back to May now, so it probably won't drop before the contest ends.

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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

Dude. Im not saying P5 is anywhere close to being the 2nd strongest game.

Then why even bother arguing the point here? P5 has zero chance of being the second strongest game, so it shouldn't be in the poll, end of story. Undertale and TLOU at least have slight chances, and I wouldn't exactly say it's out of the question that the former's potential mass rallies can't get over the hump that is BotW.

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I debated between God of War and P5 for the 10th choice. no one's going to put P5 second so I left it off. (not that anyone would put GOW either, but probably moreso than P5)

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Why is odyssey on there?

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Yuri_LowelI posted...

Why is odyssey on there?

Because it's really popular
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MetalmindStats posted...

Then why even bother arguing the point here? P5 has zero chance of being the second strongest game, so it shouldn't be in the poll, end of story. Undertale and TLOU at least have slight chances, and I wouldn't exactly say it's out of the question that the former's potential mass rallies can't get over the hump that is BotW.

Lol. The Last of Us, bless that game, has literal zero chance of being the 2nd strongest game. It may arguably not even be top 10 contest strength wise.

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Really? I get the sense that if anything, it didn't age too well. Tons of people regard it as overrated. I've seen sentiment for Dark Souls and Witcher 3 grow over time (especially Souls), but not for TLoU.

Last of Us has won a ton of Game of the Decade picks, both from critics and fan polls. Only game that's surpassed it has been BotW. On any non-GameFAQs site, it's in contention for #1 along with BotW and Witcher 3.

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metaIslug posted...

RE2 deserves to be on this list. It's probably gonna beat some of the games on that list

I doubt it.

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Smash Ultimate got 54% on God of War in the honeymoon period. Now God of War has historically been a strong franchise on GameFAQs and this new one should be the strongest of all of them so thats no indictment of Ultimate. Can I see Witcher 3 and Skyrim as stronger than that though? Yes. Smash Ultimate is probably still the favourite but its not invincible by any stretch.

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Lightning Strikes posted...

Smash Ultimate got 54% on God of War in the honeymoon period. Now God of War has historically been a strong franchise on GameFAQs and this new one should be the strongest of all of them so thats no indictment of Ultimate. Can I see Witcher 3 and Skyrim as stronger than that though? Yes. Smash Ultimate is probably still the favourite but its not invincible by any stretch.

I mean, MGS4 gave Brawl all it could handle in the 2008 GOTY, and MGS4 was the one that fell off a cliff two years later, not Brawl. I'd wager the same would hold here.

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Well in that same poll we saw Fallout 3 stay the same. I think thats MGS4s fault not anything else. MGS fans seem a bit like pre-BOTW Zelda fans in that they always turn on the last game in the series after a while. And as someone who hated MGS4 I cant complain there!

I feel as a well received reboot God of War will build strength or stay the same unless the next game either falls off a cliff or totally obsoletes it. Ultimate will probably see similar strength to that poll until the next one, but wont go higher.

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since the GOTY poll smash was in its probably only gotten more popular thanks to the dlc characters

we got banjo ! its everyones dream come true!
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MoogleKupo141 posted...

since the GOTY poll smash was in its probably only gotten more popular thanks to the dlc characters

Plus it had only been out a month, and a lot of people who didn't own it thought the game was a port of Smash 4.

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Lightning Strikes posted...

Well in that same poll we saw Fallout 3 stay the same. I think thats MGS4s fault not anything else. MGS fans seem a bit like pre-BOTW Zelda fans in that they always turn on the last game in the series after a while. And as someone who hated MGS4 I cant complain there!

Which MGS games does this apply to other than MGS4? 1, 2 and 3 are still well liked. MGS5 was never well liked.
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transience posted...

I debated between God of War and P5 for the 10th choice. no one's going to put P5 second so I left it off. (not that anyone would put GOW either, but probably moreso than P5)

persona beats half the games on that list.


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TomNook posted...

Plus it had only been out a month, and a lot of people who didn't own it thought the game was a port of Smash 4.

but hype was still there. People seriously downplaying how popular God of war was that year. It took down Red dead 2 and became the undisputed GOTY. Smash was a pure hype machine. Fastest selling Nintendo game of all time. and for a non RPG franchise in god of war to get that much support on this site was impressive. It probably got weaker now though.
it also shows not everyone is up smashs ass

obviousky smash is stronger but it was never going to steamroll a GOTY poll because people arent that blind. Zelda on the other hand....

and its also why BOTW will crush smash when they inevitably meet.

there are so many people like me who are smash fans but think of it as a great package but not really GOTY or game of decade. There are so many better games out in the decade. Just because it has a billion characters doesnt mean anything. Its still a smash game but with a mediocre single player.

theres a reason why brawl and smash 4 and soon ultimate will fall off a cliff iN the future. These games are all in the moment hypefests.

melee is the only one that has pure nostalgic following

im not saying ultimate isnt going to do well. Its clearly number 2

but when it faces Zelda in the final or before it. People will realise its a pretty weak number 2.

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Team Rocket Elite posted...

Which MGS games does this apply to other than MGS4? 1, 2 and 3 are still well liked. MGS5 was never well liked.

V had a ton of hype behind it when it released. A lot of people were calling it game of the year or the best game ever. The disappointment didnt come until later. Peace Walker got the same thing but made less noise due to being on the PSP. 2 also but it was later vindicated. Only 1 and 3 escaped.

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Yes, MGSV was hugely hyped, until most people played it. MGSV has its fair share of vigorous defenders, but it had already flopped by the time GOTY polls came around, when it couldn't come close to winning any of three polls it was in. That's not the same thing as MGS4, where it did really well in the 2009 contest, and then started dropping off in the first GOTD contest (although it still did fairly well). MGSV struggled to beat Perfect Dark and lost to Dark Souls. It's not comparable.

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