Board 8 > The Show EP 1 - The Glorious Return of GotD! Breaking down the bracket w/ Leon

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'd love to back the theory discussed towards the end where we are overvaluing Breath of the Wild, but I don't think Link would have absolutely destroyed Characters 2018 if Breath of the Wild wasn't head and shoulders above the pack here. The fact that he was already well above everyone else and then STILL BOOSTED is just crazy to think about, like we haven't even seen Zelda's ceiling yet.

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I just finished listening to part 1. Good stuff so far, as always!

Some thoughts on the topics du jour:

I don't think Allen imposed a 2 game per series limit; for one, I find it very hard to believe we wouldn't have seen a second Pokmon game otherwise, given that HGSS snagged a 3-seed. Perhaps my biggest piece of evidence, though, is that 999 missed the bracket, even though VLR comfortably made it. The first two entries in the Zero Escape series both snagged 15-seeds in 2015's much more competitive bracket, and I highly doubt 999 even making that field was an intentional set-up by Allen to have both games together on the same seed line. Instead, I think Allen/"the selection committee" seeded this field mostly based on nominations, but threw out games that ranked lower in terms of nominations, GameFAQs rating/critic review scores, and popularity than at least one other game from the same series. Granted, that doesn't explain Sword and Shield being left out, for example, but it's a sufficiently hated game that I wouldn't be surprised if it legitimately didn't have enough nominations.

I've got mixed feelings about Allen's seeding and bracket as a whole here. Overall, I feel like this could have been a much more competitive and generally less chalky bracket, except for the glorious Division 4. However, I do appreciate Ng's point about how unusually accurately the seeding reflects each included game's mainstream GotD respect, pretty much except for Fortnite, which was never going to have all that many nominations on GameFAQs. At the same time, allowing in games like FF13 and Skyward Sword would have more or less preserved this factor while boosting the field's overall competitiveness. I'll also concede that limiting Nintendo's ability to stomp this contest is a worthy goal, even though I'm not a fan of wasting Link Between Worlds and Mario Odyssey - and generally I think taking the risk of Nintendomination would have made for a substantially more interesting bracket. Even with my complaints, however, there's still enough interesting matches and set-ups in this bracket, and in general GotD II is a good enough idea, that I'm looking forward to it anyways.

Game of the Decade respect will be a significant factor influencing votes, end of story. It was already quite relevant last GotD, and I tend to agree with the Show consensus that GameFAQs playing fewer games this time around, yet probably being more tuned in to the sphere of gaming as a whole, will only bolster that. It's also why I'm high on the likes of Dark Souls and Witcher 3 despite their 2015 weakness, and in the latter case, even though I don't put much stock into the supposed Netflix effect.

Leon has me very worried that CD Projekt Red will pull off some rally magic for Witcher 3. I can't really deny the possibility, especially since Game of the Decade is a title with actual relevance in the wider sphere of gaming. I also doubt Breath of the Wild would prove much of an obstacle, both because that's not how successful rallies work and because people will know that it's the favored winner.

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On the subject of the tiebreaker discussion, it's very difficult to speculate what our vote totals will be for the contest. Until the first day of matches begin, we can't make reliable predictions on what the vote totals will look like.
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One major thing I forgot to mention earlier: when Ng brought up the topic of nostalgia boosting one specific game this contest, I figured he'd certainly be referring to Pokemon HGSS. Resident Evil 2, unlike HGSS, is radically different from the game it's nominally remaking, and I anticipate it principally standing on its own two feet. As for Doom, there's no question there: it's flat out not a remake, no more similar to the original than any given sequel is to its predecessor. I would furthermore argue it doesn't have great prospects in this bracket, considering pure shooters are anathema to GameFAQs in the absence of mass nostalgia.

A few other quick points:

I agree with Leon: if you've escaped your division, your next match deserves a day to itself, and that would only lengthen this contest by two days. However, I don't think the interest in these contests justifies anything more.

I'm not a big fan of the forced six-day break, but judging by 2018, its effect on vitals and general contest interest could certainly be worse. Having a second chance bracket is worthwhile enough to me to justify these minor consequences, and I don't think any shorter of an entry period is really reasonable.

Allen certainly could have done a better job publicizing this contest so far, yep. I agree that the banner doesn't exactly stick out, and we didn't so much as get a poll to let people know there was a contest to nominate for. Hopefully that will change.

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Listened to the first part. Surprised you guys didn't mention Minecraft as a potential rally. I see so many memes and nostalgia for it these days.

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scaryice posted...

Listened to the first part. Surprised you guys didn't mention Minecraft as a potential rally. I see so many memes and nostalgia for it these days.

Eh, I don't think we're really scared of it. It was in 2015 and it didn't happen.

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I don't think there's been much extensive rally talk at all

For the most part any time someone says "what if x rallies for y" people automatically go "no"

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I mean, the thing we've learned is that rallies are pretty much unpredictable. Don't make your picks with the expectation of a rally.

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I've only made a gamble once on a rally and that was just Monika last contest. Only took her 2 rounds though so it wasn't too bad.

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On the subject of contest length, I think Allen did make it a little longer this time because 4 matches a day only happen in the first 2 rounds, and during the previous contests, they lasted until round 3. So that's an extra 4 days of contest we got.

Not sure if it makes it as long as the 2018 contest since that one also had loser's bracket, but it probably makes it longer than 2015. Especially considering we have a 6 day break again.

Also not sure if that was discussed since I havent listened to everything, but this time around we are having the 2nd chance bracket after round 3 instead of round 4, so that should mean most of our brackets will probably still be alive by then. Wonder if this will affect how people approach second chances brackets compared to in 2018.

Good episode. I made a couple of changes to my bracket along the way.

I agree that people will take into account "Game of the Decade".

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Oh Yoblazer you didn't just bash my Danganronpa did you

(Seriously it's a great series. It's basically Phoenix Wright but more weeb)

About Undertale vs. Octopath: One, Octopath isn't an indie, it was developed by Square, which in theory should make it worth something.
Two, even if Octopath is worthless, I definitely agree with the sentiment that nothing League of Legends or Undertale related will ever win a match on this site again, so I feel comfortable picking against it here.

Of course, I have Dragon's Dogma in round three there, so take my picks with a grain of salt.

I'm skeptical of Octopath Traveler just because I heard so many people say they liked it at first but ultimately didn't bother to finish it.

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I think Bloodstained is one of those potential upset picks.

Borderlands has a very rocky history here. It got four characters into the 2013 contest and all of them lost and that's when the game was relevant!

Meanwhile Bloodstained is a pretty popular spiritual successor to SotN that did well in its GotY if I remember correctly. So I definitely think it can edge out Borderlands

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Hollow Knight vs. Shovel Knight was a missed opportunity.

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SwiftyDC posted...

Hollow Knight vs. Shovel Knight was a missed opportunity.

HK wins 60-40

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I don't care about the result. Knight vs Knight, like the times of old.

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Yo, Doom is not a reimagining or a remake. Its its own game in that series.

True, the way it world builds, it feels like a true sequel without specifically referencing earlier things in the series.

Yuri_LowelI posted...

HK wins 60-40

I got the sense SK was the much bigger game, but I don't really play indies so I'm fumbling in the dark here.

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Yeah, I got the impression that Shovel Knight was more popular, too, but Hollow Knight did get the higher seed, so maybe not.

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I would expect Shovel Knight to have more players, but Hollow Knight to have more hardcore fans. To the point where people who have played both might pick the latter. Shovel is considered a good game, but I don't see it get the level of praise that Hollow gets, so I'd say more people would be likely to consider Hollow a game of the decade.

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Didn't Shovel Knight also trigger the resurgence of the classic pixelated art style? To me it definitely started the next phase of Indie games.

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Wow, has it really been that long between contests.

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I explained the game to them! It's one of the 35 games in the bracket I've played!

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Street Fighter 5 isn't that bad of a game. I still play it regular now and find it great. It also has crossplay which means it gets more respect from me than any other big name fighting game. The netcode can be a bit sketchy at times and the fact they only ever offered 1 costume for FM is a bit of a letdown though.

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Oh hey, a Mass Effect 3 multiplayer discussion.

http://n7hq.masseffect.com/home/overview/?name=ultimaterializer&platform=ps3

I am still the #1 Geth Trooper Soldier on the planet.

I mean, the multiplayer has been shut down for a while now...!

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Nagmer, I am still ready to be a podcast guest. Fresh and insightful smart words from me

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The Board Odds Project is back! Send in your bracket (Guru coming soon).

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78450828


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shane15 posted...

Street Fighter 5 isn't that bad of a game. I still play it regular now and find it great. It also has crossplay which means it gets more respect from me than any other big name fighting game. The netcode can be a bit sketchy at times and the fact they only ever offered 1 costume for FM is a bit of a letdown though.

Eh, I've heard SFV eventually got better, but I imagine most people abandoned it long before that like I did. I don't expect anything from it.

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Good stuff! I will say though, dont underestimate Halo Reachs reception. It is the second best rated Halo game on GameFAQs and I think that tracks with its overall reception. It is definitely the best Halo game of the decade, and a strong Xbox rep. Also worth considering that it is Bungies last Halo fame.

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I'm sticking with Reach, but mostly because I have zero respect for Life is Strange's strength


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Lightning Strikes posted...

Good stuff! I will say though, dont underestimate Halo Reachs reception. It is the second best rated Halo game on GameFAQs and I think that tracks with its overall reception. It is definitely the best Halo game of the decade, and a strong Xbox rep. Also worth considering that it is Bungies last Halo fame.

Not to mention it got released on PC just recently.

Edit: Just started episode 1B and Ng mentions this.

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There are so many great indie games that are now accessible on the Switch.

Highly recommend you check out Hollow Knight, Celeste, INSIDE, and Stardew Valley. Just to name a few. Great games.

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let me on The Show once I make a perfect round 1
!

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I don't know, guys. If we're looking at the polls, Fallout 4 did pretty well against Witcher 3. And if we're using Fallout 76 as a reason it not performing well now, then you can say the same for Mass Effect with Andromeda.

I'm going with Mass Effect 2 at the moment, but I think it's going to be close.

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SwiftyDC posted...

I don't know, guys. If we're looking at the polls, Fallout 4 did pretty well against Witcher 3. And if we're using Fallout 76 as a reason it not performing well now, then you can say the same for Mass Effect with Andromeda.

I'm going with Mass Effect 2 at the moment, but I think it's going to be close.

I also think ME2 will hold up better under that than FO4 will. It's probably already stronger to begin with, and the Fallout 76, well, fallout is fresher in people's minds.

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let me in! i have zelda winning the contest, its a hot predix

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Inside looks so awful. What kind of game is it?

Platformer puzzly game with visual storytelling. It's like LIMBO.

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Undertale is the only undefeated entrant, right?

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@CaptainOfCrush I bought Return of the Obra Dinn because of our discussion about it while we were recording.

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