Board 8 > Game of the Year TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS *Results and discussion topic*

(+) Yeah! (+)

I think CT is a really bad opponent for FF9 specifically, but yeah it still looked very strong

Super Mario Galaxy
November 2007 Game of the Month
Game of the Year, Overall #1 seed
Record: 10-1
Defeated Mario Party DS 6-1
Defeated Rogue Galaxy 6-2
Defeated Zack and Wiki 13-2
Defeated Guitar Hero III 14-6
Defeated Phoenix Wright AA: Trials and Tribulations 12-9
Defeated BioShock 31-23
Defeated Final Fantasy XIII 34-7
Defeated Kirby and the Forgotten Land 25-13
Defeated Super Mario RPG 25-15
Defeated Metal Gear Solid 25-20
Lost to Final Fantasy VII 18-30
Mario Galaxy was a fun time and definitely earned its place as both the 2007 Game of the Year and the Elite Eight in this year's TOC, with its only truly close matches being Metal Gear Solid and Phoenix Wright. 17 years ago, it might have fared better against Final Fantasy VII, but in this case, the greats sometimes age better than we think.

Somebody stop the tournament while I'm in 1st on the prediction leaderboard pls and ty.

Resident Evil 4
January 2005 Game of the Month
Game of the Year, Overall #1 seed
Record: 10-1
Defeated Trace Memory 10-3
Defeated Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 5-1
Defeated Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 11-5
Defeated Kirby Canvas Curse 8-2
Defeated Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow 9-6
Defeated Devil May Cry 3 9-7
Defeated Ninja Gaiden 31-4
Defeated Donkey Kong Country 2 24-14
Defeated Disco Elysium 23-13
Defeated Metal Gear Solid 3 23-19
Lost to Final Fantasy VI 21-24
The very first GotY winner has stood the test of time. Part of it may be due to the success of the remake (which holds a record of 5-1), but the original still has a lot of merit on Board 8. It dominated the 2005 tournament nearly from start to finish, and still managed to not only get convincing wins two decades later, but also go toe-to-toe with a universally acclaimed Final Fantasy title. There's no denying the impact or success of Resident Evil 4.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
2001 Semifinalist, #1 seed
Record: 8-2
Defeated Syphon Filter 3 13-1
Defeated SSX Tricky 28-1
Defeated Pikmin 24-10
Defeated Paper Mario 31-27
Lost to Super Smash Bros Melee 25-33
Defeated Pokmon Sun/Moon 30-7
Defeated Super Smash Bros Melee 24-12
Defeated Super Mario 64 21-16
Defeated Pokmon Red/Blue/Yellow 25-21
Lost to Super Smash Bros Ultimate 21-23
Having a respectable run in the 2001 tournament was good enough as is, but MGS2 responded by having an arguably even better performance 16 years later, getting a revenge win against Melee, beating two Pokmon titles, and nearly stunning Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Solid Snake would be proud

Final Fantasy X
2001 Runner-up, Overall #1 seed
Record: 9-2
Defeated Tennis 2K2 21-3
Defeated Wario Land 4 21-4
Defeated Zelda: Oracle of Ages 22-9
Defeated Golden Sun 40-28
Defeated Silent Hill 2 35-22
Lost to Super Smash Bros Melee 43-48
Defeated Spider-Man 26-13
Defeated Okami 31-13
Defeated Phoenix Wright AA Trials and Tribulations 21-18
Defeated Super Metroid 28-22
Lost to Chrono Trigger 52-62 (OT)
Final Fantasy X performed to all expectations as an overall #1 seed in the 2001 tournament, with the exception of coming up short against Melee. Upon its arrival to the TOC, FFX laid Spider-Man and Amaterasu to waste before having close affairs with Phoenix Wright and Samus. Finally, unless we get even closer matches in the last 2 matches, FFX has a damn good chance at finishing 2nd in the X-Stats because Chrono Trigger laid boots to asses on every game before it.

Smash ultimate doing this well sucks!

Crazy the difference a day makes, I don't know if anyone flipped their votes but I'll assume not, which would mean a net +10 for CT on a (predominantly) Monday round vs. Sunday? Damn... good effort for FFX forcing OT in any case.

I will do my part to make sure it isn't FFVI vs. CT by voting for Smash Ultimate but I can't bring myself to vote VII over VI.

Shame that MGS2 couldn't knock off its 5th Nintendo game in a row.

The MGS2 Revenge Tour was nice, and as a whole it went 6-2 against Nintendo games across two tournaments.

Solid Snake and Raiden stood on business

Final Fantasy VI
1994 Game of the Year, #1 seed
Record: 11-1
Defeated Samurai Showdown II 16-2
Defeated Dynamite Headdy 20-1
Defeated Live A Live 18-3
Defeated Daytona USA 17-6
Defeated Sonic 3 and Knuckles 24-9
Defeated Super Metroid 23-14
Defeated Psychonauts 2 31-7
Defeated Nier Automata 27-17
Defeated Metaphor: ReFantazio 32-11
Defeated Breath of the Wild 25-16
Defeated Resident Evil 4 24-21
Lost to Final Fantasy VII 18-26
Final Fantasy VI had one of the most impressive championship runs to date, with only Super Metroid giving it any type of scare. What made this win even more significant is that FF6 managed to do what Tactics, 7, 8, 9, 10, AND Remake all failed to accomplish upon reaching the finals. In the TOC, FF6's presence was felt early on and there was zero signs of struggle until the Elite Eight.

ZeroSignal posted...

Final Fantasy VI
1994 Game of the Year, #1 seed
Record: 11-1
Defeated Samurai Showdown II 16-2
Defeated Dynamite Headdy 20-1
Defeated Live A Live 18-3
Defeated Daytona USA 17-6
Defeated Sonic 3 and Knuckles 24-9
Defeated Super Metroid 23-14
Defeated Psychonauts 2 31-7
Defeated Nier Automata 27-17
Defeated Metaphor: ReFantazio 32-11
Defeated Breath of the Wild 25-16
Defeated Resident Evil 4 24-21
Lost to Final Fantasy VII 18-26
Final Fantasy VI had one of the most impressive championship runs to date, with only Super Metroid giving it any type of scare. What made this win even more significant is that FF6 managed to do what Tactics, 7, 8, 9, 10, AND Remake all failed to accomplish upon reaching the finals. In the TOC, FF6's presence was felt early on and there was zero signs of struggle until the Elite Eight.

Should be the winner but third place is fine I guess.

Thanks for running these/this. It's been a lot of fun to follow.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2018 Game of the Year, Overall #1 seed
Record: 11-1
Defeated CrossCode 8-3
Defeated Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight 14-1
Defeated Jackbox Party Pack 5 12-4
Defeated Return of the Obra Dinn 16-8
Defeated Red Dead Redemption II 23-11
Defeated God of War 23-18
Defeated Beyond Good and Evil 31-7
Defeated Persona 3 24-17
Defeated Super Smash Bros Brawl 28-3
Defeated Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 23-21
Defeated Metal Gear Solid 2 23-21
Lost to Chrono Trigger 21-35
With both its tournament win in 2018 and its Final Four run here, it should surprise no one that Ultimate is the most successful Smash title. It doubled every game in 2018 except God of War, and played spoiler to a couple close affairs with Konami games here. Smash is no stranger to success, having won 3 tournaments between 2001 and 2018, and Ultimate is the peak of the series.

Final Fantasy VII
1997 Runner-up, Overall #1 seed
Record: 11-2
Defeated NBA Live 98 12-1
Defeated Alundra 11-2
Defeated Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 13-2
Defeated Tekken 3 14-7
Defeated Diddy Kong Racing 14-8
Lost to Symphony of the Night 13-15
Defeated Balatro 26-12
Defeated NBA Jam 27-8
Defeated Persona 5 27-17
Defeated Hades 25-22
Defeated Super Mario Galaxy 30-18
Defeated Final Fantasy VI 26-18
Lost to Chrono Trigger 24-32
If nothing else, FF7 can say it made two championship appearances, and in typical Square fashion between 1997 and 2006, blew both of them. Still, the impact is there and as clear as day; Final Fantasy VII will dominate in any tournament setting.

Chrono Trigger
1995 Game of the Year, Overall #1 seed
Record: 13-0
Defeated Toy Story 22-4
Defeated Snatcher 18-5
Defeated Ristar 20-4
Defeated Tekken 2 22-5
Defeated You Don't Know Jack 30-11
Defeated Donkey Kong Country 2 24-12
Defeated Animal Crossing NH 33-7
Defeated Astro Bot 26-14
Defeated Super Mario Odyssey 25-13
Defeated Final Fantasy IX 36-16
Defeated Final Fantasy X 62-52 (OT)
Defeated Super Smash Bros Ultimate 35-21
Defeated Final Fantasy VII 32-24
If only one game could go undefeated, it might as well be this one! Chrono Trigger dominated not one, but TWO tournaments with only Final Fantasy X giving it any scare.

Many thanks to those who voted in the Tournament of Champions!

I'm taking a break from this for a while, but ideally, the next idea would be a proposed NIT for the Elite Eight losers and any other potential snubs. That list looks like so...

SimCity 2000
Secret of Mana
NHL 94
Rondo of Blood
Castlevania Bloodlines
Super Punch-Out
Daytona USA
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Earthbound
Tekken 2
Seiken Densetsu 3
Lufia II
Resident Evil
Kirby Super Star
Twisted Metal 2
Tekken 3
Mario Kart 64
Blast Corps
Goldeneye 007
Half-Life
Baldur's Gate
Resident Evil 2
Crash Bandicoot 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater*
Sonic Adventure
Mario Party
Pokemon Snap
Perfect Dark
Kirby 64
Valkyrie Profile
Vagrant Story
Golden Sun
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Devil May Cry
Paper Mario
Wild Arms 3
Ratchet and Clank
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Jet Set Radio Future
Wind Waker
Jak II
Viewtiful Joe
Aria of Sorrow
Pikmin 2
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Metroid: Zero Mission
Kirby Canvas Curse
Advance Wars DS
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Elder Scrolls IV
Twilight Princess
MGS Portable Ops
Final Fantasy V Advance
Metroid Prime 3
Guitar Hero 3
Contra 4
God of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Professor Layton and The Curious Village
Grand Theft Auto IV
Mega Man 9
Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box
Borderlands
Street Fighter IV
Assassin's Creed II
Nier
Kirby's Epic Yarn
God of War 3
Heavy Rain
Pokemon B/W
Bastion
Ghost Trick
Dark Souls
Journey
Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
Kid Icarus Uprising
Fire Emblem Awakening
Rayman Legends
Metal Gear Rising
PW AA Dual Destinies
Goat Simulator
The Wolf Among Us
Theatrhythm: FF Curtain Call
DKC Tropical Freeze
The Witcher III
Metal Gear Solid V
Until Dawn
Fallout 4
Kirby Planet Robobot
Stardew Valley
Dishonored 2
Zero Time Dilemma
Tales of Berseria
Resident Evil VII
Horizon Zero Dawn
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Octopath Traveler
Celeste
Monster Hunter World
Yooka-Laylee 2
Devil May Cry 5
Outer Worlds
Super Mario Maker 2
Doom Eternal
Paper Mario: Origami King
Last of Us Part II
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
Hitman 3
Bowser's Fury
It Takes Two
Omori
God of War: Ragnarok
Tunic
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Splatoon 3
Octopath Traveler 2
Lies of P*
World of Horror
Final Fantasy 16
Unicorn Overlord
Silent Hill 2*
Persona 3: Reload*
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

An * means they'd likely be replaced, whether its because their original version was already in the tournament of champions (Persona 3, Silent Hill 2), they were already in the TOC in place of a duplicate remake (Lies of P), or because the same game would technically appear twice (Tony Hawk).

Potential snubs that could sneak in include the following...

Ocarina of Time
Tales of Symphonia
Dragon Quest VIII
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Cuphead
Halo
Mass Effect

Or something else along the same group. It's an idea, and one that might get focused on later. Just not now.

why was ocarina or any of those games snubbed

pjbasis posted...

why was ocarina or any of those games snubbed

lost before the semifinals for their years

they weren't snubbed

they didn't place high enough in their year, so they didn't earn a spot

pjbasis posted...

why was ocarina or any of those games snubbed

Last 2 posts beat me to it.

Tournament of Champions was reserved only for champions, runner-ups, and semifinalists in all tournaments released for GotY tournaments 1993 to 2024

oh damn I didn't think that would create such a large field

I honestly think I like the "NIT" list more than the main TOC lol

If I do like I did the TOC and only replace games with those from their same tournament, it would go as follows. Again, all of these are just ideas:

- Ocarina of Time would replace Resident Evil 2, as RE2's remake already was in the TOC
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater would get replaced with Suikoden II, both from the 1999 tournament. It's either that, or THPS 1+2 gets replaced with a game from 2020
- Lies of P would likely be replaced with Tears of the Kingdom
- Silent Hill 2's remake and Persona 3 Reload would likely get replaced with 2 games from last year's tournament

Speaking as a non-Resident Evil fan, I feel that original and remake RE2 are different enough to not warrant exclusion, but that's my opinion

(That might also be true of Silent Hill 2 remake but I don't know it well enough to be sure)

Silent Hill 2 Remake is technically a sequel

NIT format sounds fun to me too. Thanks for running this contest!

Also, congrats to golden009 for winning the prediction. I was so close...would've won if FFVII had won the finals.

Had to Google NIT tournament. So there's no difference in format to the TOC but it just includes the games that didn't qualify for TOC right?

Cavedweller2000 posted...

Had to Google NIT tournament. So there's no difference in format to the TOC but it just includes the games that didn't qualify for TOC right?

That would be the idea. A few games that are duplicates would ideally get swapped out with ones that came up short early on (Ocarina, DQ8, etc)