Crono will surprise people tomorrow. Wait and see.
---
"A strong man doesn't need to read the future. He makes his own."
"Building the future and keeping the past alive are the same thing."

I really don’t feel like analyzing this match that much, because I dislike Mario, and I dislike Crono

O.O How can you hate Mario. He is the epitome of cool. And Crono is supposed to represent YOU. That's the whole point of a silent protagonist in a ROLE playing game.

The only consolation is that Mario seems to not have a real chance against Sephiroth.

Are you sure about that? To be honest, I'm really looking forward to this match.


TuRtLe
~~~
"Like Darth Maul, the bastard child of Micheal Flatley and Hellboy"-trancer1 SC2k5- 96 points Mario vs Snake

go ulti!! crono FTW with 3 points!
---
"I'll carry you in this Snuggli. I used it to carry Rob Schneider in the movie, "My Baby is an Ugly Man."

O.O How can you hate Mario

You must not know her too well...
---
RIP Samus: Mario, you better take down Seph.
Mario vs. Crono - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Mario (124/160)

To me, Mario is the epitome of everything lame and kiddy, that's why I hate him.

He was fine and cool in the NES days, but then Nintendo decided to make him a "cute" char instead of a badass one.

The image of badass Mario saving the princess from a fire-breathing dragon-turtle that I had in the NES days were ruined.

---
Reserved for the winner of the SC2K5 Guru Challenge.

OK, Chrono Trigger is in my top five favorite games of all time, but Crono isn't winning this one. Every single gamer in the world knows Mario's face, nearly every gamer in history has played at least one of Mario's games, and in terms of historical significance no video game character can be on the same tier as the Italian plumber. Though I believe Chrono Trigger is a better game than any of Mario's games, ever, I'm voting Big N.

Mario, with 52.5%
---
First God created idiots. That was for practice. Then He created forum trolls.

*sigh*

I was so close, too...
---
"Let's mosey"
Summer Contest Score: 152/160, Predicted Winner: Crono

Zero: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Hooray!
---
"The issue no longer equals total logic."- Nodrom, Planescape: Torment

Cool. Bump.
---
This is not a sig, just felt like writing something down here.

Ulti's Analysis

I'm a bit busy watching Monday Night Football, and since football > the internet, I'm simply going to make my pic and run back upstairs >_>

Oh fine. I think that Nintendo has gotten a massive boost in this contest and that Advent Children isn't going to do squat to help Cloud from getting his ass whipped.

Prediction: Link with 55.01%

~*ST*~
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best. Game. Ever." Contest
Currently Playing: Fire Emblem 8, WC3: Frozen Throne, Advance Wars 2

Crono.......................51.35% 53283
Mega Man..................48.65% 50479
TOTAL VOTES...................103762

24.41% of the brackets called this match correctly.

Mega Man tried hard, but Crono showed that he has still got it.

Today,speaking of Crono, Mario is whooping his behind right now. Please, no more Mario/Crono.

CLOSEST PREDICTIONS

Soul - 12
Tnote - 11
Outback - 10
Vlado - 9
Inviso - 6
Ulti - 6
Moltar - 5
MasterMage - 1

Holy great pick my Vlado! He was only .01% off.
---
RIP Samus: Mario, you better take down Seph.
Mario vs. Crono - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Mario (124/160)

Moltar, get on AIM.
---
Every night I commemorate that match by pretending my left hand is Master Hand and having him beat "Kuja"-Swiss_Bean_2

I'll post my own:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1780

That's pretty much all anyone needs to see at this point. That was last year's Link vs. Cloud match, in which Link got a massive boost and crushed everything in sight. Judging from the performances of his fellow Nintendo companions (namely Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Zelda, and Ness), Link will be even stronger due to the Nintendo boost that's been running rampant in this contest.

Cloud supporters are hoping that the new FFVII movie, Advent Children, will help propel Cloud over uber-Link. Unfortunately, the release of the movie was delayed, much to the dismay of Cloud fans. Some are saying that the leak of AC will be strong enough to boost Cloud over Link (after all, 6000 votes really isn't that big of a barrier to overcome) as evidenced by Vincent's performance. I am pretty sure this will not be the case.

First take a look at the guy who beat Vincent 55-45%. He's getting his ass kicked by Mario (for those who don't know, Crono beat Mario last year with over 53%). This is showing that the leaking of AC isn't really doing that much and how powerful the Nintendo boost truly is.

So with a delayed AC and an even more powerful Link looming in the horizon, I just can't see how Cloud will win this match. I fully expect Link to beat Cloud worse than he did last year.

Prediction: Link with 53.64%
---
Summer Contest 2005 - 116 points
Nominate Sub-Zero and The Prince of Persia for SC2k6

The "AC boost" is a total load of crock. Noone outside of the current FF7 fanbase is going to download it.


TuRtLe
~~~
"Like Darth Maul, the bastard child of Micheal Flatley and Hellboy"-trancer1 SC2k5- 112 points Mario vs Megaman

Yeah, it's not like LoZ fans like FFVII or anything.
---
"Stay there for me, trapped in memories."
"I...I won't become a memory."

From: LeonhartForever | Posted: 9/19/2005 5:48:31 PM | Message Detail
Yeah, it's not like LoZ fans like FFVII or anything.

Yeah, because the shift in the voting pool, which has been favoring Nintendo this entire time, will somehow propel Cloud over the strongest Nintendo character in this contest.
---
Summer Contest 2005 - 116 points
Nominate Sub-Zero and The Prince of Persia for SC2k6

*Ranks the current Noble Nine for no reason*
1. Link (Yet to be dethroned. Hasn't participated)
2.) Cloud Strife (#2 at the moment)
3.) Sephiroth (#3.....)
4.) Mario Mario (I wonder why....)
5.) Samus Aran (I think Samus would beat Crono)
6.) Crono (I guess we'll know who's better next year)
7.) Mega Man (Beat Sonic, lost to Crono)
8.) Sonic the Hedgehog (Lost to Mega)
9.) Solid Snake (Poor Snake. He improves, and he's still at the bottem of the totem poll of the Noble Nine)
---
DEFENCE, DEFENCE
"Alas, history is nothing but a lie agreed upon" - Napoleon Bonaparte.

Tournament of Champions Match 64 – Link vs. Cloud
Oh yeah, there IS a ToC!

Link
Won Summer Contest 2002 and 2004.
Lost to Cloud in the Final Four in 2003.
Strongest. Nintendo character. Ever.

Finally, we get to see Link in action.

Cloud
Won Summer Contest 2003.
Lost to Mario in 2002 (Elite 8) and Link in 2004 (Finals)
Strongest. Square character. Ever.

And Cloud too….we get to see him in action.

Well, this won’t be long. Both characters have been on the bench the whole Contest, so we know nothing about them yet. All we know for sure is that Link won in 2004, and Cloud won in 2003.

However, looking at events in this Contest, we can make some assumptions on the match. The biggest one to make is an all-Nintendo boost. Yeah, that think that will have Mario and Samus, along with Kirby and Bowser, ranking in the Top 10 in the X-Stats. Luigi also makes a huge jump up the stats and Zelda ranks very high as well. Donkey Kong leaps up, and the lowest ranked Nintendo characters, Ganon, Yoshi and Ness, are all behind SFF. It’s crazy not to see that Nintendo has boosted this year. Now, all signs point to Link getting stronger (yeah guys, he can get stronger too) than before as well. That’s probably the biggest think in Link’s corner, and the biggest difference-maker in this match. He also has a TP delay…

Cloud…has an FF7:AC delay…yep….Nah, I have more. Vincent and Tifa will rank in the Top 15 this year, which is great for 2 newcomers. They share the same game as Cloud, so that might help him. Cloud also has the FF7:AC leak on his side. This makes some think that Vincent overperformed on Crono because of the leak, and this may or may not be true. But hey, more exposure couldn’t hurt him, right?…..right?!?

But yeah, other than that, Cloud has nothing else going for him. Link should be considered a slight favorite going into the match. I think he’ll win, but I’m not counting Bat-boy out.

Moltar’s Bracket Says: Link will win.

Moltar’s Prediction is: Link: 52% - Cloud: 48%



Inviso’s Analysis

Once again, I’m kinda drained from doing 60 match analyses plus Mario, Snake, Crono, Mega Man. Finally, we have a match between two characters I either like, or tolerate. Haven’t had one of these since Crono/Vincent. Link has had a giant Nintendo boost, while Cloud has the recently released Advent Children movie. The thing that’ll make the biggest difference in this match would be the fact that Advent Children has not OFFICIALLY been released in America. There are some, like me, that have yet to even see it.

My Bracket: Link
My Vote: Link
My Prediction: Link with 50.89%
---
RIP Samus: Mario, you better take down Seph.
Mario vs. Crono - Bracket: Samus - Vote: Mario (124/160)

Soul’s Analysis

Previous Matches (Honorables)

Link

Defeated: Sephiroth (2002) - 56.65% - 43.35%

Defeated: Mario (2002) - 62.53% - 37.47%

Defeated: Samus (2003) - 62.06% - 37.94%

Defeated: Ganondorf (2004) - 87.9% - 12.1%

Defeated: Crono (2004) - 62.82% - 37.18%

Defeated: Mega Man (2004) - 67.61% - 32.39%

Defeated: Cloud (2004) - 51.82% - 48.18%

Cloud

Defeated: Bowser (2003) - 70.03% - 29.97%

Defeated: Sonic the Hedgehog (2003) - 66.21% - 33.79%

Defeated: Link (2003) - 51.61% - 48.39%

Defeated: Sephiroth (2003) - 51.89% - 48.11%

Defeated: Sephiroth (2004) - 56% - 44%

Defeated: Samus (2004) - 59.01% - 40.99%

Well, here we are folks. The tournament of champions. The four strongest (arguably) characters in the contest will battle it out to decide who really is the champion of the Summer Contest title.

The first match features the two strongest characters in the contest history. Some people argue why this match was placed like it was, and not letting Link face Sephiroth or Mario in the first round, so we can have the epic Link Vs. Cloud 3 in the finals. To tell you the truth, I have no idea why he didn't do it that way. But why are you complaining? Instead of getting 1 good match and 2 crappy matches, we get 2 good matches and 1 crappy match. Sure, the ultimate finals won't look as good considering the second strongest character will already be out, but oh well.

While I'm writing this, Mario is currently laying the smackdown on Crono's candy ass. It doesn't look like Crono can come back from this at all. So, looks like the Sephiroth/Mario match is a lock. Why am I posting this here? I don't even know.

The match in question, Link Vs. Cloud, will be a good one. Both are 1 - 1 against each other. Both are considered the strongest in this contest. Both have won the Summer Contest before. Both have a great shot at defeating the other. Who is going to win?

First off, we have no direct proof that either one of them has gained or fell since last year, since neither of them have been in any matches this year. Although, we have stats on characters from the same games as Link/Cloud. All have been impressive, really.

Zelda came into this contest as a character that had a 50/50 shot against Vivi. She not only managed to win, but she almost landed 60% against the black mage. This match was the starting point for the whole "Nintendo boost" that you keep hearing about. She went on to lose respectably to Solid Snake.

Ganondorf was placed in a FFX four-pack. Like Zelda, he was given a 50/50 shot at defeating Auron. After defeating Yuna, he went on to beat Auron with 54.10% (Perfect predictions rule!). He went on to get SFFed by Samus, who ended up getting SFFed by Mario. Also, he went on to get 41% against Sephiroth in Spring.

Tifa started out looking like an absolute beast. Well, strength wise at least. She went on to put Cloud like numbers on Vyse. Incidentally, everyone believed that she could take down Sonic and end the "Noble Nine" system. Well, she was taken back down to earth by the cowardly green plumber known only as Luigi. Well, not only known, but you get the picture. After only getting 53% on Luigi, people realized they were hyping a lost cause. She did perform somewhat admirably against Sonic though.

Vincent, like Tifa, absolutely destroyed his first round opponent. What was interesting about this match was the fact that it could have gone either way. Kerrigan had a lot of reasons why she could have won as well. What was supposed to be a relatively close match turned out to be a massacre of epic proportions. Vincent went on to win with 79% of the vote. Again, he was placed in another match that could have went anyway. Like before, Vincent defeated Dante, but this time with only 54%. Knocked back down to earth, just like Tifa. He went on to barely defeat Squall, which is a pretty good accomplishment.

But, for some reason whatsoever, he overperformed on Crono. Well, I can't say that for a fact since I have no past information on Vincent. But, that doesn't change the fact that it puts him really high. Meh, more work for whoever is working on the stats this year (although, I would leave the stats the way they are).

So basically, two characters for Link and two characters for Cloud have performed already in this contest. All 4 of those have performed well. So, those 4 show us absolutely nothing.

Now, as we look at the contest as a whole, it seems as if Nintendo has received a boost out of nowhere, while Square has shown to stay relatively the same, or even weakened in some cases (why hello there Magus). That's not looking good for Cloud, while it's looking really good for Link.

So, as of now, it seems that Link has increased since last year. I'm not going to say it's an absolute fact, since, well, I don't really know. Every sign points to it though.

But hold on! Don't be calling the match for Link just yet. You've all probably noticed that FF7 has crept up into the top 10 FAQs list once again, right? That's simply because of the new movie out called FF7: AC. This has, most likely, boosted Cloud slightly. As I said before, Square looks to have weakened. I forgot to say that FF7 (and Squall) seemed to have been unaffected by this. Now, with Cloud getting a slight boost from AC, he's still capable of pulling off a slight upset over Link.

So, since you're all wondering who I would pick in this situation... I have to give it to Link. The Nintendo boost is not something to underestimate. It boosted Luigi, DK, Zelda and even Mario through the roof. If you think that every Nintendo character but Nintendo's most popular character would get a boost, then continue living in your fantasy world. Although Cloud will get a slight boost because of AC, he still needs to overcome a 0.91% deficit he suffered from last year. At the very most, AC could cancel out the Nintendo boost, which would still give Link the win.

Basically, I believe Link has this one won. Not this match, but the entire contest. Seriously, with TP coming up rather soon, I wouldn't want it any other way.

My prediction: Link wins with 52.57% of the vote. Two more matches... Two more matches... I'm sure I could last.

Vlado’s Analysis

This is our last chance to see an interesting match this year... It had better deliver. Link won last year's contest in an impressive fashion and that, along with the hype around his upcoming Gamecube game (which is promising to actually be a good Gamecube game of his) Twilight Princess, are supposed to make him the favourite. However, Cloud had the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie released just recently in Japan... and on the Internet. The result was immediate and obvious - Final Fantasy VII jumped back up in the Top 10 FAQs list and is currently number 3, behind just Square-Enix's latest game, Radiata Stories and GTA: SA. Impressive, to say the least. Besides, Vincent did very well on Crono, who, after beating Rockman by a good margin and then keeping it respectable against Mario, proved that he hasn't weakened much since last year, it was just Mario (and Nintendo) that had gotten a major boost.

That boost, however, is what worries me the most. Link could have benefited from it, and that would make things a bit too difficult for Cloud. But then again, Link might not achieve a jump similar to Mario's. There's simply not much space for him to jump anymore, he's reached the freaking roof in terms of contest performance. Cloud is almost there, too, but almost. Advent Children might be just what would be enough to take this victory, and the championship title with it. As it's more than evident that the winner here will have no troubles with the winner in the other semifinal.

Advent Children was centered around Cloud, he was the absolute star of the movie (despite being overshadowed in terms of coolness by Reno, Rude and Rufus), and everything important in it had to do with him. Now, many people say that only people who are already FFVII fanboys and would vote for Cloud anyway would watch the movie. But that's wrong. Final Fantasy VII and The Legend of Zelda series share a lot of fans, being so popular, and I'm pretty sure that many people who like both, but preferred Link and would have voted for him, relived their love for Final Fantasy VII and Cloud, in particular, after seeing the movie. Those people may be exactly what Cloud needs to make up the difference from the last contest that wasn't all that big anyway.

Twilight Princess was delayed and that ace up Link's sleeve suddenly disappeared. It's a fact – nobody talks about the game anymore. Link doesn't look to get a lot of votes thanks to said hype anymore. The only thing that he can hope to make him stronger is the Nintendo boost that has been evident in the whole contest and I do believe that it will help him a little, but he won't get stronger by the same percentage Mario did no matter what. As I said, there's simply not much higher for Link to go. Basically, the histeria around Advent Children, which is loved by most who see it, and its goal being to mostly please the fans, could prove enough for Cloud to win this particular match, at this particular moment. If the two faced again next year, the outcome could be different, but if Cloud will ever have another chance to beat Link, that chance is now.

Predicted percentage: Cloud with 50.67%.

Once again, I’m kinda drained from doing 60 match analyses plus Mario, Snake, Crono, Mega Man. Finally, we have a match between two characters I either like, or tolerate.

You couldn't do an analysis without complaining? What happened to inpartiality?

Looking at these analyses, you all seem to be taking Advent Children into account. I don't think it will have nearly as much effect as the Nintendo Boost, but we shall see tomorrow. Link with 55.07. At least tomorrow might help us see if Mario has a shot against Sephiroth or if it's just another one of my pipe dreams.


TuRtLe
~~~
"Like Darth Maul, the bastard child of Micheal Flatley and Hellboy"-trancer1 SC2k5- 112 points Mario vs Megaman

Ulti has this point methinks.


TuRtLe
~~~
"Like Darth Maul, the bastard child of Micheal Flatley and Hellboy"-trancer1 SC2k5- 112 points Mario vs Megaman

Seph v.s. Mario will be hard to call.

I wish Mario can pull it off, since I had Sephy v.s. Samus.

---
Die hard Cubs, Pistons, Patriot and Maple Leaf fan
Owl Squad Member ( ºvº( ºvº )ºvº ) O RLY?

Lets go, Mario!
---
SC2K5 Score: 173/192
Today's Pick: Link

And Link proves that TP hype>>>AC hype.

But seriously, was anyone REALLY expecting anything else but this?

All the Nintendo Chars got a HUGE boost, so of course Link would.

Question is, does this boost get Mario over Sephiroth? Unfortunately, I don't think so.

Well, at least we know that Link wins again...*yawn*

Mario......................53.85% 55739
Crono......................46.15% 47762
TOTAL VOTES..................103501

26.17% of the brackets called this match correctly.

Mario isn't playing around folks. Remember when Crono killed the great Mario/Crono clonesness tradition last year? Well, Mario killed it again this year. Nearly 54% on Crono, and over a 4th of the brackets had him winning. Impressive, Mr. Nintendo.

Today, Link is laying the smackdown on Cloud. 53% on Cloud right now.

CLOSEST PREDICTIONS

Soul - 13
Tnote - 11
Outback - 10
Vlado - 9
Inviso - 6
Ulti - 6
Moltar - 5
MasterMage - 1

Soul FTW! He beats Inviso with the closest pick by a few points.
---
RIP Samus: Mario, you better take down Seph.
Link vs. Cloud - Bracket: Link - Vote: Link (124/192)

I have faith that Mario can beat Sephiroth, since he's been kicking so much arse this tournament. Then when Thursday rolls around, it'll be a blast from the past, as Mario and Link fight for the championship once again!

And all the hype Mario got from this tournament can fuel people to his victory! Here we gooooooo!
---
Rukario, Blaziken, Deoxys or Pichu for 2006 Summer Competition! No more anti-Pokémon!

^ You mean another SFF beatdown courtesy of Link?

That's even worse than Link vs Sephiroth.

At least Link vs Sephy will be SOMEWHAT close. >>;

^ You mean another SFF beatdown courtesy of Link?

That's even worse than Link vs Sephiroth.

At least Link vs Sephy will be SOMEWHAT close. >>;

Oh come on. Link's going to beat Cloud, there's no denying that. If Link can beat Cloud, then he can defeat Sephiroth without the villain getting somewhat close.

And Link isn't going to SSF Mario or however hell you say it (noun? verb? abjective? adverb? pronoun? punctuation mark?) if they fight. Mario and Link haven't sparred in some time, there's no telling how the match would end up. Mario's popularity has gone up, and he's been fighting during this tournament; Link's just been waiting about. The hype of the fight will keep Mario going.
---
Rukario, Blaziken, Deoxys or Pichu for 2006 Summer Competition! No more anti-Pokémon!

Tournament of Champions Match 65 – Sephiroth vs. Mario
We’re behind you Mario. Take the man down!

Sephiroth
Won Spring Contest 2005…if that even counts.
Lost to Link in 2002 (Final 4), Lost to Cloud in 2003 (Finals), Lost to Cloud in 2004 (Elite 8)
Has TSHF (The Silver Hair Factor)

Ahh Sephiroth, because you have to screw up stats at least once in every Contest.

Mario
Round 1 – vs. Joanna Dark (Mario: 80.90% - Joanna: 19.10%)
Round 2 – vs. Ness (Mario: 82.80% - Ness: 17.20%)
Round 3 – vs. Zero (Mario: 62.86% - Zero: 37.14%)
Round 4 – vs. Samus (Mario: 59.79% - Samus: 40.21%)
Round 5 – vs. Snake (Mario:57.21% - Snake:42.79%)
Round 6 – vs. Crono (Mario: 53.85% - Crono: 46.15%)

As the winner of SC2K5, Mario’s prize is….a match with Seph.

Alright, before this Contest, I would have called this match laughably easy and given Seph the win with 45%. Now though…that might not be the case. Originally, I had Samus over Seph, and I thought it would happen. But instead, Mario gets that spot….and I still think it can happen.

Look at Mario so far. All of Nintendo has gotten stronger, and he is the lead car on that train. He’s gone from losing to Crono 53-47, to beating him with nearly 54%. He crushed Zero, SFFed Samus to hell, beat a pumped up Snake by a good margin. Mr. Nintendo has been looking extremely strong. Of course though, this IS Sephiroth we’re talking about here.

Sephiroth…this guy can lay some serious beat downs. If your name isn’t Link or Cloud, he WILL kick your ass. In 2002, Samus and Mega Man gave him a run for his money. In 2003, he blew out Mega Man by nearly 10% more than last year. 2004?, still a monster with great numbers on Auron. In the Spring, he FINALLY showed signs of weakness against Bowser and Ganondorf, but not before humiliating Liquid. My point? This guy is confusing as crap when it comes to the stats. He can look like garbage in one match, then blow you away in the next. However, we haven’t seen him face a true non-Clink elite since 2003. I mean, letting Bowser and Ganon break 40% on you isn’t a good sign going into a match with a beefed-up Mario.

However, for you Sephiroth fans (Extha and 3 others), I’ll post this. Take it however you want.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=1363

Moltar’s Bracket Says: SC2K5 Champ (Mario) will win.

Moltar’s Prediction is: Sephiroth: 51% - Mario: 49%



Soul’s Analysis

Honorable Matches

Sephiroth

Defeated Mega Man (2002) - 50.51% - 49.49%

Defeated Samus (2002) - 52.64% - 47.36%

Defeated Mario (2003) - 61.6% - 38.4%

Defeated Mega Man (2003) - 61.18% - 38.82%

Defeated Bowser (2005) - 59.55% - 40.45%

Defeated Ganondorf (2005) - 58.17% - 41.83%

Mario

Defeated Cloud (2002) - 50.11% - 49.89%

Defeated Crono (2002) - 50.05% - 49.95%

Defeated Crono (2003) - 50.05% - 49.95%

Defeated Zero (2005) - 62.86% - 37.14%

Defeated Samus (2005) - 59.79% - 40.21%

Defeated Solid Snake (2005) - 57.21% - 42.79%

Defeated Crono (2005) - 53.85% - 46.15%

Well, isn't this an even match? Sephiroth, who has proved time and time again that he's leagues above everyone not named Link or Cloud, gets to face Mario. Mario is toast...

Right?

Actually, he is. I'm sorry to say it fans, but Mario can not possibly beat Sephiroth here. It's great that he won the contest, and it's great that he defeated Crono once again, but it all comes to an end here. Sure, he will most likely score higher then what everyone predicts, but I think a win is out of reach for him. You want proof? You can't handle the proof.

My prediction: Sephiroth gets lucky and wins with 51.50% of the vote. Final match, HERE WE GO!

Inviso’s Analysis

Again, exhausted. Mario sadly won the main bracket, proving Gamefaqs can’t let go of the past and look at the future. Sephiroth is his opponent, who is only in the ToC because of the easy victory he got in the spring. Now, Mario may be the strongest character in the main bracket this year, but Sephiroth has beaten him before, and can do it again. Mario may have increased, but I doubt that he could make up about 11% against any FFVII character. He may be able to sizably reduce the percentage, but he won’t win. At least, I hope not.

My Bracket: Sephiroth
My Vote: Sephiroth
My Prediction: Sephiroth with 52.73%



Vlado’s Analysis

Well, Mario won the regular contest, beating Crono in the final match by even more than Crono beat him last year... What a travesty! The Nintendo boost was enough for him, and for Link to beat Cloud... It's been a sad contest, and this match is Square's last chance to get a win over Nintendo. The only one so far was Tifa's over Luigi, and it was a given before the contest even started. Well, I feel that this match is pretty much a given, too, even if some Mario fans don't want to admit it. Sure, it won't be anywhere near the slaughter of 2003 (which, I should add, was completely enjoyable, especially after seeing ANOTHER Mario cheat win over Crono), but Sephiroth should still take it comfortably.

Mario beat Crono, getting almost 54% of the vote. However, it's common sense that Sephiroth is much stronger than Crono, we also saw how he destroyed everyone in the villain contest, with Ganon and Bowser just barely breaking 40% on him. Mario will certainly do considerably better than those two, but I don't think he has a chance to win. Sure, Nintendo got a boost, but Sephiroth is untouchable. Just two characters can beat him - Link and Cloud. However, he'll have to face Link in the final match of this year's contest, and he will inevitably lose... This was certainly Nintendo's year, like no year before has been. Sure, we won't get a Link vs. Mario final like in 2002, but we know how Mario squeezed his way through then. Now, he dominated everyone in the regular contest and established himself as a fourth force. Still well behind the top three, but also well ahead of everyone else.

Predicted percentage: Sephiroth with 54.12%.

Mario sadly won the main bracket, proving Gamefaqs can’t let go of the past and look at the future.

Hmmm, last time I checked, Mario has had many great games since 1997. Sephiroth has a movie not even released in North America (and will likely blow) and a cameo in Kingdom Hearts to appease fanboys. I think Inviso only roots for the pretty boys with swords.

Vlado, how did Mario cheat? I thought the story was the first time that Crono had ~2000 stuffed votes and CJay took some away. And the second time Mario was winning at the time the poll was supposed to close. If I'm wrong, please correct me, but that was my understanding.

I'm rooting for Mario simply for the reason that a Link-Mario final would be a hell of a lot more interesting then a Sephiroth rape-fest, if only to see if and by how much Mario gets SFF'd. Go Mario, but don't get your hopes too high >.<

Show that horrible villain that he doesn't deserve to be in this contest and should enter a Best.Dressed.Puppet.Ever contest.


TuRtLe
~~~
"Like Darth Maul, the bastard child of Micheal Flatley and Hellboy"-trancer1 SC2k5- 144 points Link vs Cloud

Crono had around 3000 votes cheated for him in 2002. CJayC only took away 600.

If that's considered cheating for Mario, then Vlado is right.
---
This is not a sig, just felt like writing something down here.

Turtle's post only proves that there's little hope left for GameFAQs.

The first year, by what I know, both had stuffed votes, but Crono was affected by the removed ones. In 2003, Crono was wining at the end of the poll, but CJay continued it until Mario took the lead. Coincidence? I think not. That was also the most blatant case of vote stuffing (and Romero claimed fame for it), seeing as Square raped everyone in that contest. Magus even got 35% on Link! The next year proved that Mario's 2003 victory was shady as hell and unrealistic, much like his 2002 one.
---
"Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tells people what you're thinking..." - Tifa

Ulti's Analysis

Mario CAN win. I'm not saying he will, but he has a good chance. That's... all I can say, really. Stats be damned.

Prediction: Mario with 50.03%

~*ST*~
---
Winner of the Spring 2004 "Best. Game. Ever." Contest
Currently Playing: Fire Emblem 8, WC3: Frozen Throne, Advance Wars 2

Oh come on. Link's going to beat Cloud, there's no denying that. If Link can beat Cloud, then he can defeat Sephiroth without the villain getting somewhat close.<<

I never said Link wasn't going to defeat Cloud. Don't put words in my mouth,

And Link isn't going to SSF Mario or however hell you say it (noun? verb? abjective? adverb? pronoun? punctuation mark?) if they fight. Mario and Link haven't sparred in some time, there's no telling how the match would end up. Mario's popularity has gone up, and he's been fighting during this tournament; Link's just been waiting about. The hype of the fight will keep Mario going.<<

First off, wtf is a abjective, do you mean adjective? And no SFF isn't any of those. SFF= Same Franchise Factor

Second off...Were you not here in 2002 (Links' 2nd weakest year.)? He destroyed Mario in the finals by a very large margin. Link has grow in strength since then, and you're expecting Mario to NOT get SFF'd(Not SSF'd)?

I'm sorry, but that's fool hardy.

Stupid fanboys. Do people not know of their roots? This is sad.
---
SC2K5 Score: 181/200
Today's Pick: Sephiroth

The first year, by what I know, both had stuffed votes, but Crono was affected by the removed ones. In 2003, Crono was wining at the end of the poll, but CJay continued it until Mario took the lead. Coincidence? I think not. That was also the most blatant case of vote stuffing (and Romero claimed fame for it), seeing as Square raped everyone in that contest. Magus even got 35% on Link! The next year proved that Mario's 2003 victory was shady as hell and unrealistic, much like his 2002 one.

For one, vote stuffing happens in every match. They always cancel each other out. The 2002 match was different, since a person gave 3000 extra votes to Crono. Giving 3000 extra votes is a lot worse then voting with an alt.

Secondly, if you believe Romero, then you aren't very intelligent at all. He said that he vote stuffed in every high-profile match, even in the Spring Contests. Yet, he manages to get caught in a lousy 1-point match between two weak characters? Yeah, ok.

Finally, people who witnessed the other two contests probably thought the rivalry was lopsided, so voted for Crono instead of Mario. It's not hard to believe that people actually wanted to see Crono beat Mario after losing twice to him by a few hundred votes. Of course, this caused the huge win for Crono.

Now that Crono finally got that monkey off his back, people don't really care about their rivalry anymore, and vote for Mario once again. Thus, causing Mario to win by a huge amount this year.

Well, that's my view on it anyway.
---
Xenobi lost everything he owned in Katrina, works 60 hours a week, and still had time to own me!
I just got GURU'D by Jman_gamerX8!

^ That's probably exactly the reason.

Or it could be summed up simply, like this:

People were sick of Mario vs Crono in 2003 so they voted for Crono just for kicks to add to Mario's obvious weak performances, which led to the slaughter that we saw in 2003.

Same thing occurred here, except with a different outcome.

Link.......................52.44% 62541
Cloud Strife..........47.56% 56724
TOTAL VOTES..................119265

63.77% of the brackets called this match correctly.

Wow, these two can bring in the votes. Link trumps Cloud a second time, and this time by even more than the last. Looks like Cloud doesn't stand a chance against the Hero of Time....at least not yet.

Today, Sephiorth gives the stats another finger and has over 55% on a stronger Mario....that means trouble folks.

CLOSEST PREDICTIONS

Soul - 14
Tnote - 11
Outback - 10
Vlado - 9
Inviso - 6
Ulti - 6
Moltar - 5
MasterMage - 1

Soul on a roll as we come to the stretch.

And for the Mario/Crono matter. All I'm saying is that I don't think the voters would manipulate the voting patterns like that for one year, just because of how close it was in the previvous years.
---
RIP Samus: Mario, you better take down Seph.
Seph vs. Mario - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (132/200)

Tournament of Champions Match 66 – Link vs. Sephiroth
...

Link

Yay

Sephiroth

Boo

Here’s a boring, lame analysis for a boring, lame final match. Link managed to beat Cloud, and Sephiroth managed to crush Mario. Now, Link > Cloud > Sephiroth, so if you can manage to rub two brain cells together, you’d figure out that Link will beat Sephiroth comfortably.

Take that Sephiroth fanboys! (All 4 of you!)

Moltar’s Bracket Says: Link will win

Moltar’s Prediction is: Link: 56% - Sephiroth: 44%



Soul’s Analysis

Link defeated Cloud: 52.44% - 47.56%

Sephiroth defeated Mario: N/A at this time

Well, what an unexpected final...

We all know Link is going to win this match. Sephiroth is a lot weaker then Cloud. Link defeated Cloud. Would you take Sephiroth > Cloud?

Since this analysis will look really, really short, and since this is the last match, might as well do something about it. OMG, here comes Soul's favorites of the contest!!

Favorite Match: Sonic Vs. Mega Man

This is my favorite match because I was trying to hype it since the beginning. I continually said that Sonic was going to beat Mega Man, or at least come very close in doing so. The first topic was filled with "No, he isn't". Of course, that was changed during the second topic. Instead, I got a barrage of people actually agreeing with me. Reason being was Sonic > Diablo. I created the third topic somewhat before the fourth round (around the time that Sonic beat Tifa). Like the first topic, people believed that Sonic had no chance. Well, those same people were scared ****less when Sonic was cutting away at MM's lead all day during that match. I thought he was going to overtake him, but Sonic's goal to win fell short. It was still an excellent, down to the wire match between two of the contest's strongest characters though, and despite the winner, this match was all that I could have asked for.

Favorite Upset: Knuckles Vs. Magus

Yes, it's always great to see an out-of-nowhere upset. It's even better to see the character responsible for this upset happens to be your favorite character. Because of this match, all sins from the past were forgiven, in my mind. Whenever I think that "this contest lost all credibility" when one of my favorites lost, I'll always remind myself of this outcome.

Favorite Division: Dream Division

Kirby beating a random FF character started off what would become my favorite division. Yes, I dislike the FF series and it's characters. Seeing them get eliminated was very pleasing, to say the least. With that said, I was hoping that Tidus would defeat KoaC, because I hate Katamari Damacy more then FF. Seeing Tidus getting absolutely killed against Kirby was hilarious as well. Of course, Bowser winning his four-pack was great as well, since he is one of my favorite characters. Can't forget Bowser actually winning. What was even better then all of that was Bowser barely losing to Snake. That was possibly the best outcome I could have hoped for.

Favorite Surprise: Donkey Kong

Before the DK/MC match, I decided to make a rather out-of-this-world pick when I chose DK over MC. When I woke up the following day, I saw DK leading by 1000 votes. This shocked the hell out of me. Sure, I was thinking the upset could have happened, but I also thought that Knuckles could win the entire contest as well. It was an amazing sight to see, basically. Of course, being Donkey Kong, he went on to lose to Chief. But still, those few hours was amazing to me.

This contest has been my favorite. The best possible winner (Mario), great upsets (Knux > Magus), 50/50 matches (MM Vs. Sonic), and Link winning the ToC. Hope next year's contest can be just as great.

MY FINAL PREDICTION: Link wins with 90% of the vote. Meh, why not?





Inviso’s Analysis

I still don’t feel like writing a long analysis on the matches, especially since this one is so simple after the first match of the Tournament of Champions. First off, Sephiroth is, has been, and will always be the third strongest character in these contests, right behind Cloud, and yes, you guessed it, Link. Link has been number 1 twice, and was perhaps only a loser in 2003 because of such a crappy match pic, from Wind Waker, against Cloud. Link BEAT Cloud for the second time this year, and Cloud is the MAIN character from Final Fantasy VII. Sephiroth will always be the villain, not on Cloud’s level. He hasn’t even won a real tournament before, but only got into the ToC by a villains contest where he had no real competition. Link beat Cloud, so he will beat Sephiroth, AGAIN, by even more.

My Bracket: Link
My Vote: Link
My Prediction: Link with 55.89%



Vlado’s Analysis

And so, the time has come for the Summer Contest 2005's last match. It will be a boring one, but it seems that, as soon as Link keeps paticipating, we'll be treated to that. Cloud's loss to him was an utter disppointment, though it was quite sweet when he took the lead at one point and even started building a lead... Too bad it didn't last. Well, he's now facing Sephiroth, who disposed of Mario in a nice fashion, proving that still no one can touch the big three. Not even the Nintendo boost helped Mario do much against the much stronger villain contest winner. But, the win over Mario shouldn't fool anyone. Sephiroth simply has no chance against Link. The most popular Nintendo character on GameFAQs is simply way ahead of all others.

Link's win over Cloud decided the Tournament of Champions. It was clear ever since the bracket was announced that the winner in that match would take the title. Now, he'll face Sephiroth and enjoy the experience of defeating BOTH the FFVII stars in the same tournament... Something he will achieve for the first time. Despite Sephiroth's win over Mario, the last match will only confirm the Nintendo dominance this summer. Well, at least Sephiroth didn't lose against the plumber, so there's still some hope for GameFAQs, after all. Now if only Link could lost another match at sometime soon... Yeah, like that could happen with Twilight Princess coming next year.

Anyway, what could make this match very entertaining would be Sephiroth doing better than Cloud. That would be quite funny and the X-Stats would be a bit messed up, as the two FFVII powerhouses would switch places. It's the final, after all, so I think Sephiroth can indeed achieve that goal. Sure, it's not very likely, but it could happen. This summer, logic has played very little role in the contest, I don't see why it should start on its very last day.

Predicted percentage: Link with 52.32%.

I must also say that I had a lot of fun writing these predictions all contest and I got as many as 10 out of the 65 matches so far the closest. Not terribly bad for a start, was it? Too bad that neither of Inviso and me could win it. Congrats to Soul for his victory! I want to thank jkmill550, who was my only supporter in this little contest of ours. Well, guess what, I had one more than everyone else involved. Or at least the others' weren't as loud. I'll be looking forward to writing for the next contest, if, of course, Moltar decides that I'm worthy of being kept on the crew.

MY FINAL PREDICTION: Link wins with 90% of the vote. Meh, why not?

Now who else would die laughing if by some miracle this actually comes to pass?

Congrats Soul on the win and GJ to the rest of you. With only a few exceptions (Ness, Pac-Man and Samus) you all showed me that I know jack **** about these contests. I know I will eagerly follow this topic again in the Spring.


TuRtLe
~~~
Guru Contest. Serious Business. Jman_GamerX8 is winnar! SC2k5- 164 points Link vs Sephiroth

Sephiroth.....................56.07% 64570
Mario..........................43.93% 50598
TOTAL VOTES......................115168

78.2% of the brackets called this match correctly.
Holy insane bracket prediction. Spring Contest, anyone? Anyway, Mario is beaten down badly be Seph. I mean, this is making his "boost" in the regular contest look very questionable. Of course, this could also mean that Seph isn't the weak version of himself we've seen over the last year.

Today, Link has over 55% on Seph. Expected....

CLOSEST PREDICTIONS

Soul - 14
Tnote - 11
Vlado - 10
Outback - 10
Inviso - 6
Ulti - 6
Moltar - 5
MasterMage - 1

Vlado had the highest Sephy pick.



Congrats Soul on the win and GJ to the rest of you. With only a few exceptions (Ness, Pac-Man and Samus) you all showed me that I know jack **** about these contests. I know I will eagerly follow this topic again in the Spring.

Thank you! This Contest also showed that we also don't know very much about the Contests. We knew it was going to be unpredictible, but some of the stuff that happened was just crazy. And thanks for reading. We <3 the readers.
---
I can't see why kids love CTC, but I can see that Jman_gamerX8 owns all gurus.
Seph vs. Mario - Bracket: Mario - Vote: Mario (132/200)

*bows*

Thank you for the compliment.
---
Xenobi lost everything he owned in Katrina, works 60 hours a week, and still had time to own me!
I just got GURU'D by Jman_gamerX8!

Link.........................54.94% 65397
Sephiroth.................45.06% 53628
TOTAL VOTES....................119025

??.?? of the brackets called this match correctly.

Link is winnar! No bracket stats, but Link easily beats Seph, even though the Inu look-alike got over 45% on him. We all saw it coming.

CLOSEST PREDICTIONS

Soul - 14
Tnote - 11
Vlado - 10
Outback - 10
Inviso - 7
Ulti - 6
Moltar - 5
MasterMage - 1

Inviso gets the final point, but a big congrats to Soul, who clearly won our little Contest here. Tnote and Vlado also did great for being new with their predictions.
---
I can't see why kids love CTC, but I can see that Jman_gamerX8 owns all gurus.
Final SC2K5 Bracket Score: 140 (Horrible, I know)

Well, it was fun. A shared third position is not too bad for a start.
---
"Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tells people what you're thinking..." - Tifa

So, what happens to this topic?
---
"Disperse, loyal battle monkeys! Do my bidding and bust a cap!" - Zetta
LUE: There is no cure for cancer.

Soul got lucky.
---
This is not a sig, just felt like writing something down here.