GameFAQs Contests

is round 2 still 4 matches a day?

transcience posted...

is round 2 still 4 matches a day?

It's 4 matches per day through round 3.

my fingers are going to break off by thanksgiving

augh 4 writeups a day for another two weeks

Dedede probably 60-40s tool

Oh right, the start time changes on Sunday, too. Almost perfectly lined up with the start of round 2.

Lopen watching Falcon/Richter intensely to see if Richter can finish with 40.01% so his stance will be validated

rallying for falcon as we speak

Round 1 – Ellie vs. KOS-MOS

Moltar’s Analysis

If this was early in R1, this would be very debated.

After a bunch of R1 matches in which newer western characters flopped and older characters won, this is pretty much a done deal. KOS-MOS should win this without problem. Just gonna take those Ike/Joel results and slap em here.

Moltar’s Bracket: KOS-MOS

Moltar’s Prediction: KOS-MOS – 62%

transience’s Analysis

I haven't played Last of Us so I don't have a sense of who's stronger, Ellie or Joel. After TLOU2 it'll probably be Ellie, but I'm guessing Joel's ahead by a hair now? Anyway, I don't think it really matters. You've got a badass anime android from a early 00s JRPG vs. a badass regular chick from a 2010s adventure/shooter hybrid. I guess you can look at this one like we did Aya/Sully.

transience's prediction: KOS with 60.45%

Leonhart’s Analysis

My gut reaction when I first saw this match was to take KOS-MOS, and I haven’t really felt any compelling reason to think otherwise. She’s got a very appealing design, especially when paired up with a little kid, and she’s somehow managed to stay fairly popular despite this site never really caring about Xenosaga in general. You’d figure she’d have to fall off at some point, and maybe this is the year. Joel looked pretty decent against Ike, and you’d think he’d be stronger than KOS-MOS. Is Ellie stronger than Joel by any notable margin? I’m not so sure. She can certainly win here if things break right, but I’ll stick with the safe choice.

Leonhart’s Vote: KOS-MOS

Leonhart’s Prediction: KOS-MOS with 56.68%

Kleenex’s Analysis

We already saw Joel shit the bed a few divisions ago, so Ellie is already starting off with bleak prospects. For what it’s worth, I do think Ellie is probably strong than Joel. How much, it’s hard to say, but it’s unlikely that it’ll be enough to overcome KOS-MOS. KOS-MOS is always better than she has any right to be, over 10 years removed from her last game at this point, but I like anime robot lady to move on to round 2 with easy.

Kleenex’s Prediction: KOS-MOS with 63%

Guest’s Analysis - TsunamiXXVIII

RacistFAQs, meet HomophobeFAQs.

I’m joking, of course, because it’s abundantly clear that we’ve returned to the days of the contests being decided solely by GameFAQs’ tastes, and busty RPG characters from the early 2000s easily top realistically-proportioned survival characters from the current decade. Actually, just about anything from any previous decade probably beats almost anything from the current decade.

*looks at match wrapping up as he’s writing this*

…I said almost. But yeah, this site is heavily Gen Y, skewing more in the direction of Gen X than Gen Z, and also favors RPGs over all else, with adventure and platform games coming in second and third. Ellie is about as Gen Z as they come. And you know what? It’s a damn shame. There has long been a debate over whether video games are an art form or not. The late Roger Ebert infamously said they can never be an art form, then conceded that he wasn’t in a position to judge that and regretted using the word “never”. At the time of his comments and subsequent retraction, the crowning example of video games as art was Shadow of the Colossus. Shadow of the Colossus has nothing on The Last of Us. The Last of Us has won all sorts of awards. Look at this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_The_Last_of_Us

No, really look at it. Look at how long that list is. But guess what’s not on there? Our 2013 Game of the Year. Sure, it came in first place in the preliminary poll featuring all of the individual systems’ winners, but that’s with a 3DS game winning the “download only” category. Take only the top three finishers, and it lost out to A Link Between Worlds because LAW. Of course TLoU was still strong enough to come in second in the PS4 category for 2014 GotY after getting a remastered version.

But yeah, video games as art is becoming far more viable. With every passing entry, the Metal Gear series is looking more and more like a movie with a video game haphazardly attached to it. Everyone complains about the newer Final Fantasies “playing themselves”? Yeah, that’s because gaming experience is a secondary consideration to storytelling. Just allow all fictional characters already, Allen!

…Oh, and despite having not been truly relevant for over a decade, KOS-MOS somehow actually has the more recent game. Maybe if The Last of Us Part II ever comes out, Ellie can actually look like a midcarder for a little while, but given how infrequently we have contests, that game will probably be 3-4 years old by the time CBXI rolls around. We’ve already seen how getting sequels helped Shepard and Nathan Drake become somewhat worthwhile in 2013…

That’s the other problem with this site. Unless that one game was made by Squaresoft before they merged with Enix, you’re basically worthless until you’ve been in multiple games. Well, except for Amaterasu. So let’s get over all this negativity and celebrate Amaterasu crushing Draven! (Note: I’m writing this up multiple days in advance so I’m just assuming based on the percentage that Pac-Man, beacon of apathy votes, put up on Sans that Amaterasu, an actual midcarder, will be flirting with 80% when this is posted.) Let’s see, what’s my Oracle for this? …Okay now that’s just wishful thinking. I’ll probably still be the low pick for KOS.

KOS-MOS with 58.4%

Crew Consensus: You know, Ellie, we really are The Last of Us (being in this contest).

MasterMoltar posted...

Yeah, that’s because gaming experience is a secondary consideration to storytelling.

Eh... no.

I think there is a place for games that focus on storytelling and I love them, but I don't think gameplay should become secondary anytime soon. Gameplay is a form of art too.

Round 1 – Aqua vs. Quiet

Moltar’s Analysis

the hell is this fourpack

I think this is a match of who is accidentally going to win and advance to round 2. Kingdom Hearts has looked bad. MGS has looked bad. Both these characters are unknown and shouldn’t be strong. Aqua is seeded high because of a B8 rally.

I

I think whoever has the better picture wins this match.

This is how R1 ends.

Not with a bang, but with a quiet whimper.

Moltar’s Bracket: Aqua

Moltar’s Prediction: Aqua – 55%

transience’s Analysis

The last match of round 1 (finally!) is always a little wonky. We had Pac/Ocelot here and I think Kuja/Hand was the last match of r1 too. Probably a couple of others. Watch out, Aqua.

Quiet's a tough sell due to how miserable MGS5 is here, and Quiet's easy to point to as the posterchild for all things wrong with that game. But Aqua... I went to wikipedia to see if she's in more than that PSP game and the new KH3 trailer. Check this out.

Aqua is the only protagonist in Birth by Sleep whom Tetsuya Nomura did not have a point of reference to design from, and thus was designed from scratch. Later in the design process, Nomura became concerned that Aqua would not be popular, which drove his decision to make her more distinct in her personal bravery and combat abilities. Aqua is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese and Willa Holland in English. The character received mixed reviews from game critics upon her debut, citing boring plot lines and unenthusiastic voice acting combined with weak combat skills. However, her role in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 has been more positively received, with critics favoring her stronger characterization over previous depictions.

What the hell man. Why is this character a 2 seed? This is worse than 2B's seeding. I have zero respect for Aqua. I have no idea what the board picks look like (still not looking at anything else contest related besides these threads) but if anyone picked Aqua to win another round, shame on you. I'd go with Quiet if she wasn't a 2015 character from an unliked game.

transience's prediction: Aqua with 56.11%

Leonhart’s Analysis

This match suddenly seems a lot more interesting after how badly Bayonetta rocked Riku a few days ago. I already thought the ceiling for Aqua was kinda low, but it might be even lower than I thought! I think you have to be a hardcore Kingdom Hearts fan to care about Aqua, and it seems like the number of those might not be very high! Metal Gear Solid V is pretty divisive, but I feel like the average voter knows who Quiet is more than they know who Aqua is, which could bring the Pac-Man Apathy Factor into consideration. I just wish she didn’t have such a terrible picture. I’m gonna roll with the upset anyway, but that’s really the only thing that gives me pause at this point.

Leonhart’s Vote: Quiet

Leonhart’s Prediction: Quiet with 51.60%

Kleenex’s Analysis

The final match of round 1, and I’m honestly not sure what Aqua is doing here with a 2 seed. Was she an NRT thing? If not, I’m not sure why everyone is getting excited about Aqua all of a sudden, but whatever. Guess what? She’ll probably win!. I’m not convinced of Quiet. I’m not entirely sure what the reception to MGS5 is these days, but it never struck me it had the fervor the first four game do. Does that carry over to Quiet? Who knows, but in the battle of anime lady vs. realistic looking lady, I’ll take GameFAQs to side with anime.

Kleenex’s Prediction: Aqua with 52%

Guest’s Analysis - Bane_Of_Despair

Boy I really blew up my own spot with that Riku match huh. Well let's see if I'll learn from that. Two newcomers from the contest, one coming in at a high seed from being a Guru nomination. Good nomination choice imo. So I think this might be a more interesting match than the last one I did, which ended up being less than ideal for Riku. Both are female so no advantage there, and while it looks like Kingdom Hearts has NOT held on as well as I would have hoped for this contest....Metal Gear Solid hasn't shown anything too special either. Both The Boss and Big Boss got roughly 56% against their opponents, Metal Sonic and Ridley respectively. That's not totally awful especially with Ridley having some Smash strength possibly, but I think most people were expecting in the 60's for them. And then Ocelot had a HOT match with Dedede, scrapping with 50.5%. Don't think that was the result expected from that either.

And then we come to the pics.....Quiet's picture has got to be the worst one in this contest so far, good lord. Now I've not played the MGS series but surely I've seen plenty of pictures with her looking fine. The editing and framing and just....everything on this is awful. Aqua looks like a fairly normal anime girl, which might hurt her later on but I think will benefit her here. So even though she has Kingdom Hearts working against her....I really think Aqua is gonna take this one. (Please don't let me be as wrong on this as I was with Riku).

Aqua with 53.78%

Crew Consensus: Aqua quietly drowns her opponent.

one of these days being the lone exception will work in my favor

is that day today?!

MasterMoltar posted...

Was she an NRT thing?

Guru nom.

MasterMoltar posted...

but if anyone picked Aqua to win another round, shame on you.

shame extended to 47 Gurus

Aqua was a Guru pick.

MasterMoltar posted...

The last match of round 1 (finally!) is always a little wonky. We had Pac/Ocelot here and I think Kuja/Hand was the last match of r1 too. Probably a couple of others.

Chief/Subby was a good one

Oh, then I probably even nommed Aqua and forgot!

The Mana Sword posted...

Oh, then I probably even nommed Aqua and forgot!

this is a fitting referendum on Aqua...!

that awful picture really is the only thing keeping me from going all in on Quiet

oh she’s a guru thing? that makes me even more uneasy

Whoever wins is going to get stomped by KOS-MOS

I would take Ellie over either of these losers

(this post will not age well)

I’m also on the KOS-MOS rolls this 4-pack train.

I'd take Ellie over Aqua/Quiet too.

I didn’t know the four pack winner was even up for debate.

a random smash dude would double this four pack

I hesitantly took Ellie to win this four pack

consider it penance for taking KOS-MOS over Luigi

transcience posted...

I didn’t know the four pack winner was even up for debate.

a random smash dude would double this four pack

KOS-MOS is a pretty big favorite, but a decent number of people also picked Aqua and Ellie and a handful picked Quiet.

KamikazePotato posted...

Whoever wins is going to get stomped by KOS-MOS

I would take Ellie over either of these losers

(this post will not age well)

Man, Division 8 is garbage.

LeonhartFour posted...

Lopen watching Falcon/Richter intensely to see if Richter can finish with 40.01% so his stance will be validated

Yes I am. DId you know he made some cuts last night.

Related: Damn you Richter.

should've used that analytical mind for this one

Master Moltar posted...

I think Lucina is showing us that just being in Smash without much else to your name isn’t going to automatically turn you into a powerhouse. Now Shepard might not do as well as he would have in previous years, but he still shouldn’t be threatened.

Lucina has clearly improved from 2013 where she lost to Dracula and would have gotten 25.48% on Sonic through Lucina/Dracula and Dracula/Sonic. This year, Lucina improves to 34.56% on Auron (who should face off against Sonic later in this contest).

That's a pretty good improvement for Lucina. I'd say that most of the improvement came from more people having played Fire Emblem: Awakening, a game that was only about 5 months old when Lucina had her first match in 2013. Lucina is also available in the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes, and now has Smash on her side. I think most of the improvement came from the Fire Emblem fanbase, though.

Lopen's Unofficial Analysisx4

Ryu vs Lloyd

I'm expecting Ryu to be about as weak as he's ever been with SFV kinda damaging the brand (would argue we've already seen it with Chun Li and Guile) and Lloyd Irving to be... relatively constant. That doesn't mean Lloyd wins, mind you, even if he does outnumber Ryu in number of swords 2-0, but he should look respectable.

Ryu with 62.19%

K Rool vs Shepard

King K. Rool is going to be the absolute rock bottom of what Smash can do for you. No character backbone, entirely hype at this point. Shepard unfortunately does not pass the "you must be this old to not drop" test and we saw Garrus kinda disappoint.

But it's King K. Rool. Shep probably still walks all over him.

Commander Shepard with 65.02%

Ellie vs KOS-MOS

We saw Joel. Joel got stomped vs Ike. Ellie should fare no better, though Ike is probably a bit stronger than KOS-MOS. Strangely I think KOS-MOS might do better anyway due to a combination of superior photogenics and Ellie being a bit weaker than Joel.

KOS-MOS with 62.62%

Aqua vs Quiet

We saw Riku get wrecked. Aqua's probably at least 2 tiers below Riku and MGS has shown good signs of holding up well enough, even with Ocelot getting a MGS5 pic. This'll be a close one but I'm liking Quiet despite having Aqua in the bracket (I think?)

Quiet with 51.03%

Wouldn't K. Rool's floor be about the strength of Master Hand/Sandbag/Mr. G&W? Those characters are pure Smash and nothing else.

No because they actually have Smash releases and K. Rool has only hype.

Turns out I had Quiet in my bracket. Huh. You'd think I'd have more faith in her with that in mind and thinking the contest so far has favored MGS over KH, but I don't!

Lopen posted...

No because they actually have Smash releases and K. Rool has only hype.

Donkey Kong games exist tho.

I know I'm voting K Rool because of them.

Well Diddy Kong has been in these and was kinda... not good. I can't imagine K. Rool gets much strength whatsoever from Donkey Kong Country. I'd take Master Hand to 60-40 him probably.

Holy crap that Quiet picture is awful you can see the poor editing hackjob on her hair jeez

Probably would've chickened out had I actually looked at it.

so lopen what does master hand get on shepard

rip mass effect

Probably around 51%

Hey guys remember when Shepard beat Aeris

what the heck

I propose we set a new standard called the legitimacy test by which we put characters up against random-ass smash dudes with little appeal otherwise and see what happens. anyone that fails the test, or that we think would fail, is labeled a contest fraud.

I officially hate the Mass Effect fandom.

This should never have happened.

I would agree that literally anyone who ever loses an update to King K. Rool is a fraud.

I think the most depressing thing about this is thinking about Ramza vs K. Rool

Also wow Quiet is really, really bad

Quick somebody rally Stefanie Joosten she's a gamer girl

Lopen posted...

I think the most depressing thing about this is thinking about Ramza vs K. Rool

Wow you found the one result that might hurt more than Hogger

The most depressing thing about this is going to be Shepard's X-stat value when K. Rool gets SFFed by Ryu.

Are random smash characters the new piece of FF7 furniture