Game of the Decade: 2010-2019 Contest Analysis Crew - Part 4

LeonhartFour posted...

Eh, that was the logic that we used to pick P3 > DQ8 in 2015!

Damn did that happen in 2015 too and we got it wrong again!?

It only happened in 2015!

What! I could have sworn that was a match in the first GotD!

I feel like I even remember it personally! Damn I guess 5 years ago feels like 10 now

Ah CC vs DQVIII was in GotD1 I should have known

Round 2 – Batman: Arkham City vs. BioShock Infinite

Moltar’s Analysis

Batman: Arkham City
Round 1 – 54.46% vs. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

BioShock Infinite
Round 1 – 67.67% vs. Terraria

Not worried about Batman here despite the round 1 struggle with XC2. Xenoblade is on a tear this year, and Batman beating the sequel is actually pretty good for it.

Bioshock Infinite? A little over a doubling on Terraria isn’t bad, but it would have needed to go higher to make me give it a chance here since I figured it was the underdog coming in. In fact, I’m betting it doesn’t even do as well as Xenoblade here.

I’m going out on a limb and saying that this is a bad match for Bioshock Infinite because these two games are more likely to share an audience than Batman with Xenoblade. Batman was critically acclaimed while Infinite was not well received, so people that played both are very likely to side with Batman. Seems like a baby version of Witcher 3/Mass Effect 3.

Moltar’s Bracket: Batman: Arkham City

Moltar’s Prediction: Batman: Arkham City – 60%

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transience’s Analysis

Boy, here's a tough one to project. Does Bioshock beat Xenoblade 2? Does Batman double Terraria? Which is the bigger franchise on this site at this point?

Xenoblade is probably the biggest x-factor here. Xenoblade has looked awesome so far. But at the same time, games like Batman have universally looked mediocre. Spider-Man is probably Batman's closest comparison and it didn't exactly impress against Minecraft, though maybe Minecraft has grown as people become more accepting of it as a true game of the decade. Assassin's Creed and Uncharted hasn't done great either, and I remember the days when Arkham Asylum vs. Assassin's Creed 2 vs. Uncharted 2 was all anyone wanted to talk about in 2009 when the next generation of action games hit all at once.

Meanwhile, I don't think a ton of Bioshock Infinite.. but then, I've always underestimated Bioshock? I lost the Ness/Big Daddy match bad. Bioshock really ruined MGS3's rep before it found a way to win the Metal Gear division in 2015 anyway. Those are all OG Bioshock, but maybe it's not too bad? Terraria's probably not awful, but it's also not on the level of other single-player games like Ori or Cuphead. Terraria doesn't seem like our thing, but polls suggest that it isn't so bad, so maybe it's alright. Who knows. After Super Meat Boy bombed, I'm just giving up on indie games.

This one feels like a crapshoot. I want to go with Bioshock but I don't want to be too reactionary.

transience's prediction: Batman: Arkham City with 52.22%

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Leonhart’s Analysis

Arkham City won in very unimpressive fashion against Xenoblade 2 in the first round, but after seeing two dominant performances by the original Xenoblade thus far, maybe that win doesn’t look as bad as we originally thought. I don’t know what to think of BioShock Infinite’s performance on Terraria. Is a doubling good? It didn’t inspire me with confidence that it should be the favorite, but I can’t discount its chances either. I’ve got Batman in my bracket here, and I’m going to stick with it here because I haven’t seen a reason not to so far. I feel like either game can win, but if one game wins going away, I’d feel more confident saying it’d be Arkham City.

Leonhart’s Vote: Batman: Arkham City

Leonhart’s Prediction: Batman: Arkham City with 54.44%
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Kleenex’s Analysis

Batman really looked bad last round with that showing against XC2. After seeing XC1 wreck shit again in round 2...maybe XC2 is actually decent? That’s a little hard for me to fathom, but it seems to be the case. I don’t have much trust in Batman to begin with, and that result from last round could be because it’s just weak. It’s probably a little of both, though. Bioshock actually did better than I suspected it would. I thought Terraria would be worth a bit more, but I very well could have been overestimating it. This match is tough, and I don’t really care about either of these games, but I think me underrating XC2 is the most likely scenario, so I’m going to go with Batman here.

Kleenex’s Prediction: Batman: Arkham City with 52.50%

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Guest’s Analysis – SuperNiceDog

Batman should be ok in this match. It's gonna be fairly close though.

Batman is the stronger game, even after a sad(SAD) performance against Xenoblade 2 in the first round. Xenoblade 1 appears to be really strong, so that helps Batman out.

Bioshock got 67% on Terraria, how would Batman: Arkham City do? Probably around 70...thus....

Batman: Arkham City with 54.9%

If Batman loses I will eat some chunky choco pies and cry in my basement.

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Crew Consensus: Batman has a plan for BioShock.

Master Moltar posted...

Batman was critically acclaimed while Infinite was not well received,

Wot

I guess if we’re in a world where Octopath is halfway decent, beating Xenoblade 2 is pretty good, especially when compared to a dated indie. yeah, I think I like Batman more and more as I continue to wonder about this match.

Probably referring to fan reception.

"Infinite's reception has faded over time" would probably be the better way to phrase that.

transcience posted...

I guess if we’re in a world where Octopath is halfway decent

I remain unconvinced

LinkMarioSamus posted...

Probably referring to fan reception.

LeonhartFour posted...

"Infinite's reception has faded over time" would probably be the better way to phrase that.

yeah what they said

that I agree with, it was just the way it was worded I was like wait what?

That aside I feel Batman is pretty safe, I think doubling Terraria is actually pretty damn mediocre. It's not StS or Inside bad, but it's a low mid weight at best as far as the indieometer goes. Moltar should feel good being the high pick here.

yeah after I wrote it and had time to think about it I wish I had gone higher but oh well

Crew Curse confirmed...?

I can't see a world where infinite beats Arkham City unless bioshock's cred is that legit.

On the other hand, there has to be some limit to how good Xenoblade 2 can be. Wasn't that game very controversial?

We've seen voters punish games like FFXV and KHIII and I feel like Xenoblade 2 sort of fits in that same boat. I know Bioshock: Infinite's luster has worn off over the years, but being significantly worse than Xenoblade 2 of all things feels weird as well.

I think people mostly liked Xenoblade 2. It just isn't considered to be as good as the first. It was Xenoblade Chronicles X for Wii U where the reception was a lot more divided.

it’s not controversial, it’s just anime to the extreme. they turned Xenoblade into Tales. quite a few people liked Xenoblade 2 a lot, and it was a lot of people’s first Xeno game.

Terraria at least has good poll results to its name.

LeonhartFour posted...

"Infinite's reception has faded over time" would probably be the better way to phrase that.

You got me curious; why did reception grow worse since its release?

I wouldn't know! I haven't played it. That's just what I keep hearing.

If it's anything like MGS4, it's one of those games that makes you feel really good while you're playing it, but once you've had time to think about it and let it settle, its flaws become much more apparent.

Infinite is kinda garbo

Infinite was fun stuff. Definitely better than Arkham or Bioshock 1.

Nintendogs posted...

You got me curious; why did reception grow worse since its release?

It's a game that prided itself on being 'intellectual' and having 'biting social commentary', but once people had time to sit down and dissect it, they realized some of its themes and commentary were actually kinda weak and often outright bad.

Of course there was the fact that it became a lot more action-y but the backlash to that was immediate.

Nintendogs posted...

You got me curious; why did reception grow worse since its release?

I remember Infinite was the new greatest game of all time for about a week. Then the backlash came and by the end of the year it was a popular game to hate.

I found the first hour or so of Infinite excellent and then it quickly became very repetitive. Arkham City grew on me a lot over time (and had some good content much deeper into the game).

Mac Arrowny posted...

Yakuza 0 seems to have more support behind it than Ys 8...

That should've been a R1 match.

Round 2 – Diablo III vs. The Last of Us

Moltar’s Analysis

Diablo III
Round 1 – 69.01% vs. Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward

The Last of Us
Round 1 – 81.85% vs. Crusader Kings II

Not even 70% on VLR? diablol 3

‘Games that aren’t as loved by the fanbase as other games in the same franchise underperforming’ has been kind of a trend this round. We saw it when Fallout 4 looked bad, we saw it when Mass Effect 3 looked bad, we saw it when Kingdom Hearts 3 looked bad, and now we’re going to see it again.

If TLOU was a stronger game, I would think it could go crazy here. I’m not that high on it though, but it could prove me wrong by going like 70%+.

Moltar’s Bracket: The Last of Us

Moltar’s Prediction: The Last of Us – 66%

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transience’s Analysis

I'm really interested to see this one. Diablo 3 looked pretty bad last round, but Last of Us didn't impress me vs. CK2 either. I always wonder about Last of Us. Is it really that great? It certainly has GOTD hype from the mainstream public but with games like Uncharted going down so hard, it's really hard for me to buy all the way in.

Diablo 3 is more our kind of game than Last of Us, but I do think that a lot of this site wrote it off back in the real money auction house days, or just never were going to adopt because Diablo 2 was a game of a time and a place that can't really be replicated. Last of Us might go big here because of that, or Diablo 3 might impress due to the site not being that big on games like Last of Us. It's too bad that Last of Us 2 is in permanent limbo due to covid, because that hype could have made a difference in the matches to come.

transience's prediction: The Last of Us with 60.44%

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Leonhart’s Analysis

I think a lot of people were underwhelmed by what The Last of Us did against Crusader Kings II in round 1, but Diablo III is the perfect opponent for it to bounce back and restore the faltering confidence of those who have it beating Dark Souls in a couple rounds. Diablo III was losing for a few minutes to Virtue’s Last Reward (which finished near the bottom of the 2015 X-Stats) and couldn’t even make it up to 70% by the end. This feels like Mass Effect 2/Fallout 4 all over again to me, except it could be even worse because I think Diablo III is probably even weaker and is a bigger anti-vote magnet. I won’t be surprised if TLOU goes sky high here.

Leonhart’s Vote: The Last of Us

Leonhart’s Prediction: The Last of Us with 72.28%
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Kleenex’s Analysis

Diablo III recovered decently after an absolutely abysmal start last round, but it’s hard to really give it any kind of fighting chance today. Even if I’m pretty down on TLoU, it shouldn’t have any trouble. Broken record here, but I could see TLoU find a way to disappoint even in a win, but it really doesn’t matter much. This division sucks!

Kleenex’s Prediction: The Last of Us with 62%

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Guest’s Analysis – MechanicalWall

Guess I get two write ups today because no one wanted to write about this match.

Can't blame them. Diablo III doesn't really inspire much to say about it. Its Blizzard brethern got whooped by Xenoblade a few days ago and I somehow doubt Diablo is gonna be spared the same fate. It got to break 70 on something, but not only is VLR a strong contender for weakest non-indie game in bracket, it might very well have gotten WEAKER since 2015 based on the reception to Zero Time Dilemma. Idk how fodder gets even more foddery but there you go. Like I said about Yakuza, only going big instead of HUGE on a game this weak means you're in deep, deep trouble.

Meanwhile, Last of Us did what a 2 seed oughta do and took out the trash. Crusader Kings strikes me as VERY much not this site's kinda game, so maybe not reaching for a bigger number is kinda bad, but who cares. That certainly won't matter for this match. Not much to say on this front.

This division is increasingly looking to be outside of TLOU's grasp based on how well the FROM games minus Sekiro have been holding up, so it'd probably have to go REALLY big here to make up the ground. I don't actually think The Last of Us is going to display that level of strength, but it'll certainly whoop Diablo well enough.

MechanicalWall prediction: The Last of Us - 70%

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Crew Consensus: We haven’t seen the last of The Last of Us yet.

Infinite is a hella fun shooter but yeah the ambition of the story and concepts really wanted it to be something more.

wow you guys are giving D3 a lot of credit!

even if you don't think TLOU is that great 69% on VLR is really bad!

yeah, I'm leaning towards being a little too low here. I just don't trust last of us that much

*Yawn...* pretty dull bracket today. These were all pretty cut and dry match-ups with obvious winners. Tomorrow's match-ups don't look much better, with only Bioshock Infinite vs. Batman providing any potential for a close race or rally upset.

I never really understood the hype for The Last of Us myself, but I'm sure TLoU fans are used to getting obnoxious rambling "ackshually its bad" paragraphs every time their favorite game is brought up and I can sympathize as a BotW and Fire Emblem Fates fan, so I'll leave it be.

It's a fair point to bring up Uncharted 4 kinda sucking strength-wise, but The Last of Us really is on another level in terms of the respect it's given both by Sony fanboys and the general gaming public. It's gonna be given a decent amount of 'Game of the Decade' consideration.

But more importantly, like I said in my write up, VLR has a claim to weakest non-indie in bracket. Just like how SMB only getting 30 on StS sucked, DIII only getting 30 on VLR sucked.

Yeah, I think TLOU is on another level from Uncharted. It caught on here for whatever the reason. It doubled Halo 3 and got 40% on KHII in 2015. That's way better than anything Uncharted has ever done.

LeonhartFour posted...

wow you guys are giving D3 a lot of credit!

even if you don't think TLOU is that great 69% on VLR is really bad!

I feel like a lot of that is due to lack of confidence in CK2. What does TLoU get if VLR = CK2?

Mac Arrowny posted...

I feel like a lot of that is due to lack of confidence in CK2. What does TLoU get if VLR = CK2?

70.72%

VLR has it's fans honestly. I don't think it carving out 31% on Diablo 3 is necessarily indicative of Diablo 3 being super weak. But it still doesn't stand a chance against The Last of Us.

I mean ME2 put up 79% on VLR in 2015

69% is bad

VLR was the second weakest game in the 2015 x-stats, and to quote myself:

Master Moltar posted...

it might very well have gotten WEAKER since 2015 based on the reception to Zero Time Dilemma. Idk how fodder gets even more foddery but there you go

I highly doubt VLR's gotten weaker. In 2015 it was only on 3DS and Vita, and since then it's been ported to a bunch of different systems.

LeonhartFour posted...

70.72%

Thanks, that puts it into perspective!

MechanicalWall posted...

VLR was the second weakest game in the 2015 x-stats, and to quote myself:

And yet it could still be stronger than CK2, one of the least gamefaqs games out there.

VLR should be very close to Danganronpa 2 in strength, so RE2's 83% on D2 is a good measuring stick.

Dangonronpa has a slightly stronger brand tho

The Zero Escape games are probably bottom rung in terms of VN games that actually get any contest representation. And I'm not saying this to bag on the series, 999 is my favorite DS game alongside the Ace Attorney games.

Danganronpa has a more anime presence I guess, thanks to how much Junko cosplay there is out there, but I don't think the difference is that significant. The two series are both uber niche and are essentially tied to the hip, coming from the same developer and being very similar in style. Heck, the creators of Zero Escape and Danganronpa literally ran off together to make their own company and pump out more of these games.

@Advokaiser you could also do crew write-ups for guest, they're fun

I see way more mention of Danganronpa around the internet than Zero Escape. It doesn't even come close. Monokuma is the kind of character that is instantly recognizable if you hang out in anime forums.

phuhuhuhu

I think VLR is at the very least, stronger than Danganronpa 2 by a good margin. For starters, VLR is almost unanimously considered the best in the franchise while Danganronpa 2 is generally seen as worse than the original.

I also generally hold the opinion that later games in the franchise being worse only strengthens earlier games in the franchise. Super Paper Mario for example has gained a much more favorable reputation after Sticker Star's release. So I don't think Zero Time Dilemma hurts it much.

Don't get me wrong, VLR was never going to be a heavy hitter in this competition, I'm just saying the 30% votes it did get are probably mostly the VLR fanbase and not like, anti-votes against Diablo 3 or anything.

It's like a mini-Xenoblade honestly. Small fanbase, but the people who have played it really, really like it. The main difference being that Xenoblade got a massive visibility boost in recent years thanks to Smash and Definitive Edition while VLR just kinda... is.

Heropon_Riki posted...

For starters, VLR is almost unanimously considered the best in the franchise while Danganronpa 2 is generally seen as worse than the original.

uh absolutely not on both counts

I'd say VLR is probably considered the best overall but it's far from unanimous between it and 999

DR2 is considered way better than DR1

Heropon_Riki posted...

For starters, VLR is almost unanimously considered the best in the franchise while Danganronpa 2 is generally seen as worse than the original.

I've met a lot of Danganronpa fans in this site and others, and I'm confident that this take is as true as saying FF7 is generally seen as worse than FF9.

People love DS2 way more than DS1.

ZeldaTPLink posted...

I see way more mention of Danganronpa around the internet than Zero Escape. It doesn't even come close. Monokuma is the kind of character that is instantly recognizable if you hang out in anime forums.

Danganronpa's definitely bigger in anime forums because it actually has an anime and Zero Escape doesn't, but I'm not convinced it's stronger on GameFAQs.

At the very least VLR kept Mass Effect (edit: ME2, not 1) at 79% in 2015, while Danganronpa 2 let RE2 break 83% on it this contest.

SuperNiceDog posted...

@Advokaiser you could also do crew write-ups for guest, they're fun

Thanks, I'll consider it!

RE2 would beat ME imo tbqh

Heropon_Riki posted...

For starters, VLR is almost unanimously considered the best in the franchise while Danganronpa 2 is generally seen as worse than the original.

This is so completely out of touch, lol.