What's the most iconic contest match?

Board 8

Board 8 » What's the most iconic contest match?
LiquidOshawott
01/14/2024
08:32 AM
#1
This one I actually think is good

but it has to be one of the Mario/Crono matches right?
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Leonhart4
01/14/2024
08:38 AM
#2
I wasn't here for Mario/Cloud, so for me, it's Mario/Crono II.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
KateMarsh
01/14/2024
08:40 AM
#3
Mario vs. Cloud.

-Insane hype leading up to the match
-First time outside forces had significant influence on a match
-First time that a character was in a match on the day of a major release, also likely influencing the result
-Mario beating Cloud here is possibly the only reason we got any contests beyond the second because otherwise it would have been obvious by the end of the second one that Link and Cloud could only be beaten by each other
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ctesjbuvf
01/14/2024
08:40 AM
#4
I guess L-Block wasn't one match but it feels weird not having it represented here above some of these.
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ctesjbuvf
01/14/2024
08:41 AM
#5
KateMarsh posted...
-Mario beating Cloud here is possibly the only reason we got any contests beyond the second because otherwise it would have been obvious by the end of the second one that Link and Cloud could only be beaten by each other

Link vs Cloud is so much more important for that.
Guinness Book of World Records is the name of the diary that belongs to azuarc , the winner of the Game of the Decade II guru contest.
Leonhart4
01/14/2024
08:42 AM
#6
ctesjbuvf posted...
I guess L-Block wasn't one match but it feels weird not having it represented here above some of these.

The L-Block/Snake/Sonic/Squall one was probably the best match it was in if you wanted to include one in terms of drama.

But in this case, you'd probably include the finals, even though it wasn't close.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
KateMarsh
01/14/2024
08:43 AM
#7
ctesjbuvf posted...
Link vs Cloud is so much more important for that.
As it played out, yeah. But if Cloud had beaten Mario, contest 1 would have been a Link/Cloud finale. If Link wins that, then the 2003 result just says "okay, it's always going to be a back-and-forth between Link and Cloud." If Cloud wins the hypothetical 2002 showdown, then after 2003 people would just think "Cloud always wins."
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LiquidOshawott
01/14/2024
08:45 AM
#8
ctesjbuvf posted...
I guess L-Block wasn't one match but it feels weird not having it represented here above some of these.

I couldnt think of which one to put it over

maybe Frog/Master Chief?
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KateMarsh
01/14/2024
08:46 AM
#9
LiquidOshawott posted...
I couldnt think of which one to put it over

maybe Frog/Master Chief?
Magus/Knuckles is easily the least iconic match on there IMO.

Gordon Freeman vs. Phoenix Wright probably deserves a nod at least, even if it isn't close to being in the top 3 or so.
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ctesjbuvf
01/14/2024
09:01 AM
#10
Leonhart4 posted...
The L-Block/Snake/Sonic/Squall one was probably the best match it was in if you wanted to include one in terms of drama.

But in this case, you'd probably include the finals, even though it wasn't close.

I feel like both that and the final by themselves are more iconic than some of these.

KateMarsh posted...
As it played out, yeah. But if Cloud had beaten Mario, contest 1 would have been a Link/Cloud finale. If Link wins that, then the 2003 result just says "okay, it's always going to be a back-and-forth between Link and Cloud." If Cloud wins the hypothetical 2002 showdown, then after 2003 people would just think "Cloud always wins."

It was already "okay, it's always going to ve a back-and-forth". Cloud wouldn't have beaten Link in 02. But that is so much better than having Link be a lock for winner in terms of more contests. The final result is much more important to not have on lock than the others.
Guinness Book of World Records is the name of the diary that belongs to azuarc , the winner of the Game of the Decade II guru contest.
Leonhart4
01/14/2024
09:05 AM
#11
KateMarsh posted...
As it played out, yeah. But if Cloud had beaten Mario, contest 1 would have been a Link/Cloud finale. If Link wins that, then the 2003 result just says "okay, it's always going to be a back-and-forth between Link and Cloud." If Cloud wins the hypothetical 2002 showdown, then after 2003 people would just think "Cloud always wins."

I mean you could have come to that conclusion any number of times

If the conclusion after 2003 is just "nobody can beat Link," then the contests may just go away
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
MarioSuperstar
01/15/2024
08:35 AM
#12
No video game representation? Damn

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andylt
01/15/2024
08:47 AM
#13
I thought about doing this topic too but didn't want the hassle of picking the right choices lol. L-Block should be here for sure, I'd put the final.

LSD for me, but then I wasn't around for the early contests.
Thorn
01/15/2024
08:56 AM
#14
Mario/Crono II

it had everything. everything .
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LiquidOshawott
01/15/2024
09:05 AM
#15
MarioSuperstar posted...
No video game representation? Damn

there is Halo/Starcraft

I considered CT/LTTP but was like, eh idk
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LiquidOshawott
01/15/2024
09:11 AM
#16
fwiw, with Draven, his real iconic performance is the MMX and Ryu match

that is frightening
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Thorn
01/15/2024
09:13 AM
#17
on that day board 8 received a grim reminder
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Leonhart4
01/15/2024
09:22 AM
#18
I didn't realize we had so many babies on B8 if Link/Draven/Shepard is winning
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
SHINE_GET_64
01/15/2024
09:22 AM
#19
Megaman VS sonic
https://imgtc.com/i/iJnhdkc.gif
https://imgtc.com/i/j45EVGx.png
Leonhart4
01/15/2024
09:24 AM
#20
Also if you wanted more game representation, there's Brawl vs. Melee
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
LiquidOshawott
01/15/2024
09:26 AM
#21
Leonhart4 posted...
Also if you wanted more game representation, there's Brawl vs. Melee

while a good match and a spirited debate from that era, if anything from that contest makes it its Majoras Mask/FFX
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Leonhart4
01/15/2024
09:27 AM
#22
That match is a sham
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
XIII_Rocks
01/15/2024
09:41 AM
#23
I went with Mario/Crono II even though I wasn't even here for it
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
Evillordexdeath
01/15/2024
10:10 AM
#24
I think the Link vs. Cloud rivalry is the most iconic matchup of GameFAQs contests and no one outside of B8 would be able to name a specific version of the match that was more important

On B8 I think it's Mario vs Cloud or one of his two Crono matchups
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mnk
01/15/2024
12:11 PM
#25
It's when Vivi beat Mario. What a classic.
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Anagram
01/15/2024
12:32 PM
#26
Even though it's not the most exciting, I voted Link vs Cloud. I think those two characters defined the contests in a way no one else did.
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Kenri
01/15/2024
12:34 PM
#27
My first thought was actually Cloud vs Link 2, but failing that I think it's Cloud vs Link 1
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ZaziGuado
01/15/2024
04:03 PM
#29
Starcraft vs Halo is the match that brought me to this board, so I think that's the winner.
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Snake5555555555
01/15/2024
04:10 PM
#30
First thought of Mario/Crono (I guess 2 is the more iconic one) which I wasn't even around for but Link vs Shepard vs Draven felt pretty massive at the time across the internet.
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XIII_Rocks
01/15/2024
04:32 PM
#31
Now I think about it, Cloud beating Link the first time is definitely more iconic now given Link's relative invulnerability after that. That would be top 5.
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
_SecretSquirrel
01/15/2024
04:44 PM
#32
KateMarsh posted...
Magus/Knuckles is easily the least iconic match on there IMO.
The match has a big impact on the meta of contests so to speak, but for GameFAQs at large, it really was a one point match between two characters of similar strength and opposite trends.
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Leonhart4
01/15/2024
04:47 PM
#33
The significance of Magus/Knuckles is lost on anyone who wasn't following contests back then.

I'd put Kefka/Vercetti on a list like this from 2005 before Magus/Knuckles, but that's another one where you had to be here to get it.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
Yesmar_
01/15/2024
04:57 PM
#34
Link Vs. Cloud is certainly iconic, but I don't recall anyone at the time speculating that we would stop having contests because Link was too dominant.
Congrats on Advokaiser for winning the 2018 Guru Contest!
Yesmar
Leonhart4
01/15/2024
04:58 PM
#35
Yesmar_ posted...
Link Vs. Cloud is certainly iconic, but I don't recall anyone at the time speculating that we would stop having contests because Link was too dominant.

I think it's probably something we wondered in hindsight a couple years later once Link started winning everything again.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
Yesmar_
01/15/2024
05:03 PM
#36
If we're talking about matches that affected the "meta" of GameFAQS Contests, Samus/Tifa is a big one too that doesn't always get talked about. It pretty much broke the back of people who saw predicting as a mathematical calculation, where outside factors like pictures did not matter.
Congrats on Advokaiser for winning the 2018 Guru Contest!
Yesmar
Leonhart4
01/15/2024
05:05 PM
#37
Samus/Tifa was shocking at the time, but I think it gets forgotten since Samus ultimately won.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
XIII_Rocks
01/15/2024
05:06 PM
#38
Magus/Knux is certainly the most "inside baseball"/"b8" one there

Like to this board it was an insane upset - just off the top of my head I think no Gurus or Oracles picked it which I think was unprecedented and I'm not sure when else, if ever, that has happened
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
XIII_Rocks
01/15/2024
05:07 PM
#39
Yesmar_ posted...
where outside factors like pictures did not matter.

Pics not mattering was always a mind-blowing argument to me

Fuckin CJ/Ness
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
Leonhart4
01/15/2024
05:10 PM
#40
Yeah, I was one of those people who used to insist pics don't matter, even with something like Snake sprites

That's a big whoops on my part
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Xeybozn
01/15/2024
05:33 PM
#41
L-Block > Link. It's the only match I've seen discussed on other sites outside of the contest it happened during.
Congrats to 2020 GotD Guru champ azuarc!
Thorn
01/15/2024
08:48 PM
#42
Yeah, from a "outside of GameFAQs" standpoint it's L-Block > Link and I don't even know if it's particularly close.

Outside of Board 8 but still on the rest of the site it might somehow be Cloud > Link or FFVII > OoT just because for the longest time (maybe even still?) you'd have people from off the board drop in and whine that "Final Fantasy always wins" and that's like the only match that I think that should be coming from. but strong emphasis on "should" there because i don't really know if logic played any part in that

For inside Board 8 I'd say the shortlist is (leaving off 2002 because that was before I arrived):

Mario/Crono II
Mario/Samus
Link/Shepard/Draven
L-Block
Magus/Knuckles

Probably missing some obvious ones but those felt like some of the bigger moments for the board's... culture/view of contests IMO. I guess a more "recent" one would be some of the "plucky underdog pokemon" matches.
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Leonhart4
01/15/2024
08:53 PM
#43
I'd put CT/LttP on there or basically any wire-to-wire match, like Kefka/Vercetti or MGS2/Shadow of the Colossus. Those were always fun days on the board.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
Haste_2
01/15/2024
09:03 PM
#44
I'm the first voter for Sonic vs. Samus. Before that we weren't even sure that 50/50 matches were possible.

Edit: As far as Starcraft vs. Halo... I thought its victory over Wind Waker was more notable, as hardly anybody saw that one coming. And Sub-Zero over Master Chief was actually a bigger R1 upset than Starcraft over Halo.
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Xtlm
01/15/2024
09:51 PM
#45
L-Block is what made me like this board and contests on this website.
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MZero
01/16/2024
05:49 AM
#46
L-Block is the most iconic contest performance but doesn't have a signature match imo

Link/Shepard/Draven I feel like is the most iconic single match because of the down time and how some people still swear Link would have won, the related conspiracy theories, etc. Plus the nature of the rallies means a lot more of the internet was involved
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XIII_Rocks
01/16/2024
02:55 PM
#47
Leonhart4 posted...
I'd put CT/LttP on there or basically any wire-to-wire match, like Kefka/Vercetti or MGS2/Shadow of the Colossus. Those were always fun days on the board.

Or the best ever contest match, Mario/Samus
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
Accel_R8
01/16/2024
03:16 PM
#48
SMAUS vs SNOIC was a crazy one for me, the first time I remember trying to rally people, the first time remembering a match being so insanely close. My personal pick even though its probably not the real answer.

edit: assuming this is 2002, not 2004.
https://i.gyazo.com/6fde58a9d13e1f9272a6d6eab35bcff7.png
Leonhart4
01/16/2024
03:18 PM
#49
XIII_Rocks posted...
Or the best ever contest match, Mario/Samus

Yeah, I'd say probably a top 10 match in terms of the formation of contest culture on the board.
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq
https://imgur.com/89Z5jrB
XIII_Rocks
01/16/2024
03:55 PM
#50
Oh I was talking about 2018

But yes, their 2005 match is a big deal for different reasons
Not to be confused with XIII_Minerals.
Board 8 » What's the most iconic contest match?