Lurker > MetalmindStats

Agree with half_silver. Video's 2013 result against Squall, when taken at face value, puts him at ~6.5-7% on Base Link, which isn't quite among the worst we've ever seen in a character battle. Yes, Squall has an antivote complex, but Rayman probably hurt Video at least a bit to compensate.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Xeybozn posted...

Tifa

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Yeah, it's good to hear you're still working on the next chapter, which was really what I was asking about. It's better to make it the best it can be than sacrifice quality by rushing it out, that's for sure.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Jirachi 8
Deoxys 6
Dialga 7
Palkia 6
Darkrai 8
Arceus 7
Victini 7
Keldeo 6
Genesect 7
Tapu Koko 7
Tapu Lele 7
Tapu Bulu 7
Tapu Fini 7
Magearna 7
Marshadow 7
Zeraora 6
Eternatus 5

Deoxys Attack 7
Deoxys Defense 7
Deoxys Speed 7
Keldeo Resolute 8

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Bowser
Kirby
Meta Knight/King Dedede
Yoshi (first in FFA 2)
Hero (first in FFA 4)

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Agree with Axem. Left 4 Dead was at the absolute peak of its relevance in 2010, a time when GameFAQs actually played non-Nintendo multiplayer-centric games, and Ellis still sucked it up.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Night in the Woods
+9 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
+8 Pyre
+7 Cuphead
+6 Super Meat Boy
+5 Ori and the Blind Forest
+4 NieR: Automata
+3 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
+2 Mass Effect 2
+1 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Nidoran F 5
Nidorina 5
Nidoqueen 5
Nidoran M 6
Nidorino 7
Nidoking 8
Slowpoke 7
Slowbro 7
Slowking 8
Kangaskhan 7
Horsea 7
Seadra 7
Kingdra 8
Slakoth 5
Vigoroth 5
Slaking 6
Piplup 7
Prinplup 7
Empoleon 9

Mega Kangaskhan 8
Galarian Slowpoke 7
Galarian Slowbro 5
Mega Slowbro 5

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Low Fodder for all, though Grim Fandango feels substantially more popular and well-remembered than the likes of Deadly Premonition even on GameFAQs, and even before considering Manny's design. That's obviously not going to get him close to Mid Fodder, but still.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

It's time for another Zen first thought topic mock bracket by yours truly. This time, it's all about the Best Smash Bros. Character:

Wildcard 1: Link vs Young Link vs Toon Link
Wildcard 2: Mii Brawler vs Mii Swordfighter vs Mii Gunner
Wildcard 3: Pikachu vs Pichu
Wildcard 4: Ryu vs Ken
Wildcard 5: Roy vs Chrom
Wildcard 6: Zelda vs Sheik
Wildcard 7: Samus vs Zero Suit Samus vs Dark Samus
Wildcard 8: Pit vs Dark Pit
Wildcard 9: Marth vs Lucina
Wildcard 10: Mario vs Dr. Mario
Wildcard 11: Squirtle vs Ivysaur vs Charizard
Wildcard 12: Villager vs Isabelle
Wildcard 13: Peach vs Daisy
Wildcard 14: Simon vs Richter

(1) Wildcard 1 Winner vs (16) Wildcard 2 Winner
(8) Pac-Man vs (9) King Dedede
(5) Donkey Kong vs (12) Wolf
(4) Bayonetta vs (13) Lucas
(3) Wildcard 3 Winner vs (14) Duck Hunt
(6) Wildcard 4 Winner vs (11) Wildcard 5 Winner
(7) Jigglypuff vs (10) Lucario
(2) Mega Man vs (15) Terry

(1) Kirby vs (16) Little Mac
(8) Falco vs (9) Mr. Game & Watch
(5) Ganondorf vs (12) Palutena
(4) Wildcard 6 Winner vs (13) Greninja
(3) Joker vs (14) Robin
(6) Luigi vs (11) Ice Climbers
(7) King K. Rool vs (10) Banjo & Kazooie
(2) Cloud vs (15) Byleth

(1) Wildcard 7 Winner vs (16) Piranha Plant
(8) Wildcard 8 Winner vs (9) Wildcard 9 Winner
(5) Yoshi vs (12) Diddy Kong
(4) Bowser vs (13) R.O.B.
(3) Captain Falcon vs (14) Bowser Jr.
(6) Ness vs (11) Hero
(7) Ridley vs (10) Wario
(2) Snake vs (15) Wii Fit Trainer

(1) Wildcard 10 Winner vs (16) Corrin
(8) Mewtwo vs (9) Wildcard 11 Winner
(5) Shulk vs (12) Rosalina & Luma
(4) Ike vs (13) Wildcard 12 Winner
(3) Fox vs (14) Inkling
(6) Meta Knight vs (11) Olimar
(7) Wildcard 13 Winner vs (10) Wildcard 14 Winner
(2) Sonic vs (15) Incineroar

My idea here is a contest framed in such a way that as many voters as possible are voting for the character they prefer specifically on the basis of Smash, which explains the seeds. Most of the characters facing off in wildcards should be pretty self-explanatory - there's a lot of full clones, a few semi-clones, and some transformations/alter-egos/characters who share(d) the same roster spot. If I'm not mistaken, the Arms character will be announced and released very soon. In that case, I think the best way to make room will be to force Marth, Roy, Lucina, and Chrom into a fatal fourway match.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Nothing because there should never be an Eeveelution of a physical type. And before someone points out Sylveon, are you really going to argue Fairy wouldn't have been special if it had been a thing before the split?

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

gravy, we like you and we care about you, no matter what it might seem like and even if we're not saying as much.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
+9 Super Mario Galaxy 2
+8 Mario Kart 8
+7 A Hat in Time
+6 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
+5 Super Mario Maker 2
+4 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
+3 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
+2 Grand Theft Auto V
+1 Red Dead Redemption 2

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Agreed, Low Fodder for all three, and that's probably even generous for The Kid.

Nominate Count Bleck (Super Paper Mario), Dimentio (Super Paper Mario), and Red (Transistor).

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Yes to all of the above.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Leonhart4 posted...

Nana.

But it's probably one of the Miis.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Sandshrew 6
Sandslash 7
Slugma 6
Magcargo 6
Tropius 8
Hippopotas 6
Hippowdon 7
Pidove 6
Tranquill 6
Unfezant 6
Audino 5
Axew 7
Fraxure 8
Haxorus 8
Wishiwashi 9
Wooloo 7
Dubwool 6

Alolan Sandshrew 6
Alolan Sandslash 7
Mega Audino 6

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U
+9 Jackbox Party Pack 3
+8 Yoshi's Crafted World
+7 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
+6 DOOM
+5 Fallout: New Vegas
+4 Tales of Berseria
+3 Nier
+2 Shovel Knight
+1 Horizon Zero Dawn

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

internet forums

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

I'm very confident in Low Fodder for the Prince. For starters, that 2007 result wasn't exactly a rousing endorsement of his strength. There's never been a point when getting near-quadrupled by Kratos was good for anything better than Low Fodder, even giving the Prince a bunch of credit for potential overlap with DK and Marth. Likewise, nearly suffering a doubling from a Marth on the bad end of Nintendo LFF was hardly impressive.

As for how his series has held up, Katamari Damacy did look to be around Mid Fodder in the first GotD, when the series was actually relevant. It's effectively died since then, with only one notable release since 2011, in the form of a remake of the original - and the consequent Switch release hardly helped Tropical Freeze, for one. Even if Damacy itself has stayed static despite all that, though, I see no reason to believe a player character no one cares about will be as strong as his main game.

I will agree with Low Fodder for Raz and Kat, though.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Leonhart4 posted...

Oh right, it's clearly RBY. I don't think that's even debatable at this point.

This, but I thought of Splatoon first for some reason. GSC being second seems about as obvious, for what it's worth.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

:(

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Caterpie 8
Metapod 5
Butterfree 8
Weedle 7
Kakuna 5
Beedrill 6
Volbeat 5
Illumise 7
Sewaddle 9
Swadloon 5
Leavanny 8
Joltik 10
Galvantula 10
Cutiefly 7
Ribombee 7
Snom 8
Frosmoth 8

Mega Beedrill 9

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Mega Man (the original)

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
+9 New Super Mario Bros. U
+8 Rayman Legends
+7 Crypt of the Necrodancer
+6 Resident Evil 2
+5 Sonic Mania
+4 Bayonetta 2
+3 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
+2 Splatoon 2
+1 Catherine

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Poliwag 6
Poliwhirl 6
Poliwrath 6
Politoed 6
Cubone 5
Marowak 5
Lotad 7
Lombre 6
Ludicolo 7
Spinda 5
Kricketot 5
Kricketune 6
Larvesta 6
Volcarona 9
Meloetta 5
Bounsweet 7
Steenee 6
Tsareena 7

Alolan Marowak 8
Meloetta Pirouette 5

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

LAW Fodder for Sandal. He almost got quadrupled - by a fellow joke character, no less - when his meme was actually relevant. Just like Face, he has no reason to hold up the way his source game has, but unlike Face, he started off completely and utterly pathetic.

I will agree with Low Fodder for Recette and Sol, though.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Pokemon Black 2/White 2
+9 Xenoblade Chronicles
+8 Kirby's Epic Yarn
+7 Hollow Knight
+6 Marvel's Spider-Man
+5 God of War
+4 Undertale
+3 Devil May Cry 5
+2 Bloodborne
+1 Dark Souls III

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

...Destiny? (lmao, this really isn't a topic for which I can think of things easily)

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Yeah sure, I see no problem with your rankings, so I'll agree. I'll also third the Raz and Sol Badguy nominations.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Theres only so much you can bandwagon from beating a Three Houses game, especially when everyone was just trashing Fire Emblem and giving that much of the reason.

I think you reversed these two by accident.

Also, I can't say I agree with your take on the bandwagons in this match. You seem intently focused on B8's perceptions of each game's runs and the likelihood thereof, which I'd argue greatly overstates B8's influence on the process. Case in point: an outright majority of Gurus took Super Mario RPG to the divisional finals in 2015, giving it an over 2-to-1 advantage against second place, and yet no one in their right mind would deny that Mario RPG was on a bandwagon by that point.

Like it or not, Xenoblade reaching this match was almost as big an upset from a sitewide perspective as P4G doing the same was. There were two real differences in the two games' paths to get there: one, that sitewide brackets respected Overwatch and Three Houses less than RDR and GTAV, and two, that P4G squeaked by two matches in a row (which does seem to matter in the bandwagon process, as evidenced by Geralt in 2018). Now, those factors do admittedly favor a stronger P4G bandwagon, but they also suggest that Xenoblade was bandwagoning in its own right. Likewise, the various layers of extrapolation available also imply that the two games were operating under comparable, though perhaps not identical, circumstances. The alternative forces some pretty weird assumptions, like P4G not boosting at all from Persona 5's release and the aftermath thereof, or Twilight Princess and Skies of Arcadia both declining from 2010 to 2015 in lockstep.

As a final side note, I'm not sure what your basis for saying things look totally off in Xenoblade's half of the division if Xenoblade alone was bandwagoning is. It's not like we have any sort of reliable gauge for anything in that half anyways. Now, I'm not trying to argue that Xenoblade had the only bandwagon against P4G - I agree that claim would be highly suspect - but is it really impossible for Xenoblade not to have gained as much as we thought, and for Three Houses to have been SFF'd and/or damaged greatly by Smash backlash relative to its GotY finals result?

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Oddish 6
Gloom 5
Vileplume 8
Bellossom 7
Sunkern 5
Sunflora 6
Budew 5
Roselia 7
Roserade 8
Cottonee 7
Whimsicott 6
Chespin 5
Quilladin 3
Chesnaught 7
Fomantis 6
Lurantis 6
Gossifleur 7
Eldegoss 6

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Embrace of the Serpent

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

"Heart" -GLaDOS

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

ZenOfThunder posted...

(except maybe half silver and MMS)

Don't forget Axem!

_SecretSquirrel posted...

I mean, he was basically equal to Claire Redfield despite being listed in the bracket under a name no one knows, before getting announced into Smash. Claire is probably a good candidate for lower midcard herself.

Independent of the point which others have already addressed, Claire was not good that year. Perhaps she was hampered by a bad picture, but even still, she barely avoided being doubled by Sub-Zero, doing 4% worse than Shulk in the process. Now, RE2make and an actually good pic would maybe put her at the low midcard level now, but certainly not back in 2018.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Kefka (maybe?), then Ness.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

"Friends" -GLaDOS

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Bastion
+9 Radiant Historia
+8 Donkey Kong Country Returns
+7 Batman: Arkham City
+6 Final Fantasy XIII
+5 Persona 5
+4 Sonic Generations
+3 The Last of Us
+2 Red Dead Redemption
+1 Pokemon GO

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Zubat 5
Golbat 5
Crobat 9
Krabby 7
Kingler 7
Totodile 8
Croconaw 7
Feraligatr 8
Starly 6
Staravia 7
Staraptor 8
Scraggy 5
Scrafty 6
Elgyem 6
Beheeyem 6
Yungoos 4
Gumshoos 6
Morpeko 4

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Mary and Max

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

I'm going to err towards Low Fodder for the Black Knight because, Assist Trophy or no, who actually cares about him? Sure, Nintendo apathy votes would put him over someone like Tommy Vercetti, but that's not exactly some ringing endorsement.

Agree with Low Fodder for Ky Kiske and LAW Fodder for Gabe Logan.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Lightning Strikes posted...

Vincent, but its probably actually Gordon.

Bowser vs. Gordon is one of the funniest matches in contest history.

Gordon peaked at about the same level as Vercetti, but Gordon's stronger now even if you fully take that Bowser match at face value. I won't disagree with you about the second part, though!

Underleveled posted...

Hot take - Magus hasn't fallen too far from where he always truly was.

100% agree with this, and I'll add that his current suckitude remains highly overstated. Magus comfortably breaks 40% on Auron and very nearly reaches 40% on Sonic through direct 2018 extrapolation, both results almost exactly on par with Sub-Zero. I know B8 widely used that Vincent match as an opportunity to laugh at both characters (Vincent for being that weak, and Magus for choking yet again), but what it disguised is that they're both actually decent midcarders now, even if Vincent has fallen quite a bit from his peak. There's also CT's ludicrous 2015 strength, relative to which it just makes sense that its characters wouldn't be seeing their worst days, just as their results indicate.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

LeonhartFour posted...

depends on how strong you think 2010 MMX was

I suppose you're right, but it hardly matters unless you think CJP wouldn't be significantly weaker than Vercetti now for some reason.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Janus5k posted...

Magus might be a joke but at least he never almost lost to Magus

Technically, Magus has almost lost to Magus in every single match he's ever been in!

_SecretSquirrel posted...

The Call of Duty guys weren't really ever strong though.

Captain John Price actually almost broke 35% on MMX in 2010, which is roughly on par with Vercetti's peak.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

I finally started Battle Chasers for real, reaching the Iron Outpost before deciding to call it quits for the day. I usually like these types of games, but Battle Chasers hasn't really been grabbing me so far.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Underleveled posted...

Tommy Vercetti

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

+10 Sid Meier's Civilization V
+9 Celeste
+8 Portal 2
+7 Super Mario Odyssey
+6 Disco Elysium
+5 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
+4 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
+3 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
+2 Splatoon
+1 Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

"Heart" -GLaDOS

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Agree with Ranticoot & co., though I'll say that Ranticoot's way overstating Laharl's weakness circa 2007. Hale wasn't LAW Fodder back then, nor was he even all that close.

Also second all of Axem's nominations in posts 4-5.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.

Yoshi
Mr. Game & Watch (first in FFA 1)
Ike (first in FFA 2)

There's not very many of my favorites out to bat this week.

---

"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people who do."
azuarc won the 2020 Guru Contest because he avoided picking rashly.