Lurker > MetalmindStats

Nincada 6
Ninjask 7
Shedinja 7
Shuppet 6
Banette 6
Duskull 7
Dusclops 6
Dusknoir 8
Rotom 7
Giratina 7
Litwick 8
Lampent 8
Chandelure 9
Sandygast 7
Palossand 8
Sinistea 7
Polteageist 6

Mega Banette 8
Rotom Fan 6
Rotom Frost 6
Rotom Heat 8
Rotom Mow 8
Rotom Wash 9
Giratina-Origin 8

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"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/White
+9 Pokemon HG/SS
+8 The Witcher 3
+7 Life is Strange
+6 South Park: The Stick of Truth
+5 Tomb Raider
+4 Super Mario 3D World
+3 Super Mario 3D Land
+2 Dark Souls
+1 Persona 4 Golden

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

Strider Hiryu

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"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 actually going to err towards LAW Fodder for Eddie Riggs. It's not exactly impossible for characters with hardcore fanbases that are actually in GameFAQs' wheelhouse to be piss-weak anyways (see also Yuri Hyuga, a character I've referenced quite a bit lately). Brutal Legend doesn't have that crucial element, and on top of that, it doesn't strike me as very well-remembered over ten years after its release.

I would very much like to also say the same about Face McShooty. Unfortunately, there's a few key points of evidence suggesting against it, regardless of how poorly Borderlands 2's humor has aged. For one, Face's original result was 24% on Ryu, which was practically Mid Fodder-level. For another, and against all odds, Borderlands 2 appears to have possibly improved from 2015, and certainly not declined much if at all. Now, that doesn't exclude the possibility of a decrease from 2013 to 2015, and Face in particular certainly hasn't aged well, but I'm not quite seeing the path to LAW based on those points of evidence.

As Ranticoot said, Kyo is a pretty obvious Low Fodder vote. Clearly he won't have any real strength, but nostalgia and the limited SNK fanbase probably put him around 10% on Base Link, well above the LAW border.

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

MetalmindStats posted...

I'll definitely be going back to the A-sides for more, especially since I haven't even unlocked some of the B-sides yet.

I did this, and collected another 27 strawberries from 1A, 2A, and 4A in the process of finding the remaining B-sides. In the process, I was relieved to find that my skills had indeed improved from my previous runs through those chapters.

I then started 1B; most of the way through, my combined frustration and desire to progress came to a head and caused me to finally turn on Assist Mode, starting with an extra dash. Now I'm most of the way through 2B, in a room where I'll have to master the post-dash jump to progress, a technique that's been tricky for me to execute so far.

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

Giovanni (Pokmon)
Goombella (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
Luigi (Mario)
Mr. Game & Watch (Game & Watch)

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

Mew 8
Lugia 8
Ho-oh 8
Kyogre 8
Groudon 8
Rayquaza 8
Cresselia 6
Phione 5
Manaphy 7
Tornadus 6
Thundurus 6
Yveltal 7
Zygarde 7
Cosmog 8
Cosmoem 5
Solgaleo 8
Lunala 7

Primal Kyogre 8
Primal Groudon 8
Mega Rayquaza 6
Tornadus-T 7
Thundurus-T 6

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"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 don't know why I decided to make a bracket for this, but I did anyways. Apologies for hijacking your topic, Zen. All the following games have Metascores under 75 on all platforms, if they have a Metascore, and all are listed as they appear in GameFAQs' database:

(1) Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing vs. (8) Zero Wing
(4) Duke Nukem Forever vs. (5) Aliens: Colonial Marines
(3) Mighty No. 9 vs. (6) Bomberman: Act Zero
(2) Zelda's Adventure vs. (7) Metal Gear Survive

(1) Pokmon GO vs. (8) Operation Shadow
(4) Star Wars Battlefront II vs. (5) Assassin's Creed Unity
(3) Bubsy 3D vs. (6) Mario is Missing!
(2) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial vs. (7) Custer's Revenge

(1) Fallout 76 vs. (8) Wii Music
(4) Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric vs. (5) Action 52
(3) Warcraft III: Reforged vs. (6) Animal Crossing: amiibo festival
(2) Superman: The New Superman Adventures vs. (7) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

(1) Sonic the Hedgehog vs. (8) Plumbers Don't Wear Ties
(4) Final Fantasy: All the Bravest vs. (5) Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
(3) Link: The Faces of Evil vs. (6) Anthem
(2) Hotel Mario vs. (7) FarmVille

I fully expect to be pilloried for including Pokmon GO, but I'd argue it's foolish to think it wouldn't be way up there in terms of nominations, which would leave the decision to Allen.

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

Tetris (no), then Big Rigs.

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

So it seems I was right about the top two (not that I ever posted my predictions...) but wrong about the one that eventually took off and won. It does make sense - that top 5 in general was probably about the most B8 top 5 possible, I'd venture.

XIII_rocks posted...

Like that contest the other month where the final was Phoenix vs Edgeworth

That was a good several months ago! I know because I ran said contest.

Anyways, my full list:

+10 Night in the Woods
+9 Dragon Quest V
+8 Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
+7 Portal 2
+6 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers
+5 Pokemon FireRed / LeafGreen Version
+4 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
+3 Celeste
+2 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
+1 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

I'm not terribly surprised DQV (and the series in general, for that matter) didn't even make the top 60, but I am pretty disappointed, especially that I was the only one who voted for it. DQXI and especially FRLG might be eye-raisers; both stories had similar appeal for me as OoT's did for certain other voters, and the former in particular had a fair few clever beats and twists on top of that. Also, stories in the relatively few games I have played don't tend to do too much for me anyways, with the main exception of my +10.

I'm still simmering on Celeste as I advance through the B-sides, but I know I'd bump it up to +6 at a minimum on a redo. Alongside that, some other games this list tells me I should really play/continue at some point soon are Super Paper Mario (one of my last cuts, because it's been around a decade since my playthrough), FFX (it's been sitting in my backlog for a while, for no good reason), and Trails (you know that thing about story generally not being what I look for in games? well, I'm not even halfway through FC at the moment and yet it's still on my list).

With all that said, this was certainly a fun project to participate in and follow along with regardless. Thank you for hosting it, KP! Also, here's hoping you or someone else hosts a Best Setting in Gaming project along these same lines soon.

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"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'll also agree with Ranticoot. Tenpenny might indeed be LAW, and is very close regardless, but that would mean we've overrated Carl Johnson, and I'm not quite ready to say that yet.

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

Diglett 5
Dugtrio 5
Pineco 6
Forretress 6
Trapinch 6
Vibrava 7
Flygon 8
Buizel 7
Floatzel 7
Trubbish 6
Garbodor 5
Phantump 5
Trevenant 6
Pyukumuku 5
Scorbunny 6
Raboot 5
Cinderace 6

Alolan Diglett 5
Alolan Dugtrio 6

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

WarioWare (obviously) wouldn't actually be my first choice, but that's a peril of the whole 'first thought' process.

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

"Sharks" -GLaDOS

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

Happiny 5
Chansey 5
Blissey 5
Magikarp 7
Gyarados 8
Miltank 6
Torchic 10
Combusken 7
Blaziken 10
Spoink 6
Grumpig 6
Ducklett 7
Swanna 7
Clauncher 7
Clawitzer 8
Applin 6
Flapple 5
Appletun 7

Mega Gyarados 9
Mega Blaziken 10

I'd be a bigger fan of Appletun if it weren't so tiny. I get why it is, considering its apple basis, but meh.

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"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 Cream is obvious. However, I'm leaning towards Low Fodder for Batgirl and LAW Fodder for Ralph. Yeah sure, Batgirl has the look and the name, but will that really be enough to convince voters to care? I don't think so. Meanwhile, Ralph is merely the player 3 of a not terribly popular or well-remembered 90s series, and lacks the kaiju appeal holding up George and Lizzie or George's central role in the recentish movie.

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

Night in the Woods is a phenomenal game, and I'd say that everyone should play it if it was the type of game everyone should play. Yes, I know that's a tautology. >_>

That being said, while I don't have pretty much all the rest of these games, I'd like to be able to give someone the gift of NITW, rather than having it sitting on two different storefronts. That doesn't appear to be an option here, unless I'm blind.

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

Emeraldegg posted...

Edit: I decided to try something I never have before--I decided to bribe another civ (Siam) to declare war on Germany.

Yeah, this is an important strategy for surviving on high difficulties in Civ 5.

Also, this:
Anagram posted...

I'm enjoying these.

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

5 -- Dishonored
0 -- Pokemon GO

0 -- New Super Mario Bros. U
5 -- Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

5 -- Prey (2017)
0 -- Persona 4 Golden

1 -- Final Fantasy XIII
4 -- Untitled Goose Game

0 -- CrossCode
5 -- Jackbox Party Pack 3

1 -- Halo: Reach
4 -- Bloodborne

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

"Bullet" -Sniper Wolf

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

th3l3fty posted...

Dying Light

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

Yep, 999 was my +4. I'll update with my full list once the countdown finishes.

About the whole 'sexual content in VNs' discussion, I also wasn't a fan of Lotus' presentation, and VLR's leap in that direction is part of why I haven't felt terribly inspired to play it. That being said, at least the game treated Lotus' outfit as abnormal (for lack of a better word) and gave a justification for it, which feels like a step and a half above lots of Japanese games (including one I really love, admittedly). It also doesn't hurt that Lotus is a pretty good character.

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

Omanyte 7
Omastar 6
Kabuto 7
Kabutops 7
Lileep 7
Cradily 6
Anorith 7
Armaldo 7
Tirtouga 6
Carracosta 6
Archen 6
Archeops 5
Tyrunt 8
Tyrantrum 9
Amaura 4
Aurorus 8
Dracozolt 7
Arctozolt 5
Dracovish 7
Arctovish 6

Oh, and:

Galarian Yamask - 5

Because apparently I missed it somehow.

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"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

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

4 -- South Park: The Stick of Truth
1 -- Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

3 -- Donkey Kong Country Returns
2 -- Divinity: Original Sin II

0 -- God of War
5 -- Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

2 -- Hitman 2
3 -- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

0 -- Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
5 -- Disco Elysium

0 -- Bioshock 2
5 -- Bastion

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

Lloyd Irving but I had to take a moment to think of him as opposed to the same old invalid first thought of Tifa.

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"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, I agree with Low Fodder for all four, even. The first three might all be close to LAW, but they each have enough going for them to avoid that.

As for Reyn, he got more than doubled by Clementine and quadrupled by (pre-forced voting) Spyro in 2013. There's a regular bad performance like Dunban's, which could be excused to an extent by his competition, and then there's Reyn's old brand of suckitude. Yes, Xenoblade in general has taken great leaps and strides since then, but not by enough to bump a character formerly on the tier of Yuri Hyuga all the way up to Mid Fodder.

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

kateee posted...

Avg. Rating: 6.398 (445/445 ratings)

Thank you for all the statz! Very interesting to see that I apparently have no real preferences among generations, at least halfway through. Perhaps that will change with the other half?

Also, RIP my streak of all ten high outliers > my #1 low outlier, though I'm not terribly surprised Kirlia did it in.

Zigzagoon posted...

Metalmind has steel types the highest

:thinking:

Grass is actually my favorite type, not Steel! I think I'd probably put Steel in second, though, and I'd agree that it's more consistent than Grass for me.

PrinceOfKoopas posted...

If my average score is 5, then I'm doing something right, since 5 is intended to be an average score.

Well, to be fair, 5 is exactly as average as 6 using a 1-10 scoring system. As I said before, I just happen to like a majority of Pokmon at least a bit.

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

Night crowd bumpo.

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

Ponyta 7
Rapidash 7
Wooper 6
Quagsire 6
Feebas 4
Milotic 8
Cherubi 4
Cherrim 5
Throh 5
Sawk 6
Fennekin 8
Braixen 4
Delphox 8
Mudbray 5
Mudsdale 8
Impidimp 5
Morgrem 6
Grimmsnarl 5

Galarian Ponyta 8
Galarian Rapidash 6

kateee posted...

since we now have enough data for this, If you have at least 300 ratings, I can give your type & gen stats if you want.

Yes please, give me every stat including outliers.

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"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
+7 Portal 2
+6 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers
+3 Celeste
+2 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

I figured Celeste and Portal 2 both would have gone out below the top 30 if they were on here, and I guess I was half right! I think my +4 will probably be my only game in the top 20, but 50% overall is pretty decent.

I also think I'd bump Celeste all the way up to my +6 if I were redoing my list today. Alas, time constraints...

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

ZeldaTPLink posted...

You might want to complete the strawberries first, they are good point of practice.

Oh yeah, I found 73/175 in total. I'll definitely be going back to the A-sides for more, especially since I haven't even unlocked some of the B-sides yet. (It took me a while to realize that the green diamonds replenish Madeline's dash, for one.)

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

Oh nice, a Celeste topic! I reached the summit in 7A about an hour ago, and my feelings of accomplishment and exhilaration were really something else - in part, I suppose, because I'm not good at platformers. Plus, that ending was absolutely perfect. I know I'm far from finished, though, as I haven't even started on the B-sides for one. I suppose I'll probably wind up needing to turn on Assist Mode at some point during those. Maybe I'll catalog my progress ITT.

Like Giggsalot said (and in retrospect, this whole post is pretty much repeating theirs), what a game. Thank you, @MZero !

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

"Ten Minutes" -Boss
"Sharks" -GLaDOS
"Scar" -Boss
"Friends" -GLaDOS

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"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'll err on the side of Low Fodder for Rodin, just because I can't see him measuring up to Jeanne, and I doubt an Assist Trophy will make voters care.

Otherwise, I also agree with half_silver. Norman's probably close to LAW, but Heavy Rain didn't look terrible in GotD.

I guess I'll third re-ranking Reyn.

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

TAFKAHurricane posted...

L Block

This was the first valid thing I thought of. That being said, I think L-Block still belongs in these contests for legacy reasons if nothing else.

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

2 is close to my own ranking, with the main differences being my affection for Ant-Man and the Wasp and Spider-Man: Homecoming. 1, not so much.

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

Sephiroth fared worse than Mega Man X against Tifa back in 2018, though some have argued the Sephiroth/Tifa match was a bit fishy. Now that FFVIIR is fresh in voters' minds, though, would Sephiroth be able to reverse that deficit against the original model?

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"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
+6 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers

I wouldn't be totally shocked by Explorers being my only game on the list, though on the flipside, there's only two games I know won't be making it. Also, there's a huge gap between NITW and everything else for me anyways >_>

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

Sure, I'll oblige. As with my past bracket predictions, I'll bold winners in matches I'd expect to be close (within 55-45):

(1) Mario
(9) Cecil Harvey - This match feels like such a trap. Maybe Ezio's appeal really does stem solely from character design and recognizability/icon factor nowadays, so maybe Zelda was a really bad draw for him much like Bowser was for Gordon. I'm still betting on the character who looked way better in 2018, though, regardless of CHNW.
(5) Zero
(4) Leon Kennedy
(6) Commander Shepard - This probably would have been close before TLoU 2, though.
(3) Dante - Between the uncharacteristically low seed and the draw, why would you waste Crash like this?
(7) Fox McCloud
(2) Charizard - Charizard is far more likely to miss the next character battle entirely than to climb all the way to a 2-seed.
--------
(1) Sonic the Hedgehog
(8) Morrigan Aensland
(5) Knuckles the Echidna - RIP Knuckles' streak of besting Square characters in the first round.
(4) 2B
(6) Yuna - I could see the main/non-main relationship allowing Zidane to rSFF Yuna for a win here, but I'll bet against it.
(3) Big Boss
(7) Princess Peach - This might be the single most bizarre match in terms of seeding, of a bracket that has a ton of bizarrely-seeded matches.
(2) Tifa Lockheart - I'd take Blue over Sora and at least consider him over characters like Dante, Geralt, and Squall who should be occupying the 2-seed tier.
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(1) Zelda
(8) Simon Belmont - This could easily be close, though, depending on the proportion of 2018's Castlevania bump that came from Smash and the Netflix series.
(12) Ike - I mean, I guess GlaDOS could win this if Kirby didn't SFF Phoenix, but that requires assuming that Ike and Phoenix have both fallen off a whole bunch from the early 2010s without any actual reason to do so. That being said, Ike is one of the few characters who's actually way underseeded here, and it's very unfortunate that GlaDOS has to be his victim.
(4) Sub-Zero - Fun fact: Wesker has twice seeded ahead of Subby's highest seed on record.
(6) Amaterasu
(3) Bowser
(7) Shulk
(2) Sora - Pre-KHIII Sora was already at only ~55% on Crash through Red and Big Boss. After that far-reaching dud, I think it's reasonable to say Toad will rake in the apathy votes here to best that Crash projection.
--------
(1) Squall Leonhart
(9) M. Bison
(5) Vincent Valentine
(13) Pac-Man - Why exactly is Ocelot a 4-seed, again? I guess you wanted to set up the 'fun' Ocelot/Pac-Man rematch, one that, y'know, there's no way Pac-Man would actually drop in a contest where voters are required to vote in every match.
(6) Ness - Joker's probably even more underseeded here than Ocelot is overseeded, but I think he started too low to make a match of this.
(3) Tidus
(7) Magus - In theory, the prospect of Magus dropping this would be a real groaner. In practice, his suckitude has been overstated for years, and he's still a solid midcarder and a fan favorite from a far stronger game than Midna.
(2) Kirby - I could see Kirbs breaking 80 here. Time really hasn't been kind to the Prince compared to their last match.
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(1) Crono
(8) Ryu Hayabusa
(5) Donkey Kong
(4) Geralt
(6) Aerith Gainsborough
(3) Ryu
(7) Frog
(2) Pikachu - This is also a contender for an 80-20 blowout, only it's even funnier since Pikachu probably would have lost this match in 2006.
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(1) Mega Man
(8) Master Chief
(5) Pokemon Trainer Red
(4) Yoshi
(6) Squirtle - However, the seeding in this match is, at the very least, completely backwards.
(3) Luigi - I know Ridley's destined to draw hopeless matches every year, but do they really have to be against fellow Nintendo characters?
(7) Bayonetta
(2) Sephiroth
--------
(1) Samus Aran
(8) Rosalina
(5) Mewtwo
(4) Vivi
(6) Kefka
(3) Mega Man X
(7) Jill Valentine
(2) Ganondorf
--------
(1) Cloud Strife
(8) Phoenix Wright - If you think about it, it's really weird that Phoenix is underseeded here.
(5) Alucard
(4) Auron
(6) Lara Croft
(3) Kratos
(10) Tom Nook
(2) Solid Snake - Snake seeding below Zelda and Squall, really? Likewise, Waluigi won't be going from a 2-seed to a 15-seed, not with the various Waluigi-obsessed internet communities there to spam nominations.

(1) Mario
(5) Zero
(3) Dante
(7) Fox McCloud - 100% a bias pick; I've always liked Fox and always thought the 'Zard was overrated.
--------
(1) Sonic the Hedgehog
(4) 2B - But not RIP Knuckles' streak of missing the third round, at least if hentai ralliers have anything to say about it.
(3) Big Boss
(2) Tifa Lockheart
--------
(1) Zelda
(4) Sub-Zero
(3) Bowser
(2) Sora
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(1) Squall Leonhart
(5) Vincent Valentine
(6) Ness
(2) Kirby
--------
(1) Crono
(4) Geralt
(6) Aerith Gainsborough
(2) Pikachu
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(1) Mega Man
(4) Yoshi - I feel like Yoshi would sap Red's general Nintendo appeal here and make this match further apart than it 'should' be.
(3) Luigi
(2) Sephiroth
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(1) Samus Aran
(4) Vivi
(3) Mega Man X
(2) Ganondorf
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(1) Cloud Strife
(4) Auron - This is a really good match, but I'm more inclined to think Auron has held up than Alucard. That being said, why are these two in Cloud's eightpack?
(3) Kratos
(2) Solid Snake

(1) Mario
(7) Fox McCloud - Dante's probably the smart money here after DMC5, though.
--------
(1) Sonic the Hedgehog
(2) Tifa Lockheart
--------
(1) Zelda
(3) Bowser
--------
(1) Squall Leonhart
(2) Kirby
--------
(1) Crono
(2) Pikachu
--------
(1) Mega Man
(3) Luigi
--------
(1) Samus Aran
(3) Mega Man X - X would win if you held this match today, but Ganon would take it after BotW 2, unless it's the sprite round.
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(1) Cloud Strife
(2) Solid Snake

(1) Mario
(2) Tifa Lockheart
(1) Zelda
(2) Kirby - By a razor-thin margin. I've said Kirby is a fraud waiting to get exposed several times already, but I don't think Squall is the right character to do so. Regardless, this division will easily have the weakest winner.
(1) Crono
(1) Mega Man
(1) Samus Aran
(1) Cloud Strife

(1) Mario
(1) Zelda
(1) Crono
(1) Samus Aran

(1) Mario - Just as with MMX/Ganon, I see this match's winner hinging on its timing relative to BotW 2.
(1) Samus Aran

(1) Mario - Likewise, Samus would have a clear advantage here around Metroid Prime 4's release, assuming it delivers.

Overall, I think your fodder line-and-up idea produced a pretty solid bracket, albeit one that's really weirdly seeded. Also, I still can't get over Guybrush Threepwood and Tina Armstrong meriting inclusion over L-Block.

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"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
"My Life" -Boss
"Bullet" -Sniper Wolf
"Monster" -Athena

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

Rattata - 6
Raticate 5
Munchlax 5
Snorlax 6
Aipom 6
Ambipom 6
Dunsparce 6
Zigzagoon 8
Linoone 7
Obstagoon 8
Zangoose 7
Bouffalant 8
Bunnelby 6
Diggersby 7
Stufful 5
Bewear 7

Alolan Rattata 6
Alolan Raticate 5
Galarian Zigzagoon 8
Galarian Linoone 7

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

Pichu
Kirby
Kirby/Jigglypuff
Bowser (first in FFA 3)
Pichu (first in FFA 4)

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

Pidgey 7
Pidgeotto 7
Pidgeot 7
Hoothoot 5
Noctowl 8
Swablu 7
Altaria 8
Chatot 6
Rufflet 6
Braviary 8
Vullaby 4
Mandibuzz 7
Noibat 5
Noivern 7
Oricorio 6
Cramorant 5

Mega Pidgeot 7
Mega Altaria 8

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

half_silver28 posted...

I have a hard time seeing Makoto as a side character when she's a main party member in addition to the above

When I say 'side character', it's shorthand for pretty much anyone who isn't the main protagonist, because it takes a particularly exceptional situation for a game's main protagonist to even debatably not be its strongest character on GameFAQs. Even FFVI, which used to be the go-to example of such a game, now has Terra at least on par with Kefka, and Joker's no Terra in terms of (lack of) focus within the game.

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

Mario, then Kefka.

I cannot extract my thoughts from the hole they've been in most of these past days.

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

"Scar" -Boss
"Speck" -SHODAN
"Foolish Fool" -Franziska
"Friends" -GLaDOS

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"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. I'm not very high on the prospects of side Persona 5 characters given how badly Joker fared in 2018 - misrepresentation and all, most Persona 5 players likely still knew who he was, and it's not as though Persona 5 itself was weak back then.

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

Next chapter soon hopefully?

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

Hbthebattle posted...

Honestly? I'm surprised someone supported this other than me. Glad it made it on, though!

^5

Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to make the list, either. I guess maybe I'll have three of my picks on the list instead of two, then!

I very nearly put Super Paper Mario on my list, but it's been too long since I've played it, and I don't quite remember its story well enough.

I'm also very surprised to see Persona 5 outside the top 40, and Persona 3 entirely absent from the list, not to mention Ocarina > Majora.

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