LogFAQs > #910706884

I definitely think it's possible for one of the Noble Nine to fall to someone outside it. Crono or Sonic, most likely, with perhaps a vague outside possibility that it's Sephiroth. Like with rallies, I don't like the odds of any single possibility enough to pull the trigger on them myself. Bowser/Kirby > Crono is a legitimate pick for those who are interested. Squall > Sonic is probably less likely but could still happen.

Battle 145: Cloud vs Mega Man

Perhaps there is some possibility of debate here, but my guess is that Cloud hasn't fallen quite this far yet. Cloud wins with 54%

Battle 146: Snake vs Samus

Snake outdid Samus' percentage on Cloud in 2010 and beat her directly in 2013, so there's no shortage of good reason to pick him. I think that this match is a tossup despite those results, though. In 2010 he faced Cloud after upsetting Sephiroth and people wanted to see him keep going. In 2013 we all abandoned Samus to rally behind Snake, hoping that we could take down Draven.

That was five years ago. We have to simply guess how much stronger or weaker each of these characters will be. Samus should be fine, since Nintendo is on a resurgence and she's finally had a new game that people like. It always surprised me that she did so well in 2013 despite Other M being her most recent game at the time. Snake is harder to gauge. I don't think Ultimate will do that much for him, so it's all about guessing what kind of impact Konami's public meltdown will have on his strength. Maybe it will make people more hesitant to vote for him, but on the other hand, it might give them some greater sympathy for him.

I consider Mario and Samus to be indirect equals, so for the purpose of this bracket it doesn't make sense to take Mario > Snake and then Snake > Samus. Samus wins with 50.5%

Battle 147: (1) Link vs (7) Mario

The 2002 final. Link wins with 65%

Battle 148: Cloud vs Samus

For most of the bracket selection period, I had Cloud making his way through loser's bracket to meet Link in the final. After eight years of contest drought, rivalry rumbles, and rallies, that would almost be a nice change of pace.

What I said about Sephiroth back during Sephiroth/Ryu applies to Cloud as well, except that he was the one SFFing Seph back in the day and he beat Snake in 2010. And perhaps the target on his back isn't quite as large or shiny as the one Sephiroth carries. Nonetheless, hating FFVII has been an incredibly enduring pastime on the internet. Remember that Gamespot Villains contest from 2010? General RAAM made a deep run in that one. Who's that? He's what passes for a final boss in the first Gears of War. No one remembers or cares about him. He advanced simply by virtue of being against Sephiroth in round 1.

In the past, and on this site, vote totals were so high and the FFVII duo so mighty that this didn't really matter. There simply weren't that many times when they were close enough to someone else for another site to throw their weight behind that opponent and bring Cloud or Sephiroth down. Back then, they could score like 60% on Mario or Samus. Now registered users here are abandoning them and we aren't numerous enough in any case to really support them, so 4chan or someone will be able to give Samus the win here if they want - and they probably will. If she still needs it in the first place. If Snake is here instead, it's all the same. Samus wins with 52%

Battle 149: Mario vs Samus

We've seen it before. Mario wins with 60%

Battle 150: Link vs Mario

You know, Nintendo icons would do well on any site. But Cloud and Sephiroth being gods? That was us. We've given up our identity as a site, and this boring final is the punishment we deserve. Link wins with 65%