Board 8 > Character Battle X Contest Analysis Crew - Part 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

these are all fan art
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Love Zen's write-up. But Leon's not wrong that Metal Sonic is, in most games he appears in, just a boss fight. The only one that really shows him as a distinct character is Heroes, a game that most Sonic fans didn't like very much. Well, unless a lot of other people make the same mistake Leon did and think that the S3&K boss is Metal Sonic too, since despite a lack of actual text or speech in that game that Mecha Sonic actually showed some personality!
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ZenOfThunder posted...

these are all fan art

But are they porn?
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Xeybozn posted...

ZenOfThunder posted...

these are all fan art

But are they porn?

I mean it's Sonic fan art so you don't really need to ask
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all sonic fan art is porn if you look at it the right way
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TsunamiXXVIII posted...

Love Zen's write-up. But Leon's not wrong that Metal Sonic is, in most games he appears in, just a boss fight. The only one that really shows him as a distinct character is Heroes, a game that most Sonic fans didn't like very much. Well, unless a lot of other people make the same mistake Leon did and think that the S3&K boss is Metal Sonic too, since despite a lack of actual text or speech in that game that Mecha Sonic actually showed some personality!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHOZGlMQfsk#t=6s
P E R S O N A L I T Y
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ZenOfThunder posted...

TsunamiXXVIII posted...

Love Zen's write-up. But Leon's not wrong that Metal Sonic is, in most games he appears in, just a boss fight. The only one that really shows him as a distinct character is Heroes, a game that most Sonic fans didn't like very much. Well, unless a lot of other people make the same mistake Leon did and think that the S3&K boss is Metal Sonic too, since despite a lack of actual text or speech in that game that Mecha Sonic actually showed some personality!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHOZGlMQfsk#t=6s
P E R S O N A L I T Y

Sonic Forces? Never even heard of it.
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ZenOfThunder posted...

all sonic fan art is porn if you look at it the right way

I hope Metal Sonic win
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can i talk about something personal (but not that serious) for a bit?

since two-thousand-and-fucking-five we've been tossing the idea around of getting a "Noble Nine Proxy" character into a contest. we'd have countless rallies for Dark Link that would never go anywhere and people would always suggest "hey why not Dark Samus or Metal Sonic" but nobody ever took it too seriously or tried too hard

we got X and Zack, but Zack had an actual game to himself and X is freaking Mega Man X, his own character with a franchise.

it is absolutely nuts to me that it was ME, ZenOfThunder, perennial nobody who has not cracked the top 50 in UotY, with my incessant shilling and whining, that got one of the "Noble Nine Proxies" into a contest, and tonight, for the first time ever in contest history, we will finally get some kind of read on how strong or (probably very) useless they are in a real contest setting

thank you to everyone who nominated Metal Sonic, you're not just making me happy, you're making contest history

Dark Link for CBXI
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ZenOfThunder posted...

Dark Link for CBXI

this is exactly why we need The Boss to triple Metal Sonic

be a true patriot tonight Boss
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could you imagine if tonight were actually Dark Link vs The Boss

holy shit what a debated match that would be, people would probably take Dark Link for the division, or up to fucking Link because people literally cannot think
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I feel like Dark Link would be a big favorite against The Boss.

We'd be looking at Zelda vs. Dark Link in round 2 though, and that'd be something to see.
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ZenOfThunder posted...

or up to fucking Link because people literally cannot think

Who are these people that literally can't think? Zelda voters?

Anyway yeah I think most people would have Zelda beating Dark Link so his damage potential would be limited.

Unless of course Dark Link actually beat Zelda.
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Round 1 Zelda vs. Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Moltars Analysis

Start with https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/3813 as the base.

Add in Zelda boost from Nintendo and BotW.

Subtract Ezio getting older and more irrelevant since then.

This equals...

Moltars Bracket: Zelda

Moltars Prediction: Zelda 70%

transiences Analysis

There was a time that Ezio was kinda legit. He pounded Tails and Bomberman and somehow scored like 37% on Zelda. I'm not sure why we're seeing a rematch, but here we are.

Ezio now is going to be pretty close to the fodder line. Dudes like Ezio don't have lasting power. Assassin's Creed's annual releases wore on the traditional gamefaqs gamer around 2012 or so and I don't think anyone here even plays the new ones anymore. I think Zelda goes big and we start to talk about Zelda vs. Squall. (Which I think is a legit conversation, regardless of Ezio dropping the ball here.)

transience's prediction: Zelda with 74.67%

Leonharts Analysis

We saw this match back in 2010, and Zelda won easily. Since then, shes had reason to get stronger, and Ezio should only have gotten weaker. His games were the peak of the series, and Assassins Creed has kind of gone downhill ever since. I think the average gamer doesnt really care about the series anymore because it got run into the ground. I know I havent played one in forever because Ubisoft burned me out by releasing them so often. Then again, maybe people will see Ezio and get nostalgic for the days when the series was at its best, and itll help him maintain some of his old strength (which wasnt that great to begin with, but still). Regardless, I expect Zelda to beat him worse than she did in 2010, so dont start barking at me about Zelda > Squall when she does!

Leonharts Vote: Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Leonharts Prediction: Zelda with 66.05%
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Kleenexs Analysis

Zelda is one to watch. Given how Nintendo has looked so far, she could be a legit threat to Squall in round 3 (though I remain unconvinced until I see some results from both of them). Ezio should be happy that he even still manages to make it into the contests, considering he hasnt had a game in 8 years, and wasnt really that strong to being with. That I suppose thats never stopped other characters in the past.

Kleenexs Prediction: Zelda with 75%

Guests Analysis - Luster Soldier

We've seen this match play out before, in 2010. Back then, Ezio put up a very respectable performance by getting about 38% on Zelda. Ezio in the 2013 contest didn't seem to show any signs of decline just yet, but AC2 got thrashed badly in BGE 2015 by FFVI. The series got weaker from Ubisoft running the AC series into the ground by putting out new games every year. The first big stinker in the series was Assassin's Creed Unity in 2014, and may have started the decline of the series as a whole on the site.

Zelda should score even bigger blowout this time compared to their 2010 meeting, but it's a matter of how much Ezio has declined since then. The closest comparison I can find in this contest is Ganondorf/Neku. Throughout their contest history, Zelda and Ganondorf have generally been of nearly equal strength, with perhaps Ganondorf being just a slight notch above Zelda overall. Zelda also has a better chance of being stronger than Ganondorf this year since she has a much larger role in Breath of the Wild compared to Ganondorf.

Ezio could very well have weakened significantly to the point where he might not even score above 55% on Neku, which means Zelda could put up a performance approaching what Ganondorf did to Neku.

Luster Soldier's Bracket: Zelda

Luster Soldier's Prediction: - 76.63%

Crew Consensus: Zelda takes aim at Ezio and hits a bullseye.
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there would be a ton of people who just see "Link" and go "oh MAN Dark Link must be just as strong as Link!!!!"

i'm talking casuals, not us

i'm hoping to see an awful prediction percentage tonight, like sub 50% for Boss > Metal Sonic

knowing I at least fucked over a bunch of brackets will be enough to satisfy me
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yeah I kinda wish I had gone higher on Zelda here after Bowser/Gordon but whatever
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ZenOfThunder posted...

i'm hoping to see an awful prediction percentage tonight, like sub 50% for Boss > Metal Sonic

Eh, I think The Boss will be the bracket favorite. The casuals have been doing well this year.
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if recent matches are any indication man i think ezio is going to flop, and flop hard. super hard.

if he avoids a tripling good show on his part. i'd take gordon over him unless he really impresses tonight.
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MasterMoltar posted...

Luster Soldier's Bracket: Zelda

Luster Soldier's Prediction: - 76.63%

Should be noted that I intended to predict Zelda, but made a mistake and omitted it by accident. So yeah, my intended prediction is Zelda with 76.63%.
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I know how you feel, Zen. that was me when Solano ran wild on Link.
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The Boss is one of my favorite characters and I'll still be voting for Metal Sonic. The hype is real. Real I say!
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<3 thank you KP

friends to the end

and leon we are foes to the... hoes
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Loyalty to the end, baby

Loyalty to the end
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Lopen's unofficial analysis x4

Squall vs Hat Kid

I don't feel Squall will be feeling any sort of FF deboost (mostly cause I don't think it exists), and this hat kid is a character named hat kid so what can it really do here, but I also think anti-votes are going to prevent him from the type of blowout he should get, and if Tidus and Sora are any indication antivotes are going to be as strong as ever this year.

Squall with 75.05%

Garrus vs Ramza

I have Ramza here. It's fallacy to take his performance vs Squirtle to mean a lot but Squirtle wrecked all kinds of shop last we saw him and I think barely being doubled is something. I dunno I just think poor Ramza has had a hard lot and that he's never really had a chance to shine-- his paths have always been filled with tough matches early. Final Fantasy Tactics is decent enough on this site, so in a match where he's actually not thoroughly outclassed against some stupid alien looking thing that has nowhere to go but down since last we saw him?

Why not bet on him to be clutch. No dying in obscurity for Ramza this time.

Ramza with 54.54%

The Boss vs Metal Sonic

The Boss vs Tails would probably be a close match. I think Metal Sonic will potentially be... slightly stronger than Tails, honestly. As a Sonic proxy that isn't hated like Shadow, and frankly some joke votes as well. He's not going to be strong, don't get me wrong, but winning this match is in his reach as The Boss isn't super strong herself either.

I'm going with Zen here this time, with two major differences. The first is I don't have the passion to do some crazy rigmarole write-up like him. The second is I actually believe in it and have it in my bracket. You cannot kill The Metal.

Metal Sonic with 52.01%

Zelda vs Ezio

People who are expecting Ezio to completely crumple due to irrelevance are doing it wrong. Yeah the Assassin's Creed series isn't exactly as relevant as it used to be by any means, but he does have a pretty sweet franchise defining design, which makes Ezio as a character a bit more timeless than the likes of Gourdon Pumpkin Head or Chris Redfield.

Zelda with 68.19%
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Lopen posted...

his paths have always been filled with tough matches early.

yeah we all remember the peril that was Hogger and Laharl

augh it still hurts

Lopen posted...

The Boss vs Tails would probably be a close match.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/2876-division-4-round-1-tails-the-boss-vincent-zelda

Ten years ago, you would've been right!

The Boss, like Isaac, is one of those characters who does better than people think!
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Laharl LFF + Hogger + Dante eating all the votes is tougher than it should be

I mean yeah Ramza probably should have won but I don't fault him for that one too much
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I still blame Albion

but Ramza has "tough matches early" because it's hard for him to have easy matches
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Eh. I think Ramza would've had like, 3 wins by now if he got Cecil's chances
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Well that was the only one that was realistically winnable, is more my point. Squirtle was more in hindsight but still.
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KamikazePotato posted...

Eh. I think Ramza would've had like, 3 wins by now if he got Cecil's chances

I dunno. He only got 38% on Riku in 2010. I guess you could argue there was SFF there, but Ramza might be the weakest of the recurring FF protagonists.

Maybe Ramza's stronger than I think, but I'm not seeing a performance that indicates that he might be. I'm not really seeing a reason for optimism anywhere.
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Ramza vs Squirtle and Ramza vs Kirby were both pretty respectable showings I think. That's both ends of the time spectrum!
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Well, 2003 is a different era. FFT almost beat MGS1 in the Games Contest the very next year! A lot of niche Square stuff has fallen off since then (and FFT is niche compared to the mainline entries).

It's hard to say exactly how strong Squirtle is to begin with because of Pokemania anyway.
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Cecil and Ramza are basically the same dude. I'd pick Garrus over Cecil too
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transience posted...

Cecil and Ramza are basically the same dude. I'd pick Garrus over Cecil too

Oh, I would, too, and wouldn't think twice. Wrex beat him easily in 2013.

I would've picked Crash > Ramza pre-contest though.
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I do have a weird feeling about that match though, mostly because it's old vs. new. I wrote about Ezio falling off now that it's not in the spotlight but that same argument is there for Garrus.
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Well yeah, at this point, I wouldn't be totally stunned if Ramza won, but it wouldn't be because he has this untapped potential or anything. It'd just be because Mass Effect has fallen and can't get up.
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although I do think Mass Effect might have more staying power than typical western stuff just because it's more this site's type of game than Assassin's Creed or Half-Life
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Certain Western games have plenty of staying power (Bioshock being a prime example). Mass Effect's issue is what happened to 3's Ending and Andromeda. Shepard is a pure elite character if things ended better for that series.
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Well, Shepard still beat Aerith in 2013 despite ME3. The list of western characters who could beat an important FFVII character is pretty small.

Andromeda is more what I'm worried about now.
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Yeah I'm not meaning to say Ramza is secretly a powerhouse hidden behind rough draws as much as I don't think he's quite as weak as he looks and that a Zidane or Cecil level threat may be sufficient to beat Garrus
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It's alright Zen. I took one for the team:



I'm only missed two matches so far so it will cost me potential leaderboard status. :p Based on people who actually know what their talking about (not me), Ramza will, too.
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man I just totally realized looking at that bracket (since I have Garrus in mine) that if Ramza wins next round will be ugly for him

now I almost don't want him to win to spare him from that
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LeonhartFour posted...

man I just totally realized looking at that bracket (since I have Garrus in mine) that if Ramza wins next round will be ugly for him

now I almost don't want him to win to spare him from that

Half the reason I want Phoenix to beat Ike is so that Ike finally ends a year not behind SFF.
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.
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Lopen posted...

Yeah I'm not meaning to say Ramza is secretly a powerhouse hidden behind rough draws as much as I don't think he's quite as weak as he looks and that a Zidane or Cecil level threat may be sufficient to beat Garrus

hahahaha YEA LOPEN is on team Ramza. Rally your friends lopen using this animated moving image:


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zelda's winning this division, boys
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hat kid
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