Board 8 > Noble Nine's records.

(+) Yeah! (+)

If you want to go all the way back in 4 ways, Vincent beat Crono which was the very first time ever too.
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L-Block also beat Solid Snake three times as well as Sonic, Cloud, and Link in 2007. It was 6-1 that year, only losing to Solid S*** first before destroying the rest of the contest.

If I'm looking at this bracket right, the only ways Zelda can beat the record of defeating the most Noble Nine members in a single contest would be:

If Mario > Zelda today:

Samus > Snake
Zelda > Samus (win #3)
Zelda > Cloud/Mega/Crono (win #4)
Zelda > Mario in the rematch (win #5)
Zelda > Link on the last day?! (win #6?!)

Meanwhile, if Zelda > Mario today we would have to see either:

Link > Zelda
Zelda > Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono (win #4)
Zelda > Link (win #5)

OR

Zelda > Link (win #4)
Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono > Link
Zelda > Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono (win #5)

So there's only one way left for Zelda to break that record of defeating the most Noble Niners in a single contest that doesn't require defeating Link, and if she somehow went that route and then took the extra step to defeat Link on the final day that would tie L-Block's record against Noble Niners in 2007.
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The Noble 9 is dead, they say. Long live the Noble 9.
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Also, this match is still in the air, but note that if Mario loses then there goes the one-match-per-day purity of the Noble Nine.
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HaRRicH posted...

Also, this match is still in the air, but note that if Mario loses then there goes the one-match-per-day purity of the Noble Nine.

Like it isnt dead already
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It's been plenty dead before you started driving this point home. There are still small arguments for why some people say it's not and I'm going to point them out as they're relevant.
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I really take issue with this idea that they're "dead". The streak they had was ALWAYS in jeopardy. They were rarely ever the top 9 in the xstats, there was a hotly debated match featuring N9 vs. non-N9 in every contest (I think), you had almost-disasters like Samus/Tifa 06 and Snake/Bowser 05 and then the four-ways happened.

IMO there have been several individual contests pre-2010 - maybe even all of them - where they weren't the top 9 characters in the contest and would have lost in the right circumstances. Then rallies happened in 2007, 2010 and 2013 and decimated contest "normality".

In the end they're historically the top 9 characters, I would say, in addition to the fact that they have been in every contest, they're all still at least in the top, what, 15-20, they got all the 1 seeds in the 2013 contest and had Character Battle IX specifically themed around them, and even had a legends bracket given to them in this contest.

It's not "dead", you just have to reassess how you think about them. These silly caveats are worthless. The streak has been dead since 2010, but the Noble Nine won't die to me until one of them fails to make a contest.
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The term will always remain though. Tradition. Also when the term started by the way?
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XIII_rocks posted...

the Noble Nine won't die to me until one of them fails to make a contest.

Sephiroth confirmed to be the only Noble Nine member left since 2005.

But you're right though. I still associate them with an incredible win record that began with a 100+ streak of wins, but the point now is really that they're a known group of characters that still get associated together -- often because of their victories, then also sometimes because the contest itself honors them.
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Yeah that's what often happens with legends in general

Their legend becomes part of the legend. Like Braveheart being able to shoot lightning bolts from his arse, the legend grows beyond realistic proportions. So even with the N9 not really being the top 9 their legendary status is untouched.
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True that. The term will remain until the death of the site.
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When you look at it, the Noble 9 just represents what built many gamer histories, at least until the mid-2000s.

It's the Nintendo flagship (Mario), two of the company's other best series (Link, Samus), and the one series that once stood up against that flagship (Sonic).

It's the PS game that basically built GameFAQs (Cloud, Sephiroth), a classic action game from that console (Snake) and another beloved RPG from said company (Crono)

And a beloved old-school series before Capcom started giving it the shaft. (Mega Man)

And of course, the games have content that drives people towards the site's walkthroughs (though only MM by being consistently difficult...).
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Okay, let's call this:

The Noble Nine against outsiders in 2018s contest (generally defined by full-day-format one-on-one matches with multiple polls per day and registered users getting double-votes + some days with only one poll per day) *INCOMPLETE*:

Link - 2-0
Samus - 2-0
Crono - 2-0
Cloud - 1-0
Sephiroth - 4-1
Mega Man - 2-1
Solid Snake - 1-1
Sonic - 1-1
Mario - 0-1

In 2018 so far: 15-5

CURRENT RECORD so far: 15-5 (75%)

Mario loses against the only non-Noble Niner he gets to face this contest, and it will be a tough road to get his rematch. Meanwhile, Zelda is 3-0 against three different Noble Niners.
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So now, to reiterate: if Zelda wants to break the record of beating the most different Noble Niners in a single contest, she'd have to beal Link.

Way #1:
Link > Zelda
Zelda > Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono (win #4)
Zelda > Link (win #5)

Way #2:
Zelda > Link (win #4)
Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono > Link
Zelda > Samus/Cloud/Mega/Crono (win #5)

My thought is Zelda might tie, but she's not beating Link and neither is anybody else.
There's a plenty reasonable chance Solid Snake or Mario will get to the Loser's Championship to face Zelda too, so if that happens she won't even get to tie in that scenario.

I've been wrong plenty this contest, but I think Zelda will lose to Link once before losing to Solid Snake in a rematch. This would make her final count 3-2, with three wins over three Noble Niners.

We'll see.....
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Does the term grandfathering mean nothing to you people?
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About Snake...
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Porn rallies for Zelda too.
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Well, I didn't expect 2006 (Samus beating Snake in 1-on-1) instead of 2013 (Snake beating Samus - lest the goddamn third character be forgotten). Then again, blame Konami - never thought I'd see Metal Gear being given the shaft worse than Metroid!
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OrangeCrush980 posted...

About Snake...

Called it wrong !!
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Snake losing here today means Mario is the only character left in the Loser's Bracket that Zelda has beaten before, meaning if Mario fails to reach Zelda then she has a chance to defeat a fourth member of the Noble Nine.

Assuming she doesn't beat Link anyway, which, like, no way but also 2018 so I dunno.
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Still too close to call Mega Man/Crono.
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The Noble Nine against themselves in 2018s contest (generally defined by full-day-format one-on-one matches with multiple polls per day and registered users getting double-votes + some days with only one poll per day) *INCOMPLETE*:

Mario - 2-0
Link - 1-0
Cloud - 1-1
Samus - 1-1
Crono - 1-1
Solid Snake - 1-1
Sephiroth - 0-1
Sonic - 0-1
Mega Man - 0-1

Samsus embarrasses Solid Snake in a 2006-repeat and kicks him out. Meanwhile, Crono edges out a very close win to eliminate the Blue Bomber -- Mega Man's out.
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No secrets to be had about the Cloud/Crono rematch.

Samus/Mario is still in the air though.
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Google Docs is messing with me so I'll update tomorrow, but Cloud and Mario won while Crono and Samus were eliminated.

Link's getting another outsider win too, big surprise there!
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Updated through the latest matches:

Link:

7-0 vs. Sephiroth
7-0 vs. Mario
7-0 vs. Snake
4-0 vs. Samus
4-0 vs. Crono
1-0 vs. Mega Man
1-0 vs. Sonic
12-1 vs. Cloud

Overall: 43-1

Cloud:

7-0 vs. Sephiroth
5-0 vs. Samus
3-0 vs. Crono
1-0 vs. Sonic
1-0 vs. Mega Man
7-2 vs. Snake
2-1 vs. Mario
1-12 vs. Link

Overall: 27-15

Sephiroth:

2-0 vs. Mega Man
2-0 vs. Sonic
6-1 vs. Mario
2-1 vs. Samus
0-0 vs. Crono
2-3 vs. Snake
0-7 vs. Link
0-7 vs. Cloud

Overall: 14-19

Mario:

5-0 vs. Samus
1-0 vs. Mega Man
4-2 vs. Crono
0-0 vs. Sonic
1-2 vs. Cloud
1-2 vs. Snake
1-6 vs. Sephiroth
0-7 vs. Link

Overall: 13-19

Snake:

3-0 vs. Sonic
2-1 vs. Mario
3-2 vs. Sephiroth
2-2 vs. Samus
2-2 vs. Mega Man
1-1 vs. Crono
2-7 vs. Cloud
0-7 vs. Link

Overall: 15-22

Samus:

3-0 vs. Mega Man
2-0 vs. Sonic
2-2 vs. Snake
1-1 vs. Crono
1-2 vs. Sephiroth
0-5 vs. Mario
0-4 vs. Link
0-5 vs. Cloud

Overall: 9-19

Crono:

2-0 vs. Mega Man
1-1 vs. Samus
1-1 vs. Snake
0-0 vs. Sephiroth
2-4 vs. Mario
0-1 vs. Sonic
0-3 vs. Cloud
0-4 vs. Link

Overall: 6-14

Mega Man:

1-0 vs. Sonic
2-2 vs. Snake
0-1 vs. Link
0-1 vs. Cloud
0-1 vs. Mario
0-2 vs. Crono
0-2 vs. Sephiroth
0-3 vs. Samus

Overall: 3-12

Sonic:

1-0 vs. Crono
0-0 vs. Mario
0-1 vs. Mega Man
0-1 vs. Cloud
0-1 vs. Link
0-2 vs. Samus
0-2 vs. Sephiroth
0-3 vs. Snake

Overall: 1-10

Mario moves up to 4th place in winning percentage, though he'd fall back to fifth if he loses to Cloud. (Not if he loses to Link; since he's still sub-.500, the win over Cloud pushes it up further than the loss to Link would push it down.)

If he wins it all, he'd actually be alone in third! And in a slightly more plausible scenario, beating Cloud and then losing to Zelda again would have him tied with Sephiroth.
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TsunamiXXVIII posted...

Overall: 43-1

Link's doing so well in this contest because he's still pissed that he'll forever have a single loss from 2003 on his record
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It's also funny to see Cloud, our long-time #2 character in these contests, to have almost double the losses to Link than any other character. It's the natual conclusion of course, but still neat to see.
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The Noble Nine against themselves in 2018s contest (generally defined by full-day-format one-on-one matches with multiple polls per day and registered users getting double-votes + some days with only one poll per day) *INCOMPLETE*:

Mario - 3-0
Link - 1-0
Cloud - 2-1
Solid Snake - 1-1
Samus - 1-2
Crono - 1-2
Sephiroth - 0-1
Mega Man - 0-1
Sonic - 0-1

Cloud/Mario will decide whether Mario has the most wins against Nober Niners this contest or if they'll share that title. Even if Cloud ties it up though, if he beats Zelda but loses to Link that'll leave Mario with the better percentage.
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The Noble Nine against outsiders in 2018s contest (generally defined by full-day-format one-on-one matches with multiple polls per day and registered users getting double-votes + some days with only one poll per day) *INCOMPLETE*:

Link - 3-0
Samus - 2-0
Crono - 2-0
Cloud - 1-0
Sephiroth - 4-1
Mega Man - 2-1
Solid Snake - 1-1
Sonic - 1-1
Mario - 0-1

In 2018 so far: 16-5

CURRENT RECORD so far: 16-5 (76.19%)

Zelda: she try to come to town. I don't think any Nintendo character's ever won the first ten minutes over Link before though. Now though, it looks like she won't hold onto the record for best final percentage for a Nintendo character against Link.

Oh well -- still better than Ganondorf.
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Sonic has only 1 victory and that is against Crono???
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Yeah 2006 was the only time he made the semi finals, other times the Noble Nine (and Kirby) have always stopped him

If we lived in a timeline where we allowed Magus to kick Sonic out of the Noble Nine for having the better x-stats in 2003, Team Sonic would have broken the Noble Nine twice during the CJayC years.
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Also, don't forget that Sonic lost to L-Block, Auron, Mewtwo, and Zelda on top of losing to Kirby. Sonic is the only Noble Niner to lose to five separate Noble Niners.

Solid Snake has also lost five times to Noble Niners, but three of them were to L-Block in a row (other two losses being Draven and Zelda).
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So it looks like the only remaining Noble Nine matchups that haven't happened yet are Mario/Sonic and Crono/Sephiroth.
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And both of them would be great to see for two pretty different reasons.
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Welp, won't be calling today or tomorrow quickly.
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red sox 777 posted...

So it looks like the only remaining Noble Nine matchups that haven't happened yet are Mario/Sonic and Crono/Sephiroth.

Pretty crazy that no one ever designed the breaker to get the former. I feel that match would have been hype 15 years ago.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

red sox 777 posted...

So it looks like the only remaining Noble Nine matchups that haven't happened yet are Mario/Sonic and Crono/Sephiroth.

Pretty crazy that no one ever designed the breaker to get the former. I feel that match would have been hype 15 years ago.

We couldve gotten it in 2006, but Mario was absent from the contest because of winning the Clinkeroth-absent 2005...and then immediately losing in the ToC.
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*bracket, not breaker

But you get the idea
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Safer_777 posted...

Sonic has only 1 victory and that is against Crono???

Yep. Sonic's never really been higher than 8th in the NN, at best. He was theorized to be ahead of Snake initially when both were still winless against other NNers; then after 2006 Crono started "breaking" the NN almost every contest and was the new weakest, but Sonic was still below the other seven. Now, the only one I'd take him against is Mega Man, because Sega is at least trying to cater to Sonic fans' desires while Capcom is completely clueless.
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HaRRicH posted...

If we lived in a timeline where we allowed Magus to kick Sonic out of the Noble Nine for having the better x-stats in 2003, Team Sonic would have broken the Noble Nine twice during the CJayC years.

Magus wasn't in the 2002 contest, and in 2003 he didn't get to the division finals (unlike Sonic!). So promoting him due to the lol x-stats would've been a dumb decision...

And while Sonic is not exactly the strongest, most of his worst performances are in 3\4 ways - then again, in the latter, Mega Man also faltered. In 1-on-1s, the only outsider to beat him is Zelda, and the only N9ers to break 60% on him are Link and Cloud.
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TsunamiXXVIII posted...

Safer_777 posted...

Sonic has only 1 victory and that is against Crono???

Yep. Sonic's never really been higher than 8th in the NN, at best. He was theorized to be ahead of Snake initially when both were still winless against other NNers; then after 2006 Crono started "breaking" the NN almost every contest and was the new weakest, but Sonic was still below the other seven. Now, the only one I'd take him against is Mega Man, because Sega is at least trying to cater to Sonic fans' desires while Capcom is completely clueless.

Hey, Mega Man 11 was pretty fun. I think they found a clue at least.
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Really fantastic thread. Thanks to everyone for all the effort put into making all these stats!
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The Noble Nine against themselves in 2018s contest (generally defined by full-day-format one-on-one matches with multiple polls per day and registered users getting double-votes + some days with only one poll per day) *INCOMPLETE*:

Link - 1-0
Cloud - 3-1
Mario - 3-1
Solid Snake - 1-1
Samus - 1-2
Crono - 1-2
Sephiroth - 0-1
Mega Man - 0-1
Sonic - 0-1

Sixteen years since Mario first upset Cloud, now Cloud upset Mario...and their two matches are like have a percent apart, which isn't really representative of the years inbetween their matches, but hey, we got this info out of it.
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So, just as a heads-up on those points of Noble Nine purity I mentioned before:

Yes, we have seen Noble Niners lose to outsiders. Yes, we have seen them lose one-on-one. Yes, we have seen them lose while being eliminated. Yes, we have seen them lose the raw vote count. Yes, we have seen them lose when there is only one match at play at a time.

However, no, we have not seen every one of those conditions met at the same time like how the Noble Nine was originally formed...and yes, today might change that if Zelda beats Cloud and has the higher raw vote count.
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Still too close to call.
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Oh no what happened?! Cloud somehow pulled ahead.
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I think that Zelda's run and Tifa > Sephiroth is enough proof that the Noble Nine is broken. The asterisks there are pretty thin. It's clear that Sonic and Sephiroth are mere near-elites now and that Zelda has sustainable Noble Nine level strength herself.
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How do people still struggle with the concept behind the noble nine?

The fantastic fourteen

Noble Nine
Pikachu
Fox
Aerith
Zelda
Tifa

Together undefeated in 1v1 24 hour matches
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