Vyse's Contest History

Who is Vyse?
Don’t tell this man it can’t be done. He will prove you wrong, and he’ll love every second of doing it. Vyse is a man with great ambitions and a big heart. He spends his days sailing the skies, searching for hidden treasures and helping people in need. He has an appetite for adventure and a strong sense of justice. As with Ryu, he’s not a character with much depth, but his simple design as one who never gives up, no matter what the odds are against him, is something I particularly like.

In the world of Arcadia, there are two types of Sky Pirates: Black Pirates, those who attack other ships and steal the merchandise of those on board, and Blue Rogues, those who seek the treasures of the world and use them for the greater good. Vyse is the latter. He serves under his father Dyne, and constantly travels alongside his lifelong companion Aika. One day, they come across a ship of the Valuan Empire, the dominant superpower in the world, chasing down a small vessel with a young woman on board named Fina. Vyse and Aika rescue her from their clutches, and they vow to protect her from her pursuers. Little did they know that how drastically this would change their lives.

Shortly afterwards, while Vyse and Aika are out on an expedition, the Valuan Empire besieges their home island and captures all of the Blue Rogues, including Dyne and Fina. Determined to rescue them, Vyse and Aika search for a ship capable of taking them to Valua. The only problem is that nobody has ever successfully been able to escape from the Valuan Grand Fortress, where the Blue Rogues and Fina are being held. However, that does not deter Vyse. He refuses to give up on them. He finds a fishing boat piloted by an old man named Drachma, who reluctantly agrees to escort them to Valua.

Once inside, Vyse and Aika plot for a way to rescue their friends. The Blue Rogues have been appointed to public execution, which serves as entertainment for the lower class citizens of Valua, much like the Coliseum of ancient Rome. They manage to sneak in through the sewers underneath and rescue their friends right in front of the roaring crowd! After that, Vyse and Aika take Fina right out of the clutches of the leader of the Valuan Armada, Galcian. Then, with a little help from Drachma, they barely get out of the Grand Fortress. And Vyse never doubted they would do it for a second.

Following her rescue, Fina reveals the reason why the Empire is after her. She is a member of the Silvite Civilization, an ancient people that resides on the Silver Moon, and she has been sent to retrieve the six Moon Crystals. Valua seeks these same crystals because they have the power to summon creatures of unfathomable power called Gigas. Vyse agrees to help Fina find them before the Empire can get their hands on them. However, they have been branded public enemy #1, with the Admirals of the Armada constantly on their trail. Somehow, they are always a step behind and end up failing to get to the crystal initially. The group has to fight each of the Gigas and find a way to subdue them.

Vyse loves every minute of their journey and every challenge that falls along their path. He relishes each and every opportunity to prove wrong the doubters who don’t believe it can be done. He faces all of his trials with a boldness unmatched by anyone else. He has a list of accomplishments that others in Arcadia only dream of, truly the thing of legends. Where fear and doubt may hold people back, Vyse casts all of that aside and dares to tread where no one else has before. Making history is no big deal to him. However, though he may be daring, he is not recklessly so. He knows there is a right time for everything and that preparation is an important part of success.

Yes, Vyse is not the most original character in the world (and neither are most of the characters in Skies of Arcadia, admittedly), but he has a certain charm and style to him that makes him stand out above the rest. He has an innate appeal to me, having all of the characteristics of a true hero.

“Impossible is a word people use to make themselves feel better when they quit.” - Vyse

(Writeup courtesy of Leonhart)

Vyse's Contest History
Win-Loss Record: 1-4

Summer 2003 Contest - West Division - 11 Seed
 * Western Round 1 --- Lost to (6) Donkey Kong, 36743 [37.58%] - 61027 [62.42%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 43rd Place [18.43%]

Summer 2004 Contest - Midgar Division - 8 Seed
 * Midgar Round 1 --- Defeated (9) Laharl, 41440 [60.23%] - 27368 [39.77%]
 * Midgar Quarterfinal --- Lost to (1) Cloud, 16947 [18.59%] - 74199 [81.41%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 45th Place [17.92%]

As good as Vyse's games are, those games aren't popular enough to allow them to be called anything but cult classics, and cult classics, RPG or not, simply cannot draw the support necessary to cause any real damage in the contest. Vyse is an example of this. Getting blown out by Donkey Kong is never a good thing, and your one and only win having to come against a character even more cult and lesser-known than you are is even worse. And because Vyse's series is so niche within the RPG community, cult status is likely the best he'll be able to achieve.

Summer 2005 Contest - Chaos Division - 6 Seed
 * Chaos Round 1 --- Lost to (3) Tifa, 21114 [21.93%] - 75159 [78.07%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 65th Place [13.50%]

The more I think about how badly Vyse got his face kicked in by Tifa in 2005, the more I believe this match to be SFF. Vyse may be relatively cult, but you don't go from beating someone 60-40 to being under them in the stats the following year (Laharl being the character in question here). Furthermore, Tifa went from being a few percentage points under Cloud to getting her ass whipped by Sonic. It doesn't make sense.

What also won't make much sense is Vyse not getting another shot at this thing to see whether or not this was a fluke. Though given Vyse is very similar to Ness in that his fanbase is cult, but large, his time probably isn't over just yet.

Summer 2007 Contest - Division 7 - Third Group
 * Division 7 Round 1 --- 3rd place, 13380 [10.51%] - Solid Snake, 73706 [57.88%] - Nightmare, 28609 [22.47%] - Rayman, 11649 [9.15%]

I don't know if it was the site shift back in 2005 or what, but Vyse hasn't looked like the guy who was used as the standard for the fodder line in 2003 or 2004. He's just looked like bad fodder. It's sad to see this happen to one of my favorite characters, but at least he got one win in his contest career.


 * crosses fingers for a Skies of Arcadia 2 announcement*