(1)Final Fantasy VI vs (2)Final Fantasy VII 2015

Ulti's Analysis
Pre-contest, this poll got thrown all over the place, and a lot of hype for a potential FF6 > FF7 upset was thrown around because of it: http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/5728-all-of-the-other-final-fantasy-games-aside-which-is-better

Early on in this poll, that upset was in striking distance. Final Fantasy 7 had a slim lead early, and Final Fantasy 6 was pushing back rather well. It was a close 53-47 affair for 10 minutes, but it was fool's gold before long. FF6 had simply won the board vote, and FF7 was just doing its usual thing of playing dead for 10 minutes before going off. The only chance FF6 had after that was Melee's rally favoring FF6 over FF7, but when the rally showed up, FF7 began to explode. A 53-47 match gradually turned into a 60-40 beatdown. One can wonder if FF6 could have pulled this upset without the rally, but I think it's more reminiscent of the Mario 3 vs Pokemon RBY match. I don't think there's enough evidence that FF6 would have won this match on its own, with or without an unrelated rally in another poll.

Hell of a fun for FF6 though, and seeing two of my all-time favorite games in a poll together filled me with determination. These two games, along with Super Mario RPG, got me into RPGs. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for them. I do wish FF6 had been a little closer here, but I have no complaints about FF7 doing well. Much love for both games all around from me!

The one down side here is that an intra-FF series match meant that Final Fantasy 7 was the last Final Fantasy game left in the bracket. It's probably my favorite series along with Fire Emblem and Smash Bros, but in the past few years of these contests I've been routinely disappointed by Final Fantasy's early exits. We were destined to see yet another one in this contest, too.