(4)Cloud Strife vs (7)Mario (Losers Bracket) 2018

Ulti's Analysis
If you want to know how a grownup acts, XIII is cool is a fantastic example. This match cost him the guru and the overall site contest, and he didn't act a fool about it. Major props to that guy.

As for the match, this was an incredible experience, and it was so nice to finally get this damn rematch from 2002 that we've all been asking for for 16 years. The only match in higher demand at this point is Mario vs Sonic. A lot can change in 16 years, and there was a long time there where Cloud felt leagues stronger than Mario. We all wanted him to get the rematch and potentially get revenge for 2002. Then the years kept going, Cloud kept getting weaker, and we all slowly realized that Cloud's shot for redemption was probably done. I know there were some 4ways and battle royales in there, but it's just not the same as 1v1.

By the time we actually got this rematch, we all assumed Mario would auto-win. Sound like a familiar theme? I know the stakes here in 2018 don't mean as much, but it was still fun to watch. It was practically an exact reversal of what happened trend-wise in 2002, too. In that match, Cloud built up a 1000 vote lead overnight. Then a combination of the morning vote, rallying from Planet Gamecube, 500 stuffed proxy votes, and Super Mario Sunshine launching on the day of the match all converged on Cloud all within 12 hours of each other. Mario got a lead of 200 votes heading into the evening, and he just inexplicably never let up.

Now unlike most people you'll see talking about how great that match was and how great that contest was, I was actually there and remember it all. The three day time frame we had in 2002 with Samus > Sonic, Sephiroth > Mega Man, and Mario > Cloud will absolutely never be topped. There was meltdown after meltdown after meltdown, with Samus coming back from 1500 down in the final three hours, Sephiroth coming back from 700 down, and the insanity of that Mario/Cloud match. By the time that Mario/Cloud match was over, the board had over 200 pages of topics at 50 per page, with over half coming from Mario and Cloud's duel. As I write this, Board 8 doesn't even have 4 full pages of topics. There is no comparison here. I've also been very consistent about rallying for 16 years, and you can check the 2002 writeup for proof. I've always supported it, even if something I'm rooting for loses. Cloud losing that match sucked, especially when there were clearly 500 cheated votes, but I've never been mad at Planet Gamecube about it.

Fast forward 16 years. We're all in our 30s now and don't care nearly as much, but this was still a long time coming,. Especially with how Mario lost. This dude built up a 300 vote lead heading into the night vote. After some stalling, Square's old night vote supremacy kicked in and Cloud mounted a comeback overnight. But he didn't quite finish the job, and Mario started going up with the morning vote again.

Right about here, it kind of hit me. We keep assuming Mario has this auto-win button, but this dude functions better when he's barely losing instead of barely winning. He's basically rubberband AI in a racing game at this point. His best play is to stay barely behind all match, then clutch up at the end. Dude is an awful frontrunner sometimes, and we saw it here. He only got his lead up to 200 with the morning vote, and coughed most of that up by lunch. By the time the kids got home from school, Cloud had already tied this thing up.

One would assume the ASV would help Mario out, but it was somehow and someway Cloud that went up. Right in the face of all that history and that FF7 erosion and all that Mario clutch gene and whatever else, Cloud looked Death himself right in the face and said not today. Remember that insane Mario hold of a 200 vote lead in 2002? I do. Well in 2018, Cloud decided it was his turn to hold serve. Not only that, but as the poll was getting close to finishing up he did what Samus failed to do -- beat Mario's ass. There was no sitting back. In the final 30 minutes, Cloud made sure to go out there and layeth the smacketh down. Even then, people were terrified Mario would just erase a 150 vote lead in the final update.

Nope. Cloud wins by 141 votes. I could come up with a myriad of reasons why Cloud pulled this thing off, but I'm pretty sure one reason stands out above all the others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wah7AGkkzl4

The funniest thing about this, and I'll get more into this with the final match, is that Square has been actively trying to sabotage Cloud being in Smash and it hasn't mattered. He has absolutely gotten new strength from that series, he's retained popularity despite Square's bullshit (https://www.eventhubs.com/stats/ssbu/), and it showed in this match. No chance in hell he pulls this off otherwise. Good run by Mario this year, but it ended one round before he wanted. That's what happens when you keep failing to put people away. Eventually one just bites you.

This doesn't erase the pain of the 2002 match by any means, but it was a pretty decent revenge nonetheless. Kind of like every now and again you get a Super Bowl rematch in the following regular season and the losing team wins. It doesn't mean as much, but it's something. That's effectively what this was. Nice job by Cloud, even if he had to get into Smash to do it. Remember back when Square could actually beat Nintendo now and again on this site instead of having every single debated match between the two companies be an auto-loss for Square? Isn't this nice? Granted Square had to bend the knee, but so what? This was awesome!