Results[]
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Ulti's Analysis[]
| Division | Division 5 |
|---|---|
| Match # | 82 |
| Match Date | Wednesday, November 25, 2015 |
| Oracle Expectations |
Final Fantasy IX - 56.48% 82 for - 7 against |
| GameFAQs Prediction |
Final Fantasy IX - 28.54% |
I'm not actually sure why Final Fantasy 9 was such a huge favorite in this match, but those who said it would win easily were definitely right. Not that it was a massive favorite pre-contest since getting past Kingdom Hearts was no guarantee, but these two games were right next to each other in Game of the Decade's stats. Dunno what I'm missing, but hey, I got no complaints about Final Fantasy 9 winning two matches. I've already gone over why I love that game so much, so peek at the round 1 writeup if you want to see it.
For Okami, the trend continues! Nothing has ever broken 60% on Okami or Amaterasu 1v1, and if anyone brings up Rivalry Rumble they're getting kicked right in the nuts. It was somewhat in doubt early on, but Okami was able to take advantage of FF9's horrible day vote to secure getting over 40%. Had this day vote been there in round 1, Kingdom Hearts probably would have won. But it wasn't, so we saw FF9 > Okami instead.
I'm still floored by FF9 winning a day vote in round 1, but you won't get any complaints from my end. It's always a good contest when FF9 makes it to round 3.
Ctes' Analysis[]
This match was pretty much decided pre-contest, we just didn't know for certain which game would win it, only that it would be the bottom option. That said, it Okami actually amazes me. I suppose it's just the kind of game GameFAQs likes. It's a late Playstation 2 game, though early Wii game, but is not part of any already existing franchise. I'm amazed it has held up as well as it has. It's round 1 victory was so convincing that an outside shot at an upset today was briefly considered by some Board 8'ers, even if no one would've bet on it probably. It didn't come close, but this isn't a bad performance. Final Fantasy IX is truly legit these days having risen like crazy. Five years ago, Kingdom Hearts would've probably taken care of it without struggling too much.
Final Fantasy IX would ultimately stand no chance next round, but becomes the last Final Fantasy game to join round 3. Not bad! It could've had a fun run elsewhere in the bracket, but I'm not gonna complain about this one, because it gave us a fantastic round 1 match that I really appreciate we got. There is no longer any doubt that it has exceeded Final Fantasy VIII and it honestly looked very close to Final Fantasy X, a game it got destroyed by last time, even considering SFF. It might still lose the rematch, but with its strength boost and general lack of SFF, and the fact that PS1 games has looked so much better than PS2 games, it probably wouldn't be by nearly as much.
I must admit, I really don't understand the boost of strength it has gotten. Why is it suddenly viewed as such a fantastic game? What made the difference? What about it was not appreciated at first, but is now viewed as fantastic? I don't get it. The biggest disappointing for me playing it, was that it had incredible lackluster characters compared to its precedents and I don't think anything else made up for it. In my opinion, nothing makes it stand out much, but Board 8 has named it their favorite game in the whole contest if What Would Board 8 Choose is good enough to represent our tastes, which is probably sadly is. It's not a bad game, but I truly don't understand it's suddenly viewed as fantastic here.