Results[]
Ulti's Analysis[]
| Division | 1995-1997 |
|---|---|
| Match # | 14 |
| Match Date | Monday, April 20th, 2009 |
| Oracle Expectations |
Final Fantasy VII - 56.84% Mario Kart 64 - 20.99% Star Fox 64 - 15.35% Suikoden - 6.74% |
| GameFAQs Expectations |
FF7 first place (2pts) - 84.25% FF7 second place (1pt) - 6.76% MK64 second place (2pts) - 55.42% MK64 first place (1pt) - 11.34% |
| Advancing Prediction |
Final Fantasy VII - 91.01% (34,853) Mario Kart 64 - 66.76% (25,566) |
Isn't it weird how Chrono Trigger is usually considered the cutoff point between old Square and new Square, yet FF7 was in a match before CT this contest?
This was our second stupidly easy match in a row, and it was all about Final Fantasy 7 dominance. It of course had the typical bad board vote, but rose to heaven all day and scored 55% against two fairly strong games, and scored nearly 90% on Suikoden individually. It scored 85% on Suikoden 2 in 2004, so FF7 looked as strong as ever this contest. By the end of the contest, even though FF7 eventually came in second place, we saw play out the sheer dominance FF7 and Ocarina of Time have over the rest of the field. Mario Kart 64 and Star Fox 64 aren't slugs by any means, but FF7 just mauled them. In the expected round by round comparison between FF7 and Ocarina, FF7 did better in every round and looked stronger as it went along.... until the one match that mattered most. But more on that when the time comes.
As for what happened other than FF7's dominance, Mario was pretty much a lock to outdo and SFF Fox here. And outdo and SFF Fox he did, predictably. That was what we knew the match would be about 2 seconds in, and there was nothing worth noting after said 2 seconds. Very few matches in this contest could be summed up in 10 words or less, but this was one of them. Moving on...
Match Trends[]
Ngamer's Same Day Analysis[]
Match Prediction[]
Before we get into the (hopefully very short) writeup proper for tonight's poll, let me just briefly vent regarding bracket placement. There were 6 games that I've hyped/rally topic'd/cast constant Rally Nom votes for in the last couple years: Goldeneye, DKC2, Majora's Mask, Pokemon R/B/Y, MK64, and Star Fox 64. Can you see my problem here?! At least we've gotten a decent read on the DKC series (okay strength as long as it can avoid Mario or too much other top tier N competition), but Kart and SF are going to look like junk just because everyone who owned an N64 played plenty of both, whereas I think either would have done fantastically in an x-stat setting if sent up against FF7 1v1. And then of course I'll have no idea what to root for in MM-R/B/Y (at least I don't have to worry where my vote's going though, since my actual favorite game is ALSO in that poll). Long story short, dang you SB!
Okay, getting back to it. Even if Ocarina has gained something of an advantage in their rivalry, FF7 is still going to smash this poll, naturally. I agree with tranny though- there is too much hate surrounding this title for it to pull out the kind of blowout numbers that OoT or Mario 3 could muster, even assuming FF7's still a much stronger game directly. So let's say... anything under 55 would leave me very unimpressed, but if it can rocket past 61 or so that would probably cement its #1 status for now. Between the two N64 classics, I'd have to imagine Kart is never going to be in any real trouble here. Fox is the kind of game that could be excellent in this format (especially if it would have drawn a more fadish pic), but the series is always going to fold against big time Nintendo, and Kart should be close enough to that definition. And Suikoden... ouch, talk about drawing the worst possible opponent!
That should leave us with something along the lines of
- Final Fantasy VII - 57.77%
- Mario Kart 64 - 19.24%
- Star Fox 64 - 16.18%
- Suikoden - 6.81%
Come ooooooooon lucky 7s!
Next Day Review[]
Alright, now granted I've already acknowledged that FF7 was never going to have that kind of Mario 3/OoT blowout power, and granted I've also acknowledged that MK64 matches up perfectly against this game, but STILL... the strongest game on the site never solidifying itself above 55% until the final hour, and even then just barely cracking the mark? You've got to chalk that up as disappointing, don't you? I mean, someone in Stats (forget who) did the math and if you give FF7 80% of Suikoden and Kart 60% of Star Fox (and both seem reasonable enough), FF7 would be barely managing 66% on MK64 here. And we're supposed to believe this is the same game that put up 71% on Metal Gear Solid? No sir; it's quite clear that this game, or Square in general (or both) has lost a step in the last five years- I think as long as Ocarina can demonstrate it's still at '04 levels we'll have to go back to calling a 1v1 between these two a tossup. On the plus side this poll DID manage about 127k, making it easily the second most popular this year, so at least you can't deny that the FF7 name still has massive drawing power.