Results[]
Ulti's Analysis[]
| Round | Division 2001-2003 Semi Final |
|---|---|
| Match # | 43 |
| Match Date | Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 |
| Oracle Expectations |
Final Fantasy X - 34.73% Metal Gear Solid 2 - 25.23% Kingdom Hearts - 23.66% Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 16.49% |
| GameFAQs Expectations |
FF10 first place (4pts) - 33.72% FF10 second place (2pts) - 14.79% KH second place (4pts) - 21.63% KH first place (2pts) - 12.25% |
| Advancing Prediction |
Final Fantasy X - 48.51% (18,577) Kingdom Hearts - 33.88% (12,975) |
This was a matchup of four huge PS2 titles, and it was very difficult pre-match to tell where all the SFF would lean. FFX > KH was the consensus based on round 1 results, but SFF can be quite fickle.
This match didn't end up fickle, but it started out that way. Kingdom Hearts, FFX and MGS2 all combined to knock out Vice City early on, and were all tied for a few minutes. Final Fantasy X would eventually pull away overnight, and the match was ultimately between Kingdom Hearts 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2 for second place.
That mini-match however was over 15 minutes in -- Kingdom Hearts in the 0:10 - 0:15 update increased its lead from 13 to 108 votes, effectively giving us the final result right then and there. MGS2 and Vice City went on to respectable third and fourth place finishes.
The story here was how good Kingdom Hearts looked in this match, and in turn how bad FFX looked. We all know FFX would eventually make the final, but there was some doubt of that following this match. This was not an impressive first place by any stretch, and one could easily argue FFX was leeched to holy hell by all three of the other games in this poll. Kingdom Hearts, as usual, looked like a beast. If Kingdom Hearts 3 would ever get announced and released, the entire series could reach elite levels. It's damn strong as-is.
Speaking of Kingdom Hearts 3, who do I have to kill in order to get this game announced? The wait is unbearable.
Match Trends[]
Ngamer's Same Day Analysis[]
Match Prediction[]
Crazy showing from X last round, easily one of the most impressive of R1 in my opinion. KH1 did pretty well for itself also, but as other Crewmembers have touched on, FFX and KH have such a weird relationship that you never know how they'll affect one another. I could see anything happening here, from X pounding KH so badly that VC is in range (until the ASV kicks in) to KH holding X back so hard that MGS2... okay, strike that, couldn't ever see MGS2 winning outright.
MGS2 over KH though, now there's an interesting proposition. Sure Sora has held up well against Squall, but I think things could be different when the two games themselves are in play- FFX was just such the RPG star of that generation that'd I have to imagine it hugely overshadows KH1 or 2 or FF12 or anything else. Also, despite the underwhelming percentage last round, I'm not entirely sold on MGS2 being the weakest of the series, and furthermore I've got a ton of respect for this fanbase in terms of staying resilient despite stronger competition. The base isn't big enough to score blowouts (as MGS1 showed us yesterday), but it's generally consistent enough to manage 25%+ against most opponents, and if FFX is able to cause enough havoc it might not even need that much tonight.
On the other hand... gosh that was a great showing for KH2 in that match with RE4. I'm torn on this one; better let the match pic decide! Hmm, love the big bold title for MGS2, plus the "2" has been cut off on the right; might help with the franchise voting! And KH doesn't impress me- the series always seems to be at top strength when it draws the sort-of-anime look they've been doing from KH2 on, so I don't think Goofy and Donald is its best bet. Alright, guess I'll back the upset and take the MGS fanbase to pull out one of their classic close victories here (shouldn't be too hard, as Frog has already showed us that this franchise can be had in the final hour).
One final note: I don't think VC gets entirely crunched in this one, as most seem to be expecting. Sure the series has disappointed, but it's been a consistent disappointment, with all 4 games grabbing between 22 and 28 percent of the vote. No chance Vice City matches that against good competition like this, but still, I'd be surprised if it imploded to under 14% or so.
- Final Fantasy X - 36.61%
- Metal Gear Solid 2 - 23.05%
- Kingdom Hearts - 23.01%
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 17.34%
Looks... risky, but I like it!
Next Day Review[]
Well what do you know- guess Sora and Squall are much better proxies than I gave them credit for! After that world-beating performance in R1 I hesitate to call this a straight up disappointment from FFX... seems more like it did about what we have expected, minus the SFFing of KH that we'd all been counting on. Yes sir, I guess that voters just don't automatically think "Square" where KH is involved for whatever reason; the LFF between FFs has been just brutal, yet today Kingdom Hearts acted as if it were an entirely independent entry. Maybe one (or both?) KHs are going to be making much, much deeper runs than we'd expected... As for Vice City, this was a good showing and one that further validates my claim that all 4 have been performing very consistently. MGS2, however, was once again rather underwhelming; guess I have no choice but to accept that I was wrong and it's the weak link of the series, unless 3 drops a real bomb on us.