Favorite Video Game Tournament (Pokémon Wins! + Condorcet)

[mith]

Yup, it's that time again.

See previous threads for an idea of how this works...

Favorite Movie (2007) - The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Fictional Character (2008) - Han Solo
Favorite Song (2009) - Stairway to Heaven
Favorite Book (2009) - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Favorite Person (2010) - Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
Favorite Game (2010) - Texas Hold'em Poker
Favorite Game (2012) - Chess
Favorite Band (2012) - Queen

Part 2: Choose Topics
Part 3: TV Show Nominations, Video Game Nominations

Brackets and Seeding

Pre-Runoff: Matches 1-8, Matches 9-14, Matches 15-22
Runoff Groups 1-9
Round 1: Matches 1-8, Matches 9-16, Matches 17-24, Matches 25-32
Round 2: Matches 33-40, Matches 41-48
Round 3: Matches 49-56
Round 4: Matches 57-60, Bonus 1-2
Round 5: Matches 61-62, Bonus 3-5
Round 6: Match 63, Third Place, Fifth Place, Bonus 6-7
Results: Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen d. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[mith]

Part 3: Nominations

Nominate your (up to) 25 Favorite Video Games. Order does not matter. You must nominate in the following format:

Game
Game
Game

For my sanity, please post your nominations as just a straight list with no numbers, bullets, or comments. It saves me a lot of time if I can just copy/paste into my spreadsheet rather than having to remove things first.

If you feel the need to comment on your nominations, do so before or after the entire list. Feel free to edit your list as much as you like, but post in the thread when you do so - I might have already started compiling my list and could miss your edit. I reserve the right to ignore nominations from anyone not following these guidelines.

Links are not required

, but are helpful in case there are duplicate games with the same name.

Games are not guaranteed a place in the bracket from a single nomination. Nominate your top 25 games regardless of others' selections

(ideally, don't look at other people's lists at all until you've posted yours, but you may want to look to make sure you're not missing something that belongs). Games above some number of nominations will be in the bracket, and there may be a runoff of some sort to determine remaining spots. See previous tournaments for details.

[mith]

Clarification: Flash/other web-based games are fine here. Virtual implementations of board/card games are not.

[mith]

Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Contra
GoldenEye 007
Heavy Rain
Kingdom of Loathing
Mario Kart 64
N
Perfect Dark
Pokemon GSC
Rock Band 2
Sid Meier's Civilization V
SimCity
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Tales of Symphonia
Tecmo Super Bowl
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Sims
Warcraft II

[mith]

My understanding (admittedly based on five minutes of google-fu) is that it is a rather faithful adaptation of the tabletop game, including a turn-based mode (in addition to the original real-time that got the developers sued). I'm inclined to say no, but I'm willing to be persuaded if someone wants to do a compare-contrast on them.

[mith]

My understanding (admittedly based on five minutes of google-fu) is that it is a rather faithful adaptation of the tabletop game, including a turn-based mode (in addition to the original real-time that got the developers sued). I'm inclined to say no, but I'm willing to be persuaded if someone wants to do a compare-contrast on them.

In that case you would also need to ban Warhammer Shadow Of The Horned Rat, Warhammer Dark Omen, almost any Warhammer 40k game (it's a close enough adaption in that sense). As while they aren't exactly the same as the tabletop game, they are pretty much keeping to the original basis of it, much the same as Blood Bowl does.

Sure it's relatively faithful, but in the same way the Harry Potter movies are "faithful" to the books. They keep the basics the same but there's enough different there that they are both separate entities. For instance, even with the turn based stuff in the game (which is where it's "faithful", but also the only way that's worth playing the game... Real Time sucks), you have a full league to play through, can change so many settings that the game is no longer the same as the table top game, and there's added stuff in there anyway, then there's the additional teams... totally different game, totally different feel to it as well.

It's not like we're talking Monopoly with some different options after all (although saying that I did have a strangely weird version of Monopoly on the PS2 that played nothing like the original... might have to see if I still have it somewhere as it was a good laugh, even if it was pretty terrible).

As no one has nominated any of the Warhammer games, that part is not currently an issue.

Added stuff and additional teams = expansion material, to me. I'd be like if Dominion expansions didn't exist, and then Goko came out with all these new cards - it's still Dominion.

The Real-time setting is the only reason I would consider making an exception here. Still thinking about it.

[mith]

But dominion is a card game and any online play of it is still just a card game?

This isn't like you have a game board and move around pieces... it's 3D models that move on their own, have lines, animations... when your team gets better their "image" evolves to show how far they've come.
Board game pieces don't physically change when you play a game. They don't talk to you.

None of this has anything to do with game-play. An animated version of Chess where the pieces move on their own and talk to you is still Chess.

I really don't think this game falls anywhere in line with what your rule basis is.
I mean the entire point is that board games aren't real video games, right?
But this has enough elements to make it an actual video game, where one is significantly more appealing and playable than the other.

The line between board games and video games is becoming increasingly blurred - that's why the line for me has more to do with where the mechanics of the game originated. We're certainly not going to set the line based on "appealing and playable" (and you're barking up the wrong tree making that sort of argument to me in particular - I happen to play a lot of board games).

I mean with this mindset, "games" such as "The Walking Dead" should not be included either... since they are just interactive movies, not actual video games with any real gameplay. (I'm not saying I really believe that that you shouldn't actually include it, just that if point and click adventures have less gameplay than video game versions of a board game, why would they count?)

Again, it's a video game VERSION of a boardgame, not a boardgame copy pasted to the internet to play like it's a real game.

I'm not making judgments on "how much" gameplay exists in a video game, either. The decision here is solely based on whether the gameplay in the video game version differs signficantly enough from the board game version

Also, I love this game for the single-player mode. I'm not sure if you can play "single-player" in the boardgame.

"The single-player experience allows the player to manage a team throughout an entire season of Blood Bowl, through the Old World of Warhammer. The team will evolve over the course of victories, experience gained and awards won. With its immense depth, the game can almost be considered as a management game, from managing the popularity and sponsorship of players to the purchase and sale of players, as well as their aging, retirement and even death."

-internet review

Many board game to video game adaptations have single player options/AI (including the Dominion implementation mentioned previously).

My understanding is that all of the features listed here also exist in the board game (league play).

I haven't played either, but from the descriptions here, the comparison seems similar to Pokemon TCG vs. Pokemon Red. Same flavor, different mechanics.

Having not played Pokemon TCG, I can do a quick google and see that the mechanics are very different - the video game has an experience system, teams set at the beginning of a battle with a fixed number of moves per pokemon, pokemon customizable by moveset, ability, EV training, etc., while the card game uses a random deck customizable by using different card versions, pokemon evolve during play, energy cards to perform moves, etc.

What I am trying to establish is whether there are truly different mechanics for Blood Bowl tabletop vs. Blood Bowl Chaos League, and I have not been able to do that yet. So far I've got "real-time, which sucks" and that's about it.

[mith]

Thanks for taking the time to work this out Mith~ <3
The single player campaign

absolutely

does not exist in the board game.

Sorry, I wasn't entirely clear there. What I was saying was that the league features

apart from solo play

exist in the board game. To me, that makes the single player campaign analogous to playing against AI in any other board game.

For sports games, can we nominate the series or do we have to pick a specific year?

Specific year.

Are mobile games "video games"? Can we nominate, say, Angry Birds?

Yes.

[mith]

k cool let me know when you make a decision based on the real time mode then

I think I'm going to stick with no on this. Admittedly, I might feel differently if Blood Bowl hadn't been in last year's Board Game bracket.

[mith]

Yeah, if mith calls it 1 game I'll probably re-add nethack.

As with board games, I'll consider expansions as part of the base game (particularly reasonable here since most video games with expansions are eventually rereleased in bundles anyway).

[mith]

I'll leave nominations open until Sunday evening, with the runoffs or first round to start on Monday.

[mith]

Going to start compiling these in about an hour. If you haven't nominated, get on it.

[mith]

Done. Working on the bracket now.

[mith]

Better numbers here. Need to think about how I want to account for same-series games in the runoff.

[mith]

That's sort of what I'm doing...

This may be the most complicated runoff system yet...

[mith]

Pre-Runoff Part 1:

These are series which received multiple nominations spread among different games, with each game receiving a single nomination. The winners will form the first runoff group, for the right to lose to the 1 seed. I expect a lot of passing in this round...

1. Guantlet vs. Gauntlet Dark Legacy
2. Guild Wars vs. Guild Wars 2
3. Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest vs. Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia vs. Heroes of Might and Magic IV
4. Metroid vs. Metroid Prime
5. SimCity vs. SimCity 2000 vs. SimCity 3000
6. Star Wars: TIE Fighter vs. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance
7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 vs. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
8. Unreal Tournament 2004 vs. Unreal Tournament 3

[mith]

-
-
-
Metroid Prime
SimCity
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
-
-

[mith]

(These pre-runoff rounds will be open about 2 days each.)

[mith]

You'll have to take it up with the guys who nominated different games from their respective series.

[mith]

question: By "Sim City" do you mean the ORIGINAL or or the newest one that's on Origin?

The original. Edited link.

[mith]

Previous Results:

1.

Guantlet Dark Legacy

d. Gauntlet, 5-3
2.

Guild Wars 2

d. Guild Wars, 7-2
3.

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia

d. Heroes of Might and Magic IV and Heroes of Might and Magic: A Srategic Quest, 4-3-1
4.

Metroid Prime

d. Metroid, 8-3
5.

SimCity

d. SimCity 2000 and SimCity 3000, 5-4-4
6.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

d. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, 4-2
7.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

d. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, 8-3
8.

Unreal Tournament 2004

d. Unreal Tournament 3, 2-1

Pre-Runoff Part 2:

These are series with a game already in the bracket, and multiple games with 1-2 nominations. The six winners from this stage will join the six games representing series which already have a game in the bracket but don't have multiple 1-2 nomination games for a super-sized runoff group. This is to give a bit more variety in the runoff entries, but the winner of this group will be given a small seeding advantage to compensate.

You can vote for up to two games in each match (except for 10, that would be silly).

9. Final Fantasy vs. Final Fantasy IV vs. Final Fantasy VII vs. Final Fantasy VIII vs. Final Fantasy IX vs. Final Fantasy XIII-2
10. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! vs. Mario Kart Wii
11. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum vs. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 vs. Pokémon Stadium vs. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness vs. Pokémon Snap vs. Pokémon Conquest
12. Super Mario Bros. vs. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins vs. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island vs. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
13. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall vs. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind vs. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
14. The Legend of Zelda vs. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening vs. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker vs. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess vs. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[mith]

-
-

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Pokemon DPP
Pokemon B2/W2

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

-
-

The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

[mith]

We don't HAVE to vote for at least two if we don't like any of the other choices, correct?

Correct. Up to two.

[mith]

64 > Double Dash > Wii.

[mith]

64 > Double Dash > Wii.

Wrong.

64 > Wii > SNES > Cube

Actually, that's pretty much how I'd rate the systems in general, not just the Mario Kart series.

To be fair, I haven't played the Wii version

that

much. And I'm with you on the system ratings.

(I like the SNES version, but getting stuck in corners was such a pain in that game. It's definitely at the bottom for me.)

[mith]

Link to the spreadsheet is now in the OP, so you can see what the full bracket looks like. The runoff group 3-9 winners have not been assigned to matches yet, as they will be seeded by number of votes. The runoff group 1 winner will face the 1 seed (Portal), while the runoff group 2 winner has been placed as the 43 seed - a gold star to anyone who can figure out why that particular seed.

[mith]

Breaking the Elder Scrolls tie in favor of Morrowind. I've at least seen it played.

Previous Results:

9.

Final Fantasy IX

d. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy XIII-2, 5-4-3-2-2-1
10.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

d. Mario Kart Wii, 11-9
11.

Pokémon Stadium

d. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Black 2/White 2, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Conquest, 10-9-7-3-3-1
12.

Super Mario Bros.

d. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, 14-9-7-7
13.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

d. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, 7.1-7-1
14.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

d. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, 9-7-4-3-2

Pre-Runoff, Part 3:

These matches are to determine representatives for series with multiple 1-2 nomination games (and at least one game with 2), but no games already in the bracket. These games will join the remaining 2-nomination sequels to form groups 6-9, while the 2-nomination standalone or series-starting games form groups 3-5. Why groups 6-9 end up with five games instead of the six games in groups 3-5 is left as an exercise to the reader. (There's a non-random reason.)

You may vote for up to two games in match 20 (Sonic). On match 22, the original Defense of the Ancients mod is considered to be included with Warcraft III.

15. Doom vs. Doom II: Hell on Earth
16. Guitar Hero vs. Guitar Hero II vs. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
17. Mario Party vs. Mario Party 2 vs. Mario Party 6
18. Persona 3 vs. Persona 4
19. Rayman vs. Rayman Origins vs. Rayman Raving Rabbids
20. Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 vs. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 vs. Sonic & Knuckles vs. Sonic Adventure vs. Sonic Generations
21. The Sims vs. The Sims 2 vs. The Sims 3
22. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos vs. Dota 2

[mith]

Doom
Guitar Hero II
Mario Party
-
-
-
-
The Sims
-

[mith]

15.

Doom

d. Doom 2, 9-2
16.

Guitar Hero 2

d. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Guitar Hero, 13-4-2
17.

Mario Party 2

d. Mario Party and Mario Party 6, 8-5-4
18.

Persona 3

d. Persona 4, 3-1
19.

Rayman

d. Rayman Raving Rabbids and Rayman Origins, 5-4-1
20.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

d. Sonic Adventures, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic Generations, 5-4-3-2-2-1
21.

The Sims 3

d. The Sims and The Sims 2, 7.1-7-3
22.

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

d. Dota 2, 10-2

(The Sims tie broken in favor of the one I didn't vote for, because I don't have that strong a preference.)

Runoff Groups

You may vote for

two

games in each group.

Group 1:

Gauntlet Dark Legacy
Guild Wars 2
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia
Metroid Prime
SimCity
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Unreal Tournament 2004

Group 2:

Donkey Kong Country
Final Fantasy IX
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Halo 2
Kingdom Hearts II
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Pokémon Stadium
Rock Band 3
Super Mario Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Group 3:

Banjo Kazooie
Deus Ex
NetHack
Rome: Total War
World of Goo
YOU DON'T KNOW JACK (Vol. 1)

Group 4:

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Dark Souls
FTL: Faster Than Light
Mark of the Ninja
Rayman
The Walking Dead

Group 5:

Assassin's Creed
Counter-Strike
GoldenEye 007
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
VVVVVV
World of Warcraft

Group 6:

Doom
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Kirby Super Star
Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 2
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Group 7:

Guitar Hero II
Left 4 Dead 2
Saints Row: The Third
The Sims 3
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

Group 8:

Bioshock: Infinite
Borderlands 2
Persona 3
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Tropico 4

Group 9:

Mario Party 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Star Fox 64/Lytat Wars
System Shock 2
Tales of Symphonia

[mith]

SimCity
Star Wars: TIE Fighter

Super Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

-
-

-
-

GoldenEye 007
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

-
-

Guitar Hero II
The Sims 3

-
-

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Tales of Symphonia

[mith]

(I DON'T KNOW JACK about some of these groups.)

[mith]

In honor of the tournament, I finally started playing Portal (which I've had on my computer for a long time now).

[mith]

Voting closes in a couple hours...

[mith]

Previous Results:

Group 1:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

(11) d. SimCity (9), Guild Wars 2 (9), Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (5), Metroid Prime (5), Unreal Tournament 2004 (5), Star Wars: TIE Fighter (4), Guantlet Dark Legacy (2)

Group 2:

Super Smash Bros.

(12) d. Donkey Kong Country (7), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (5), Pokemon Stadium (5), Final Fantasy IX (4), Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (4), Rock Band 3 (4), Super Mario Bros. (4), The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (3), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3), Kingdom Hearts II (2), Halo 2 (1)

Group 3:

Banjo Kazooie

(8.1) d. Rome: Total War (8), World of Goo (5), YOU DON'T KNOW JACK (4), Deus Ex (3), NetHack (2)

Group 4:

FTL: Faster Than Light

(12) d. The Walking Dead (9), Batman: Arkham Asylum (6), Rayman (5), Mark of the Ninja (1), Dark Souls (0)

Group 5:

GoldenEye 007

(10) d. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (9), Counter-Strike (6), World of Warcraft (4), VVVVVV (3), Assassin's Creed (2)

Group 6:

Doom

(7) d. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (5), Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 2 (5), Kirby Super Star (4), Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (3)

Group 7:

Guitar Hero 2

(10) d. Left 4 Dead 2 (8), The Sims 3 (7), Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (7), Saints Row: The Third (2)

Group 8:

Star Wars: Battlefront II

(8.1) d. Bioshock: Infinite (8), Borderlands 2 (5), Tropico 4 (3), Persona 3 (2)

Group 9:

Star Fox 64/Lytat Wars

(12) d. Mario Party 2 (11), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (10), Tales of Symphonia (5), System Shock 2 (2)

Only vote in a tiebreak if you didn't vote for either game in the group, or if you voted for both. Only one tiebreak per person.

Tiebreak:

Banjo Kazooie
Rome: Total War

Tiebreak:

Bioshock: Infinite
Star Wars: Battlefront II

Round 1, Part 1

Match 1:

Portal
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Match 2:

Sid Meier's Civilization II
Mass Effect 2

Match 3:

Sid Meier's Civilization V
Final Fantasy X

Match 4:

Team Fortress 2
Fallout: New Vegas

Match 5:

Minecraft
Half-Life 2

Match 6:

Spyro the Dragon
Tetris

Match 7:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Bastion

Match 8:

FTL: Faster Than Light
Fallout 3

[mith]

Portal
Sid Meier's Civilization II
Sid Meier's Civilization V
-
-
Tetris
-
-

[mith]

Voting will close this afternoon sometime.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 1:

Portal

d. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, 22-2

Match 2:

Sid Meier's Civilization II

d. Mass Effect 2, 12-7

Match 3:

Sid Meier's Civilization V

d. Final Fantasy X, 16-5

Match 4:

Team Fortress 2

d. Fallout: New Vegas, 10-5

Match 5:

Half-Life 2

d. Minecraft, 13-4

Match 6:

Tetris

d. Spyro the Dragon, 17-8

Match 7:

Bastion

d. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 9-6

Match 8:

FTL: Faster Than Light

d. Fallout 3, 16-2

Round 1, Part 2:

Match 9:

League of Legends
Guitar Hero II

Match 10:

Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Kingdom Hearts

Match 11:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Psychonauts

Match 12:

Halo 3
Chrono Trigger

Match 13:

Super Mario Bros. 3
Rock Band 2

Match 14:

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
EarthBound/Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back

Match 15:

Braid
Perfect Dark

Match 16:

Banjo-Kazooie
Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

[mith]

Guitar Hero II
Pokemon RSE
-
Chrono Trigger
Super Mario Bros. 3
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Perfect Dark
Pokemon RGBY

[mith]

Toughest match: 13; I've gotten a lot of play out of both of those. SMB3 wins on nostalgia.

[mith]

Almost done with Portal. Really enjoyable. Time to figure out what's next on the to-play list... (Other than Portal 2, obv.)

[mith]

Voting will close as soon as the Cowboys finish disappointing me today.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 9:

Guitar Hero II

d. League of Legends, 11-10

Match 10:

Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

d. Kingdom Hearts, 12-9

Match 11:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

d. Psychonauts, 15-6

Match 12:

Chrono Trigger

d. Halo 3, 10-5

Match 13:

Super Mario Bros. 3

d. Rock Band 2, 18-5

Match 14:

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

d. EarthBound/Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back, 7-6

Match 15:

Perfect Dark

d. Braid, 7.1-7

Match 16:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. Banjo-Kazooie, 18-6

Only vote in the tiebreaker if you didn't vote in the match already...

Tiebreaker:

Braid
Perfect Dark

Round 1, Part 3:

Match 17:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
Star Wars: Battlefront II

Match 18:

Super Mario World
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Match 19:

Super Mario 64
Mass Effect

Match 20:

Pokémon Black/White
Super Smash Bros. Melee

Match 21:

Mario Kart 64
XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Match 22:

Super Smash Bros.
BioShock

Match 23:

Grand Theft Auto V
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Match 24:

GoldenEye 007
Diablo II

[mith]

Pokemon GSC
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros.
-
GoldenEye 007

[mith]

Voting closes this afternoon...

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 17:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver

d. Star Wars: Battlefront II, 13-7

Match 18:

Super Mario World

d. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, 13-7

Match 19:

Super Mario 64

d. Mass Effect, 14-6

Match 20:

Super Smash Bros. Melee

d. Pokémon Black/White, 18-1

Match 21:

Mario Kart 64

d. XCOM: Enemy Unknown, 22-2

Match 22:

Super Smash Bros.

d. BioShock, 15-9

Match 23:

Grand Theft Auto V

d. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, 11-8

Match 24:

Diablo II

d. GoldenEye 007, 13-9

Round 1, Part 4:

Match 25:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Star Fox 64/Lytat Wars

Match 26:

The Last of Us
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Match 27:

Roller Coaster Tycoon
Final Fantasy VI

Match 28:

Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Match 29:

Dragon Age: Origins
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Match 30:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Portal 2

Match 31:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Match 32:

Doom
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[mith]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
-
Final Fantasy VI
Sid Meier's Civilization IV
-
Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[mith]

Three quarters of the bracket done, and a runoff winner survives each. This time the top seeds hold form, but the favorably placed Group 2 winner knocks out BioShock to set up a matchup with a fellow N64 best-seller (both top 5). Definitely the "Mario" division of the bracket (I haven't been naming these like the TV Shows because I couldn't come up with anything good to play off the top seeds in the middle divisions... and anyway there have been more upsets here).

I don't think we're going to see a runoff upset in the current quarter, though...

[mith]

I also just finished watching The Smash Brothers, and 9-part documentary about the world's greatest Melee players. Really well done.

Also also, I am nearly finished with Portal 2. Just as enjoyable as the first.

[mith]

My vote sorting hates you.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 25:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

d. Star Fox 64/Lytat Wars, 10-4

Match 26:

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

d. The Last of Us, 7-5

Match 27:

Roller Coaster Tycoon

d. Final Fantasy VI, 14-6

Match 28:

Sid Meier's Civilization IV

d. Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 14-2

Match 29:

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

d. Dragon Age: Origins, 8-5

Match 30:

Portal 2

d. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, 15-8

Match 31:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

d. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, 7-5

Match 32:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

d. Doom, 14-4

Round 2, Part 1:

Match 33:

Portal
Sid Meier's Civilization II

Match 34:

Sid Meier's Civilization V
Team Fortress 2

Match 35:

Half-Life 2
Tetris

Match 36:

Bastion
FTL: Faster Than Light

Match 37:

Guitar Hero II
Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

Match 38:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Chrono Trigger

Match 39:

Super Mario Bros. 3
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Match 40:

Perfect Dark
Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

[mith]

Portal
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Tetris
-
Guitar Hero II
Chrono Trigger
Super Mario Bros. 3
Perfect Dark

[mith]

Series with multiple games remaining:

3: Pokémon, Sid Meier's Civilization, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda
2: Grand Theft Auto, Portal, Super Smash Bros.

Number of games remaining by nominations:

14: 1/1
10: 1/1
7: 3/4
6: 5/7
5: 5/8
4: 5/11
3: 9/23
2: 3/8
1: 0/1

[mith]

I just realized the first three matchups feature games included in The Orange Box. That's kinda cool.

[mith]

counterpoint: Majora is an underrated masterpiece.

This. My favorite of the series, and I will be sad when it gets crushed in the next round. (But not *too* sad, I like OOT too.)

Also, Melee is a much better game than SSB. I haven't played Brawl, but from what I've read (and seen in the admittedly biased documentary) it is dumbed down mechanically.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 33:

Portal

d. Sid Meier's Civilization II, 16-5

Match 34:

Sid Meier's Civilization V

d. Team Fortress 2, 15-5

Match 35:

Tetris

d. Half-Life 2, 14-7

Match 36:

Bastion

d. FTL: Faster Than Light, 8-7

Match 37:

Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald

d. Guitar Hero II, 13-8

Match 38:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

d. Chrono Trigger, 9-6

Match 39:

Super Mario Bros. 3

d. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, 12-5

Match 40:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. Perfect Dark, 14-4

Round 2, Part 2:

Match 41:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
Super Mario World

Match 42:

Super Mario 64
Super Smash Bros. Melee

Match 43:

Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros.

Match 44:

Grand Theft Auto V
Diablo II

Match 45:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Match 46:

RollerCoaster Tycoon
Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Match 47:

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Portal 2

Match 48:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[mith]

Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
-
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Sid Meier's Civilization IV
Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[mith]

For my future sanity, please make sure you are clear on which game within the same series you are voting for - I am counting these up by copy/pasting everyone's lists and sorting by title, so while it may be obvious from the context of your list, it is not necessarily obvious to me. (I am trying to catch them as they come up, it just makes it easier if you copy the full title of the game so I don't have to worry about missing one.)

[mith]

Voting will close in a few hours.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 41:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver

d. Super Mario World, 12-10

Match 42:

Super Mario 64

d. Super Smash Bros. Melee, 10-8

Match 43:

Mario Kart 64

d. Super Smash Bros., 11-7

Match 44:

Diablo II

d. Grand Theft Auto V, 7.1-7

Match 45:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

d. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 9-3

Match 46:

RollerCoaster Tycoon

d. Sid Meier's Civilization IV, 10-9

Match 47:

Portal 2

d. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, 10-4

Match 48:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

d. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 5.1-5

Only vote in a tiebreaker if you didn't vote in the match already, only vote on one of them.

Tiebreaker:

Diablo II
Grand Theft Auto V

Tiebreaker:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[mith]

Round 3:

Match 49:

Portal
Sid Meier's Civilization V

Match 50:

Tetris
Bastion

Match 51:

Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

Match 52:

Super Mario Bros. 3
Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

Match 53:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
Super Mario 64

Match 54:

Mario Kart 64
Diablo II

Match 55:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
RollerCoaster Tycoon

Match 56:

Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[mith]

Portal
-
Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

[mith]

Series with multiple games remaining:

3: Pokémon
2: Portal, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda

Number of games remaining by nominations:

14: 1/1
10: 0/1
7: 3/4
6: 3/7
5: 4/8
4: 3/11
3: 2/23
2: 0/8
1: 0/1

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 49:

Portal

d. Sid Meier's Civilization V, 16-3

Match 50:

Tetris

d. Bastion, 13-9

Match 51:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

d. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, 11-5

Match 52:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. Super Mario Bros. 3, 12-8

Match 53:

Super Mario 64

d. Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver, 10.1-10

Match 54:

Mario Kart 64

d. Diablo II, 13-7

Match 55:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

d. RollerCoaster Tycoon, 12-6

Match 56:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

d. Portal 2, 8.1-8

Round 4:

Match 57:

Portal
Tetris

Match 58:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

Match 59:

Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64

Match 60:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Bonus Match 1:

Vote for up to two.
Bastion
Chrono Trigger
Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Sid Meier's Civilization II
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Smash Bros.
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Bonus Match 2:

Centipede
Frogger
Pac-Man
Space Invaders

[mith]

Portal
Pokemon RGBY
Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Frogger

[mith]

Number of games remaining by nominations:

14: 1/1
10: 0/1
7: 1/4
6: 2/7
5: 2/8
4: 2/11
3: 0/23
2: 0/8
1: 0/1

[mith]

It wouldn't make sense to do runoffs between games of the same series, because each game is significantly different. That said, I do think that in the future we need to differentiate between game series that are literally different games with the same theme (ie Zelda, Mario, etc) and series that are just continuations/updates of each other (ie Madden, NBA Live, etc). I personally don't think it makes sense to count Madden 2003 and Madden 2004 (to name two random years) as "different games" for the purposes of this tournament. Basically, every sports series was gimped automatically, even though they are essentially the same game, just with different stats and feature updates. I'd maybe consider breaking up a longer-running franchise like Madden by console generation, since there were graphical and feature updates that separated the games significantly as they transcended each platform.

Had any of the sports series received multiple nominations (even spread among multiple games) from different people, they would have shown up in the runoffs at least - in fact, this is how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 made it in the bracket. It may just be that no one else thought that highly of them.

It may have been the case though that people didn't nominate individual sports games because they only would consider them as part of the series rather than a game worthy of nomination in their own right. Breaking them up by generation might make sense, yes. (Actually, if I had done that, I probably would have just done the same with the other series; combining Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, or Final Fantasy VII-IX into a single entry wouldn't be all that crazy.)

[mith]

Breaking them up by generation might make sense, yes. (Actually, if I had done that, I probably would have just done the same with the other series; combining Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, or Final Fantasy VII-IX into a single entry wouldn't be all that crazy.)

It would have been completely crazy. I can accept the WWE Raw vs Smackdown series has basically not changed for a lifetime. But to even suggest FFVII and FFVIII are the same game with slight changes is... ridiculous to be quite honest. Plus then you would have Sonic Adventure being dragged down by all the other guff that came out afterwards, Mario 1, 2 and 3 all being grouped as the "same" game, despite all the changes.

It would be like saying Snap and Poker are the same game as they both use cards... or hell, if you want to even try being more accurate, it's like saying 5 Card Draw and Omaha are the same game as they're "still poker". (Although anyone out there who does think that, I'll play you heads up anytime)

Sorry, I wasn't trying to say that they are the same game, only that I think having generations within a series compete instead of single games would have been an interesting alternative.

[mith]

Next round will go up sometime this evening, I think.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 57:

Portal

d. Tetris, 21-7

Match 58:

Pokemon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, 14-10

Match 59:

Super Mario 64

d. Mario Kart 64, 14-10

Match 60:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

d. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, 8-5

Bonus Match 1:

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

(9) d. Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver (7), Super Mario Bros. 3 (7), Super Smash Bros. (6), Bastion (5), Sid Meier's Civilization II (5), RollerCoaster Tycoon (4), Chrono Trigger (3)

Bonus Match 2:

Pac-Man

d. Frogger, Centipede, Space Invaders, 15-4-3-2

Round 5:

Match 61:

Portal
Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

Match 62:

Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Bonus Match 3:

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Mario Kart 64
Tetris
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Bonus Match 4:

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
Portal 2
Super Mario Bros. 3

Bonus Match 5:

FreeCell
JezzBall
Mahjong Solitaire
Minesweeper
SkiFree

[mith]

Portal
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros. 3
Minesweeper

[mith]

Very surprised with how this is going so far...

[mith]

I think he meant in the bracket, not the last published.

I really enjoyed Mario 64; it would only be fourth or so among all Mario games, but the better Marios have been eliminated, so I could definitely see myself voting for it... if it weren't up against my favorite game.

[mith]

Voting will close tomorrow morning.

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 61:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. Portal, 14-12

Match 62:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

d. Super Mario 64, 11-9

Bonus Match 3:

Mario Kart 64

d. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Tetris, 7-5-5-4

Bonus Match 4:

Super Mario Bros. 3

d. Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver, Portal 2, 9-7-4

Bonus Match 5:

Minesweeper

d. JezzBall, FreeCell, SkiFree, 9-5-2-2

Round 6:

Match 63, Final:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Third Place Match:

Portal
Super Mario 64

Fifth Place Match:

Mario Kart 64
Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Bonus Match 6:

Minesweeper
Pac-Man
PONG

Bonus Match 7:

The King of Fighters '94
Mortal Kombat (1992)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Tekken
Virtua Fighter

[mith]

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Portal
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Pac-Man
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior

[mith]

Also, wanted to point out how amused I was by Matias' comment (following my "surprised" post and the subsequent Mario 64 discussion).

[mith]

Voting closes in a few hours...

[mith]

Previous Results:

Match 63:

Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

d. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, 14-8

Third Place Match:

Portal

d. Super Mario 64, 18-6

Fifth Place Match:

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

d. Mario Kart 64, Super Mario Bros. 3, 7-6-6

Bonus Match 6:

Pac-Man

d. Minesweeper, PONG, 12-5-2

Bonus Match 7:

Mortal Kombat (1992)

d. Tekken, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, The King of Fighters '94, Virtua Fighter, 5-4-2-1-0

Final Results:

1. Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
3. Portal
4. Super Mario 64
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
t6. Mario Kart 64
t6. Super Mario Bros. 3

[mith]

Condorcet Bonus Match:

Order the following from favorite to least favorite. You can include ties if you like. Any games left off the list will assumed to be tied for last.

1. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
2. Diablo II
3. League of Legends
4. Mario Kart 64
5. Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver
6. Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen
7. Portal
8. Portal 2
9. Super Mario 64
10. Super Mario Bros. 3
11. Tetris
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
13. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
14. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[mith]

13>14>12>10>8>7>9>4>5>6>11>2>1>3

[mith]

Portal 2 is currently beating Majora's Mask 7-1 in that pairing; either a lot of people who prefer Portal 2 didn't vote in that match, or we don't have a good representative sample of the voters yet...

(Portal and Portal 2 are the Smith Set at the moment. I agree with Alduskkel, FWIW.)

[mith]

Portal 2 is currently beating Majora's Mask 7-1 in that pairing; either a lot of people who prefer Portal 2 didn't vote in that match, or we don't have a good representative sample of the voters yet...

Or, three people voting MM in the match have Portal 2 ahead now. What's up with that?

(I am also getting a slightly different count for that round, now; either I goofed copying, or someone edited/deleted some votes. I now have Super Mario 64/Pokémon GSC and Majora's Mask/Portal 2 tied. Probably for the best that those games advanced, even if it was an error - we might have ended up with Portal vs. Pokemon in both semifinals otherwise.)

[mith]

Condorcet Results:

Portal 2 (13-0)
Portal (12-1)
Mario Kart 64 (10-2-1)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (9-3-1)
League of Legends (8-4-1)
Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver, Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen (5-5-3)
Super Mario 64, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (4-7-2)
Tetris, Super Mario Bros. 3 (3-8-2, 4-9-0)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (3-9-1)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (3-10)
Diablo II (0-13)

The top 7 has no pairwise conflicts, just the ties (MK64 t. Pokémon Red/etc., LoZ:OoT t. LoZ:MM, LoL t. Tetris). The next 6 is a bit of a mess, though.

[mith]

Results are pairwise records, not vote counts.