GameFAQsContests.com

Link beat Samus in a long-awaited matchup that stayed competitive only briefly before Nintendo SFF took over. The writeup considers the result another sign of Link's dominance while arguing that Samus looked weaker than she really was.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says SFF took hold after Samus kept the opening close and later argues that Link SFFed her heavily enough to distort her apparent contest strength.

Super Mario Bros. 3 won a highly anticipated divisional final with surprising ease and further ended Zelda's early aura of invincibility. The writeup treats the matchup as a clear case where shared Nintendo support favored Mario.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says SFF finally worked against a Zelda title, with Super Mario Bros. 3 benefiting in the all-Nintendo matchup against the original Zelda.

Mario turned a mildly debated division final into an immediate rout of Zero. The writeup treats the result as a major SFF statement and a warning that Mario and Nintendo were much stronger than the old statistics suggested.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario's win an SFF beatdown and argues that Mario was able to suppress Zero far beyond ordinary expectations.

Samus advanced as expected, but the writeup considers her showing against Ganondorf disappointing next to Mario's destruction of Zero. Her weak SFF performance is presented as a serious warning before the coming Mario matchup.

SFF: The writeup says Samus barely managed to SFF Ganondorf, with only enough suppression to offset Ganondorf's recent Zelda-series boost.

Snake demolished Sora after entering the match somewhat underestimated. The writeup sees the result as both a statement of Snake's true strength and an example of a broader fanbase-overlap effect working against Sora.

SFF: The writeup rejects a simple PlayStation 2 explanation but argues that a broader form of SFF hurt Sora badly against Solid Snake.

Bowser survived a strong challenge from Kirby and gradually built enough of a lead to take the division. The close result weakened confidence in Bowser before Snake, with the writeup considering reverse SFF as one possible explanation.

SFF: The writeup presents reverse SFF as a viable explanation for Kirby keeping the match unusually close, with Kirby's starring role and bracket support potentially suppressing Bowser's expected advantage.

Vincent survived one of the contest's best matches after Squall repeatedly erased and rebuilt tiny leads throughout the day. The win was a huge bracket buster, but the writeup calls it a Pyrrhic victory because Squall's resistance further damaged Vincent's elite reputation.

SFF: The writeup says a slight amount of SFF, together with anti-votes, likely held Squall back in the close Final Fantasy matchup.

Mega Man easily dispatched Yoshi and ended the divisional round. The writeup attributes Yoshi's underperformance partly to SFF and uses that result to swing the coming Sonic-Mega Man debate toward Mega Man.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Mega Man likely SFFed Yoshi because voters associate Mega Man strongly with Nintendo-era games.

Zelda crushed Metroid in the expected division final and produced another extreme Nintendo SFF result. The writeup treats the match as the latest entry in a long pattern of Samus and Metroid collapsing against stronger Nintendo opposition.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Zelda's suppression of Metroid was severe SFF and places it in a long history of Samus and Metroid performing badly against other Nintendo entrants.

Sephiroth beat Mario comfortably in a result that had become predictable by match day. The more notable secondary story was Fox collapsing in Mario's presence after looking strong against Nintendo opposition earlier.

SFF: The writeup says Mario heavily suppressed fellow Nintendo entrant Fox, leaving Fox far weaker than his prior-round performance suggested.

Mario and Mega Man X advanced after an early fight that briefly made another Mario upset look possible. Luigi's collapse under Mario's presence removed the feared family interference and left Liquid out as well.

SFF: The writeup says Mario directly SFFed Luigi, leaving his brother far weaker than his standalone strength and clearing the way for Mega Man X to advance.

Samus and Vincent advanced as expected, but Ganondorf collapsed so badly that Gordon Freeman escaped last place. The writeup treats the fanbase interaction as the defining feature of an otherwise predictable divisional final.

SFF · LFF: The writeup describes Ganondorf as heavily suppressed by Samus through their shared Nintendo support. It also says Ganondorf's presence drained Samus enough to tighten her comparison with outside contender Vincent.

Pikachu finally ended L-Block's title defense after a tense early struggle, marking a major shift in both joke-character expectations and Pokémon's standing on the site. Crono advanced comfortably alongside him.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Crono SFFed Alucard into the floor, leaving the real advancing fight to Pikachu and L-Block.

Cloud dominated, while Mewtwo turned a seemingly unfavorable draw into one of the contest's largest surprises. Squall and Sora were left fighting each other for scraps behind the advancing pair.

SFF: The writeup says Cloud's presence created massive Square SFF against Squall and Sora, allowing outside entrant Mewtwo to capitalize and advance.

Sephiroth and Sonic advanced in a match the writeup considered essentially predetermined once Auron shared the field with Sephiroth. Sonic's solid showing quieted some of the criticism generated by his earlier loss.

SFF: The writeup says Sephiroth SFFed fellow Final Fantasy entrant Auron badly, preventing Auron from reproducing his prior win over Sonic.

Mario 3 survived a sustained challenge from Mario World, but the writeup treats the narrow escape as evidence that World's relative strength had risen sharply. It also frames the result as part of a broader generational shift on GameFAQs.

SFF · LFF: The writeup says Mario 3 clearly SFFed Sonic. It also says the other older games leeched Mario World more heavily, making World's near-win over Mario 3 especially striking.

A Link to the Past and Final Fantasy VI advanced in a match the writeup considered almost completely predetermined. The only notable fanbase effect was Link's Awakening taking especially heavy suppression.

SFF: The writeup says A Link to the Past SFFed Link's Awakening heavily and left both lower Nintendo games suppressed beneath Final Fantasy VI.

Ocarina of Time won comfortably, while Pokémon RBY finally broke through against Metal Gear Solid and advanced. The result elevated Pokémon into the site's highest tier and exposed a recurring overlap between Metal Gear and Final Fantasy.

SFF · LFF: The writeup says Ocarina of Time imposed Nintendo SFF on Pokémon RBY, though Pokémon resisted it unusually well. It also says Final Fantasy VIII leeched Metal Gear Solid and helped Pokémon take second.

Samus beat Zelda far more decisively than their previous meeting suggested was normal. The writeup sees a mix of Zelda decline and newly visible Nintendo suppression from Samus, further strengthening Samus's case against Cloud.

SFF: The writeup says Samus appears to have SFFed Zelda, contributing to a much stronger result than their earlier 1v1 history suggested.

The same-series divisional final was never presented as a serious rivalry, and Final Fantasy IX was simply outclassed by Final Fantasy X. The writeup mostly uses the match to criticize how easy the division had been for FFX.

SFF: The writeup treats this as a Square SFF matchup, noting that Final Fantasy IX was suppressed by Final Fantasy X even if the effect was milder than some older Square pairings.

The first Mario-versus-Sonic rivalry matchup in contest history turned into a one-sided win for Mario and Bowser. The writeup treats the result as another example of Sonic collapsing under Mario overlap.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario and Bowser's win over Sonic and Robotnik an SFF beating.

Smash Ultimate beat Super Mario Odyssey despite Odyssey looking stronger in every prior round. The writeup treats the result as a hierarchy-driven same-fanbase matchup, with reverse SFF offered as the main explanation for the reversal.

SFF: Ulti explicitly argues that Smash Ultimate reverse-SFFed Super Mario Odyssey, while the broader writeup also treats Nintendo hierarchy and same-fanbase effects as central to why Smash won more comfortably than expected.

The Witcher 3 crushed God of War far more severely than expected and looked completely secure on its path to the final. The writeup attributes part of the rout to overlapping Western audiences while still crediting Witcher's genuine strength.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says some form of SFF occurred between The Witcher 3 and God of War because of their overlapping Western open-world audience, while warning that the effect was probably overestimated.