GameFAQsContests.com

The first 2009 match centered on Donkey Kong versus Punch-Out for the second advancing spot. Donkey Kong survived an early scare and a reputation for choking to pull away, while Tetris dominated the field.

SFF: The writeup says Tetris imposed old-school overlap on Space Invaders and likely hurt Donkey Kong as well, though Donkey Kong was still strong enough to beat Punch-Out.

The Oregon Trail briefly looked capable of becoming the contest's next joke bandwagon, but collapsed after a few hours and left Pac-Man safely in second. Mega Man 2 won easily yet looked much weaker than its pre-contest hype suggested.

Mario dominated so completely that Duck Hunt could not mount a comeback against Ninja Gaiden for the second advancing spot. The writeup treats the result as a textbook example of extreme overlap overwhelming an otherwise stronger game.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario's suppression of Duck Hunt 'Same Cartridge SFF,' since the two games famously shared an NES cartridge.

Zelda dominated as expected, and Metroid still advanced despite taking a severe fanbase hit. Contra's failure to capitalize became the larger surprise and began a recurring pattern of disappointing shooter performances.

SFF: The writeup says Zelda heavily SFFed Metroid, while also entertaining the possibility that Contra suffered some Nintendo-related overlap of its own.

Sonic defeated Street Fighter II far more easily than the consensus expected, while Castlevania III briefly made the bottom of the poll interesting. The writeup reads the result as another sign that fighting games simply lacked GameFAQs strength.

Super Mario Bros. 3 delivered one of the most overwhelming four-way performances ever, leaving the weak supporting field to fight over scraps. Secret of Monkey Island eventually emerged from that battle for the other advancing spot.

Super Mario World and Final Fantasy advanced without real drama, while Battletoads became notable mainly for a highly visible 4chan push. Prince of Persia produced one of the contest's weakest performances.

Rally: The writeup explicitly describes a pre-planned 4chan rally for Battletoads. It says the push inflated Battletoads' total but never came close to threatening the advancing games.

Final Fantasy IV and Mega Man 3 advanced in exactly the order expected, with little suspense. The result strengthened Final Fantasy IV's standing and largely ended the idea that the original Final Fantasy was clearly stronger.

Super Metroid and Super Mario Kart produced a remarkably close, trend-defying fight for first while both were already safe to advance. Sonic 3's poor showing was the bigger strategic surprise, and the writeup reports but does not endorse cheating accusations.

A Link to the Past dominated while Donkey Kong Country repeatedly flirted with choking away second place. Doom nevertheless failed to capitalize, turning what looked like a favorable upset setup into another shooter disappointment.

SFF: The writeup says A Link to the Past clearly SFFed Donkey Kong Country, though Doom was too weak to take advantage of the favorable situation.

Link's Awakening decisively beat Mega Man X for the second advancing spot and immediately established itself as a legitimate Zelda threat rather than a minor handheld entry. Final Fantasy VI advanced but looked weaker than its 2004 reputation.

Sonic 2 and Mortal Kombat II advanced in the expected order, leaving little actual drama. Secret of Mana looked respectable, but Sonic's modest winning performance reinforced the view that the Sonic games were weaker than expected.

GoldenEye and Super Mario RPG advanced from a debated fourpack, while Resident Evil 2 remained respectable but never broke through. Donkey Kong Country 2's long-running hype ended in a disappointing SFF-affected debut.

SFF: The writeup says Super Mario RPG SFFed Donkey Kong Country 2, helping reduce a heavily hyped game to a weak opening-round showing.

Final Fantasy VII dominated a pair of respectable Nintendo 64 games and looked every bit as strong as its old reputation suggested. Mario Kart 64 comfortably took the other advancing spot over Star Fox 64.

SFF: The writeup says Mario Kart 64 predictably SFFed Star Fox 64, leaving the second advancing position effectively settled from the opening moments.

Super Mario 64 dominated the poll, while Symphony of the Night comfortably beat Resident Evil for the other advancing spot. Kirby Super Star collapsed badly in Mario's presence.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Super Mario 64 SFFed Kirby Super Star heavily, using Kirby's collapse to argue that Kirby's character strength does not come primarily from his games.

Chrono Trigger annihilated the field and looked fully restored to elite strength, while Yoshi's Island easily held off an EarthBound upset push that never materialized. The match was effectively decided immediately.

Pokémon RBY overwhelmed Majora's Mask in a matchup many expected to be close, immediately elevating Pokémon into the contest's top tier. The two other N64 games were largely squeezed out of relevance.

LFF: The writeup attributes Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark's weak showings partly to heavy N64 and Nintendo overlap in a field led by Majora's Mask and Pokémon.

Metal Gear Solid won, but Pokémon Gold and Silver looked strong enough to pressure it early and comfortably beat Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics' decline from its 2004 form became the main casualty.

Final Fantasy VIII crushed StarCraft far more decisively than many expected and established itself as a serious contender. The writeup rejects the idea that StarCraft's old rally magic would automatically translate to another deep run.

Ocarina of Time dominated an otherwise straightforward poll, while Final Fantasy IX beat Half-Life for the second advancing position. Half-Life's failure became another example of shooters disappointing in the bracket.

Final Fantasy X and Metal Gear Solid 2 advanced in a perfectly ordered match that the writeup considers almost devoid of story. Silent Hill 2 and Morrowind never threatened the top pair.

Kingdom Hearts took first comfortably, but Vice City overturned the expected Nintendo advantage and beat Metroid Prime for second. The writeup treats Paper Mario's presence as the key reason Prime could not capitalize.

LFF: The writeup says Paper Mario leeched enough Nintendo support from Metroid Prime to cost Prime the second advancing spot against Vice City.

All four games remained competitive, with Diablo II unexpectedly taking first while Halo needed its familiar afternoon strength to catch Knights of the Old Republic for second. KOTOR's near-advancement became one of the round's most impressive losses.

Melee and Wind Waker advanced exactly as expected, but Wind Waker held up well enough to raise concerns about Melee's future ceiling. Fire Emblem collapsed under an especially hostile overlap situation.

SFF: The writeup says Fire Emblem was SFFed from two directions by Wind Waker and by Melee, the game that had helped introduce the series to many voters.

Oblivion won a chaotic four-way race, while Tales of Symphonia recovered from a late deficit to steal second from God of War. San Andreas, the consensus favorite, fell to last, making the match one of the contest's defining upsets.

Metal Gear Solid 3 won comfortably, while World of Warcraft beat Halo 2 for the other advancing spot without needing the massive rally many had predicted. Halo nearly fell to last and continued the contest's shooter slump.

Resident Evil 4 built an overnight lead and then endured a long Kingdom Hearts II day-vote challenge without ever fully losing control. The narrow win advanced RE4 but also badly weakened its case as a potential finalist.

Twilight Princess dominated the field, while Half-Life 2 built enough of an early cushion to keep Final Fantasy XII from seriously threatening second. The result briefly elevated Twilight Princess into finals discussion.

Brawl crushed the field while GTA IV took an easy second, leaving Street Fighter IV in an embarrassing fight with Persona 4 just to avoid last place. The writeup treats Street Fighter IV as one of the contest's biggest disappointments.

Call of Duty 4 decisively beat Super Mario Galaxy in a result that immediately damaged Galaxy's pre-contest reputation. Even allowing for Pokémon overlap, the writeup sees Galaxy's performance as a major warning before facing Brawl.

LFF: The writeup treats Pokémon Diamond and Pearl's overlapping Nintendo support as a major factor in Super Mario Galaxy's unexpectedly weak performance.

Metal Gear Solid 4 won as expected, while Portal comfortably beat BioShock for the second advancing spot after an early lead that never became seriously threatened. The match stayed quieter than its uncertain pre-match setup suggested.

Fallout 3 and Halo 3 advanced in a nearly perfect staircase, making the final first-round match one of the contest's least eventful. The shared Xbox and genre-heavy field produced very little movement.

LFF: The writeup attributes some of Mass Effect's weak showing to overlap with fellow Western RPG Fallout 3 in an unusually homogeneous field.

Tetris beat Mega Man 2 comfortably and was never seriously threatened after the opening moments. Mega Man 2 nevertheless held up better than its first-round showing suggested, while the writeup declines to pin the result on SFF.

Mario defeated Zelda much more easily than many expected, while Metroid and Ninja Gaiden were reduced to afterthoughts. The result appeared to settle the old NES hierarchy before later rounds complicated it again.

SFF: The writeup says Mario and Zelda crushed Metroid and Ninja Gaiden through heavy Nintendo overlap, leaving the real contest entirely between the two NES giants.

Mario 3 dominated the field, while Sonic recovered from an overnight Street Fighter II lead and used its strong day vote to secure second. The match reinforced both Mario-Sonic overlap and Street Fighter's limited strength.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Super Mario Bros. 3 SFFed Sonic, though Street Fighter II still could not take advantage enough to advance.

Super Mario World transformed its shaky first-round image into a dominant second-round performance. Final Fantasy IV clearly beat the original Final Fantasy, while Mega Man 3 continued the series' disappointing contest.

LFF: The writeup describes substantial overlap between the two Final Fantasy entries in the field, with the split weakening the original Final Fantasy while Final Fantasy IV still secured second.

A Link to the Past dominated, while Super Metroid and Super Mario Kart repeated almost the same close race and voting trends as their first-round meeting. Metroid again survived, but the rematch lacked the tension its margin suggested.

SFF: The writeup says A Link to the Past was clearly SFFing all three fellow SNES and Nintendo-era games in the poll.

Final Fantasy VI won a perfectly ordered match, but Link's Awakening staying even with it in the opening minutes badly damaged FF6's elite reputation. The writeup treats those few minutes as more important than the eventual easy finish.

Final Fantasy VII again dominated strong opposition, while GoldenEye clearly beat Super Mario RPG and Mario Kart 64 for second. The writeup mainly uses the result to continue the FF7-versus-Ocarina strength comparison.

Chrono Trigger built an overnight lead on Mario 64, only to collapse badly once Mario's morning vote arrived. Mario 64 turned the match into a convincing win and shattered expectations for Chrono Trigger's deeper run.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Yoshi's Island was SFFed into a very weak last-place showing, with Mario 64 providing the clearest source of the overlap.

Metal Gear Solid won, but Pokémon RBY remained impressive despite sharing the poll with Gold and Silver and Majora's Mask. The result made MGS look vulnerable for the next round while rehabilitating Majora's Mask somewhat.

LFF: The writeup says Pokémon Gold and Silver leeched heavily from Pokémon RBY and cost the older generation first place against Metal Gear Solid.

StarCraft briefly revived memories of 2004 by taking an early second-place lead, but Final Fantasy VIII erased it quickly once the overnight vote arrived. Ocarina of Time dominated throughout.

LFF: The writeup says Final Fantasy IX leeched support from Final Fantasy VIII early, briefly allowing StarCraft to threaten the second advancing position.

Final Fantasy X won a crowded all-PS2 field, while Kingdom Hearts comfortably beat Metal Gear Solid 2 for second. Kingdom Hearts' strong showing and FFX's modest margin made the winner look less secure than the placement suggested.

Melee won easily, while Diablo II repeated its first-round success and comfortably advanced again. Halo collapsed to last behind a SFF-affected Wind Waker, producing another major embarrassment for the series.

SFF: The writeup says Melee SFFed Wind Waker, though Wind Waker still held up better than expected and even finished ahead of Halo.

Metal Gear Solid 3 won comfortably, while Oblivion survived a long duel with World of Warcraft for second. The writeup notes multiple rally attempts but concludes that none meaningfully changed the result.

Twilight Princess won, but Resident Evil 4 and Kingdom Hearts II again produced a close fight for the other advancing spot. RE4 survived a late collapse, while Twilight Princess itself looked less dominant than a finalist was expected to look.

LFF: The writeup says Twilight Princess absorbed enough of Kingdom Hearts II's usual day-vote support to help Resident Evil 4 survive another close rematch.

Brawl annihilated Galaxy and sent Call of Duty 4 through in second, turning Galaxy's disappointing first round into a full collapse. The writeup elevates Brawl into serious finals contention after the result.

SFF: The writeup calls Brawl's suppression of Super Mario Galaxy one of the most meaningful SFF beatings in contest history.

Metal Gear Solid 4 and Fallout 3 advanced in an orderly match with little suspense, while Portal briefly made the lower positions interesting. The writeup treats it mainly as a quiet setup for later rounds.

Mario still beat Zelda without being seriously threatened, but the margin collapsed compared with their prior matchup. The writeup treats the shift as evidence that Mario split more badly with the surrounding field and as setup for later surprises.

LFF: The writeup says Mega Man 2 and Tetris hurt Mario's support more than Zelda's, helping narrow the Mario-Zelda gap sharply from their previous meeting.

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.

Final Fantasy VII dominated, while Chrono Trigger built a real lead on Mario 64 before collapsing again with the afternoon vote. Mario 64's late recovery ended another promising Chrono Trigger upset attempt.

LFF: The writeup says GoldenEye clearly leeched Mario 64, giving Chrono Trigger a much better chance to steal the second advancing position.

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.

Melee and Final Fantasy X advanced through a largely featureless staircase match. Kingdom Hearts briefly fought Diablo II for position but never threatened the top two once the PS2 split took hold.

LFF: The writeup says Kingdom Hearts was held down by its PS2 overlap with Final Fantasy X, preventing it from mounting a serious challenge for second.

Twilight Princess took first, but Metal Gear Solid 3 built a substantial lead over Resident Evil 4 before RE4 spent most of the day slowly erasing it. Resident Evil 4 completed another close comeback and advanced.

Brawl decisively reversed its close Game of the Year history with Metal Gear Solid 4 and dominated the divisional final. The writeup treats the result as final proof that Brawl's contest strength was legitimate.

Super Mario World took first, while Zelda erased a huge deficit and nearly stole second from Mario 3 in the final minutes. A suspicious late swing for Mario 3 turned an already dramatic finish into a lasting Board 8 controversy.

SFF · LFF · Cheat: The writeup describes heavy Mario-on-Mario SFF and a three-Mario split that greatly helped Zelda. It also alleges that a suspicious late swing in Mario 3's favor may have involved cheating, though the official result ultimately stood.

Final Fantasy VII dominated, while A Link to the Past survived a late Mario 64 comeback by a narrow margin. The writeup also sees the result as another sign that newer voters were gradually reshaping the site's preferences.

SFF: The writeup says Final Fantasy VII SFFed Final Fantasy VI heavily, reducing FF6 to a minor factor while the real race developed between Link to the Past and Mario 64.

Ocarina of Time dominated the Nintendo-heavy field, while Final Fantasy X used the favorable bracket setup to advance. Melee fell to last and Pokémon could not overcome Ocarina's presence.

SFF: The writeup says Ocarina of Time heavily SFFed both Melee and Pokémon RBY, with Pokémon resisting the Nintendo suppression better than Melee.

Metal Gear Solid 4 built a large overnight lead, then barely survived a massive Brawl afternoon comeback. The two advanced together from an unusually balanced field, while Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4 were eliminated.

SFF: The writeup says Brawl SFFed Twilight Princess enough to knock Zelda out of the advancing positions.

Final Fantasy VII and A Link to the Past advanced from a semifinal the writeup considered nearly predetermined. FF7's dominant showing became the main talking point heading into the championship.

SFF · LFF: The writeup says Nintendo SFF inflated Final Fantasy VII's advantage, while the split between the two Mario games helped Link to the Past secure the other final berth.

Ocarina of Time secured first easily, while Final Fantasy X erased Metal Gear Solid 4's early lead overnight and advanced to the championship. Brawl's run ended under an especially unfavorable Nintendo matchup.

SFF: The writeup says Ocarina of Time SFFed Brawl out of contention, leaving Final Fantasy X and Metal Gear Solid 4 to fight for the other final spot.

Ocarina of Time took control almost immediately and defeated Final Fantasy VII despite FF7 looking stronger in earlier rounds. The writeup treats the result as a fair Team Zelda victory and Ocarina's arrival as the site's new top game.