GameFAQsContests.com

Chrono Trigger destroyed Final Fantasy X in a matchup that had been heavily debated before the contest. The blowout erased old concerns about Chrono Trigger's decline and made it look like the strongest game on the site without outside intervention.

Melee beat Kingdom Hearts II as expected, but bled enough support to look doomed against the newly dominant Chrono Trigger. The writeup also notes that the Melee rally from the previous round did not return here.

Final Fantasy VI won a debated matchup with Wind Waker without ever facing a sustained comeback. The result became a rare modern example of Final Fantasy beating Zelda in a close-looking contest matchup and validated FFVI's stronger 2015 form.

Final Fantasy VII crushed Smash 4 and looked far stronger than Final Fantasy VI had in the neighboring match. The writeup treats the result as decisive evidence that FFVI was not going to win their coming same-series showdown.

Pokémon RBY was already routing Sonic 2 before Undertale rally spillover pushed the result even higher. The underlying blowout made Pokémon look like a true title contender even after separating out the outside traffic.

Rally: The writeup says Undertale's simultaneous rally traffic spilled into the Pokémon poll and further boosted Pokémon RBY beyond an already dominant natural performance.

Super Mario World built the expected early advantage, but Undertale's rally started earlier than in prior rounds and eventually overwhelmed it. The match also produced a major cheating scare that the writeup says was unsupported.

Rally: The writeup says Undertale's expanding social-media rallies steadily erased Super Mario World's lead and eventually carried Undertale comfortably ahead. Cheating accusations are explicitly rejected by the administrator.

Metroid Prime built a large early lead, then Skyrim used its stronger morning and daytime trends to erase it and win. The writeup treats Prime's familiar trend collapse as the decisive factor after an opening aided partly by rally spillover.

Rally: The writeup says Undertale rally spillover helped Metroid Prime's unusually strong opening and boosted turnout, although Prime's normal early strength also contributed.

Twilight Princess looked unusually competitive at the start, but Mario 64 recovered and settled into a comfortable win. The writeup attributes much of Zelda's early strength to rally spillover and the lopsided match pictures.

Rally · Pic: The writeup says Twilight Princess benefited early from Undertale rally spillover and from a major picture imbalance: Mario 64 received a poor image while Twilight Princess received an especially strong Link image.

Ocarina of Time won easily but again looked weaker than expected for the site's traditional top game. Final Fantasy IX's strong showing, aided by the picture matchup, became another warning that Ocarina was vulnerable later.

Pic: The writeup directly blames Ocarina of Time's weak-looking performance in part on a poor Ocarina picture paired against one of Final Fantasy IX's best possible images.

Symphony of the Night decisively ended Donkey Kong Country 2's surprise run once the low seed finally met a proven heavyweight. The writeup still considers DKC2's overall contest a major success.

A Link to the Past crushed Dark Souls and looked largely immune to the Zelda fatigue affecting other entries in the series. The writeup treats the dominant result as evidence that LTTP remained a genuine elite game.

Super Metroid and Majora's Mask traded tiny leads for hours before Majora finally pulled away with the later vote. Both analyses remember it as one of the contest's best pure matches, notably without rally controversy.

Super Mario RPG beat Chrono Cross comfortably and continued a run that had exceeded almost every pre-contest expectation. Chrono Cross still earned respect by keeping the result more respectable than many of Mario RPG's earlier opponents.

Resident Evil 4 beat Metal Gear Solid 2 without danger but again landed far below the strength expected of it. The result made Super Mario RPG look increasingly likely to take the division.

Metal Gear Solid survived the feared rematch with Shadow of the Colossus and never allowed another Cinderella upset to develop. The writeup treats the result as a welcome piece of redemption for an otherwise poor Metal Gear contest.

Metal Gear Solid 3 unexpectedly routed Mass Effect 2 after most predictions had expected a very close match. The writeup gives major credit to MGS3's exceptionally strong picture and treats the win as the series' best result of the contest.

Pic: The writeup explicitly says Metal Gear Solid 3's excellent Big Boss image was the real reason it performed so strongly, calling it one of the best possible pictures for the game.