GameFAQsContests.com

Metal Gear Solid 3 narrowly beat the original Metal Gear Solid in the long-awaited intra-series comparison. The writeup celebrates the close but stable result as a rare feel-good moment in an otherwise disappointing contest for the franchise.

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 advanced, but EarthBound came much closer than the writeup thought a former top-tier game should allow. The result reinforced the contest-wide impression that Metal Gear had declined while EarthBound had gained real strength.

Metal Gear Solid crushed Splatoon and became the only Metal Gear entry the writeup thought looked genuinely solid in Round One. The result offered a brief exception to the series-wide decline narrative.

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.

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.

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 VII crushed Metal Gear Solid and, in the writeup's view, became the unmistakable favorite for the entire contest. The performance was framed as a direct challenge to Ocarina of Time to show comparable strength the next day.

Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy Tactics traded tiny leads throughout an exceptionally tight match before Metal Gear Solid escaped at the end. The writeup considers the finish controversial because a large site advertisement and a suspicious late vote jump left the author unwilling to treat the result as fully credible.

Cheat: The writeup calls Metal Gear Solid's late push suspicious, questions the credibility of the final result, and says the unexplained last-minute vote jump should have been investigated, while acknowledging there was no proof of cheating.

Metal Gear Solid comfortably dispatched Resident Evil and reinforced its status as one of the strongest non-Nintendo, non-Square properties on the site. The result set up what looked on paper like a very even meeting with Final Fantasy Tactics.