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The Best Game of 2003 Tournament was ran by Raven in mid 2010.  It's noted for having only one #1 seed make the semifinals.  The eventual champion would be Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, marking the series' only championship win and the first time a #3 seed has won a Game of the Year tournament.

2003's Ultimate Loser: Prince > KOTOR > Beyond Good & Evil > Viewtiful Joe > FFX-2 > Silent Hill 3 > .hack//Outbreak Part 3

Best Game of 2003 Tournament
Outset Division Wind Waker
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Disgaea
Prince of Persia
Star Wars: KOTOR
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
(1) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
(16) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
Wind Waker
Call of Duty
Wind Waker
Advance Wars 2
(8) Guilty Gear X2
(9) Call of Duty
(5) Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
(12) Dynasty Warriors 4
Advance Wars 2
Mario Golf
(4) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
(13) Chaos Legion
(6) Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
(11) Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Zone of the Enders 2
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Dark Cloud 2
(3) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
(14) Colin McRae Rally 3
(7) Dark Cloud 2
(10) Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
Darl Cloud 2
Ratchet and Clank 2
(2) Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
(15) NCAA Football 2004
Hoenn Division Jak II
Disgaea
(1) Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
(16) Otogi: Myth of Demons
Pokemon RSE
Kirby Air Ride
Pokemon RSE
Jak II
(8) .hack//Infection Part 1
(9) Kirby Air Ride
(5) Jak II
(12) Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Jak II
F-Zero GX
(4) F-Zero GX
(13) XIII
(6) Golden Sun: The Lost Age
(11) Sonic Advance 2
Golden Sun 2
Disgaea
Disgaea
Fire Emblem
(3) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
(14) SOCOM II: US Navy SEALs
(7) Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$
(10) Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario and Luigi
Fire Emblem
(2) Fire Emblem
(15) Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Revan Division Star Wars: KOTOR
Aria of Sorrow
Star Wars: KOTOR
Beyond Good and Evil
(1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
(16) Tony Hawk's Underground
Star Wars: KOTOR
SSX 3
Star Wars: KOTOR
SoulCalibur II
(8) SSX 3
(9) NBA Street Volume 2
(5) Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
(12) Midnight Club II
VF4: Evolution
SoulCalibur II
(4) SoulCalibur II
(13) Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire
(6) Ikaruga
(11) Mario Party 5
Ikaruga
Mario Kart: DD
Ikaruga
Aria of Sorrow
(3) Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
(14) Geometry Wars
(7) WWE SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain
(10) Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2
Aria of Sorrow
(2) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
(15) Need for Speed Underground
Henshin-a-go-go Division Viewtiful Joe
Beyond Good and Evil
(1) Viewtiful Joe
(16) Gladius
Viewtiful Joe
Madden NFL 2004
Viewtiful Joe
Final Fantasy X-2
(8) Madden NFL 2004
(9) True Crime: Streets of LA
(5) Silent Hill 3
(12) .hack//Outbreak Part 3
Silent Hill 3
Final Fantasy X-2
(4) Final Fantasy X-2
(13) Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
(6) Panzer Dragoon Orta
(11) .hack//Mutation Part 2
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Xenosaga
Xenosaga
Beyond Good and Evil
(3) Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
(14) Rise of Nations
(7) Mega Man Zero 2
(10) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Mega Man Zero 2
Beyond Good and Evil
(2) Beyond Good and Evil
(15) ESPN NFL Football

Zero's Final Thoughts[]

After taking a break for a couple of weeks, I fired up the Best Game of 2003 nomination topic. 2003 is a year I hold dearly to me, if at least for the fact that I turned 18 that year and a lot of it was a coming of age to me. On top of that, the gaming selection was pretty diverse. The top seed didn't surprise me at all, as Wind Waker ran away with the nominations for said honor. The other #1 seeds all varied, however. Knights of the Old Republic was a fine choice for a #1, as it won many GOTY awards in 2003. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald was the second Pokemon title to get a #1 seed, and I wouldn't expect anything less on Board 8. Viewtiful Joe, while a great game in its own right, was one I least expected to snatch up a #1 spot.

The tournament was a go-go and it didn't take long to realize this was not going to be your ordinary bracket. Knights of the Old Republic mostly ran through its region, getting easy wins over Tony Hawk and SSX before having a small, respectable struggle with Soul Calibur II. After an 11-8 win over SC2, KOTOR went right back on business and nearly tripled #2 seed Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow for a Final Four spot. The only thing out of the ordinary in KOTOR's division was #3 seed SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain (highly considered to be one of the top wrestling games ever released) immediately flopping to #14 seed Max Payne 2 in round 1.

Pokemon's region would have a few surprises starting in round 3, when RSE would go belly up against Jak II, not even getting 33% on the Naughty Dog sequel, becoming the first #1 seed to drop. To add to these shenanigans, #2 seed Fire Emblem would get a heartbreaking loss to #3 seed Disgaea. Considering this contest was ran in 2010, I figured Fire Emblem probably would have won this region without Pokemon in the way. If I had ran it in early 2004, Disgaea probably could've won the whole thing because Board 8 was nuts about that series when it first released. If nothing else, Disgaea settled for a Final Four appearance after winning 12-9 over Jak II.

Viewtiful Joe had three straight easy wins as a #1 seed, blowing out Gladius and Madden NFL 2004, and doubling Final Fantasy X-2 in the third round, thus denying Square a fourth straight opportunity to choke in the finals. VJ wouldn't be comfortable for long, however, as Beyond Good and Evil was laying out ESPN NFL Football and Mega Man Zero 2 with a combined score of 25-2. Xenosaga had a respectable 13-7 loss to BG&E in round 3, and then in a very close bout, Viewtiful Joe came up short in a 12-11 loss. I'll have to look sometime, but I'm pretty certain Beyond Good and Evil might be the only standalone title (with no sequels, prequels, spinoffs, ties to other series, etc) to make it to the semifinals of any GotY tournament I've ran.

So with all of these upsets happening, it almost seems like it's a walk in the park for Zelda to win its first tournament. Link wipes out Tiger Woods and Call of Duty with a combined 31-7 finish, and then just barely misses doubling Advance Wars 2 with a final score of 20-11. To further add to the odds stacking in Link's favor, #2 seed Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando was stunned in round 2 by #7 seed Dark Cloud 2. Once the Elite Eight happened, however, we learned quickly to expect the unexpected with the Prince of Persia of all people. After the series sat unnoticed for quite a few years, Ubisoft released The Sands of Time in late 2003; the title was so well-received that it eventually spawned four more Prince of Persia titles within the next seven years. No matter how strong Zelda was on a Nintendo-friendly message forum, Link was no match for the Prince, as Sands of Time upset Wind Waker 14-10 for a spot in the Final Four.

Final Four would happen shortly after and the Prince of Persia would beat Prince Laharl 24-18 for a shot at glory. KOTOR had its hands full with Beyond Good and Evil, winning a narrow 13-11 for the second finals slot. Finally, in the 2003 Championship bout, the Sands of Time would never be in danger of losing to Knights of the Old Republic, winning 18-13 to give us an expected, yet very welcoming champion. Prince of Persia became both the first #3 seed in tournament history as well as the first Ubisoft game to win a GotY tournament. The remainder of the series didn't fare the greatest both before and after this; Warrior Within would bow out in 2004's second round, Two Thrones would exit in the 2005 Sweet 16 (though beating God of War in round 2 is no slouch), the 2008 Prince would lose in 2008's second round, and the Forgotten Sands wouldn't even make the 2010 tournament at all.

2003's tournament was one that will be looked back on for having the unexpected occur. Zelda and Pokemon would go on to have multiple championships and Final Four appearances in future tournaments, and Final Fantasy would have multiple semifinal and final appearances as well. Besides Beyond Good and Evil, which was a standalone title with no prequels, sequels, or spinoffs, we'd never see another Prince of Persia, Star Wars, or Disgaea title make it to the Final Four in tournament history.

2004 would have a few hard hitters in its tournament, and considering it was postponed twice during its run, the outcome would finally be worth the wait...

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