Super Mario Bros. 3 vs Final Fantasy 2004
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Contents |
[edit] Results
[edit] Stats and Analysis
| Round | Division 8 Semi Final |
|---|---|
| Match # | 49 |
| Match Date | Sunday, May 23rd, 2004 |
| Vote difference | 14,164 |
| Oracle Expectations | Super Mario Bros. 3 - 61.21% 54 for - 2 against |
| GameFAQs Prediction | Super Mario Bros. 3 - 54.94% (22,492 brackets) |
Super Mario Brothers 3 was an absolute lock to make it out of its half division in this contest, yet only 55% of bracketmakers thought it would make it past this match. Even worse, this was not an impressive victory at all for the divisional favorite. I understand that Final Fantasy has the namebrand and the 8-Bit Theater strength attached to it (hence the high picture rating), but a divisional favorite not scoring 60% in the semifinal against an inferior opponent doesn`t spell well for it in the future. This match reminded me of Mario`s 55-45 flop against Shadow the Hedgehog in the Summer 2003 Contest in that it clearly showed that Mario was not his old self. Coincidentally, this is Mario`s best game showing that it was not its old self in the match.
But in the intrest of fairness, I think that there were some unseen factors involved in this match. Compare the prediction percentages between Mario 3 and Final Fantasy in each round:
Round 1
- Mario 3: 86.56%
- Final Fantasy: 96.46%
Round 2
- Mario 3: 72.04%
- Final Fantasy: 82.01%
Clearly, Final Fantasy was actually the favorite to win this match. I don`t exactly think it was by a large amount, but the prediction percentages don`t lie. Apparently this site really is FinalFantasyFAQs after all. You could name a game Final Fantasy: Dog Turds in Flight and see it enjoy huge amounts of success around here. That`s simply the nature of the beast. So on the bright side of all this, Mario 3 won a match that it was supposed to lose 60-40. Whether or not this was simply a bump in the road remained to see seen, but thankfully for us fans, we could make a quick comparison between the division`s two heavyweights in the match directly following this one.
[edit] Match Trends
