Brontoforumus

1. A Link to The Past
2. Final Fantasy 3
3. Mega Man X
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Super Metroid
6. Super Mario RPG
7. Shadowrun
8. SoulBlazer

The final eight. SM and LttPs final showdown draws ever nearer.

First up:

4. Chrono Trigger
vs
6. Super Mario RPG

Chrono Trigger. Moving on.

Well, I was gonna say I wouldn't skip a match since this is the semifinals, but CT is already ahead 8-1.

Right.

Next up:

5. Super Metroid
vs
2. Final Fantasy 3

SM finally matched up against a real threat.

Sorry Super Metroid, I don't have as much nostalgia for you even though you're objectively the better game.

I would have voted for Mario RPG.

Braid wrote:I would have voted for Mario RPG.

Typically Friday appears to get ~16 people voting on a given poll. The last one was already 8 to 1, meaning that everyone who hadn't voted yet would've had to vote for SMRPG to even tie.

Final Fantasy 3 is the more personal game for me. Super Metroid is the more fun game to play. Hard criteria to judge against one another.

Going to give this to Super Metroid. Both use 16 bit techniques to push their narratives in interesting ways, but for all that FF3 does right, it also has a number of flaws when it comes to pacing and tone. It's arguably the pinnacle of the generation's RPGs, but that argument only comes if it gets pit against Chrono Trigger down the line. It feels vaguely like a betrayal to put it down here, but it feels like the right move. Super Metroid's major flaw is the stupidity of boxes that have your power-ups labelled on them to be destroyed ruining the organic flow of the world. Final Fantasy 3's biggest flaw is arguably its entire last half (though I really like the World of Ruin, personally). Super Metroid has very, very little fat to trim, while FF3 could stand another editing pass. They're both at the top of the heap, but my gut says Samus.

My policy has always been that I will re-run any skipped poll if even one person asks me to.

Feel free to ask, Caith, or anyone else.

Metroid's just a better video game.

Metroid's just a better video game.

I generally stay out of discussions like this in my polls because as the one running it I feel it's weird for me to comment like this.

But in this case, I think I'll make an exception, because both of these games embody perfection in some form.

I have devised my own system for rating games, a three point system, which can be ranked 1-10.

1. Gameplay (the mechanics, how fun)
2. Experience (story, atmosphere, emotional impact)
3. Dressing (music, art, sound effects, etc)

Now, Experience and Dressing certainly share a lot of overlap, but can also be separate enough to warrant two different rankings (example: Chrono Cross has exceptional Dressing but isn't the greatest Experience)

Anyway.

Metroid is a 10/7/10 and FF3 is a 6/10/9. Any game that scores a 8 or higher in the first two catagories has value. Both of these games have tremendous appeal.

I want to address the "Metroid's just a better video game." quote above, because I think it is only half the picture.

Let me be clear: I agree Metroid is the better video game.

It doesn't have an Opera scene.

FF3 definitely has a hell of a lot more charm, a full cast of actual characters, and waaay more varied locations than Metroid. It's also more memorable to me.

I just mean that, like, Metroid is something that could not work on any other medium but gaming.

Final Fantasy 3 never really interested me the way Final Fantasy 2 did. I knew a guy who was the BIGGEST FF3 fan I'd ever met. He loved the stuffing out of that game and made it sound like the story had been sung from the mouths of angels or something. You could tell every D&D character he'd make was just one of the heroes from FF3 with a different costume on. He even built magitek suits for lego men. I really got sick of hearing about the virtues of the game. I eventually caved and played the game for a half hour or so at his house and... it didn't strike me as all that engaging.

I had a much better experience with Super Metroid.

Super Metroid always feels a little bit overrated to me. There's nothing WRONG with it (except the occasional bullshit walljump pit) but it never ascended the level of "really well put together video game" to become something that I can regard as An Important Thing.

FF3 is not a well put together video game. It's downright coming apart at the seams, really. But it does ascend that level on the strength of the things it does do right, and if you're going to ask me which one of these two I feel is better, it's going to be the one that actually changed the way I look at and play video games.

WHERE'S THE SECRET OF MANA OPTION.

It's labelled FF3 this time.

8-9.



Next up:

8. SoulBlazer
vs
7. Shadowrun

RIP bitch (even though I voted for you, I'm sorry babe, I love you please don't vapourise me)


now for the actual hard choice

this is like the legitimately intense fan favourite mid-card match and then afterwards I can just tune out for the shitty boring royal rumble

goddamnit, MMX is going to go against LttP.

I don't want to choose. I DON'T WANT TO CHOOSE.

I can't believe Mega Man X is still here when Super Metroid is gone.