Vote for who you thought drafted the best list of games.

CM Punk'd
Donkey Kong Country
Tetris Effect
Grand Theft Auto V
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Banjo-Kazooie
Doom Eternal
Metroid Prime

Versus

Emperor
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Cuphead
The Last Of Us
Shadow of the Colossus
Overwatch
Elden Ring
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I can't not not vote against Shadows of the Colossus any longer, so...

It's Tuesday, you know what that means.

LOOK IN MY EYES

WHAT DO YOU SEE

Let's stick with the head to heads...

Final Fantasy VII Remake > Donkey Kong Country (10-9) - I'm a huge fan of the aesthetic and animation cycles of DKC. It has a wonderful personality, but the 20+ year gap in technological advancement just allows VII to perform so many more complex feats. I suppose that puts classic retro games at a disadvantage, but I still think a classic game like DKC is more enjoyable than a mediocre modern game.

Cuphead > Tetris Effect (10-9) - I just think Cuphead provides a much more memorable experience.

Grand Theft Auto V > The Last Of Us (10-9) - I remember playing these at the same time of release and just getting more enjoyment out of GTAV. It was a battle of linear vs. non-linear and zombie post apocalypse fare has never been up my alley, especially since it just recycled a lot of the usual tropes.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate > Shadows of the Colossus (10-9) - I REALLY wanted to go the other way just to spite pi, but Smash Bros is an incredible series and just offers more playability than Shadow of the Colossus.

Overwatch > Horizon Zero Dawn (10-9) - Overwatch has it's share of issues but on paper it offers a lot of variety and strategy that with total mastery and team chemistry is a blast to play. HZD is one of the best new IPs to emerge but the story left something to be desired and it always seemed to have room for improvement. Plus I'm naturally more bias towards hero-based shooters being a TF2 fiend.

Elden Ring > Banjo Kazooie (10-9) - I think this has a similar time-gap as FF7 and DKC. While I still feel like the jury is out on Elden Ring, suffice to say it's going to be remembered as one of the best games of 2022 and while Banjo was a great follow-up to Mario 64, I don't think it beats OoT, Half Life and Metal Gear Solid. Elden Ring takes a tired genre, does it right and now I'm actively avoiding water coolers so I don't get any of that water cooler discussion COVID.

Metal Gear Solid 3 > DOOM Eternal (10-9) - I'm just going on reputation here as MGS3 is held up as one of the greatest action-adventure games of all-time while the jury is out on whether Eternal even surpassed the original. I enjoyed my time with Eternal, but still need to play 2016.

Metroid Prime > The Witcher 3 (10-9) - Because I'm bias and I adore Prime which still stands out whereas The Witcher 3 is starting to age as the genre keeps shifting.

5-3 Emperor, but it was extremely close and if it came down to games that I've played Punk'd would take it out.

Congrats Emperor.

Congrats Emperor

I shouldn't have not not not voted against Shadows of the Colossus. But Dr. Emperor does feel like the right one true king of video games. All hail!

Congrats Emperor, I knew once you got pass me you had it in the bag.

FF7 did it. It was gonna be mine (tho the original ps1 version) and he stole it from me. Convinced that decision decided the whole battle.

Thanks everybody!

To be perfectly honest I wasn't expecting to make it past the first round. I know I shit talked the classic games with my first pick but I fully expected the tried and tested to go far, so I was pretty surprised to keep winning match after match. I think the variety of my picks helped, wanted to have good genre coverage.

All that said, I like a final without a single Mario or Zelda game. No, I'm not counting Smash Bros as a Mario or Zelda game.

The original FF7 was still on the table: in my mind FF7R is a different game and I'm sure Lony would have allowed it. Maybe people didn't pick it out of courtesy, and I am grateful for that, but I wouldn't have minded. In fact I even expected it.

I'm actually not sure how popular FF is these days which is why I stayed clear of the franchise despite it being one of the few series I played through on PS1. I couldn't count on Rogue voting and I'm honestly clueless of it's popularity on here. I could really only count on you and System and even then I'm not sure if he was a FF7 or an FF8 guy.

Which highlights how difficult it is to settle on a FF game. VII is the most popular and to this day remains the game that people instantly think of when it comes to FF. However if you're appealing to hardcore gamers, V really focused heavily on the combat while VI represents a different FF player. You're not some filthy casual who cried over Aeris' death on Disc 1, you're a battle hardened FF player who suplexed a train. FF9 has a similar reception of the Wind Waker where purists rejected it on release but as those who grew up with it have come to age (like me) it's viewed as an under-appreciated gem. I feel like there has to be a correlation between FFIX fans and Nintendo fans - I think the lighter nature of the story overall makes it more appealing.

Then you have FFX which is the most modern turn-based entry and is the most accessible game. It has a very similar appeal as IX, except it's got a richer story and the story is told in a darker way.

Interestingly, ever since Spoony's popularity waned, it feels like the discourse around FF has been positive as a whole. Back in the day, it just seemed like most FF games were met with out of context scenes presented as serious game-breaking issues. Oh Tidus laughed weird? Awful game!