Round 1 Wrap-Up

It took over three months to get through the first round, when it should have taken me three months (or less) to get through the whole thing. Enough complaining.

So the first round is over with. What once was 32 games has been narrowed down to 16. Another step closer to determining what is my favorite videogame. Here is the list of all games, broken up by bracket, with the winners in bold. A summary appears after each listing.

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Bracket A
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
8. Pokemon Blue
4. Killer 7
5. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
3. James Bond 007: Nightfire
6. Metroid Prime
2. Tetris
7. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

The 1 seed was a clear victory in the opening match of the tournament, and higher seeds 2 and 3 also conquered their opponents. However, in the second match, the first underdog emerged. All respect goes to Pokemon, Killer 7, Metroid Prime, and Knights of the Old Republic, but the superior games were Link to the Past, Super Mario RPG, Nightfire, and Tetris. Things are already heating up.

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Bracket B
1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
8. Chrono Trigger
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
5. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
3. The Legend of Zelda
6. Syphon Filter
2. NHL ‘94
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Arcade Game

The most recently released game on the list, MGS4, was an immediate 1 seed and (easier than it should have been) defeated Chrono Trigger. Higher seeds SSBB and NHL '94 removed Fire Emblem: PoR and TMNT 2, respectively. However, the biggest upset came in this bracket, when Syphon Filter overcame The Legend of Zelda. That was exciting. The first match for the next round will be a good one.

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Bracket C
1. Resident Evil 4
8. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Golden Sun
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
6. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
7. Super Metroid

In one of the hardest matches for me, the 4 v 5, I went with a handheld RPG over one of the most well known and popular games ever made. Opinions differ my friends. All other top ranked seeds had it easy, but what would you expect from RE4 and GH3? SMB3 is one of those games nobody, especially myself, should look down on despite being a 3 seed.

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Bracket D
1. Tales of Symphonia
8. Halo 3
4. Contra
5. Metal Gear Solid
3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
6. Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
2. Fire Emblem
7. Kirby’s Adventure

Well, alas, the final bracket. This grouping was the only one that had all higher ranked seeds win their match ups. The closest match, as always, was the 4 v 5. One of the most interesting and most fun match up to write about was the 1 v 8; Tales vs. Halo 3. A lot of good memories came back to me, and that really helped in comparing the titles.

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The first round is officially done. Onto the second round! This will be referred to as both Round 2, and more interestingly, the Super 16. Super is an obvious reference to the SNES, and is more befitting that "sweet" in this instance. The competition will resume this week. The more organized brackets are as follows:

Bracket A
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
5. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
3. James Bond 007: Nightfire
2. Tetris


Bracket B
1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
6. Syphon Filter
2. NHL ‘94

Bracket C
1. Resident Evil 4
5. Golden Sun
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Bracket D
1. Tales of Symphonia
4. Contra
3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2. Fire Emblem

Also, a new design will be implemented for the Super 16. Yeah boy!