Final Fantasy Music Game 2017

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I chose:

 

Gold Saucer (FF7, 16)
Matoya's Cavern (FF1, 21)
Eden Under Siege (FF13, 3)
The Silence Before the Storm (FF10, 16)
Chateau d'Oraguille (FF11, 39)
The Forgotten Capital (FF12, 12)
Battle (FF3, 6)
Fight 2 (FF4, 37)

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Round 1G:

Ahead On Our Way (FF5, 2) vs Blue Fields (FF8, 25)

The Four Warriors of Dawn (FF5, 6) vs Those for the Purge (FF13, 2)

Nalbina Fortress Underground Prison (FF12, 21) vs Sometime, Somewhere (FF11, 3)

The Castle (FF8, 40) vs Melancholia (FF15, new entry)

The Royal City of Rabanastre (FF12, 14) vs Royal Palace (FF5, new entry)

Ru'Lude Gardens (FF11, 2) vs Dark Messenger (FF9, 58)

Esper Battle (FF12, 14) vs Daughter of the Great Summoner (FF10, 2)

Tower of Mages (FF2, 5) vs The Man with the Machine Gun (FF8, 18)

[Shad_]

Blue Fields (FF8, 25)

The Four Warriors of Dawn (FF5, 6)

Nalbina Fortress Underground Prison (FF12, 21)

Yikes yikes yikes. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh......................................... The Castle (FF8, 40)

The Royal City of Rabanastre (FF12, 14)

Dark Messenger (FF9, 58)

Daughter of the Great Summoner (FF10, 2)

Tower of Mages (FF2, 5)

[Guest]

Round 1F:

(FF7, 16)

(FF10, 20)

(FF11, 37)

(FF10, 16)

(FF11, 39)

(FF7, 9)

(FF9, 14)

(FF4, 37)

 

 

Round 1G:

(FF8, 25)

(FF13, 2)

(FF11, 3)

(FF15, new entry)

(FF5, new entry)

(FF9, 58) tough one here

(FF12, 14)

(FF8, 18)

[Shad_]

You can still vote in 1E if you wish.

 

Then one more set to go and we can move on to the round of 64. :)

[Guest]

Didn't see that one ! lol

 

oops

 

 

Round 1E:

(FF6, 79)

(FF8, 36)

(FF6, 12)

(FF4, 25)

(FF6, 61)

(FF11, 18)

(FF14, 7)

(FF12, 2)

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This is it for the first round!  This will stay open until all 9 active participants have voted, up to one week.

Round 1H:

(FF14, 13) vs

(FF7, 16)

(FF9, 40) vs

(FF7, 47)

(FF6, 19) vs

(FF6, 27)

(FF12, 2) vs

(FF6, 37)

(FF14, new entry) vs

(FF6, 5)

(FF13, 3) vs

(FF3, 8)

(FF11, 9) vs

(FF10, 13)

(FF9, 22) vs

(FF9, 50)
 

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I'll take:

 

 

JENOVA Absolute (FF7, 16)

ugh... Really feeling the FF7 battle tracks this year though. Still More Fighting (FF7, 47)

Wild West (FF6, 19)

Phantom Train (FF6, 37)

Saltswept (FF14, new entry) ~~ I swear Troops March On has got the roughest round 1 pairings of any track in this game over the last four years.

Battle 2 (FF3, 8)

The Sight of Spira (FF10, 13) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9, 50)

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I'm now re-learning how to play Sight of Spira on guitar. 

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Friendly reminder that tomorrow is the last (full) day to vote in round 1.  Votes on the 1st will probably count, but I can't guarantee it.

[Guest]

Round 1H

 

(FF7, 16)
S

(FF7, 47)

(FF6, 19)

(FF12, 2)

(FF6, 5)

(FF13, 3)

(FF11, 9)

(FF9, 50)

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Round 1 is complete! Only two brand new entries out of ten will be seeing round 2, but four tracks that had been left warming the qualification bench in 2016 managed to advance on their return. The top-ranked tracks got decimated again this year. In fact, more of the top 15 got knocked out than advanced. The Place I'll Return To Someday (FF9, 14th), Decisive Battle (FF10, 13th), Clash on the Big Bridge (FF5, 12th), Within the Giant (FF4, 10th), The Decisive Battle (FF6, 9th), Main Theme (FF4, 5th), Opening Theme (FF6, 3rd), and The Extreme (FF8, 2nd) are all packing their bags and getting ready for next year. Lucky for them, the top 12 ranked round 1 eliminations automatically qualify. Unlucky for everyone else who lost, most of the free passes got taken at the top. Walking the Snowy Mountains (FF5, 42nd) will be the first former quarter finalist to have to endure a qualification match.

Underdogs thrived this year, in some pretty dramatic ways. Last year, the two lowest ranked tracks to advance were tied at 111th. This year, eight tracks ranked lower than that, not including new entries, managed to advance. The lowest was Signs of Change (FF12), previously ranked at 140th. It's also worth mentioning that Under Her Control (FF8) finally broke its losing streak. At 90th place, it was the highest ranked track by a large margin to never advance.

Upsets! There was no end to them. The biggest by rank spread was Signs of Change (FF12, 140th) knocking out The Decisive Battle (FF6, 9th). The huge upsets just kept rolling in from there. I can't even list how many songs beat opponents with a 50+ rank advantage over them. But here are a few I found especially noteworthy:
The Extreme (FF8, 2nd) lost to Wailers and Waterwheels (FF14, 97th)
Main Theme (FF4, 5th) lost to The Mines of Narshe (FF6, 82nd)
Within the Giant (FF4, 10th) lost to Fighting Fate (FF13, 128th)
Clash on the Big Bridge (FF5, 12th) lost to Frontier Village Dali (FF9, 62nd)
Decisive Battle (FF10, 13th) lost to Seeking Power (FF12, 76th)

Of course, that doesn't mean that every top tier track got a rough ride. There were no shut-outs in 2016. This year saw two, with Awakened Forest (FF9, 25th) destroying The Hanging Edge (FF13, 140th) 10-0 and last year's champion, Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9, 8th), wrecking Vivi's Theme (FF9, 40th) 9-0. Dark Messenger (FF9, 4th), Aerith's Theme (FF7, 17th), and The Silence Before the Storm (FF10, 63rd) nearly accomplished the same, with 9-1 or 8-1 wins. When the favored track wasn't losing, it was often winning hard.

Final Fantasy 2 was eliminated in the first round once again, and this year Final Fantasy 1 surprisingly joined it in the loser's circle. FF2 becomes the only game to have been eliminated in round 1 twice. FF3 and FF13 were both knocked out at this stage in 2015.

All-Time Round 1 Performance Stats

Over all, 2017 returned to a more normal outcome of certain games performing very strong and others fairing abysmally. (Last year was unusually even across the board.) Final Fantasy 4 was the biggest surprise, coming in only 7th place with its first sub-500 year. Consequently, Final Fantasy 7 ended 4's three year tenure as the most successful game in the series. Final Fantasy 8 won the year, for the first time. Its previous best was 3rd. FF1's awful showing dropped it in the all-time count from 5th to 7th, and FF10 continued to plow its way up the charts after a rough first two years to move from 9th overall to 6th. FF2 had the second worst showing of any game to date, with only 17.9% of votes in its favor. The only worse turnout was FF13's 11.6% in 2015. Final Fantasy 15 ended its first appearance at 10th for the year and 11th overall.

1. Final Fantasy 7
Total: 1st, 60.8% -- 259-167
2017: 2nd, 61.11% -- 77-49
2016: 3rd, 57.1% -- 60-45
2015: 2nd, 68.5% -- 61-28
2014: 2nd, 57.5% -- 61-45

2. Final Fantasy 4
Total: 2nd, 59.3% -- 201-138
2017: 7th, 49.4% -- 44-45
2016: 5th, 52.6% -- 51-46
2015: 3rd, 67.1% -- 49-24
2014: 1st, 71.3% -- 57-23

3. Final Fantasy 9
Total: 3rd, 57.6% -- 209-154
2017: 3rd, 61.05% -- 58-37
2016: 1st, 59.3% -- 54-37
2015: 5th, 62.2% -- 51-31
2014: 8th, 48.4% -- 46-49

4. Final Fantasy 6
Total: 4th, 55.3% -- 250-202
2017: 4th, 56.62% -- 77-59
2016: 7th, 50.0% -- 54-54
2015: 4th, 63.9% -- 62-35
2014: 5th, 51.4% -- 57-54

5. Final Fantasy 8
Total: 5th, 54.4% -- 212-178
2017: 1st, 63.5% -- 61-35
2016: 6th, 50.5% -- 52-51
2015: 6th, 50.6% -- 43-42
2014: 3rd, 52.8% -- 56-50

6. Final Fantasy 10
Total: 6th, 48.3% -- 170-182
2017: 5th, 56.60% -- 60-46
2016: 2nd, 58.5% -- 38-27
2015: 11th, 38.4% -- 33-53
2014: 10th, 41.1% -- 39-56

7. Final Fantasy 1
Total: 7th, 48.1% -- 38-41
2017: 13th, 39.3% -- 11-17
2016: 4th, 54.2% -- 13-11
2015: 1st, 76.9% -- 10-3
2014: 14th, 28.6% -- 4-10

8. Final Fantasy 11
Total: 8th, 47.3% -- 105-117
2017: 6th, 50.6% -- 43-42
2016: 12th, 40.9% -- 18-26
2015: 7th, 44.4% -- 20-25
2014: 6th, 50.0% -- 24-24

9. Final Fantasy 12
Total: 9th, 46.0% -- 173-203
2017: 8th, 44.7% -- 51-63
2016: 8th, 46.3% -- 38-44
2015: 10th, 39.2% -- 31-48
2014: 4th, 52.5% -- 53-48

10. Final Fantasy 5
Total: 10th, 41.6% -- 96-135
2017: 9th, 41.6% -- 32-45
2016: 10th, 42.9% -- 24-32
2015: 9th, 40.8% -- 20-29
2014: 11th, 40.8% -- 20-29

11. Final Fantasy 15
Total: 11th, 41.4% -- 12-17
2017: 10th, 41.4% -- 12-17

12. Final Fantasy 14
Total: 12th, 39.4% -- 87-134
2017: 11th, 39.8% -- 39-59
2016: 11th, 42.4% -- 25-34
2015: 12th, 32.3% -- 10-21
2014: 12th, 39.4% -- 13-20

13. Final Fantasy 3
Total: 13th, 39.2% -- 67-104
2017: 12th, 39.7% -- 23-35
2016: 9th, 44.4% -- 20-25
2015: 13th, 25.8% -- 8-23
2014: 9th, 43.2% -- 16-21

14. Final Fantasy 2
Total: 14th, 33.3% -- 28-56
2017: 15th, 17.9% -- 5-23
2016: 14th, 33.3% -- 7-14
2015: 8th, 42.1% -- 8-11
2014: 7th, 50.0% -- 8-8

15. Final Fantasy 13
Total: 15th, 30.7% -- 63-142
2017: 14th, 34.3% -- 23-44
2016: 13th, 40.5% -- 17-25
2015: 14th, 11.6% -- 5-38
2014: 13th, 34.0% -- 18-35

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ROUND 2A (points through end of 2016):

Blue Fields (FF8, 25) vs Saber's Edge (FF13, 13)
The Royal City of Rabanastre (FF12, 14) vs The Man with the Machine Gun (FF8, 18)
J-E-N-O-V-A (FF7, 30) vs Fight 2 (FF4, 37)
Wailers and Waterwheels (FF14, 9) vs Devil's Lab (FF6, 23)
The Mines of Narshe (FF6, 12) vs Home Sweet Home (FF5, 23)
Still More Fighting (FF7, 47) vs Balamb Garden (FF8, 10)
Sometime, Somewhere (FF11, 3) vs The Dreadful Fight (FF4, 33)
Airship (FF11, 18) vs Succession of Witches (FF8, 4)

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I'm taking:

 

I've been a champion for Saber's Edge (FF13, 13) for as long as this game's been around. Hard to vote against Blue Fields in round two, but that's the nature of the game.

The Royal City of Rabanastre (FF12, 14)

J-E-N-O-V-A (FF7, 30)

Wailers and Waterwheels (FF14, 9)

Home Sweet Home (FF5, 23)

Still More Fighting (FF7, 47)

The Dreadful Fight (FF4, 33)

Succession of Witches (FF8, 4)

[Cairos]

Mine are:

 

2A

(FF8, 25)

(FF8, 18)

(FF7, 30)

(FF6, 23)

(FF6, 12)

(FF8, 10)

(FF4, 33)

(FF8, 4)

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Round 2B

(FF12, 15) vs

(FF6, 19)

(FF10, 37) vs

(FF5, 6)

(FF14, 3) vs

(FF9, 14)

(FF12, 2) vs

(FF14, new entry)

(FF9, 58) vs

(FF7, 38)

(FF6, 18) vs

(FF9, 30)

(FF11, 37) vs

(FF6, 5)

(FF15, new entry) vs

(FF10, 16)
 

[Shad_]

This was a really interesting bracket for me, because I had a general idea in my head of which tracks I was most likely to vote for, and I ended up swinging the other way on the majority of them once I started listening.

 

Round 2B:

The Phon Coast (FF12, 15)

The Four Warriors of Dawn (FF5, 6)

Dreams Aloft (FF14, 3)

Signs of Change (FF12, 2)

Aerith's Theme (FF7, 38)

Freya's Theme (FF9, 30)

Troops March On (FF6, 5)

Reel Rumble (FF15, new entry)

[Cairos]

Round 2B

The Phon Coast (FF12, 15)

To Zanarkand (FF10, 37)

Theme of the Tantalus (FF9, 14)

Signs of Change (FF12, 2)

Aerith's Theme (FF7, 38)

Freya's Theme (FF9, 30)

Troops March On (FF6, 5)

The Silence Before the Storm (FF10, 16)

[Shad_]

Round 2C

(FF13, 3) vs

(FF7, 52)

(FF10, 13) vs

(FF7, 9)

(FF10, 20) vs

(FF11, 7)

(FF6, 23) vs

(FF9, 50)

(FF7, 24) vs

(FF5, 8)

(FF7, 53) vs

(FF3, 8)

(FF9, 24) vs

(FF8, 40)

(FF6, 37) vs

(FF10, 20)

[Cairos]

My pick!

 

Round 2C

(FF13, 3)

(FF10, 13)

(FF10, 20)

(FF9, 50)

(FF7, 24)

(FF7, 53)

(FF8, 40)

(FF10, 20)

[Shad_]

Round 2C
The Promise (FF13, 3) ~I voted against it in what was arguably a much easier pairing R1, but at this point it's really grown on me.
The Sight of Spira (FF10, 13) !!!
Besaid Island (FF10, 20), quite content with either of these moving on though
Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9, 50)
Birth of the God (FF7, 24)
yolo Eternal Wind (FF3, 8)
The Castle (FF8, 40)
Phantom Train (FF6, 37)

[Guest]

ROUND 2A

 

(FF13, 13)

(FF8, 18)

(FF7, 30)

(FF6, 23)

(FF6, 12)

(FF7, 47)

(FF4, 33)

(FF8, 4)

 

 

B

 

(FF6, 19)

(FF10, 37)

(FF9, 14)

(FF14, new entry)

(FF7, 38)

(FF6, 18)

(FF11, 37)

(FF10, 16)

 

C

(FF13, 3)

(FF7, 9)
S

(FF11, 7)

(FF9, 50)

(FF7, 24)

(FF7, 53)

(FF9, 24)

(FF10, 20)

[Shad_]

Round 2D

(FF12, 14) vs

(FF8, 27)

(FF9, 34) vs

(FF7, 21)

(FF13, 3) vs

(FF14, 7)

(FF11, 4) vs

(FF7, 16)

(FF6, 79) vs

(FF12, 13)

(FF9, 17) vs

(FF8, 36)

(FF4, 37) vs

(FF8, 11)

(FF12, 10) vs

(FF11, 39)

[Shad_]

Note: I don't normally extend rounds after the first, because everyone's heard every track at this point so the votes come in faster.  But the parent site has been offline for ~48 hours now due to a server host transfer.  They're supposed to come back online some time today or tomorrow, but if it takes longer I might have to delay round 3 a bit.

[Shad_]

This group has the toughest matchup for me personally all game: The Skycity Bhujerba vs Chateau d'Oraguille. I'd gladly see them square off in the final.

 

Esper Battle (FF12, 14)

One-Winged Angel (FF7, 21)

Fighting Fate (FF13, 3)

JENOVA Absolute (FF7, 16)

Dancing Mad (FF6, 79)

Find Your Way (FF8, 36)

Prelude (FF4, 37) ~~ I feel like this one could easily switch before the round's over depending on my mood.

ugh ugh ugh The Skycity Bhujerba (FF12, 10)

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Good news!

 

The host site is back online. :)

 

Round 2 will end in 6 days or when all votes are cast.

 

(Cairos and Chae both haven't actually voted 2D yet.)