Yeah, I'm still in. Might not be high activity but that's par for the course with me these days.

Round 1H Hunter's Chance (FF9, 32) vs Theme of the Tantalus (FF9, 65) Run Maggot, Run! (FF11, new entry) vs Eternal Wind (FF3, 161) but eternal wind is great Premonition (FF8, 2) vs Annual Festival (FFCC, 25) All As One (FF16, 4) vs The Sight of Spira (FF10, 180) ~~ This was a surprisingly tough call and I didn't end up going in the direction I expected Song of Salt and Suffering (FF14, 4) vs Away (FF16, 20) Living by the Sword (FF9, new entry) vs Force Your Way (FF8, 48) The Great Warrior (FF7, 15) vs The Skycity of Bhujerba (FF12, 76) Winter's Bound (FF16, 10) vs Caius' Theme (FF13, 21)

Round 1G The Spy (FF8, 16) vs Birth of the God (FF7, 262) STAND UP (FF7R, new entry) vs Dark Messenger (FF9, 208) ~~ Dark Messenger made this closer for me than I think most tracks would, but I still couldn't do it XD Battle 1 (FF9, 3) vs Steel Reason (FF14, 100) The Landing (FF8, 4) vs You're Not Alone! (FF9, 92) Reel Rumble (FF15, 20) vs Bombing Mission (FF7, 193) Mog's Theme (FF6, new entry) vs Ronfaure (FF11, 137) Crimson Sunrise (FF14, 90) vs Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9, 149) Diner Car (FF15, 7) vs The Battle of Belenus Tor (FF16, 9)

@Cairos @Hayl3y @Gudrean Last group of round 1 is up. I'll wrap it up and move on when everyone who has expressed interest in voting has had a chance to or else next Monday at the latest.

Round 1H Hunter's Chance (FF9, 32) vs Theme of the Tantalus (FF9, 65) Run Maggot, Run! (FF11, new entry) vs Eternal Wind (FF3, 161) Premonition (FF8, 2) vs Annual Festival (FFCC, 25) All As One (FF16, 4) vs The Sight of Spira (FF10, 180) Song of Salt and Suffering (FF14, 4) vs Away (FF16, 20) Living by the Sword (FF9, new entry) vs Force Your Way (FF8, 48) The Great Warrior (FF7, 15) vs The Skycity of Bhujerba (FF12, 76) Winter's Bound (FF16, 10) vs Caius' Theme (FF13, 21)

Round 1G The Spy (FF8, 16) vs Birth of the God (FF7, 262) STAND UP (FF7R, new entry) vs Dark Messenger (FF9, 208) Battle 1 (FF9, 3) vs Steel Reason (FF14, 100) The Landing (FF8, 4) vs You're Not Alone! (FF9, 92) Reel Rumble (FF15, 20) vs Bombing Mission (FF7, 193) Mog's Theme (FF6, new entry) vs Ronfaure (FF11, 137) Crimson Sunrise (FF14, 90) vs Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9, 149) Diner Car (FF15, 7) vs The Battle of Belenus Tor (FF16, 9)

Round 1F Magna Insomnia (FF15, 63) vs Blue Fields (FF8, 141) I'll Give You Somthing Hot (FFX2, new entry) vs What Lies Within (FF15, 9) Heavensbound (FF16, 2) vs Doom Castle (FFMQ, 26) Stargazing (FF11, 4) vs Opening Theme (FF6, 177) ~~ Seems like such an easy place for me to vote the underdog but I'm just not quite there. Beauty's Wicked Wiles (FF14, 3) vs With Hearts Aligned (FF14, 41) ~~ Yeah I mean close in theory but there's an Endwalker vs Character Making match-up that will hopefully keep this melody alive without having to kill Beauty's Wicked Wiles early again. Jungles of Gongaga (FF7R, new entry) vs Despair (FF11, 46) ~~ In my head it has always been and will probably always be Jungles of Gorgonzola Whitewater (FF16, 14) vs The Man with the Machine Gun (FF8, 78) Battle 2 (FF3, 60) vs Within the Giant (FF4, 126)

Round 1E Descent (FF14, 13) vs Main Theme (FF4, 258) Let's Go, Mt Corel! (FF7R, new entry) vs The Mines of Narshe (FF6, 101) Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony (FF7, 3) vs The Final Battle (FF4, 94) ~~ maybe a weird pick for me but the song is silly and nostalgic and I kinda love it. Battle 2 (FFMQ, 43) vs Chasing the Black-Caped Man (FF7, 44) Auron's Theme (FF10, 40) vs J-E-N-O-V-A (FF7, 173) Battle 1 (FF5, new entry) vs Prologue (FF4, 88) To Zanarkand (FF10, 131) vs Valse di Fantastica (FF15, 188) Decisive Battle (FF10, 93) vs The Dreadful Fight (FF4, 118) Rufus vs Final Battle FF4 met in the same round last year. First time that's happened that I can remember. FF4 won last time. Here's rooting for the underdog.

Round 1F Magna Insomnia (FF15, 63) vs Blue Fields (FF8, 141) I'll Give You Somthing Hot (FFX2, new entry) vs What Lies Within (FF15, 9) Heavensbound (FF16, 2) vs Doom Castle (FFMQ, 26) Stargazing (FF11, 4) vs Opening Theme (FF6, 177) Beauty's Wicked Wiles (FF14, 3) vs With Hearts Aligned (FF14, 41) Jungles of Gongaga (FF7R, new entry) vs Despair (FF11, 46) Whitewater (FF16, 14) vs The Man with the Machine Gun (FF8, 78) Battle 2 (FF3, 60) vs Within the Giant (FF4, 126)

Round 1E Descent (FF14, 13) vs Main Theme (FF4, 258) Let's Go, Mt Corel! (FF7R, new entry) vs The Mines of Narshe (FF6, 101) Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony (FF7, 3) vs The Final Battle (FF4, 94) Battle 2 (FFMQ, 43) vs Chasing the Black-Caped Man (FF7, 44) Auron's Theme (FF10, 40) vs J-E-N-O-V-A (FF7, 173) Battle 1 (FF5, new entry) vs Prologue (FF4, 88) To Zanarkand (FF10, 131) vs Valse di Fantastica (FF15, 188) Decisive Battle (FF10, 93) vs The Dreadful Fight (FF4, 118)

Welcome aboard Hayl3y! Round 1D Character Making (FFT, 23) vs Endwalker - Footfalls (FF14, 71) ~~ Unfortunate because I like to push FFT tracks but I can't vote Endwalker out this early. Morning Sky (FFCC, new entry) vs Dancing Mad (FF6, 270) ~~ Honestly with each passing year I get a little more tired of Dancing Mad, to the point where I usually don't even listen to the full 17 minutes when it comes up. It's great but I've probably heard it 100+ times in my life and I'm good lol The Forested Temple (FF7, 28) vs Seymour Battle (FF10, 136) ~~ Close enough that I might revisit this one if my vote turns out to make or break it. Blitz Off (FF10, 4) vs Trisection (FFT, 69) Rhythm of the Realm (FF14, 4) vs Catacecaumene (FF16, 20) Distant Worlds (FF11, new entry) vs Main Theme (FF2, 26) Unbreakable - Duality (FF14, 33) vs Nobility Obliges (FF14, 47) Blinded by Light (FF13, 47) vs Awakened Forest (FF9, 109)

Round 1D Character Making (FFT, 23) vs Endwalker - Footfalls (FF14, 71) Morning Sky (FFCC, new entry) vs Dancing Mad (FF6, 270) The Forested Temple (FF7, 28) vs Seymour Battle (FF10, 136) Blitz Off (FF10, 4) vs Trisection (FFT, 69) Rhythm of the Realm (FF14, 4) vs Catacecaumene (FF16, 20) Distant Worlds (FF11, new entry) vs Main Theme (FF2, 26) Unbreakable - Duality (FF14, 33) vs Nobility Obliges (FF14, 47) Blinded by Light (FF13, 47) vs Awakened Forest (FF9, 109)

Round 1C To the Place of Gods (FF12, 25) vs Martial Law (FF8, 63) ~~ Been a while since this track had a go. Only one appearance in the last six years, and then it got knocked out in the first round. Shinra, Inc. (FF7, new entry) vs Autumn Footfalls (FF11, 17) ~~ I was hoping to support Shinra Inc for a round or two, but I can't do it here. Battle Theme 2 (FF2, 3) vs Lovely, Dark, and Deep (FF16, 12) Beyond the Darkness (FF10, 4) vs The Extreme (FF8, 191) ~~ Voted for The Extreme earlier but already getting tired of it. Seems to go this way every year. Relm's Theme (FF6, 4) vs Sixteen Bells (FF16, 19) The Crystal Tower (FF3, new entry) vs The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah (FF11, 37) ~~ Tough call Unwound (FF14, 8 ) vs Battle 1 (FFMQ, 17) Titan Lost (FF16, 9) vs The Place I'll Return to Someday (FF9, 140) ~~ Rooting for this one to go deep this, been getting stuck in my head a lot

Oooo, more interest! Welcome aboard! Round 1B eScape (FF14, 23) vs Besaid Island (FF10, 88) Descendant of the Shinobi (Battle Edit) (FF7R, new entry) vs Fealty (FF14, 63) ~~ Not 100% sure I like this one better, but it's close enough to roll Over That Hill (FF9, 13) vs Devil's Lab (FF6, 111) Real Emotion (FFX2, 5) vs Freya's Theme (FF9, 166) ~~ Sorry Freya, I'm keeping this bop alive Jesters of the Moonless Night (FF9, 24) vs Find Your Way (FF8, 133) ~~ Wooo this wasn't in the qualifiers and I'd forgotten how much I like it. The Thousand Tables (FF16, new entry) vs Matoya's Cavern (FF1, 46) ~~ closer than I expected The Chase (FF7, 14) vs Seeking Power (FF12, 101) ~~ It sads me that the most popular FF12 track is my least favorite in the mix What Angel Wakes Me (FF14, 5) vs Perfumed Eves (FF14, 29) ~~ This match-up is proof that I don't rig the game. Seriously, wtf kind of choice is this in round 1? Ugh....

I should probably share my own votes here while I'm at it! Been a bit busy, still need to listen to groups B and C myself, but my A votes are in: Round 1A: In the Sky That Night (FF13, 9) vs Main Theme (FF7, 68) Queen's Blood (FF7R, new entry) vs Clash on the Big Bridge (FF5, 200) ~~ I don't even feel like this is an underdog and my voting record on Big Bridge was 33-4. Only a Plank Between One and Perdition (FF8, 3) vs Eyes On Me (FF8, 51) ~~ Yes, I think Eyes On Me is an especially bland ballad, but I was hoping for a chance to vote for Plank anyway. Rather fond of it. The Boundless Ocean (FF3, 29) vs Wizardly (FF14, 44) The Pioneers (FF11, 31) vs Vivi's Theme (FF9, 47) Hamartia (FF16, new entry) vs Home Sweet Home (FF5, 148) ~~ Home Sweet Home is one of those tracks it takes a mountain for me to move against, and Hamartia is cool but not quite there. Valley of the Fallen Star (FF7, 108) vs Liberi Fatali (FF8, 269) Cosmogony (FF15, new entry) vs Yuna's Theme (FFX2, 8 )

Game on @Cairos @Hayl3y😄

Posting here due to popular demand, also available on Mafia Universe at this link. I'm going to have to just copy and paste the formatted thread over, because Dragonmount's forum software doesn't recognize UBB code tags. I have no easy way to edit the posts on this site, but we'll see how it goes! The second two groups have been posted since this game started. See below: Round 1B eScape (FF14, 23) vs Besaid Island (FF10, 88) Descendant of the Shinobi (Battle Edit) (FF7R, new entry) vs Fealty (FF14, 63) Over That Hill (FF9, 13) vs Devil's Lab (FF6, 111) Real Emotion (FFX2, 5) vs Freya's Theme (FF9, 166) Jesters of the Moonless Night (FF9, 24) vs Find Your Way (FF8, 133) The Thousand Tables (FF16, new entry) vs Matoya's Cavern (FF1, 46) The Chase (FF7, 14) vs Seeking Power (FF12, 101) What Angel Wakes Me (FF14, 5) vs Perfumed Eves (FF14, 29) Round 1C To the Place of Gods (FF12, 25) vs Martial Law (FF8, 63) Shinra, Inc. (FF7, new entry) vs Autumn Footfalls (FF11, 17) Battle Theme 2 (FF2, 3) vs Lovely, Dark, and Deep (FF16, 12) Beyond the Darkness (FF10, 4) vs The Extreme (FF8, 191) Relm's Theme (FF6, 4) vs Sixteen Bells (FF16, 19) The Crystal Tower (FF3, new entry) vs The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah (FF11, 37) Unwound (FF14, 8 ) vs Battle 1 (FFMQ, 17) Titan Lost (FF16, 9) vs The Place I'll Return to Someday (FF9, 140)

This is a Final Fantasy music knock-out game. 128 songs from the Final Fantasy franchise will be paired head-to-head. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick a winner in each pairing. * The track list consists of last year's top 32 and 96 tracks voted in from an original pool of 320. Pairings are seeded based on recent and all time performance. * I will be posting the match-ups in groups of 8 every few days, but all brackets (A-H) will remain open until r2, so feel free to go back and vote if you missed one. * The first round will remain open at least until 7 people vote. * Tracks will be listed with their cumulative total all time votes. * There is absolutely no standard criteria for voting. * In the event of a tie, the statistical underdog always wins. * DO NOT edit vote changes into your original posts. Make a new post. An edit will very likely be overlooked. * New this year: FF7 Remake/Rebirth will be joining the game, with 5 of its preliminary 6 entries surviving qualifiers. Due to timing with the OST release, Dawntrail will have to wait another year. * New this year: Qualifiers for 2026 are getting a shake-up with a new draft-style election process. Everyone will get to guarantee a few personal favorites make the final cut. I'll announce the full process at the end of round 1. Coming into this year, 17 tracks stood as participants in every single round of 128 since the game's original run in 2012. All 17 of them survived this year! This is the first time I can remember that we didn't have at least one old guard track fail to advance. The 12 year and counting contenders are: All games will be represented, though FF1 only managed to push through a single track in Matoya's Cavern and FF2, FFT, and FFCC only have two entries each. Thanks to the addition of FF7R, a grand total of 21 games will be represented in the event. FF14 will have the largest showing with 16 entries, followed by a higher than usual concentration of tracks in FF9 (13), FF8 (12), and FF7 (11). FF16 also got 12 tracks through, many carrying over from a strong showing in its 2024 debut. Last year set the record for first time entries with 40. This year, we're introducing a more modest 17, bringing the all time participants count to 297. Another 25 tracks that missed the cut last year are back in the mix, meaning 86 of our entries made it this far a year ago. Moreover, out of the previous 11 winners, only Still More Fighting went home early. Relative to most recent years, expect a lot of familiarity in this mix. Previous Winners 2014: Dancing Mad (FF6) 2015: Bombing Mission (FF7) 2016: Vamo Alla Flamenco (FF9) 2017: Still More Fighting (FF7) 2018: Freya's Theme (FF9) 2019: Opening Theme (FF6) 2020: You're Not Alone! (FF9) 2021: Eternal Wind (FF3) 2022: Clash on the Big Bridge (FF5) 2023: Endwalker - Footfalls (FF14) 2024: Main Theme (FF7) Our seeding format permits me to talk about some interesting early match-ups, and the most notable one I think comes in the first bracket. Valley of the Fallen Star has slipped down to 35th place in recent years but was once as high as 7th and will be facing 2nd all time Liberi Fatali. These two met once before, and Liberi Fatali barely came out ahead 5-4. Former winners Main Theme (7) and Clash on the Big Bridge will meet in round 2 if they survive the first. Same goes for Endwalker-Footfalls and Dancing Mad. Neither have squared off before. A showdown between Dark Messenger and Birth of the God is also looming. Last time they met, Birth of the God pulled off the win 5-4. So without further ado, game on! Round 1A: In the Sky That Night (FF13, 9) vs Main Theme (FF7, 68) Queen's Blood (FF7R, new entry) vs Clash on the Big Bridge (FF5, 200) Only a Plank Between One and Perdition (FF8, 3) vs Eyes On Me (FF8, 51) The Boundless Ocean (FF3, 29) vs Wizardly (FF14, 44) The Pioneers (FF11, 31) vs Vivi's Theme (FF9, 47) Hamartia (FF16, new entry) vs Home Sweet Home (FF5, 148) Valley of the Fallen Star (FF7, 108) vs Liberi Fatali (FF8, 269) Cosmogony (FF15, new entry) vs Yuna's Theme (FFX2, 8 )

One Winged Angel didn't even survive the qualification rounds to get in the game. Don't look at me; I voted for it lol

I think it should let you post now. There's an authorization delay to catch spam bots but it's listing you as actively registered now. That being said, I could certainly make a thread for it here after work (although I might forget!)

huh did not expect ubb tags to not work Looks like you just paste it and it auto-formats, and then you have to mess with it to add text. I'm too old for this fancy technology.

Hey @Cairos, I'm still running that annual FF music game if you're interested. Just started the 2025 edition today. [url=https://www.mafiauniverse.com/forums/threads/53777-The-Music-of-Final-Fantasy-A-Knock-Out-Tournament-2025-Edition]Thread's available here[/url] though I could definitely post it on DM as well if there's interest. I had a thread for it here a couple of years a while ago.

I actually said on discord I might dust it off today and then promptly did nothing of the sort

You know what feels good? Filing your taxes for free in under 30 minutes. I was stuck in the belief that turbotax was normal and not robbing me blind for so many years XD