(REAL) Main Event (Round Five)

[This Old Neon]

Round Five of the Main Event includes the winners of the previous round and higher-seeded games that got a bye from the nomination round. There are 7 polls of 9 games each. If a game you nominated doesn’t appear in this round, it probably received enough nominations to get a bye into the next round.

• You can vote for THREE (3) games per poll, or skip a poll entirely.
• The top 3 games from each poll will advance to Round Six.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at midnight ADT.

VOTE HERE

Poll 1: Lazy Sunday
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005, GCN)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

Poll 2: Stormy Monday
Borderlands 2 (2012, Multiplatform)
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Fallout 2 (1998, PC)
Ico (2001, PS2)
Persona 4 (2008, PS2)
Portal (2007, Multiplatform)
Portal 2 (2011, Multiplatform)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005, PS2)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)

Poll 3: Ruby Tuesday
BioShock 2 (2010, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Cave Story (2004, PC)
Katawa Shoujo (2012, PC)
Maniac Mansion (1987, PC)
R-Type (1987, Arcade/TG16)
Resident Evil 4 (2005, Multiplatform)
Spelunky (2012, Multiplatform)
Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform)

Poll 4: Wednesday's Child
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (2006, PC)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009, Multiplatform))
StarCraft (1998, PC)
Streets of Rage 2 (1992, Genesis)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993, GB)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [HD] (2002, GCN))

Poll 5: Jersey Thursday
ActRaiser (1990, SNES)
Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS1)
Final Fantasy XII (2006, PS2)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, NS)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982, Arcade)
Resident Evil [incl. HD Remaster] (2002, GCN)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Arcade)
X-COM: UFO Defense / UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994, PC)

Poll 6: Friday on My Mind
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS1)
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1989, Genesis)
God of War (2018, PS4)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2014, Multiplatform)
Berzerk (1980, A2600)
Resident Evil (1996, PS1)
Stardew Valley (2016, Multiplatform)
VVVVVV (2010, Multiplatform)

Poll 7: Baron Saturday
Celeste (2018, Multiplatform)
Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / Substance (2001, PS2)
Panzer General (1994, PC)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
Saints Row: The Third (2011, Multiplatform)
Undertale (2015, Multiplatform)

[Kong Wen]

Fun fact for the salty: these brackets are seeded 100% according to these games' nomination weights and ranks coming up through the previous rounds. Even though some brackets appear stacked, every single bracket contains a list of games in staggered tiers of nomination weights, so no bracket contains highly-seeded games that are unfairly stacked against other highly-seeded games.

This is the round where things officially get sweaty! We're looking at high-seeded games and survivors of several rounds of elimination brackets. Choose wisely!

[Kong Wen]

The nice thing about the old BGE format is we could take it one poll at a time. Having to make all submissions final is tougher. Instead, I'll have to talk myself through each bracket before submitting.

[Kong Wen]

Poll 1: Lazy Sunday
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005, GCN)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is my only vote here. I could arguably toss a vote to Super Mario Galaxy too, but Fire Emblem is far enough ahead of everything else in this bracket that it's worth giving it the sole vote boost.

Poll 2: Stormy Monday
Borderlands 2 (2012, Multiplatform)
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Fallout 2 (1998, PC)
Ico (2001, PS2)
Persona 4 (2008, PS2)
Portal (2007, Multiplatform)
Portal 2 (2011, Multiplatform)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005, PS2)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)

Dark Souls and Shining Force are my obvious votes in this bracket. Two Top-10 All-Time games. The first Portal probably gets my third vote, even though it's unlikely to need it. Tough bracket. Fallout 2, Ico, Portal 2, and Shadow of the Colossus are all deserving games in their own right, and I hope others give them the votes/love they deserve, but I can't.

Poll 3: Ruby Tuesday
BioShock 2 (2010, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Cave Story (2004, PC)
Katawa Shoujo (2012, PC)
Maniac Mansion (1987, PC)
R-Type (1987, Arcade/TG16)
Resident Evil 4 (2005, Multiplatform)
Spelunky (2012, Multiplatform)
Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform)

Spelunky is my automatic vote here, even though I am bad at it. R-Type and Maniac Mansion are contenders for my other votes, but I may just single-vote in this bracket.

Poll 4: Wednesday's Child
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (2006, PC)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009, Multiplatform))
StarCraft (1998, PC)
Streets of Rage 2 (1992, Genesis)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993, GB)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [HD] (2002, GCN))

StarCraft is the number one choice here. The original and A Link to the Past rise to the top of the Zelda crop, so it's not a particularly difficult bracket on that front. Majora's Mask is good and Link's Awakening is great, but they don't quite compete, so I don't pick them to go on.

Poll 5: Jersey Thursday
ActRaiser (1990, SNES)
Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS1)
Final Fantasy XII (2006, PS2)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, NS)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982, Arcade)
Resident Evil [incl. HD Remaster] (2002, GCN)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Arcade)
X-COM: UFO Defense / UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994, PC)

Final Fantasy XII is one of my faves in the series. Great strategic gameplay, but mainly, great setting and world. Ms. Pac-Man. I never played the original old-school X-COM but I liked the newer XCOMs. The original Street Fighter II was pretty important even though I was terrible at it and the later iterations on it were arguably better. I haven't firmed up my choices in this bracket yet.

Poll 6: Friday on My Mind
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS1)
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1989, Genesis)
God of War (2018, PS4)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2014, Multiplatform)
Berzerk (1980, A2600)
Resident Evil (1996, PS1)
Stardew Valley (2016, Multiplatform)
VVVVVV (2010, Multiplatform)

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is the best exploraction game in the bracket. VVVVVV is nearly perfect, so it also gets a vote. Final choice is really tough between Castlevania (the original perfect action-platformer), Symphony of the Night (loaded game), and God of War (great example of a modern game firing on all cylinders).

Poll 7: Baron Saturday
Celeste (2018, Multiplatform)
Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / Substance (2001, PS2)
Panzer General (1994, PC)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
Saints Row: The Third (2011, Multiplatform)
Undertale (2015, Multiplatform)

Celeste has the benefit of recency bias here. Mega Man 2 is an obvious easy vote. Metal Gear Solid should be a strong contender here too. I'm honestly thinking of throwing my third vote to Saints Row: The Third just because it was such a reinvigorating sandbox game. It changed things up, went just over the top enough, and was just plain fun.

[The Shoemaker]

Poll 1: Lazy Sunday
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005, GCN)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

Poll 1 is STACKED. Fortunately I was able to replay Banjo Kazooie recently and can confirm it is still great, so it gets my vote. After that, I would say Smash Ultimate and Galaxy 2.


Poll 2: Stormy Monday
Borderlands 2 (2012, Multiplatform)
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Fallout 2 (1998, PC)
Ico (2001, PS2)
Persona 4 (2008, PS2)
Portal (2007, Multiplatform)
Portal 2 (2011, Multiplatform)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005, PS2)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)


Just Dark Souls and Colossus from me. I never gave Shining Force a great shot, Ico ain't bad, and the rest fall under "Best Games You've Never Played"


Poll 3: Ruby Tuesday
BioShock 2 (2010, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Cave Story (2004, PC)
Katawa Shoujo (2012, PC)
Maniac Mansion (1987, PC)
R-Type (1987, Arcade/TG16)
Resident Evil 4 (2005, Multiplatform)
Spelunky (2012, Multiplatform)
Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform)

Cave Story I found to just be "okay". Won't be getting a vote from me.

Poll 4: Wednesday's Child
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (2006, PC)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009, Multiplatform))
StarCraft (1998, PC)
Streets of Rage 2 (1992, Genesis)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993, GB)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [HD] (2002, GCN))


Wind Waker is a top 3 Zelda game I'd say, just fantastic. I'll probably vote for ALTTP, maybe LOZ over MM. Majora just isn't as great upon replay.


Poll 5: Jersey Thursday
ActRaiser (1990, SNES)
Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS1)
Final Fantasy XII (2006, PS2)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, NS)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982, Arcade)
Resident Evil [incl. HD Remaster] (2002, GCN)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Arcade)
X-COM: UFO Defense / UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994, PC)

Shout out to Mario + Rabbids. Given it's the only game I've played here, I don't feel comfortable voting for it over the others.

Poll 6: Friday on My Mind
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS1)
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1989, Genesis)
God of War (2018, PS4)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2014, Multiplatform)
Berzerk (1980, A2600)
Resident Evil (1996, PS1)
Stardew Valley (2016, Multiplatform)
VVVVVV (2010, Multiplatform)

Finally got to finish Guacamelee recently, and it is quite good. God of War was also a stellar experience. Hard choice between VVVVVV and Stardew, just because Stardew heavily plays off Harvest Moon while VVVVVV feels like it's own thing.

Poll 7: Baron Saturday
Celeste (2018, Multiplatform)
Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / Substance (2001, PS2)
Panzer General (1994, PC)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
Saints Row: The Third (2011, Multiplatform)
Undertale (2015, Multiplatform)

Celeste for sure, just played through for the 3rd time and it's still great. I like what Undertale did, but the experience wasn't good enough for me to vote it past this round.

[This Old Neon]

The Round Five winners are bold and blue!

The games that will still have to contend in tie-breakers are red!

Poll 1: Lazy Sunday
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)

Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN)
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis)

Poll 2: Stormy Monday
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Portal (2007, Multiplatform)
Portal 2 (2011, Multiplatform)

Poll 3: Ruby Tuesday
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Cave Story (2004, PC)
Spelunky (2012, Multiplatform)

Poll 4: Wednesday's Child
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [HD] (2002, GCN)

StarCraft (1998, PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64)

Poll 5: Jersey Thursday
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS1)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982, Arcade)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Arcade)

Poll 6: Friday on My Mind
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS1)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2014, Multiplatform)
Stardew Valley (2016, Multiplatform)

Poll 7: Baron Saturday
Celeste (2018, Multiplatform)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)

Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Undertale (2015, Multiplatform)

[The Shoemaker]

RIP some good games. Wind Waker made it through though, all that matters.

[Kong Wen]

Oof. The Great Culling has officially begun in earnest. Most of the games getting eliminated from here on out are going to be good ones.

[Claytone]

Never posted my votes! So trying to remember here...

Poll 1: Lazy Sunday
Banjo-Kazooie (1998, N64)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005, GCN)
Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992, Genesis)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

IIRC, Sonic 2, Galaxy 1, and Melee got my votes here. Tough bracket because these are all pretty great (except Mario Kart 64, which is merely good). Banjo-Kazooie was particularly difficult to not vote for.

Poll 2: Stormy Monday
Borderlands 2 (2012, Multiplatform)
Dark Souls (2011, Multiplatform)
Fallout 2 (1998, PC)
Ico (2001, PS2)
Persona 4 (2008, PS2)
Portal (2007, Multiplatform)
Portal 2 (2011, Multiplatform)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005, PS2)
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention (1992, Genesis)

Fallout 2 and Persona 4 were easy votes here! Unfortunately, three of my four least favorite games in this bracket (among the ones I've played) made the cut. How annoying!

Poll 3: Ruby Tuesday
BioShock 2 (2010, Multiplatform)
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Cave Story (2004, PC)
Katawa Shoujo (2012, PC)
Maniac Mansion (1987, PC)
R-Type (1987, Arcade/TG16)
Resident Evil 4 (2005, Multiplatform)
Spelunky (2012, Multiplatform)
Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform)

Spelunky was my lone vote here, I think. Wish I'd played more of these.

Poll 4: Wednesday's Child
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (2006, PC)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009, Multiplatform))
StarCraft (1998, PC)
Streets of Rage 2 (1992, Genesis)
The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993, GB)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker [HD] (2002, GCN))

I think the only one I voted for here was Streets of Rage 2, a perfect couch co-op game. Booooo to the (predictable) results of this bracket.

Poll 5: Jersey Thursday
ActRaiser (1990, SNES)
Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)
Final Fantasy VII (1997, PS1)
Final Fantasy XII (2006, PS2)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, NS)
Ms. Pac-Man (1982, Arcade)
Resident Evil [incl. HD Remaster] (2002, GCN)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Arcade)
X-COM: UFO Defense / UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994, PC)

Think I voted for Ms. Pac-Man and Resident Evil here. REmake is so damn good. It's the only RE game I've played, and it may always be. My nerves don't do well with survival horror, frankly, but I'm very glad to have at least played this one. Really good game if you're into that sort of thing.

Poll 6: Friday on My Mind
Castlevania (1986, NES)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PS1)
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1989, Genesis)
God of War (2018, PS4)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2014, Multiplatform)
Berzerk (1980, A2600)
Resident Evil (1996, PS1)
Stardew Valley (2016, Multiplatform)
VVVVVV (2010, Multiplatform)

Tough one speaking in terms of general acclaim. On a personal level, though, I voted for the first three without hesitation.

Damn shame SotN beat out Castlevania 1. Both deserve to advance, but CV1 is a lot better.

Poll 7: Baron Saturday
Celeste (2018, Multiplatform)
Mega Man 2 (1988, NES)
Mega Man X (1993, SNES)
Metal Gear Solid (1998, PS1)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty / Substance (2001, PS2)
Panzer General (1994, PC)
Pokémon [Blue/Red] Version (1996, GB)
Saints Row: The Third (2011, Multiplatform)
Undertale (2015, Multiplatform)

My votes were for Celeste, Mega Man 2, and Metal Gear Solid. Pretty easy, although I hate to see MGS2 die here.

I'll always love Pokémon R/B as my first ever video game, but I recognize that the series has come a long way and the originals had a lot of flaws. Simply not as good as the games I did vote for.

[Kong Wen]

Tough one speaking in terms of general acclaim. On a personal level, though, I voted for the first three without hesitation.

Damn shame SotN beat out Castlevania 1. Both deserve to advance, but CV1 is a lot better.

I agree. I think it's interesting that SotN has such an enduring legacy at the same time as people don't seem to give the original a fair shake. It's definitely a game that belongs on the same pedestal as Mega Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. in terms of highly-honed early/influential platformers.