Top 256 — Week 4 — Poll 31

[This Old Neon]

Welcome to the #BGE2020 Elimination Round of 256!

Each game is seeded based on its performance in the two opening rounds of pools. Every game in the Upper Bracket has defeated multiple other games in 1-on-1 polls to get to this point. These are still the best of the best.

Polls are updated weekly, typically on Sunday or Monday. Check back throughout the week to make sure you don't miss a vote!

HOW TO VOTE

This is easy. You only get one vote per poll. The game with the most votes wins. In the event of a tie, the higher seed advances, so don't get complacent!

[Sharecrow]

I will probably cry if Phantasy Star II gets eliminated. It was executed so well and is so epic. It also really raised the bar on what a JRPG could be. At least it seems so to me…

[Niahak]

I might otherwise be a vote for Undertale, but I have a lot of nostalgia for Phantasy Star II (even though I didn't play it until '07 on Wii VC) so I'll abstain here. And I think top 256 is still pretty respectable for either one.

[Kong Wen]

The way I see it, voting for both Phantasy Star over Baldur's Gate and Phantasy Star II over Undertale is having your cake and eating it too. PS1 and PS2 are both good games, but they also cannibalize each other a little bit on design & influence points.

For example, if I'm going to daringly give PS1 the edge over BG on the basis of influence or something, then PS2 loses some of its bite, since it's a follow-up. But if I want to give PS2 the edge over Undertale on the basis that it's a refined and improved PS1, then PS1 loses some of its bite, since it's a rough & raw early entry.

That's a long way of coming around to my own justification: they're both solid early RPGs, but they're both stacked up against solid groundbreaking RPGs. The fact that I already cast an easy, non-hesitating vote for Baldur's Gate over PS1 means PS2 carries a little more weight here against Undertale and makes it a somewhat difficult decision. But I think I still give the edge to Undertale. For now.

[Sharecrow]

PS1 and PS2 have a similar theme but they look, feel, and play very differently. That said if this were a PS1 cs PS2 poll I’m not sure how I’d vote…that would be tough for me. Just wanted to point out that PS1 and PS2 may both be fantasy sci-fi JRPGs but they have different strengths and weaknesses from one another. In my IMHO…

[Kong Wen]

PS1 and PS2 have a similar theme but they look, feel, and play very differently. That said if this were a PS1 cs PS2 poll I’m not sure how I’d vote…that would be tough for me. Just wanted to point out that PS1 and PS2 may both be fantasy sci-fi JRPGs but they have different strengths and weaknesses from one another. In my IMHO…

Yes, I'm not denying that. I'm just talking through some of my "meta" rationale for voting.