Titans fall and we set the stage for a Kart and RPG final battle (maybe with a Captain's interference?).
While the match-ups were settled coming into the final hours of voting, things got wild for a minute there as we had three tight duels between RPGs and Karts. With that, one of the presumptive favorites (Mario Kart 8) is eliminated, setting the stage for one guaranteed RPG in the final four, with the likes of Mario Kart 64, DS, and Double Dash trying to avenge their fallen brother. It's also time to reveal the behind-the-scenes staff predictions, of which we have one staffers who picked all eight of the remaining games!
Vote below, and enjoy the factoids.
- Biggest margin of victory: As expected as we got near the end, the matches were closer, with a quartet of 70%-30% finishes being the biggest victories, coming from Super Mario RPG (over Super Mario Strikers), Paper Mario 64 (over Mario Kart 7), Mario Kart 64 (over Mario Party 2), and Mario Kart DS (over Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time).
- Closest match-ups: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! held off Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 51%-49% in our closest match yet. Additionally, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door felled Mario Kart 8 53%-47% and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story held off the Ubisoft invasion of Mario+Rabbids 53%-47%.
- Upsets: Captain Toad knocked off Mario Golf 64, one of two remaining #1 seeds. The only other technical upset was Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (3 seed) over Mario Kart 8 (2 seed).
- Big takeaway: The RPGs have the edge. There's a good chance three of the final four could be RPGs, with the fourth game in that scenario being Captain Toad or Mario Kart DS. Are you ready to bow to your new Paper Mario overlords?
- Genre/series breakdown: The final eight split into 4 RPGs, 3 Karts, and one Captain Toad.
- Staff predictions: Before this started, NWR staff picked their final eight (and the rest of the way). JP Corbran nailed all eight remaining games. Adam Abou-Nasr only guessed wrong on Mario Party 4 and Super Mario Kart, while three others (Matt Zawodniak, Donald Theriault, and Lauren Ronaghan) all got five correct (though each are missing one of their final four games). JP is the favorite to win, though it could come down to the finals, as JP has Mario Kart DS winning, while Adam, Matt, and Donald all picked Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Needless to say, everyone who had Mario Kart 8 winning is basically eliminated.
Here we go! We're down to eight games to determine the winner of our Mario Spinoff Madness Tournament! Vote now in this thread! Polls close the night of 4/22! https://t.co/DtfnnmafKq pic.twitter.com/FfEPniGiqX
— Nintendo World Report (@Nintendo_NWR) April 21, 2020