Ashe

Ashe ---> Relevance, regality, and overall positive reception from myself.

Interesting spin on who will be bestowed with the title (the honor) of better/lesser loser, in my opinion!

Montblanc

Ashe is really boring and isn't developed as well as she could be

Montblanc.

Time to end this, I think.

Ashe 9-5 Montblanc

Despite a valiant effort from Montblanc, Ashe walks away with the third place.

And in true Olympic spirit, that means she will get her name highlighted in bronze on the first page, where the list of all winners/runners-up in all FFXII rumbles etc will be kept, in comemmoration of the achievement. Just call it my own personal touch, if you will.

The final will be coming up in just a moment.

The Final:

Balthier

The James Bond of FFXII. Reached the final courtesy of 14-1, 9-4 and 9-5 wins over Vossler, Doctor Cid and Montblanc respectively, for a total cumulative score of 22.

Basch

The former Dalmascan soldier trying to prove his innocence to his public and his princess. Has a tcs of 16 thanks to 12-1 and 10-5 wins in previous rounds, which helped him win through in the tied semi against Ashe, but will not be enough should a tie occur this time.

These two characters are worthy finalists and I've no doubt you're itching to get voting, so for the final time in this rumble-

FIGHT!

Starting with a vote for Balthier. Not an easy decision by any means, but I just feel, as I've mentioned before, that Basch is only important to the first and last portions of the plot, whereas Balthier (and others such as Ashe) are of great importance throughout.

Basch was more dignified than a sky-pirate/ pimp.

Balthier.


he had his own airship along with Freya. I don't think Basch had his own airship now did he?

Yesssssssssss! It's like having your own car and Basch is a pedestrial bum!

Basch, just.

I know I'm fighting a losing battle here, but I'm gonna go for Basch. He's more developed than a lot of characters, and Balthier's British accent seriously pissed me off

Balthier

he had his own airship along with fran. I don't think Basch had his own airship now did he?

corrected my mistake agent. I guess I mixed the names up. sounded too similar in my mind.

Balthier

Highlight in bronze? Man, Ceidwad, you have some great ideas. I hope you don't mind if I try out a couple at my rumble sometime.

And I have to go Basch here, for the good fight. Unlike Slavka, I'm optimistic. Maybe he can scrape this one out. And he was definitely the more interesting character to me.



he had his own airship with freya
Thinking of FFIX? I'm guessing you meant Fran.

Hmmm. Balthier

Basch...idk why but

The Sky-Pirate/Pimp.

Balthier

It's great to see the 2 of them in the finals. They are both my favorite characters in the game.

Basch gdi.

Well, this is a very close battle, 7-6 to Balthier so far. I have to admit I wasn't expecting this many votes in such a short space of time, though.

Agent, feel free to use as few or as many of my ideas as you want. It's not like I have them under copyright or anything, and besides, if you think implementing some of my ideas would improve your rumbles it would be a real honour, as I always find your rumbles to be excellently run.

Anyway, I am sure that the rest of you are now reaching for the sick bags due to the overly adulatory nature of this mutual back slapping, so I'll shut up now and let you guys get on with voting. :D

Basch

but I must give credit to Balthier - the guy who dares to run in such a tight trousers deserves respect

Balthier

Basch

My reasons will stay my own ~^

Hmmm... A tough decision.

I favor both characters, but I'll have to go with the Leading Man.

My vote goes to Balthier.

Balthier

OK, I think we can now announce the winner.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Balthier is our champion!

Balthier 10-8 Basch

I expected a good battle and this didn't disappoint. Balthier and Basch went blow for blow throughout before Balthier just pulled ahead at the end. Basch has had enough time to muster a comeback now I feel, but nothing has materialised.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in this rumble. Over the next couple of days, I'll be taking nominations for the subject of the next rumble, as well as hearing general suggestions on how I could improve the rumble. Am I updating too often? Too rarely? Are the rules about tcs and sudden death the right way to settle tied rumbles, etc.? The next couple of days will hopefully bring together some interesting ideas.

Everything is perfect as it is Ceidwad, don't change a thing.

As for the next rumble... What about a cut-scene rumble? I don't recall any of the rumbles going for that particular subject.

It could be pre-rendered cut-scenes of in-game ones, or even both. But I think it could be interesting.

Hynad, cut-scenes are a great idea, but I think the main stumbling block there is a) the lack of viable options in FFXII (how many cutscenes are there?) and b) the naming problems (as in I'd have to come up with a name and concise description for each cutscene, and it's been a few months since I've played)

I was personally thinking of locations as the next rumble, and we'll probably do bosses and hunts somewhere along the line too. I will add cut-scenes to the list if we all of us can decide on a good way of doing it as well as actually finding enough cut-scenes in the game for the minimum 16-contestant rumble.

Too many cuts scenes to count... so Espers or bosses

I'm for bosses if it includes optional bosses such as the Espers, Hellwyrm and Omega XII. You might want to run a separate one specifically for marks.

I was expecting the urge to go the lazy way...

I wasn't thinking about every cut-scenes there is in the game. Just the most significant ones. The ones that push the story forward. I was wishing for something new and unique for a change.

Oh well, let's do the same as with all the other rumbles. Not that it is getting old anyways...


Right



There are only 13 Espers, so go for that. You can take a guide and copy every infos there is. That's lazy, but that's how it has to be. :P

Hynad, just to be clear, I'm not saying your idea is off the table totally, just that it would take a lot of time and effort to co-ordinate. If you could help me suggest and nominate the minimum 16 cutscenes, then I would certainly consider it.

As for Espers, I can't do them just on their own, as there's only 13 Espers in the game and you need to have at least 16 for a rumble, to be totally honest.

ThroneofOminous-Bosses and Marks will, I think, be seperate rumbles. I'm undecided on whether I should do a seperate rumble for optional bosses (such as the Earth Tyrant, Hell Wyrm, plus Necrohol of Nabudis bosses) and maybe include the optional Espers in that, and put the compulsory Espers in the 'normal' bosses rumble.

I just realized I've still yet to beat Earth Tyrant. Damn.

That sounds like a better idea, actually. Although, how do you plan on classifying bosses like the first Demon Wall (which you encounter during the plot but don't have to actually defeat) or Elder Wyrm (which was designed to be compulsory but ended up being skippable due to an oversite by the developers)?

The first (optional) Demon Wall I think will be classified with the optional bosses, the second compulsory one with the storyline bosses.

As for Elder Wyrm, I think I'll stick it in with the storyline ones. To be honest, although it is optional, there's a pretty decent chance you'll get killed on your trek through the southern part of Golmore Jungle and through the Feywood if you do try to skip it. And, since it was at least intended to be compulsory, that qualifies it for the storyline rumble in my opinion.

Here is a radical suggestion... music. I know not a lot of people are big fan's of this game's soundtrack, but I think there are just enough good pieces to make it worthwhile.


Other than that, Marks sounds good.


Espers? But most people don't even like this game's summon system, at all.

I think most people are considering Espers in a 'how fun were they to fight' sort of way.

As for music, it might be an idea to give people some time to 'legally obtain' the soundtrack before starting a music rumble. I can barely name 3 tracks on the OST and I'm one of the few who thought it was fantastic.

Yeah, music would be a good idea, but does anyone know a place I could find the names of the tracks and corresponding MIDI files or something? Those are almost a necessity for such a rumble, since most people will either not be able to remember the track fully based just on the name or will simply have no idea which song is being alluded to.

As for Espers, I think ThroneofOminous has it right. The Espers will be included in the bosses rumble based on whether they were optional or compulsory. They will mostly, as Ominous says, be voted for as to their appearence and the battle against them, as summoning is teh suck in FFXII.

Am I the only one interested in doing locations?

I think I'd do Marks. Locations are good.

Yeah, music would be a good idea, but does anyone know a place I could find the names of the tracks and corresponding MIDI files or something? Those are almost a necessity for such a rumble, since most people will either not be able to remember the track fully based just on the name or will simply have no idea which song is being alluded to.
bluelaguna.net has pretty much everything. God knows how they've managed to evade a cease and desist letter from SE thus far.

EDIT: These are full mp3s though, not MIDI files. I doubt MIDI files exist at this point.

MIDI files? That's a good question. Well, there's always Google. Lemme see if that brings up anything... Hrm, a quick search turns up only a smattering. Well, if that's the case, then yeah, maybe music isn't the best idea at this point. And, unfortunately (damn Square-Enix, why!?) FFXII doesn't have anything like X/X-2's Sphere Theater.


Anyway, I agree with Mierna on both.

Music will be best left for last, I think. By the time we've done a few more rumbles, in a few months' time, more or all the tracks will likely be available (ToO, I tried that bluelaguna place, but couldn't access it for some reason?). I think that before doing either music or cutscenes we'll do compulsory bosses, optional bosses, marks, and locations, in any order we can mutually agree on. I'm leaving the cutscenes til later as that rumble will take a lot of time to organise, and I'd like to get some more experience running one before then, if you will.

Ceidwad, just out of curiosity, if the MIDI tracks aren't up over a year after the game was first released, why do you think it's likely that a few more months will sort it?

(ToO, I tried that bluelaguna place, but couldn't access it for some reason?)
Really? I don't have any problem at all. Do you mean the site itself isn't loading or the MP3s are unobtainable?

Agent-I don't know, to be honest. An assumption, I guess, which probably isn't the best thing to do with something like this.

As for your post ThroneofOminous, it's the entire site that wasn't working. I have no idea why, though my internet is somewhat tempremental and may have something to do with it. I'll be back in university later today, so I'll give it a go on the computers there and get back to you.

Yeah, I don't know. I just don't see as especially likely that there are going to be MIDIs by now, if there aren't already.


Regarding cutscenes --- they aren't up at the main FFShrine site yet? And if not, isn't there surely another site somewhere that has pictures of them?

We have a main page? When did this happen?


On the serious tip, I didn't know it was still being updated. I haven't seen it since i registered and it was out of date then, iirc.

Knegative, you're right. The main site used to be wonderful, and have a lot of good content, but it hasn't been updated in so long. It's a shame. We really oughta badger Sarah or something.


The main site has MIDIs and FMV photos for most of the games.

It looks like bluelaguna has all the cutscenes for download, along with names that they've proposed for each: http://bluelaguna.net/movies/ff12/fmvs.php

Well, I can get bluelaguna up here in uni it seems, so we can do either the music or cutscenes.

OK, I think we should all take a vote on what we're going to do next. We have a good variety of categories to choose from, including the two above as well as optional bosses, storyline bosses, marks, and locations.

We'll have a mini-rumble to decide I think; the one with the most votes after 48 hours gets the gong. That seems the fairest and most democratic way of deciding. I'm sticking with locations by the way, even though I don't expect it to win.

A vote. Well, okay, my vote is for Marks. However, if that doesn't seem to have much support, then I throw my vote behind Locations.


Edit -- That is, unless we're still considering either Music or FMVs for this edition, in which case I throw my support behind Music, or FMVs if Music is still considered too problematic.

Marks, then FMVs.

I'm going to go for storyline bosses, simply because it will be a while before my ISP un-throttles my download speed.

Marks

I would say marks or optional bosses. can't decide which one I would want more. maybe marks.

Definitely Marks

OK, well marks seems to have the most support, although voter tunrout was pathetic. So that's what we'll be going for. We'll have to narrow down the nominations with this though, as there are 46 hunts in total, too many for the 32-condidate format, let alone 16.

Thanks to gamefaqs.com, here's the full list of marks.


Rogue Tomato - Rank I
Thextera - Rank I
Flowering Cactoid - Rank I

Wraith - Rank I
Cluckatrice - Rank I
Rocktoise - Rank I

Nidhogg - Rank I
Wyvern Lord - Rank II
Croakadile - Rank II

Enkelados - Rank II
Gil Snapper - Rank III
Ring Wyrm - Rank III

White Mousse - Rank V
Orthros - Rank V
Marilith - Rank V

Ixtab - Rank II
Feral Retriever - Rank III
Trickster - Rank V

Antlion - Rank V
Vorpal Bunny - Rank III
Atomos - Rank III

Mindflayer - Rank IV
Braegh - Rank IV
Bloodwing - Rank V
Carrot - Rank VII

Roblon - Rank VI
Darksteel - Rank IV
Vyraal - Rank V
Lindwyrm - Rank V

Overlord - Rank VI
Belito - Rank V
Goliath - Rank VI
Deathscythe - Rank VI

Gilgamesh Part 1 - Rank VII
Gilgamesh Part 2 - Rank VII
Deathgaze - Rank VII
Diabolos - Rank VII

Piscodaemon - Rank V
Wild Malboro - Rank VI
Catoblepas - Rank VI

Fafnir - Rank VII
Behemoth King - Rank VII
Pylraster - Rank VII

Ixion - Rank VI
Shadowseer - Rank VI
Yiazmat - Rank VIII

One thing I should note is that I haven't completed a handful of the hunts yet, mostly the later ones. I have highlighted these ones in bold. So, I'd appreciate some descriptions of those hunts from people who have completed them.

The process of elimination is the hard part. Since only 32 can feasibly be accomodated, we need to remove 14. My suggestion for how to best do this is thus-I've divided all the marks into 14 groups of either 3 or 4, and we each vote to eliminate one that we don't like from each group. The ones with the most votes go into the rumble dustbin. In the case of a tie, I'll decide myself. Although this system isn't perfect, it is probably the quickest and most decisive way.

If others have ideas as to either how to eliminate the 14 marks necessary, or just general ideas regarding the rumble, now is the time to post them. If no-one else comes up with any ideas in the next 24 hours or so, I'll start the vote of elimination.

Apologies that this is taking a while to get started, but there is not a lot I can do about it. Hopefully, it'll be started by the end of the week.

Can you tell us what rank they are and whether they are elite or normal?

I think the ones in boldface are supposed to be Elite. Though, maybe not, because I seem to recall Trickster being an Elite mark. Could be wrong, though. Rank would be good too.

Ranks added. Elite Marks are underlined, normal ones aren't.

As for the bolded ones, they are ones I haven't completed and may not be able to provide a detailed description for.

OK, it doesn't seem like anyone else has any ideas, so we may as well do the elimination vote. To recap, you vote for the one hunt you like least from each group of 3/4 hunts. The ones with the most votes go out. Incidentally, Gilgamesh parts 1 & 2 are both counted as one hunt.

Here's my list:

Rogue Tomato
Wraith
Nidhogg
Ring Wyrm
Orthros
Trickster
Antlion
Mindflayer
Lindwyrm
Deathscythe
Diabolos
Piscodaemon
Pylraster
Shadowseer

I hope I'm doing this right:

Thextera
Wraith
Nidhogg
Enkelados
White Mousse
Feral Retriever
Atomos
Braegh
Vyraal
Belito
Deathgaze
Wild Malboro
Fafnir
Shadowseer

So we pick 14. Heres my least favorites:

Flowering Cactoid
Wraith
Croakadile
Enkelados
Marilith
Feral Retriever
Vorpal Bunny
Braegh
Darksteel
Deathscythe
Diabolos
Piscodaemon
Behemoth King
Ixion

sorry Ceidwad_yr_Arfau, guess I wasn't paying attention to that part.

Trance Moogle, you've done it wrong. You need to choose one from each of the 14 groups as shown in the list I posted up. That is partly to ensure a good split of lower and upper ranked hunts.

I won't count your votes unless you edit them to comply with the rules, I'm afraid.

Thextera
Rocktoise
Nidhogg
Ring Wyrm
White Mousse
Feral Retriever
Antlion
Mindflayer
Roblon
Belito
Diabolos
Wild Malboro
Pylraster
Ixion

Thextera
Rocktoise
Croakadile
Gil Snapper
White Mousse
Feral Retriever
Antlion
Mindflayer
Vyraal
Belito(you have no idea how much that pissed me off)



I stop there since I haven't gotten to the other marks yet so I don't know yet...

Thextera
Cluckatrice
Croakadile
Gil Snapper
Marilith
Feral Retriever
Atomos
Bloodwing
Roblon
Goliath
Diablos
Piscodaemon
Fafnir
Shadowseer

Wow, okay. Interesting format. Let's give this a go...

Thextera
Rocktoise
Crokadile
Ring Wyrm
Merilith
Feral Retriever
Vorpal Bunny
Braegh
Roblon
Belito
Diabolos
Piscodaemon
Pylraster
Ixion

Won't Yiazmat just win by default, being Mr. Special optional ultimate boss, and all?

Anyway:



Thextera - Gave me my first of 7 game overs, but still wasn't as memorable as the other to comedic marks.

Rocktoise - Not much of a fight.

Croakadile - I don't even remember him.

Enkelados - Boring.

Orthros - Prefer the Mousse.

Feral Retriever - Who?

Atomos - Who??

Mindflayer - Easy. :/

Lindwyrm - I like it when I'm given incorrect directions to my mark.

Belito - Who?

Diabolos - I dislike cheap tricks with palings.

Piscodaemon - What?

Pylraster - Great fight, but not as "epic" for me as the other options.

Ixion - Same as above, really.

I think that will do for now, since I'd like to get cracking on with this. Elimination stage over, we can get on with the rumble's final rounds. Let's see who didn't make the cut:

Thextera
Croakadile
Ring Wyrm
Marilith
Feral Retriever
Atomos
Mindflayer
Roblon
Belito
Diabolos
Piscodaemon
Pylraster
Ixion

In the case of ties, I flipped a coin, just for the record.

I'll post the first round fixtures up on the first page of the thread in about 20 mins or so.

Edit: Fixtures are up, but I counted one too many hunts before the elimination round, so Rocktoise gets a reprieve for now.

OK, we may as well get voting. The first match is:

Shadowseer - Rank VI vs. Orthros - Rank V

Shadowseer - Rank VI

"God or Devil?" asks the hunt title for this foe. I wish I could give you the answer, but I never fought him myself, unfortunately. Looks cool, though.

Orthros - Rank V

A flan-like monster. Will only appear if you have Fran, Ashe and Penelo in your party. How's that for sexism? Also, possibly a call-back to Ultros from FFVI. On the bill, his picture looks very similar, I think.

Anyway, I do declare this rumble started, so let's fight!

My vote here goes to Orthros.

I died a million times trying to get to Orthros. Vote goes to Shadowseer.

I fought Shadowseeer, it was one hell of a battle. That's definitely my vote.

Shadowseer as Orthros made me yawn.

Haven't fought Shadowseer....Orthros who was a fuckin push-over in my experience.

Shadowseer gets my vote. Orthros is a no-count for me.

I also thought that it was fairly interesting how the petition bill for The Seer gives you a clue as to where to find him, in case you didn't already put two and two together as you fought the sub-bosses within Ridorana Cataract. The battle is no straight-forward pull, either, as you're forced to defeat his minions prior to getting your hands on him. It wants to play~

Orthros. Preeeety colors :love:

Orthos, but only because the Shadowseer annoyed the shit out of me. Stupid coward hiding behind his monsters.

Orthros

Never fought shadowseer but if I did I probably would've voted for him.

Shadowseer

Shadowseer is one of the genuinely challenging bosses in the game. I can't quite remember why though. I think he drained MP or switched MP with HP or something.

OK, this one's gone on long enough.

Shadowseer 6-5 Orthros

A close battle, but the Ultros-wannabe surrenders to its higher-ranked adversary.

Next battle:

Wraith - Rank I vs. Gil Snapper - Rank III

Wraith

Fought in the Gamarmsythe Waterway, bill posted by Milha because a Lowtown child was afraid of it and had locked itself in its room. Uses classic ghost attacks such as 'Doom' and the like.

Gil Snapper

Bansat of Clan Centurio joins you on this hunt. In order to reach it, you need to create an improvised bridge by cutting off tree trunks. You can steal a lot of gil from it, which is nice.

Fight!

Taking a vote for Gil Snapper here, since the Wraith was stupidly annoying with its constant use of Doom. Also, I enjoyed fighting with Bansat.

Wraith was a greater challenge than GilSnapper. All of his status effects were a heck of a bother.

Definitely Gil Snapper for the interesting conditions.

I liked fighting with Bansat as well, so Gil Snapper it is.

Gil Snapper, I know your secret weakness.

Gil Snapper...tough motherfucker...

Gil Snapper

I expected to get a lot of money out of the hunt but oh well.

Gil Snapper

I think despite the recent downtime I'll call it a day on this one, since the battle seems to be very much one-way traffic.

Gil Snapper 7-1 Wraith

Not nearly as close as the first battle.

Next battle:

Wyvern Lord - Rank II vs. Vorpal Bunny - Rank III

Wyvern Lord

You find it in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea-it cannot be harmed with melee attacks and is pretty powerful, depending on when you take it on. A good challenge.

Vorpal Bunny

Hunted in the Golmore Jungle. It prefers to run away rather than fight, which can be surprisingly diffcult to overcome since it will aggro many other monsters in the process.

Fight!

Two tough battles, albeit for entirely different reasons, but my vote goes to Vorpal Bunny. I thought it was a refreshing alternative to the vast majority of the hunts, which were essentially slug-a-thons to see who could take/dish out the most damage.

Vorpal Bunny. Such a beautifully rendered creature, at least in the Clan Primer.

I might have just glossed over it, and I apologize, but was there a specific criteria set forth for voting? Like, in the General Rumble, not too long ago, we did a rumble where we voted on enemy designs.

Are we voting on something that specific (e.g., difficulty of fight) or is it basically whatever you feel like voting for, for any given reason. My votes for Orthros and Vorpal are definitely based on design.

Love me some Vorpal Bunny.

Pretty much any reason you wish, you can use to justify your vote, though citing retarded reasons might lower your credibility. But no, voting for something because you preferred its appearance is fine by me. Besides, if I'd wanted you to stick to a rigorous set of guidelines in terms of reasons, I would have actually first insisted that people give reasons, which is absolutely not essential.

So the short version is, no, nothing specific.

Vorpal Bunny...Mainly because the first time I took him on, the enemies in the area were too strong and were distractions to taking out the rabbit...Second time around I laid him to waste with a 16 Quickening Chain... Plus IMO, the Wyvern Lord was too easy for me; mainly because I fought him after I got the first esper...

Vorpal bunny

Wyvern lord was too easy when I faced him.

Wyvern Lord was a bit of a push-over. Vorpal Bunny.

Vorpal Bunny

Vorpal Bunny.

Wyvern Lord 0-8 Vorpal Bunny

Well, that was barely a contest, was it? An easy passage through for Vorpal Bunny.

Next battle:

White Mousse - Rank V vs. Deathgaze - Rank VII

White Mousse

A flan-type monster that uses status attacks and Waterga. Found in the Garamsythe Waterway; if you win, you'll get the Sluice Gate Key allowing you to explore the GW further.

Deathgaze

Another of those I've yet to battle, unfortunately.

Again, due to my handicap of not actually having fought the other choice, my vote goes to White Mousse.

You guys definitely need to battle Deathgaze.

Deathgaze. I will never vote for any kind of flan monster.

Deathgaze. I will never vote for any kind of flan monster.

QFT

Deathgaze

Deathgaze

Deathgaze

Deathgaze.

Deathgaze

White Mousse

It gave me a really hard time right as I was about to kill it. Almost wiped both my parties out immediately. don't know what went wrong but I barely killed it.

Doesn't look like we're likely to get the 7 additional votes in order for White Mousse to win this one, so I'll move on.

White Mousse 2-8 Deathgaze

Next battle:

Ixtab - Rank II vs. Enkelados - Rank II

Ixtab

Fought in the Henne Mines; will only appear if your MP bars are full. Has numerous attacks that affect your MP, making it an annoying battle.

Enkelados

Found on Ozmone Plain. A Slaven-type beast that generally just uses physical attacks.

Fight!

Man, I'm torn. Not because I particularly like either, rather the opposite. I think I dislike Enkelados just marginally less. It was an easy and fairly routine fight, but the MP-draining tactics of Ixtab plus the fact that I walked around for hours before I realised you needed full MP bars to find it really gives me reason to oppose it.

Ixtab, cause I like the Garif, and helping them :)

Ixtab, cause I like the Garif, and helping them :)

QFT, And Enkaldos was nothing special, to say the least.

Wasn't Enkedalos a "help the Garif" mission also? Anyway, Enkedalos. The game whipped my ass trying to find Ixtab and getting it to show up and it really got on my nerves.

Enkelados

I think I remember fighting Enkelados and a rare game in the same area at the same time. kinda annoyed me but made me happy when I killed em both.

Ixtab, but only cos the Enkelados was about the most boring mark I ever fought.

Not very attractive choices..Enkelados for down to earthiness.

A big meh for both of the marks, but Ixtab is better by just a smidgen.

Enkelados...only because I kicked Ixtab's ass with a huge Quickening Chain so idk what really goes on in that fight.

I think I'll leave this for another day, since some of the 'regulars' such as DL, Mierna, ThroneOfOminous etc still haven't voted. Get your votes in, guys!

To be honest, I can't remember either of these hunts at all. There isn't much point in me voting.

Same as above~ .-.

Two of the easiest least challenging hunts. But what the hell, I vote Ixtab because I love those Ghost things. Plus, The Garif gives me Soul Powder which is hell to get either of the other ways. Etems are hella annoying and so is getting Vorres to appear.

OK, calling Sudden Death on this. It's about time it got finished! Score's tied at 5-5 now, next vote settles it.

Ok then. I'll vote for today.

Ixtab

Thank you Hynad! Finally, we can move on.

Ixtab 6-5 Enkelados

Ixtab steals it on sudden death.

Next up:

Trickster - Rank V vs. Catoblepas - Rank VI

Trickster

Another that I haven't fought, so no description, sorry guys.

Catoblepas

War-Chief Supinelu assists you in tackling this behemoth-type monstrosity. It generally uses physical attacks, which it can enhance with Bravery.

I know I haven't fought Trickster, but even if I had I think I'd still be going for Catoblepas. Why? Well, I guess I just enjoy fighting with guest characters, and teaming up with Supinelu was cool.

Trickster was more fun. :P

Trickster

Catoblepas was way too easy. Trickster was a little more of a challenge especially when HP critical.

Trickster was more fun. :P

If you enjoy fighting people who are temporarily invincible ;p

Trickster...I got lucky and killed before he got his invincible shield up... Though it startled me when he first appeared because I was looking ahead on the screen for him and then, BAM! Right out of the fucking ice! Scared the shit out of me...

Trickster

Catoblepas was piss easy.

100% Trickster. I even wrote a guide on how to beat Trickster once, it's still in this section somewhere.

Trickster

Trickster <3

Trickster is one of the best hunts in the game.

My single vote goes entirely against the grain that was the nine votes given to Trickster, so I may as well end this since it's practically impossible for Catoblepas to make a comeback now. I can't wait to battle Trickster though, now, since everyone seems to be raving about it. Is it the chocobo-looking thing? I vaguely recall the bill, I think.

Anyway, on with the rumble.

Trickster 9-1 Catoblepas

And it's Auf Wiedersehen to the huge green behemoth. Sorry, Supinelu.

Next up:

Bloodwing - Rank V vs. Antlion - Rank V

Bloodwing

Difficult to get to, since it's in the Barheim Passage. An over-sized blood-coloured bat that uses standard vampire-related attacks and generally drains HP and MP.

Antlion

A mantis-type creature that attacks quickly and can also Cannibalise to grow stronger. Fought in the Lhusu Mines.

My vote goes to Bloodwing. I thought it was a challenging battle if you take it on when you first get the Barheim Key.

Bloodwing. Take that area slowly and it'll be alright ;)

Is it the chocobo-looking thing?
Oh, yes it is. And it's a bugger of a Mark. Be prepared for it to live up to its name.


Antlion -- it's supported by a number of minion mantises and I always thought it was a tough fight.

I know I haven't fought Trickster, but even if I had I think I'd still be going for Catoblepas. Why? Well, I guess I just enjoy fighting with guest characters, and teaming up with Supinelu was cool.

Trickster has a guest character.

Anyway, Antlion. I like Hunts that open up a lot of things.

I seem to remember Antlion being pretty cool.

Antlion

For "flashback" glory alone.



... now, gotta return to Keipo and heal Rosa...

Oh, yes it is. And it's a bugger of a Mark. Be prepared for it to live up to its name.


Antlion -- it's supported by a number of minion mantises and I always thought it was a tough fight.

Antlion was a great mark incapacitated both my teams twice.

Bloodwing.

Antlion -- it's supported by a number of minion mantises and I always thought it was a tough fight.

Antlion

I'm glad I beat it the first try. I didn't expect it to be surronded by so many other enemies.

Antlion, but only because it was slightly less irritating than the Bloodwing. You try fighting it alongside half a dozen skeletons and a ghost that won't stop dividing.

Sorry for the brief delay in updates folks. Anyway, let's sort this one out:

Bloodwing 3-8 Antlion

Antlion wins comfortably there. Moving on......

Next battle

Darksteel - Rank IV vs. Braegh - Rank IV

Darksteel

A Great Tortoise fought in the Sochen Cave Palace, it combines strong physical attacks with status changing moves.

Braegh

Fought in the Salikawood, generally uses Thunder-elemental attacks, if I remember correctly.

Fight!

Difficult choice. I neither liked or disliked either that much, but I'll go with the Braegh because of the couple of optional scenes you can view after you beat it, involving the Bangaa at the Phon Coast, which gave me a slight chuckle.

Braegh. Electric types, ftw.

Tough choice mainly because both were easy for me...

I'll go with Braegh...attacked him with the Sledgehammer and next thing you know, he's disabled...made me very happy...

I have to go against the crowd so far and go Darksteel because I can't remember Braegh, but I remember the other one well.

I pick Braegh (how would you pronounce that?), although they were both easy. Love those teleporting horse things, plus the additional scenes about Va'Kansa.

Braegh

I hate all the tortoise monsters

Braegh

Darksteel was a dissapointement. thought I would find it harder.

Braegh.

Darksteel 1-7 Braegh

Breagh rodeos on to the next round, as we reach the halfway point in Round 1.

Next battle:

Vyraal - Rank V vs. Flowering Cactoid - Rank I

Vyraal

A mutant Aevis hunted on the Cerobi Steppe. Uses all the normal Aevis attacks, such as Sonic Fangs, but also has the ability to use Restore repeatedly, mening you could be in for a long battle. You are joined by a Viera Wayfarer for this hunt.

Flowering Cactoid

A Cactoid hunted in the Dalmasca Estersand. It's main 'attack' is to run away and aggro everything else on the screen. It also has a high physical defence and can use Potions, plus it will use 1000 Needles at HP Critical, thus making it very difficult if you undertake the hunt when it first becomes available.

Fight!

I just can't not vote for the Flowering Cactoid.

Flowering Cactoid. Not because I was particularly fond of it but rather because bosses like Vyraal who repeatably restore their HP are unnecessarily frustrating.

Interesting little match we have here... both of these marks unlock some sick sidequests, and I like it. As for the marks themselves, also pretty fun both. My vote this time will go to Vyraal. Windmills for the win, and plus it's behind. Some battles are long and hard, some are long and annoying. Vyraal was... a rather fun fight.

Also I doubt anyone else will vote Vyraal.

Vyraal I guess.

I think I'll go with Flowering Cactoid for the same reasons as ThroneofOminous.

Flowering Cactoid because 1000 needles, I was so pissed.

Flowering Cactoid...

Flowering Cactoid

I've always liked the little cactus monsters

Vyraal.

Vyraal

That thing was hard the first time I tried it!

Vyraal. Favourite mark in the game. I guess everything about it surprised me, from its immense size to how tough it was for me.

Flowering Cactoid

Flowering Cactoid

Flowering Cactoid

Flowering Cactoid

I've always liked the little cactus monsters

That battle saw the highest level of voter turnout for ages. Well done guys!

Flowering Cactoid 10-5 Vyraal

The little menace wins through.

Next battle:

Lindwyrm - Rank V vs. Overlord - Rank VI

Lindwyrm

An unusual mark in that it requires very specific conditions to appear. Hunted in the Tchita Uplands.

Overlord

The Insecure Seeq helps you out in battle against this club-wielding Headless. Usually, he gets killed, too, at least whenever I've tried it. The Overlord is characterised by overwhelmingly strong physical attacks.

Fight!

Overlord, simply because Lindwyrm was the mark in the game that caused me the most annoyance, purely because of how awkward it was to find. You need very specific weather conditions in a very specific area of the Tchita Uplands. When you do finally fight it, I feel like it's not really worth the hassle. Also, I enjoyed fighting with the Insecure Seeq.

Overlord. Simply cause of that stupid Rusted Scrap of Armor that serves no purpose rather than sit in your Key Items bin.

Overlord...mainly because I hate wyrm enemies in general...they have too many HP IMO...stupid breath...

Overlord for president.

Overlord

I thought the overlord was going to be a pushover judging by how much HP I saw it had. I knew I've faced monsters with much more but overlord gave me beating over and over again. I evntually gave up after about the sixth try and came back about 5 level ups later and finally killed him.

Overlord. Simply cause of that stupid Rusted Scrap of Armor that serves no purpose rather than sit in your Key Items bin.

Don't you give it to the guy in Old Archades? Or was it the viera in Balfonhiem?

Can't recall.

Either way, Overlord

Lindwyrm. Because it's a dragon.

Yeah, the Overlord was definitely an interesting Mark.

Don't you give it to the guy in Old Archades? Or was it the viera in Balfonhiem?

Can't recall.

Either way, Overlord

The viera is the petitioner for Vyraal, and the Old Archades guy (Lindwyrm's petitioner) doesn't take it, he just comments on it after you collect your bounty. I forget what he says, probably makes some kind of joke about it cause he's a storyteller and all. Other that that you keep it and it has no use as far as we know.

Overlord

Not because I particularly liked it but because the petitioner for the Lindwyrm told you to go to the wrong area - I spent hours trying to get it cloudy in the wrong place!

Lindwyrm 1-8 Overlord

Overlord 'lords it over' the 'wyrm. (sorry for that dreadful pun)

Next up:

Goliath - Rank VI vs. Cluckatrice - Rank I

Goliath

An Augmented Automaton living in the Necrohol of Nabudis. Despite its brutish appearence, it mostly attacks with magic.

Cluckatrice

Why hunt one mark when you can hunt five? The Cluckatrice and her four children present a formidable challenge compared to other Rank I marks.

Fight!

Cluckatrice gets the gong from me this time.

I'm probably the only one who's going to vote Goliath.

Much more interesting to fight, and though Cluckatrice was a little bit of a challenge (when you're playing a "fight marks as they come" game), it wasn't a FUN challenge, more of an annoying fight. Goliath also had a more interesting petitioner, but he had a fun little attack pattern. Plus, the five Nalbina hunts seemed to amuse me most with the whole Jovy thing. So, unless I have a better reason any one of those five will automatically get my vote.

Cluckatrice

I just hate the Automatons

Cluckatrice

Goliath was damn easy. Cluckatrice didn't die even when I used a quickening on it. Probably would have been a better idea to save my MP for healing in that battle but still, it was hard.

Cluckatrice

Goliath. The automaton in Nabreus Deadlands was faaaaaar more..."challenging". Also automatons are a joyous creative addition to FF imo.

Stupid XII chimeras and their synonymousness with Full Metal Alchemist draw me away from respecting any form of their species.

Cluckatrice was fun, and so were her little chickies, the Chickatrices. This one messed me up the first time I played because I didn't realize it wasn't available during the rains.

Cluckatrice

Cluckatrice was definitely the more interesting of the two.

OK, high time to move on I think.

Goliath 2-7 Cluckatrice

Just like David v Goliath, only this time, David won. :D

Next up:

Deathscythe - Rank VI vs. Carrot - Rank VII

Deathscythe

Haven't undertaken this hunt, so can't say much about it. Looking at the bill, it appears to be an undead spirit similar to Ixtab.

Carrot

It's a Malboro. Need I say more? Oh, and Kjrn from CC joins you on this one. So I actually did need to say more......

.....anyway, fight!

Voting for Carrot, cause Krjn. :p

I seem to remember Carrot being moderately amusing.

Carrot

Deathscythe was a very ordinary mark.

Both from Nalbina... both have an interesting story behind them... both have some special original condition you have to achieve to call them out. Tough choice, if only they werent pitted against each other.

I'm gonna go with Deathscythe because it's the underdog and I found the whole idea behind it pretty funny with it haunting his dreams and all. Reminded me of Freddy.

Not to say that Carrot wasn't... but it seemed an original enough idea that you have to have two people in red to spawn it. Carrot was tough, but it wasn't fun-hard like Trickster, it was annoying-hard. Fucking Stop and Disease...

I'm with Carrot myself.

Carrot because I hate the Necrohol and the requirements for this mark to appear...fucking gay...

Carrot

because it's name is a food and it was my 2nd favorite of all malboros in the game.

Carrot, mainly cos I like fighting with guest characters.

OK, fight's over.

Deathscythe 1-7 Carrot

The living vegetable wins through.

Next fight:

Gilgamesh Part 1 & 2- Rank VII vs. Yiazmat - Rank VIII

I haven't fought either mark, so I won't be giving any descriptions and will abstain from voting in this round. If someone wishes to give a description for both later in the thread which I could then use for later rounds, they are more than welcome to.

I also need descriptions for Fafnir and Behemoth King, neither of which I've taken on, so if anyone cares to drop me a PM, that'd be great. I won't twist anyone's arm though.

Fight!

Gilgamesh

He was the best mark in my opinion, and Yiazmat drove me insane (it took 8 hours of nonstop playing to bring him down)

Gilgamesh, because it's actually an interesting battle.

Gilgamesh...though I forgot to steal the Genji equipment off of him... haven't fought Yiazmat yet, though I've watched video tutorials on how to beat him in less than one hour...takes lot of preparing though...

Gilgamesh, I normally like the tough uber-sikrit superbosses like Yaz, but can't say no to that music. Also for his whole connection to the fishing sidequest... hell, Gil is probably gonna win the whole rumble.

If there's anything that can beat Yiazmat in something like this, it's Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh, always and forever. I literally laughed out loud at all of his shenanigans. Plus, he was a great challenge.

Gilgamesh is very possibly the best mark in the game. Yiazmat is the most tedious uber boss I've ever come across.

Yiazmat

who doesn't get joy out of killing monsters with 56 million HP

(raises hand, watches several others go up)

Time to move on I think.

Gilgamesh 6-1 Yiazmat

It seems most of you agree with me that uber-bosses are dull.

Next:

Fafnir - Rank VII vs. Wild Malboro - Rank VI

Fafnir

I haven't fought it, so you'll have to rely on your own descriptions, sorry.

Wild Malboro

It's a Malboro that's wild. Starts with several Malboro minions and uses the numerous status-inducing attacks typical of Malboros.

Just another three to go and the first round will finally be completed.

Fight!

Going for Wild Malboro, as it was pretty difficult for me, even though I had Reddas' help at the the time of fighting it and my characters were all Lv. 45+. And more obviously, I haven't fought Fafnir.

Wild Malboro

figuring out the snowstorm was just annoying

Wild Marlboro.

Fafnir is more of a challenge, and it's not even the snowstorm, fuck the snowstorm, that was nothing. But I don't owe it anything after TWICE i spent two hours on it and lost and nearly wrecked my console, and when I finally did it cost me 6 elixirs and 2 megalixirs and like 20 ethers. Hell, that's the only boss I ever actually used megalixirs in.

Hell, even Behemoth King is easier. Whoever's bright idea it was to put them in that order and even program Fafnir needs to be strapped to the wall and White Breath-ed a bunch of times.

Erm, yeah. Wild Malboro or "Marlboro" for the reasons above.

Besides Gilgamesh, Fafnir is probably my other favorite Mark. It's one of the few battles in the game that's long enough to be epic without becoming tedious like Hellwyrm and Yiazmat. It was also the turning point in the marks where I actually thought there was a decent chance I might lose (but ultimately didn't).

Also, go go Norse Mythology/Wagner reference.

Wild Malboro

I was at level 60 something and Fafnir still took forever. I'd resorted to hiding round the corner, charging my MP (no items left) and using Thundaga when I could.

Marlboro

Wild Malboro

Fafnir

Fafnir 2-7 Wild Malboro

The poisonous plant wins easily.

On to our penultimate fight of the first round:

Behemoth King - Rank VII vs. Nidhogg - Rank I

Behemoth King

Haven't fought it, but I assume it uses all the standard behemoth attacks, mostly physical.

Nidhogg

Fought in the Lhusu Mines and uses powerful physical attacks. You can win the Great Serpentskin as a reward for this hunt which is useful in another sidequest.

Fight!

Nidhogg gets my vote.

Behemoth King. Long winded yes, but not in a nearly annoying way as Fafnir. Some long boss fights are annoying and tedious like Fafnir, some are epic and fun and intense. This was more relaxing, and it took longer than Fafnir.

Also for the extra sidequest that follows it.

Behemoth King, for similar reasons to Fafnir. I don't quite like him as much as Fafnir due to the annoying criteria required to make him appear but it the battle itself was a similarly epic experience.

Nidhogg

Nidhogg, though neither excites me.

Behemoth King

Behemoth King

Behemoth King 4-3 Nidhogg

A tight contest with low turnout, but the King wins.

The final battle of this marathon first round, then:

Rogue Tomato - Rank I vs. Rocktoise - Rank I

Rogue Tomato

Your first hunt, the only mandatory one in the game. It only has two attacks, Ram and Flame Breath.

Rocktoise

One of Montblanc's hunts. Defeating it is tough if you take it on at the earliest possible moment, but well worth it for the reward of a Heavy Coat, something not available through normal means until quite a bit later.

Fight!

You know, Rogue Tomato, purely because it's the first hunt and that makes it somewhat interesting. And you complete it using only Vaan. Whereas the other is just... uninteresting.

Rogue Tomato has my vote. They could be the next FF monster/mascot no?

Rogue Tomato

Rocktoise gets my vote, Pilika's sidequest was cute. I wonder who else noticed that the other pet was supposed to be a Nidhogg replica.

Rogue Tomato.

It was such a cute critter! ^^

Rogue Tomato

I thought it was cute, and the Rocktoise was just boring

Rogue Tomato

I must say that I thought it was a pretty hard battle

I forgot to vote initially. Silly me.

Anyway, Rocktoise. Simply because it was much, much more challenging than RT, if you do them both when they initially come up. Whereas the Rogue Tomato was just no challenge whatsoever. I know it was the first hunt in the game and they don't want to make it too tough, but seriously, even at Lv 1 I didn't have to use a Potion.

Rogue Tomato

Rogue Tomato 7-2 Rocktoise

Rogue Tomato eases through to join the other 15 Round 1 winners in Round 2.

And so the first round draws to a close. The second round will begin sometime around midday tomorrow (as in, midday UK time). On request of one of our voters, I'll be introducing pictures of the marks wherever possible. Until then, if there's anything else you want to discuss regarding this rumble, do it now. I'll be happy to hear suggestions on how I could improve it.

I think we're all interested to vote on some more exciting battles now that some of the less-thrilling choices have been axed. It's gonna be good.

OK! Slightly later than planned, here we go with the start of the second round.

First up:

Gil Snapper - Rank III



Bansat of Clan Centurio joins you on this hunt. In order to reach it, you need to create an improvised bridge by cutting off tree trunks. You can steal a lot of gil from it, which is nice. Won 7-1 against Wraith in Round 1.

vs.

Flowering Cactoid - Rank I



A Cactoid hunted in the Dalmasca Estersand. It's main 'attack' is to run away and aggro everything else on the screen. It also has a high physical defence and can use Potions, plus it will use 1000 Needles at HP Critical, thus making it very difficult if you undertake the hunt when it first becomes available. Won 10-5 against Vyraal in the first round, in the battle that drew the highest voter turnout in the rumble so far.

So, without further ado, fight!

Voting for the Flowering Cactoid, one of the best challenges I had in the game, having opted to do it with Vaan and Penelo alone at ~ Level 5.

Yeah id say Flowering Cactoid (because he's sexy)

I'm also voting for Flowering Cactoid, though it's more a vote against the other -- which had annoying requirements to activate and, in the end, turned out to be just another annoying tortoise.

I'll also be voting Flowering Cactoid. Btw Ceidwad, thanks for showing pics of the new contestants :D. It helps alot for those of us who've only had the chance to played the game once and don't remember every little detaild ;). lol

Flowering Cactoid