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Post by Fleck on Jun 26, 2011 19:16:48 GMT -8
I think this is the first season where I'm totally okay with any team that wins. Season 2 I was rooting for Zell/Ma and against Dona/Barthello. Season 1 I was pulling for Shinra/Rufus or Amarant/Lani and against Yuna/Rikku (I liked Y/R, but I didn't think they should win). This season, I'm pulling for Vaan/Penelo, but I'm okay with anybody winning. They all probably deserve to win at this point.
#1: Vaan and Penelo. This team took a couple legs to find their footing, but once they did, they became one of the most consistently entertaining teams to read. Their team dynamic has been playful and strong. Penelo has been a consistent rudder guiding the ship while Vaan's eccentric ideas have found shortcuts through the game that, while never putting them in first place until this most recent leg, have at least staved off elimination and occasionally put them in position to win. They do well with puzzles and memory tasks, which will be important in this last leg. The worst thing that can happen to these two is if Vaan makes a bad decision and Penelo is somehow unable to correct it. Otherwise, they are definite threats to win it all.
#2: Blank and Marcus. As far as entertainment goes, these two have been up and down with me. I was kinda bored with them to begin with, but in the middle of the game, their consistent finishes (albeit mediocre at times) and lack of major errors began to impress me. But aside from their racing strengths, they don't really impress me with their personalities. So I still like their ability to race well and I wouldn't be surprised to see them follow in the footsteps of Reina/Faris and become the second team boring team (for me, anyway) to win the race. I just wish they had more zip to their game, to make them more fun to read.
#3: Irvine and Selphie. Physically strong, but airheaded (not really to the extent of being stupid, but definitely to the point of distraction), I don't think they'll do terribly well on the memory task. Granted, they were able to ace the memory task this leg (mostly because Irvine is a perv), but the fact that they're the only F3 team that initially avoided the task goes to show that they don't list memory as one of their strengths. Even this late in the game, these two are doing what is most fun or most interesting to them, not necessarily what will get them a win. I don't think they're dumb enough to get distracted OOH SHINY in the final leg, but they may not be as focused as the other teams. Focus, memory, and playing the game well pretty much defines Vaan/Penelo and Blank/Marcus, but not Irvine/Selphie. So, for that reason, I'm not expecting these two to reach the finish first. But they might surprise me.
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Post by Fleck on Jul 17, 2011 19:57:34 GMT -8
IT'S OVER! And the team I've been wanting to win for the past bazillion legs has done it! Yay!
Some final thoughts.
1: Vaan and Penelo. This final leg was a microcosm of the best traits V&P have to offer: Vaan's energy and puzzle-solving tempered by Penelo's pragmatism and clear-headedness, together with their mutual respect and teamwork. After falling behind due to a lot of bad turns in a luck-based puzzle (Sphere Break may technically be a math puzzle, but I consider it to be more luck-based than skill-based), they managed to catch up due to Penelo's refusal to sit idly by on the last leg of the race, suffering through Maechen's long-winded speeches and learning a great deal about the area, which, when combined with Vaan's puzzle-solving, helped them overcome a twenty minute deficit at the last memory task. Though they didn't have the best of luck, they had the best skills and deserved to win the race.
2: Irvine and Selphie. These two aren't bad, but in retrospect, especially factoring in this last leg, I'm glad they didn't win. Take the detour for example. Vaan and Penelo picked Sphere Break because they were playing to their strengths, namely their intelligence and puzzle-solving. Blank and Marcus chose the balloon task because they were playing to their strengths in theater and showmanship. But contrast this with Irvine and Selphie, who were really just choosing the lesser of two evils for them. Granted, they have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and the balloon task was probably the better choice, but they don't really have any experience in that area. Which leads me to wonder what exactly these two are good at. Guns and women? They've had a lot of great finishes, ending in the top four every leg since Episode 3, which gives the impression that they're a great team, but I never really saw them truly dominate a task by sheer skill alone (except for that one shooting challenge with Irvine). Another interesting stat for these two is that they have the highest number of second place finishes, which is pretty much how I view this team. They're not bad, but not quite good enough, especially when Vaan and Penelo are getting everything (or almost everything) right.
3: Blank and Marcus. The gloves finally came off in the last leg, and these two proved that they can be as devious as Vaan and Penelo when it matters the most. Using the Blitz intercom as free advertising was a stroke of genius, but unfortunately, their muse didn't speak to them for the rest of the leg. From then on, they played the rest of the leg totally straight, never finding another opportunity to pull themselves further ahead. If they had, it would be easy to imagine them as the winners, instead of Vaan and Penelo. I wish that these two would have started playing hardball sooner, then maybe I would have enjoyed reading them more. Anyway, they ran an admirable race, but the others just had a little bit more left in the tank at the final task.
Now where the hell's the fourth season already? START IT NOW, BOB!
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Post by Dale on Jul 17, 2011 21:56:31 GMT -8
Virtually perfect finish! It was actually the finishing order I wanted, for once! A season that started out . . . basically horrible and predictable ended up salvaged with the final elimination, and almost fully saved with this fantastic finish! So let's throw in my final rankings for the finale:
1. Vaan & Penelo -- Winners: Fleck pretty much said most of what I already said. Vaan & Penelo ran a fantastic final leg (save for the Detour, of course). They chose the right Detour (for them), fought through all the bad luck involved, and made up a lot of time on Irvine & Selphie and Blank & Marcus. I was impressed that Penelo found her voice and made her winning contribution to the final Roadblock. When it really counted, they kept their cool and their focus and managed to come in first place! Thanks to their great combination of physical and mental abilities, no less! Congratulations, kids!
2. Irvine & Selphie -- 2nd Place: The last leg showed just how outmatched and outclassed they were by Vaan & Penelo. And this final leg showed it even more. That said, I really don't think the Detour was a lesser of two evils thing. They're both clearly more sociable and would thus do very well at selling balloons. So that Detour was more than the right choice. Really, I think what ultimately was their undoing was not figuring out that the spheres were Roadblocks quickly enough. If they had, they might've won, as they were plowing through the leg, as always, throughout this final episode. Still, a big congratulations to Irvine & Selphie for getting this far and very nearly winning, even if they only finished second! But man! Weeks ago, I'd been thinking to myself that it'd come down to the two teenage teams, so you can imagine my joyful surprise when I turned out to be right! (And maybe you forgot this, Fleck -- and I'll use very small words so you can get it back in your head -- but Selphie killed the Gear Roadblock on leg four.)
3. Blank & Marcus -- 3rd Place: I wouldn't have been angry if they'd won, per se. They ran a pretty good race to get to this point, after all. But I was kinda turned off to really wanting them to win after the stunt at the Detour. It was totally ruthless, yet totally fair, but it wasn't something I really took to. But I thought they'd take the whole thing when they filled a lot of their puzzle well ahead of Vaan & Penelo and Irvine & Selphie. Thank God they didn't think to find the fifth recess before solving the rest of the puzzle. Still, a decent race by Blank & Marcus to get this far. So good job, boys.
4. Tidus & Wakka -- Eliminated on Leg 10
5. Lucil & Elma -- Eliminated on Leg 9
6. Cid & Hilda -- Eliminated on Leg 7
7. Setzer & Daryl -- Eliminated on Leg 6
8. Cloud & Aeris -- Eliminated on Leg 4
9. Celia & Lede -- Eliminated on Leg 3
10. Godo & Yuffie -- Eliminated on Leg 2
11. Malak & Rafa -- Eliminated on Leg 1
12. Kiros & Ward -- Eliminated on Leg 1
But these are just my rankings. How about everyone else's?
Finally, two questions for Bob:
#1. Like Fleck says, when's season four getting rolling? You gonna at least write up a stock before your work gets started?
#2. What went into planning that final Roadblock? Having letters matching a certain sphere plus the past Roadblock element made that perhaps the best-planned final task by far!
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Post by Bob on Jul 17, 2011 22:23:19 GMT -8
I actually DO plan to start Season 4 really soon, Fleck. The writing of it, though, not the releasing of it. I'm going to be so busy next year with my job that I really need to have things written all this summer or else I won't finish. After I finish up with Season 3 (finish the Early FF Show that I'm writing right now, actually), then I'm moving into finalizing my team selection for Season 4 and beginning. But if I can't get at LEAST the first five or six episodes done, then I'm not going to start posting it. I can almost guarantee that I won't have time to write once the school year starts, so I basically have the next few weeks to write the entire season, which is...unlikely. BUT I WILL TRY!
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Post by Fleck on Jul 17, 2011 22:55:03 GMT -8
It's fun having someone agree with much of what I said, then turn around and imply that I'm brain-damaged, all within the space of two paragraphs. Anyway, my response shall use small words, so as not to accidentally hurt my tiny brain.
AGH! "Accidentally!" That's a big word! My brain! OW OW OW!
Who's to say that Selphie didn't just mash the buttons wildly inside of her Gear and somehow pull off what looked like a stunning victory? For the most part, those fights were described from a spectator's view, what the Gears were doing rather than what the pilots were thinking. And after all, when's the last time in FF8 Selphie really seemed to know what she was doing? The Galbadia Missile Base comes readily to mind here.
Anyway, I always picture Selphie has being competent with machines (probably because of her SeeD training), but hardly a prodigy. Any of her wins with machines can probably be chalked up to luck. And a "lucky" win is never a "domination" in my book.
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Post by Bob on Jul 17, 2011 23:10:21 GMT -8
Fleck, stop trolling.
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Post by Fleck on Jul 17, 2011 23:11:43 GMT -8
Yeah, Fleck. Stop trolling, you ass.
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Post by Bob on Jul 17, 2011 23:12:16 GMT -8
Yeah--hey! Wait a minute!
....My mind!
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Post by Dale on Jul 20, 2011 21:52:33 GMT -8
It's fun having someone agree with much of what I said, then turn around and imply that I'm brain-damaged, all within the space of two paragraphs. Implying? No. Flat-out saying it.
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Post by Bob on Jul 20, 2011 22:01:19 GMT -8
Ugh, Fleck! I said stop trolling! You're such a troll!
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Post by Fleck on Jul 21, 2011 0:13:06 GMT -8
Implying? No. Flat-out saying it. I'm sorry. Look, I didn't really think about what I was saying before. I really should have gone back and fact-checked because now that I've gone back to that part (episode 4 part 3), I see that yeah, Selphie pretty much dominated that task all over the place, no ifs ands or buts. But I was just going off of memory, and I didn't really recall Selphie ever doing much. Guess that's my fault for not paying attention. Anyway, now that that's all sorted out, you have to admit that I was pretty spot-on for the rest of my assessments, especially considering that I was just going off memory.
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Post by Bob on Jul 21, 2011 9:20:48 GMT -8
I wouldn't worry much about not remembering things. I don't think that Irvine and Selphie were all that great, either. They were one of the more tech-savvy teams, so they had some advantages along the way (not limited to four legs that at least featured their home world). But that was what, over half a year ago? Quite a long time to remember. Even Super Dale and his Super Brain forgot the U-Turn on Episode 8, which was only a month before. It's easy to forget.
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Post by Dale on Jul 21, 2011 11:19:17 GMT -8
Implying? No. Flat-out saying it. I'm sorry. Look, I didn't really think about what I was saying before. I really should have gone back and fact-checked because now that I've gone back to that part (episode 4 part 3), I see that yeah, Selphie pretty much dominated that task all over the place, no ifs ands or buts. But I was just going off of memory, and I didn't really recall Selphie ever doing much. Guess that's my fault for not paying attention. Anyway, now that that's all sorted out, you have to admit that I was pretty spot-on for the rest of my assessments, especially considering that I was just going off memory. No, that's okay. I just thought you'd forgotten that. And yeah, I think everything else was absolutely correct.
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Post by wyvernxk7 on Feb 18, 2012 15:02:19 GMT -8
I finally got to enjoy the second half of season 3 (yeah, I'm THAT slow!) I really liked how things all came together, and even though I was rooting for Irvine and Selphie to win before they'd even been announced (I said something to the effect that Team 4 was going to win/was my team or something), it was an all-around satisfying ending, and Vaan and Penelo (although a little predictable [about as predictable as a semi-random outcome can be]) won it fair and square, and in spectacular fashion!
Good stuff, Bob!
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