Kanto Region: Day 3

Qui-Gon Jinn vs. Luigi! Scorpion vs. Lucas! Mace Windu vs. Captain Jack Sparrow! Predator vs. Gravemind! It’s Day 3 of the tournament of Champions: Kanto Region. Which challenger will rise above the competition? MaristPlayBoy analyzes the match-ups.

If you missed the introduction, click here.

Kanto Day 1

Kanto Day 2

So many match-ups, so little time. Lets head back to the Kanto Region and get these matches started.

2. Qui-Gon Jinn vs. 31. Luigi

Before I get into this match-up, I have to establish a new rule: No Star Wars Expanded Universe. I’m sorry; I know this is going to ruffle the feathers of quite a few Star Wars fans who can say, “But Chase, in the third book of the Jedi Apprentice series…” Nope, not doing that. I hate to break this to you, but any time fans start writing about their favorite characters, they become vastly overpowered. Luke Skywalker is the biggest victim of this, but all of the Jedi, and main villains like Darth Vader, get this treatment. It happens with every series, and it doesn’t mean the books are bad, just that they’re not good for this tournament.

Not that it matters with Qui-Gon Jinn, as my research indicates that the only noteworthy achievement he has as a Jedi is training Obi-Wan Kenobi and discovering Anakin Skywalker. He’s still a Jedi, though, which is more than enough to take out Luigi, the unfortunate brother of the much more famous and successful Mario. So what we have here is a two-seed entirely on reputation fighting one of the most useless characters in video game history (when the peak of your power involves you sucking ghosts through a vacuum, you’re useless. Sorry). Qui-Gon Jinn advances easily in a match about which no one cares.

15. Scorpion vs. 18. Lucas

Unless you’re a big fan of the Mother series of RPGs and have imported the games from Japan, you likely only know of Lucas from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and that was just a palette swap of Ness. In reality, Lucas has a much different move set…and is far more useless in battle as a solo fighter. He’s the main healer of his party, as well as general assist moves that buff or protect his allies. He has some strong Area of Effect spells, but in all honesty, he’s just not much of a fighter.

To me, this is a shame, because it means everyone will now go back to forgetting this awesome game series exists because Scorpion, an undead ninja, will rip him to shreds. This is really no contest. Scorpion is widely regarded as one of the best and most iconic fighters from the Mortal Kombat series, and he’s a downright badass in his own right. Again, undead ninja. I cannot hand this victory to Scorpion quickly enough. Fighter beats healer in a one-on-one every time.

(Still love you, Lucas)

2. Qui-Gon Jinn vs. 15. Scorpion

Qui-Gon Jinn’s most notable moment in the entire movie series is his death. He dies while facing Darth Maul in the first movie. We spent the entire opening act being toldhe’s a badass that trained Obi-Wan, who we know to be a badass, and he can’t defeat the first real challenge he faces? I don’t know about you, but I was incredibly disappointed when I saw this happen. Hell, even if I did include the extended universe, he hasn’t really defeated anyone of note. One rogue apprentice is not much of a rap sheet, Qui-Gon.

Scorpion, meanwhile, has slaughtered countless opponents and justified his presence as a boss in several games of the series. He’s not unbeatable, but given my addendum that fighters get to use equal levels of tech… I don’t see any reason to not pick Scorpion in the upset. He’s a ruthless killer with nothing but vengeance on his mind, and I don’t think Qui-Gon Jinn is the man to stop him. It will be close—even the most overrated Jedi is still a Jedi, after all—but I take Scorpion in this one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to prepare my barricades for when the Star Wars fans find this article.

(…Almost ready…)

(…Final touches…)

Ok, I think I’m safe. Next match!

7. Mace Windu vs. 26. Captain Jack Sparrow

Oh good. I can make it up to Star Wars fans almost immediately. Mace Windu is awesome. He’s one of the main leaders of the Jedi forces in the Clone Wars, he defeated Jango Fett, and had Anakin not shown up and ruined everything, he would have defeated Darth Sidious. Unlike Qui-Gon, Mace Windu proved his awesomeness in the movies themselves, and for that reason, he’s always seemed more powerful, at least in my eyes.

Captain Jack Sparrow is, well, Johnny Depp as a drunken pirate. This is a ridiculous seed to give him. I mean, this seeding implies he’s more powerful as a fighter than Blastoise and Charizard, and if you believe that, I’m going to have to ask you to step outside. Honestly, he’s a decent sword fighter, but he’s no Jedi. Mace Windu doesn’t even break a sweat.

10. Predator vs. 23. Gravemind

Every tournament needs a good alien vs. alien battle, and we’re lucky enough to have one in the first round. The Predators are the main villains of the Predator series that many know from the Alien vs. Predator movies. They are damage resistant, able to shake off multiple gunshot wounds with ease. They are also much stronger than a standard human. However, much like Ezio Auditore suffered due to the environment, Predator is substantially weakened by his inability to take advantage of his environment. He’s a true hunter, and most of his abilities reflect his ability to stalk and kill his prey (ergo, Predator). Because we’re on a Final Destination stage, Predator doesn’t have the same opportunities to take out his opponents that he usually would, but he’s still strong in his own right.

While only one ever exists in the Halo games, Gravemind is the final stage of Flood evolution. It is a massive monster with tentacles and a scary level of intelligence. It acts as a collective mind, controlling the Flood through its thoughts. It has only one goal: consume all intelligent life in the world, and at 80 meters tall, there are few that could stand up to it. Regardless of the fact that most people hate the Gravemind as a concept, I don’t see any way for Predator to win this battle the way it’s set up. Gravemind’s incredibly powerful, and Predator doesn’t have the room to work within his environment to take him out in this case. Gravemind advances, which means…

7. Mace Windu vs. 23. Gravemind

Don’t worry; Gravemind gets defeated here easily. A Jedi light saber will slice through that tower of corpses, regardless of its insane height. Since Gravemind can’t call for any flood allies, it’s up to him alone to take out Mace Windu, and Mace Windu is too agile to be hit too badly. He’d be able to get enough sword strikes in to get some serious force power, and in the end, I think that will be enough to win the day. This leads to our final battle…

7. Mace Windu vs. 15. Scorpion

Scorpion may be a badass, but we’ve seen Mace Windu command armies against the forces of Count Dooku and emerge victorious. Scorpion is driven by his anger and lust for revenge, and Mace Windu is simply too cunning to be sucked in by this. Now, many of you may be wondering why I give Mace Windu the win here so readily, but Qui-Gon Jinn was cast aside. Simple answer: from movie universe alone, I think Mace Windu is the better fighter. One on one, I’d take Mace Windu. Every time. I’ve seen him beat Sith more powerful than Darth Maul, and Qui-Gon Jinn could not. Scorpion might have just edged out Qui-Gon Jinn on brute force alone, but I have confidence in Mace Windu’s ability to win this bout. Mace Windu advances to the Sweet Sixteen!

Agree? Disagree? Want to burn my house to the ground in rage that Qui-Gon Jinn was eliminated? Let me know in the comments what you guys think, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for Day 4’s action from the Kanto Region in the Tournament of Champions. Until then, this is MaristPlayBoy, signing out.