Tuesday, November 24

The 13 games that Famitsu gave perfect scores in the magazine's 23yrs of existence


There is no other publication that has influenced the industry like the Famisu Magazine. It's more than just a publication, it's the first stop for many journalists who are looking for the latest breaking news, whether it's the magazine's Japanese hardware and software sales numbers, interviews, screenshots or the ever famous review scores.

Famitsu Magazine was originally named after the Family Computer, the Japanese name for the Nintendo Entertainment System which was the dominant console back in the 1980s in Japan and everywhere for that matter.

Famitsu is now well respected in every sector of the gaming industry. From developers, to publishers, journalists and gamers. It's also known for NOT giving perfect scores that easily. In fact in the magazine's 23yrs of operating, they've only given 13 games a perfect 40/40, with Super Mario Bros. just recently joining the list along with Bayonetta.

Here's the full thing:


* The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

* SoulCalibur (1999)

* Vagrant Story (2000)

* The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003)

* Nintendogs (2005)

* Final Fantasy XII (2006)

* Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

* Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots

* 428 (2008)

* Dragon Quest IX (2009)

* Monster Hunter Tri (2009)

* Bayonetta (2009)

* Super Mario Bros. Wii

A great publication that knows more about the industry than most; let's hope it only grows stronger.

More proof here.

11/24/09 Ernice Gilbert

55 comments:

  1. 8 of the 13 titles are nintendo titles wow MH3,SUPER MARIO BROS,428,SMASH BROS BRAWL,THOZ OCARINA OF TIME,TLOZ THE WIND WAKER,NINTENDOGS,DEAGON QUEST 9 DS,

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  2. Yeah, seems like contrary to what people may think, Nintendo has been the saving grace of this industry

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  3. Wind Waker was never in most peoples opinion a 40 pointer.More like 30 .

    Where ist Mario 64?

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  4. Can someone please tell me why in the world they gave Bayonetta a perfect score?

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  5. becouse bayonneta is a sik game looks tooo awsome Can'tt wait

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  6. Sounds like someone is up Nintendo's butt. There's been others that deserve this. Call Of Duty 4 and even 6, Halo 3, Uncharted 2. I'm sure there are others.

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  7. Halo 3? Halo 3! WTF! The original Halo is in every aspect better than 2, 3 and ODST (which I think for the first dsic anyway was the worst game I have played this year besides SFIV which I thought was a HUGE letdown!) besides graphics and in some but not all ways in the multiplayer. And COD4 probably got a 36? Because it was ground braking at the time (unlike MW2!!!) and it was the sold gun game ever (but if the sales are correst MW2 is now the record holder).

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  8. There's an obvious devaluation of the perfect score as half the times it's been given is the last two years...

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  9. Final Fantasy VII (7) got a perfect score in 2006?

    Something is clearly wrong...

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  10. Monster Hunter Trilogy, LOL! Its called Monster Hunter Tri (3).

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  11. @previous commenter- Halo 3 never deserved a perfect score, and i dont think nintendogs did either...

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  12. I've completed the import of Bayonetta. In sum, it's the best action game I've played since the original Devil May Cry. Without giving too much away, one will have a trip down 'memory lane' playing Bayonetta. It's non-stop action, has great control, and has some of the best boss battles I've seen in some time. As a matter of fact, that's one of its standout points; true boss battles. Also, the game pays homage to some other classics that I will not mention as not to spoil. Truly a great game.

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  13. I'm an avid Nintendo fanboy, but even I don't think New Super Mario Bros. Wii should be on that list, and Bayonetta Definitely shouldn't be on that list...

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  14. Bayonetta, seriously i played it about three times and its just ok, god of war anyone

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  15. The fact that just over half of the perfect scores came in the last two years of the magazine's 23 years says it all really.

    The mag has gone soft in recent times, catering to the casual japanese audience more than ever before and getting caught up in the hype of new releases.

    You only have to look at this list to see the magazine doesn't reflect western opinions on games and that the magazine is nowhere near as 'hard to please' as it used to be.

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  16. FF12 got a perfect score, not 7

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  17. the 2006 final fantasy was XII, not VII

    I player the Bayonetta demo and it's OK, nothing special, it might be great but without knowing anything else I can tell you that it's way to similar to devil may cry to get a perfect score

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  18. Remember that Famitsu is a Japanese magazine, and that it reviews based on Japanese games expectations. Games like Nintendogs were meant for Japanese audience and succeeded. That's why it got good J-scores.

    First-person shooters are not at all J-Style and I'm pretty sure most J-gamers would not even recognize Master Chief is we showed them a picture... Don't take it personnal if your favorite games are not on this list!

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  19. This list makes Famitsu's opinions and reviews in the future irrelavent to me because this list is fucking trash. No HalfLife 2 or GoldenEye hahaha MGS4 made me laugh out loud

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  20. This magazine publication is crazy. Bayonetta? THey lost all respect in my eyes

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  21. mw2, mw1, halo3, all of htem do not deserve 40/40's for your information. they all have MAJOR HOLES. usually single player, or something being under developed or tested

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  22. mark my words !!!!!!
    Final Fantasy XIII "WILL get a perfect score"

    plus i guess they have a policy not to give a perfect score to a western game what so ever
    and some of their reviews are weird like:

    Dynasty Warriors:Gundam 2 10,9,9,8
    Demon's Souls 9/7/7/6
    Bayonetta 10/10/10/10 WHAT !!

    DMC5 WILL be better than Bayonetta thats for sure !!!!

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  23. uhhh your upset cause uncharted 2 and codmw2"(wow thats alot) those are american made games...the japanese prob dont have access to them yet. also bayonetta's creator makes good games, maybe this is his peak, and the famatsui hell japanese in general place value on crazy inovation....in america that will sink a game...aaaahcoooo tim shafer... whoo excuse me
    adn ppl who mention dmc5 are freakin idots we dont even know if will get that game...dante has never been this balls out powerful. and the game play hasnt been fun since its first outtting

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  24. It's funny--Bayonetta gets a 40 and it burns a lot of people's asses. I guess only select RPG's, Military shooters, and graphical benchmark FPS games qualify for elite scores. Also, playing the Bayonetta demo is not the same as playing the entire game, as I have. Bayonetta is a benchmark title for its respective category. I could give two shits about Football; but, I can respect that a title like NFL 2K5 had a lot of love put into it and caused and whole category of games to get locked-up by one publisher. Or, Pac Man and Tetris are phoenomenal titles, but I don't compare them to Halo. Point is, different games do different things and target different audiences. I love that Bayonetta got a perfect score 'cuz I know it pisses people off that it wasn't Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed 2 or Left 4 Dead 2 (all of which are superb titles in their own right).

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  25. all of these games are japanese developed.

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  26. Wind Waker got a perfect score. Really? When you think "Zelda", which games come to mind? Probably Twilight Princess (since it's the most recent) or Ocarina/Link to the Past (because they're the most revered) but never Wind Waker. The game was flawed, a letdown, and NOT perfect.

    New Super Mario Bros. Wii? Really? A four-player rehash of a DS game that came out three years ago? No way. I admit, I haven't played it, but I don't see it.


    Nintendogs? Really? Do I have to say anything else?

    Soul Calibur was a ten. Ocarina of Time, maybe a ten. I can certainly understand someone goin' there. The rest are debatable. But there's no accounting for taste, right?

    It should be noted that 7 of the 13 "perfect scores" came out in the last two years...4 this year alone (and 2010 isn't here yet). Twenty-three years of publishing, and we get four in the last year. Interesting.

    At least five of the 13 are Nintendo games. Not games for a Nintendo consonle, games produced by Nintendo. Out of all the different companies out there, Nintendo has produced 5/13 "perfect score" games. Interesting.

    At least 9 are sequels. I actually don't have a problem with that--just stating facts.

    Glad I don't subscribe.

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  27. Perfect Scores!?

    what should you expect from Nintendo fanboys!?

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  28. i also think they are nintendo fanboys, but i also have to say that most of nintendo's games deserve to be in this list, just one thing...
    nintendogs? you gotta be kidding me, even if it was made for the japanese audience this game is just about taking care of a freaking dog, new super mario bros shouldn't be on the list either, bayonetta might be a good game but i doesn't deserve a 40 and i loved ff XII but it definetly wasn't a perfect game

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  29. max payne should be on that list and how about a gta sa or iv heck maybe even vice city > but again when has the jap done any thing right a mean look at the ps3

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  30. This list looks racist :) No european games mentioned, maybe because of the magazine's roots, but in many cases it just do not resamble the real customer attitude towards the games, if "masterpeace" was left on the shelf by the public, then there might be something wrong with it in the end.

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  31. Ok Nintendogs? Seriously?? It is obvious that these guys are fanboys of Nintendo and therefore lose all credibility of being "the-go-to-magazine" of the industry. Played Bayonetta, its good but no other magazine/website will give it a perfect score.

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  32. yeah all this is subjective and alot of these games dont deserve perfect scores. The fact that many more games have gotten perfect scores is not the problem is the fact that they are given them

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  33. to games that dont deserve them. In my eyes uncharted 2 deserves a perfect score and has recieved it in most cases more than any other game but in japan they favor rpg and have a diff stykle so they will see things differently.

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  34. Can everyone stop whining that their favorite shooters aren't up there? It's Famitsu, as in a Japanese magazine. Shooters don't really do well there, there's little appeal for them. A cultural thing or whatever.

    I'm surprised that the one Final Fantasy they give a perfect score to was FFXII.

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  35. What part of a game like Nintendogs saved this industry?

    If anything it just shows that Japan likes crappy games.

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  36. You people are an amazing combination of both idiots AND assholes? This mag has been in business longer than almost all of you have been alive. You didn't lose 'respect' for it, because you don't even live in Japan or speak/read Japanese. You can't un-subscribe because you couldn't afford the $400-500 it would take to subscribe to it while living in another country. You know nothing of its history or importance to the game industry, because in your eyes, only Micro$oft and Halo and CoD are important. You are all ignorant and unwilling to see from anyone else's perspective. And last, for god's sake, stop bashing games that you've likely never even played. Your bullshit 'but I heard Wind Waker sucked' mentality just shows how immature and young you are, having never played these games for yourselves but all too eager to shit on them. Good day.

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  37. of course most of them are nintendo games, it's a japanese publication. duh?

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  38. Hi, i'm really interested in this post...I want to know more about "The 13 games that Famitsu gave perfect scores in the magazine's 23yrs of existence".

    Thats exactly what I was searching in this time...

    Thanks!!!

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  39. The fact that many more games have gotten perfect scores is not the problem is the fact that they are given them.

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  40. Interesting post However, some of the comments people have made above are questionable, will think a little bit more in depth and get back later.


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