Time to brush off those dusty Wii Remotes and Nunchuks, sounds like: Nintendo’s nearly-here Zelda Skyward Sword just received a rare 40 out of 40 from Japan’s Weekly Famitsu.
Japanese gaming news-watcher Andriasang notes that this makes Skyward Sword only the sixteenth game to receive a perfect score from Famitsu (the mag’s been in circulation since 1986). Famitsu’s “out of 40” point scale derives from four reviewers, each of whom score the game on a 10 point scale.
Who was first? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in 1998, followed by SoulCalibur in 1999 and Vagrant Story in 2000. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker snagged a perfect 40 out of 40 in 2003, as did Final Fantasy XII in 2006, Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2008, Dragon Quest IX in 2009, and Pokémon Black and White in 2010.
Zelda games that scored 39 out of 40 include A Link to the Past for the SNES in 1991 and The Phantom Hourglass for DS in 2007. Famitsu gave the last Zelda game for the Wii, The Twilight Princess, 38 out of 40.
Skyward Sword is the first Zelda game to grab a perfect score since The Wind Waker in 2003, and only the third in series to do so.
The game’s available this Sunday, November 18.
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