Famitsu scores


The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu assigns scores to video games by having four reviewers each give a score from 0 to 10. The scores of the four reviewers are then added up for a maximum possible score of 40. From the twenty two games awarded with a perfect score as of 2016, three are for the Nintendo DS and five are for the Wii. The PlayStation 3 also has five games with a perfect score and the Xbox 360 has four, with both consoles having two titles in common. The others are for different platforms with only one title each. Franchises with multiple perfect score winners include The Legend of Zelda with four, Metal Gear with three, followed by Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy with two.
, every game but three with a perfect score are either published and/or developed by a Japanese company, nine of them being by Nintendo, five by Square Enix, three by Sega, three by Konami, two by Namco, two by Sony Interactive Entertainment and one by Capcom. The only three completely foreign games to achieve a perfect score are ' by Bethesda Softworks, Grand Theft Auto V from Rockstar Games and Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch Productions. Other foreign games that have achieved near-perfect scores are Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire and Red Dead Redemption 2 – all four of which came from Rockstar Games; ', ', and ' – all from Activision, although published by Square Enix in Japan; and The Last of Us Part II, from Naughty Dog; and Gears of War 3 from Epic Games.

Perfect review scores

, twenty-seven games have received perfect scores from Famitsu.
TitleReleaseSystemProducerNotes
'1998Nintendo 64Nintendo
Soulcalibur1999DreamcastNamco
Vagrant Story2000PlayStationSquare Co.
'2003GameCubeNintendo
Nintendogs2005Nintendo DSNintendo
Final Fantasy XII2006PlayStation 2Square Enix
Super Smash Bros. Brawl2008WiiNintendo
'2008PlayStation 3Konami
'2008WiiSega
Dragon Quest IX2009Nintendo DSSquare Enix
Monster Hunter Tri2009WiiCapcom
Bayonetta2009Xbox 360Sega/PlatinumGames
New Super Mario Bros. Wii2009WiiNintendo
'2010PlayStation PortableKonami
Pokémon Black and White2010Nintendo DSNintendo
'2011WiiNintendo
'2011Xbox 360, PlayStation 3Bethesda SoftworksThe first western developed game to receive a perfect score.
Final Fantasy XIII-22011Xbox 360, PlayStation 3Square Enix
'2012Nintendo 3DSNintendo
Yakuza 52012PlayStation 3Sega
'2013PlayStation 3Namco-Bandai
Grand Theft Auto V2013Xbox 360, PlayStation 3Rockstar GamesThe second western developed game to get a perfect score
'2015Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneKonami
2017Wii U, Nintendo SwitchNintendo
Dragon Quest XI2017Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4Square Enix
Death Stranding2019PlayStation 4Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ghost of Tsushima2020PlayStation 4Sony Interactive EntertainmentThe third western developed game to get a perfect score

Nearly perfect review scores

, fifty games received a near-perfect score of 39.

''Famitsu'' Awards

Famitsu administers the Famitsu awards. Video games receive a number of different awards in categories like Innovation, Biggest Hit, Rookie Award, Highest Quality, etc. One or two "Game of the Year" awards are granted as the top prize. Top prize winners are determined by a combination of critical and fan review scores as well as sales figures. They also give an "Excellence Prize" to other games that don't receive the top prize.
CeremonyYearTitlePlatform
rowspan="2" 1990'Famicom
2004Monster HunterPS2-
2005Kingdom Hearts IIPS2
2005Resident Evil 4GCN / PS2
2006Final Fantasy XIIPS2
2006Pokémon Diamond and PearlNDS
2007Monster Hunter Portable 2ndPSP
2007Super Mario GalaxyWii
2008Monster Hunter Portable 2nd GPSP
2009'NDS
2010Monster Hunter Portable 3rdPSP
2011Monster Hunter 3G3DS
2012'3DS
2013Monster Hunter 43DS
2014Yo-kai Watch 23DS
2015SplatoonWii U
2016Pokémon Sun and Moon3DS
2017'Wii U / Switch
2017'3DS / PS4
2018'PS4 / Xbox One / PC
2018Super Smash Bros. UltimateSwitch
2019Pokémon Sword and ShieldSwitch

Readers' 100 all-time favorite games

In March 2006, Famitsu readers voted for their 100 all-time favorite games.