Have you ever played a game you find "perfect"?

[DragonFlames]

I'm sincerely surprised no one mentoned Undertales... (I haven't played it yet, so I don't have strong opinion, but he left quite a strong impression to a lot of people.)

-Stella Glow : It's Strange, but my main problem with this game is how honnest it truly is... It tries to be dramatic and epic, and tells a great story, but is clearly a Luminous Ark successor (and I loved LA2, despite all his numerous flaws, but it is anime and fanservice-y as hell).

It's a great title, (it has flaws, but they can be overlooked), and it managed to makes all characters relevant in some way, which is still a good thing. Actually, the dialogue with LA1 and LA2 was an interresting experience. Notably with Hilda. How could she do things so awfull why still being clearly not a bad person?

-Digimon Story : Cyber Sleuth : It was a real surprise to me. I'm far from a Digimon Fan, but that game was great. Great, likeable characters, and story is silly just the right way : enough to be enjoyable and fun, but not enough to makes you break all suspensions of belief.

Not perfect in any ways, but damn I had a blast for playing thorugh it. And that's all that matters.

However you misspelled Persona, but I agree it's the greatest.

Bravely Second : Well, it was still as fun and enjoyable as ever, seeing the old cast is always a pleasue, and the new ones were great as well.

Besides, I think I'm generally not that found of love stories, but I enjoyed them all here.

Trails of Cold Steel : Trails in the Sky SC is still better. And ToCS has many flaws, but what it did well it did truly well (Chapter 3 after the exams is still one of my favourite part in any video games),. Its' mostly a diamond in the rough, and I have high hopes the second title allows it to truly shines.

EOU 1 and 2 : Well I nearly 100% EOUII in Story Mode (including DLC except Ur-Devil), so I guess it means something. The stories are OK, the gameplay is still as great as ever, no complaints to make.

I have never played Persona or Luminous Arc, so I couldn't judge these games based on that.

One of the reasons I love Stella Glow so much is the depiction of its characters, how they act and their motives. It was all really interesting and relatable. And speaking of Hilda: she's the best character in the game, no contest (in my opinion, of course). I am someone who doesn't mind fanservice, so that doesn't bother me TOO much, but yeah, than can be a thing that could turn people off from playing it.

The reason I said Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth was the best Pokémon game was because of the similarities these two games share. You have to collect monsters to fill an encyclopedia, you can train them (you can even EV-train them to an extent) an teach them attacks, they all have elemental weaknesses and type advantages, natures which affect max stats and stat gains during training etc. etc.

Even with that, Digimon manages to be more fun than Pokémon and the greatest thing about this game is that you don't have to be a huge Digimon fan to enjoy it.

What I loved most about Bravely Second was the silliness of its characters and sidequests. I love lighthearted and humourous stories, which at the same time manage to be serious and emotionally investing enough that you want to root for its main characters. Bravely Second truly delivered on that front, I found.

Also, it is the game that has by far my favourite villain in it.

Anne, the fairy. She's cruel, merciless, plays people like a fiddle (even the PLAYER) and it's kind of sad that she wasn't the final boss, who felt a bit bland in comparison.

I'm planning to buy Trails in the Sky SC, in fact, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm looking forward to Trails of Cold Steel 2 as well. I'm all giddy already.

I can agree with you on EO2U even though I'm probably FAR from 100%ing it right now. I seriously need to get back to it.

[TheVinceKnight]

Donkey Kong Country 2?

The music, the graphics, the Levels...

What can I say.

Well it is lackluster in story, but eh...

[Tamanoir]

If you play LA2, you'll notice lots of ressemblance between Hilda and Fatima. Hilda is mostly Lucia (from LA1) + Fatima.

LA2 have far too many fanservice, but it's a pretty fun game. LA1 is pretty awfull. The story is OK, but the game system sucks (slow as hell, the difficulty is stupid (far too easy, except a battle that is hard as hell), and it's not particulary pretty.)

the setting is closer to one of a Persona game in Cyber Sleuth, and the battle system is closer to one of a traditional RPG, but the evolution system is pretty much its own thing. The importance put on devolving was really interresting.

Well, tbh for EOU, I switched to Picnic world towards the end, because I just wanted to be done with it before Fates arrived.

[Lantairu]

Final Fantasy 6: Doing a Blitz move is a pain on the ass, especially on a keyboard, and I doubt it's any easier with a controller buuut...i never used a controller so I'm not too sure about that.

It is way better on a controller. Especially anything with an analog stick. However, I do think FF6, despite being amazing, has a few flaws.

[Irony]

No.

I do have two favourite games, Xenoblade Chronicles and Radiant Historia, and whilst I love both games to bits, both games are not perfect. To be honest, I doubt that a perfect game exists.

[saisymbolic]

I have only two perfect games in my life:

Dragon Quest VIII

Just thinking about this game brings a tear to my eye. Ever since I first saw the commercial for it on Adult Swim so many years ago, I knew we were meant to be together. The music is absolutely gorgeous; the graphics and world is beautiful; the enemies, while some of them were color swaps, were interesting in their own way; the story, while not the greatest, was compelling and pulled at my heartstrings numerous times; and the characters were developed in a decent manner. This game will forever be in my heart as the perfect game.

Shadow of the Colossus

This game is a very close second but it is one of my perfect games as well. The musical score was perfect for this game; the graphics, while not as polished, worked very well for this game; the story was very good, considering there is minimal talking and exposition; and the colossi have some of my favorite "enemy" designs in a game to date. This game hits all the right check marks for me. Also, I will link this video because it gave me another perspective on the game:

[Loki Laufeyson]

I have three. Note that these games are perfect FOR ME, not exactly for everyone else. But the first two are highly regarded in the game world anyway, so might as well be perfect.

Chrono Trigger: I have not been able to find flaw with the original release of this game. Reissues/ports, yeah, but not the OG SNES one. (the PSX port had laggy load times, and the DS port makes me angry) This game's gameplay is simplistic and fun enough. Its not too hard, but its not a total cakewalk (unless you know how to bullshit). The characters are lovely, the music is bomb af, it looks amazing for its time, the story is just awesome....im sorry but i cant find fault with it.

Castlevania Symphony Of The Night: This game is just...The only flaw that MAY exist here is in the original voice acting, but i dont really acknowledge that cuz its too funny and charming. I hated the redub for the PSP a lot. The rest of it, its just too good. The flow, the look, the story, the gameplay, the music, its just too good. I have heard people say its too easy, but im not sure i agree entirely. Its easy for me because i know how to exploit it, but i dont remember it being piss easy the first time i ever played it.

Breath of Fire IV: This is the one thats really all me. Its the perfect JRPG for me not named Chrono Trigger. Ive played and loved a lot of JRPGs. Like Xenoblade, Tales of Symphonia, Valkyrie Profile, etc. All games that are just really great. But BoFIV is special. Theres something wholly unique about it, and it plays too nicely with my tastes. The battle system is fantastic imo, the MUSIC is amazing, the characters great, the graphics still charming and hold up today. The story is where this game shines the most tbh. Its got a shocking amount of depth in it. This game's difficulty is also in my sweet spot. Not too hard, but not piss ass easy. The final bout in this game is actually rather ball crunching, but man...its worth it. This game also has a lot of sidequests and optional content that i like.

I'm sincerely surprised no one mentoned Undertale

Undertale is a great game, but to call it perfect, even in my opinion, is a stretch. It does a lot of things right but theres a lot of visible flaws too.

[solrocknroll]

ace attorney trials and tribulations is like, a gift from lady gaga or something. truly perfect

runner ups would be animal crossing gcn and kid icarus uprising

miles edgeworth 2 would probably be here if I had the capacity to play it

[Flee Fleet!]

Now that I actually read most posts:

Chrono Trigger:

Literally, perfect game, and as far as I can remember, no flaws, in my opinion. This is practically the only game (yet) that I can say is perfect,or at least pretty good, in all ways. Music, graphics, characters, battles, yup, my no.1 favourite, only to be challenged by the likes of FF6 and TWEWY, but they only come at a second for me. So yeah, Chrono Trigger rocks.

Also, another game, which I would say is not perfect, but is still pretty good.

Ace attorney Justice for All:

So far, the only ace attorney I've played and completed, but I love it. But I would definitely not say it's perfect. Some characters are annoying *points at Moe and Wendy*. Heck, even Lotta and "Dr.Hotti" are just characters that I don't wanna see anytime soon. Not to mention the constant whipping by Franziska, but all in all, it was pretty good, especially the last case.

[Original Alear]

I guess not, but I'm pretty much completely happy with AM2R. There are better games, that's just the most recent one I'm really satisfied with.

[maybe]

I hated the redub for the PSP a lot.

i will never understand what was going through their heads when they chose yuri lowenthal to be alucard

it's actually kind of weird because it's very different from his typical roles which seems to be rare but also a lot worse

he sounds like he's crying every time he talks

[Loki Laufeyson]

i will never understand what was going through their heads when they chose yuri lowenthal to be alucard

it's actually kind of weird because it's very different from his typical roles which seems to be rare but also a lot worse

he sounds like he's crying every time he talks

Yeah. People got really accustomed to the original voice acting for Alucard anyway. The truth of it was, that original voice fit the character really well. The only one in the original dub that sounded a little off was Maria. Her voice acting sounded too old for the character. Her redub wasnt too awful, but everyone else was just bad, especially Alucard. Alucard is broody, but not fucking 3edgy5me whiney emo kid. D:

[Original Alear]

Re original SOTN dub:

I don't really like Richter's voice. I think he sounds a bit too much like a...soap opera character or something?

I think I prefer Maria's VA to him.

I'm pretty happy with Dracula's VA and I think that Alucard's VA was great.

[Rapier]

No, but there are games that break my standard-o-meter, such as Chrono Trigger and Earthbound. That's enough quality for me.

Stella Glow

The overall gameplay is admittedly a bit slow at times and the in-game graphics could be a bit better, but the characters, the story, the core gameplay and especially the music more than makes up for it.

Sadly, we'll never get a sequel because the studio that made it went bankrupt.

I like Stella Glow, and I admit I have no idea why. The gameplay is slow and it is really easy even when you do missions above your level (as far as my experience tells. I'm on chapter 7, or whichever is that chapter after the Earth Witch), the tactical part is more for show than anything else (differently from Luminous Arc, which had some hard parts that required strategical thinking), the characters are fun and multifaceted but also very straightforward, the story is pretty standard and the twists are predictable most of the time. Nothing to complain about the graphics (some scenes are simply beautiful) and music, which are its strongest points imo. It also got the best voice acting that I've heard (from the US industry at least).

And despite all that, I still like it. Go figure.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Rapier

[TempestStorm]

I don't have a perfect game. The two closest have some flaws.

Shining Force has the pain of manually transferring items to other party members if Max's inventory (which is four slots) is full. (The remake is even worse off imo, too easy with the broken new characters and the difficulty doesn't pick up without NG+, some recruitments were changed)

ESPN NFL 2k5 has incredibly hard controls to learn (I'm still terrible at running, and passing is HARD), and the same players become stars every franchise (Eli Manning is one of them while Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer suffer), yet it's as close to perfect as I've played in an American Football game

[Jotari]

It might not be my favourite game but I do consider Tetris perfect in terms of its design.

[Zera]

On Tetris, it would be remiss of me not to bring up this video -

And these points could probably be applied to other games as well.

- Reason to exist as a computer game.

- Tetrominoes (core elements) are a perfect set.

- Very tightly designed.

- Universal appeal.

However, the one issue with Tetris is that it lacks depth compared to modern games. High level play looks just like low level play (albeit faster), because there's only two distinct ways to play (focus on getting Tetris for optimal score or focus on clearing lines for safety).

[Jotari]

On Tetris, it would be remiss of me not to bring up this video -

And these points could probably be applied to other games as well.

- Reason to exist as a computer game.

- Tetrominoes (core elements) are a perfect set.

- Very tightly designed.

- Universal appeal.

However, the one issue with Tetris is that it lacks depth compared to modern games. High level play looks just like low level play (albeit faster), because there's only two distinct ways to play (focus on getting Tetris for optimal score or focus on clearing lines for safety).

A guy with a genuine Irish accent talking about Tetris. It's a shame I haven't seen that video earlier. Great examination of why I view Tetris as perfect. As to it's lack of depth I disagree entirely. Watching a novice and an expert play is very different and the levels between is very vast. Sure, everyone will eventually come up with the same strategies because the game is so simple, but the way in which you can execute those strategies and the sheer challenge of physical and mental response time means there is a massive amount of depth of play and no matte how you play, it will always be challenging. This video probably puts it better than I can.

It stands up as well. People do put an insane amount of time into Tetris to get better (I said it wasn't necessarily my favourite game but I have put a crap tonne of hours into it) and improvement is something that is gained over time. It'll take probably a decade before you hit the wall in the game and literally can't get any better at it. It might not be right to say Tetris is the best game ever, or even the most fun but I personally think that in terms of design, for what it is, the game is essentially perfect.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Jotari

[Magical Glace]

I have to admit that guy has very impressive analytical skills for video games as a medium.

I don't agree with everything he says (despite Ocarina being the first Zelda game I played, it's my least favorite 3D game in the series and one of my least favorites overall due to how poorly it aged in my eyes compared to its four successors), but I must say I admire the guy.

[Res]

Yeah, I have. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is perfect imo. A complex western RPG with a good story, great mechanics, depth, good voice acting. I can't think of any complains (besides Thief balance, maybe it's not that perfect).

Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken... yesss. It was the first game to pop into my head upon seeing this thread. Though nothing is perfect, this game probably comes closest to me. I also can't think of anything I dislike about BG2.

Ace attorney Justice for All:

So far, the only ace attorney I've played and completed, but I love it. But I would definitely not say it's perfect. Some characters are annoying *points at Moe and Wendy*. Heck, even Lotta and "Dr.Hotti" are just characters that I don't wanna see anytime soon. Not to mention the constant whipping by Franziska, but all in all, it was pretty good, especially the last case.

Justice for All is probably my least favourite Ace Attorney game, though that's not saying much; I love them all, and it's pretty great as a series.

Other close-to-perfect games for me are Ghost Trick (captivating story, good puzzles, great ending - can't remember the music, though) and Bully. I keep crossing my fingers for a Bully 2.

[Rezzy]

Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken... yesss. It was the first game to pop into my head upon seeing this thread. Though nothing is perfect, this game probably comes closest to me. I also can't think of anything I dislike about BG2.

This was the one that I first thought of, but does the fact that you can mod it make it perfect, or is the fact that certain mods can make it better mean it isn't perfect?

[Zera]

...As to it's lack of depth I disagree entirely. Watching a novice and an expert play is very different and the levels between is very vast. Sure, everyone will eventually come up with the same strategies because the game is so simple, but the way in which you can execute those strategies and the sheer challenge of physical and mental response time means there is a massive amount of depth of play and no matte how you play, it will always be challenging. This video probably puts it better than I can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt_9miKcszE

It stands up as well. People do put an insane amount of time into Tetris to get better (I said it wasn't necessarily my favourite game but I have put a crap tonne of hours into it) and improvement is something that is gained over time. It'll take probably a decade before you hit the wall in the game and literally can't get any better at it. It might not be right to say Tetris is the best game ever, or even the most fun but I personally think that in terms of design, for what it is, the game is essentially perfect.

I think what I meant to say was that Tetris lacks breadth, not depth. Compare the 7 distinct blocks of Tetris to the 50+ characters of Smash Bros. 4, and it's obvious that the latter can provide a far greater variety of distinct experiences.

The other thing about Tetris that bugs me is that 100% of the difficulty is increasing speed. No matter how deep in the game you are, the problems and solutions never get any more complex than they were at the start. The Geometry Wars series does the opposite, where speed is constant but the number of enemies keeps increasing, so the situations are not only harder, but more complex.

So, which is the more perfect game, Tetris, or Geometry Wars? (Glaceon Mage, please add a poll to this topic!)

Edited August 25, 2016 by Zera

[Magical Glace]

I think what I meant to say was that Tetris lacks breadth, not depth. Compare the 7 distinct blocks of Tetris to the 50+ characters of Smash Bros. 4, and it's obvious that the latter can provide a far greater variety of distinct experiences.

The other thing about Tetris that bugs me is that 100% of the difficulty is increasing speed. No matter how deep in the game you are, the problems and solutions never get any more complex than they were at the start. The Geometry Wars series does the opposite, where speed is constant but the number of enemies keeps increasing, so the situations are not only harder, but more complex.

watch?v=0nggXTl8r38

So, which is the more perfect game, Tetris, or Geometry Wars? (Glaceon Mage, please add a poll to this topic!)

Not unless I can pick the options myself

(One of them is guaranteed to be Dragon Quest VI)

Edited August 25, 2016 by Glaceon Mage

[Jave]

My all-time favorite video game is Super Mario Bros. 3

With honorable mentions to Chrono Trigger, The World Ends With You, Zelda: Link to the Past and Splatoon.

But I wouldn't call any of them perfect, as I can name flaws, albeit small, in all of them.

So no, I don't believe there's such a thing as a perfect video game, as I believe nothing in life is perfect. We're only human, after all.

[Jotari]

I think what I meant to say was that Tetris lacks breadth, not depth. Compare the 7 distinct blocks of Tetris to the 50+ characters of Smash Bros. 4, and it's obvious that the latter can provide a far greater variety of distinct experiences.

The other thing about Tetris that bugs me is that 100% of the difficulty is increasing speed. No matter how deep in the game you are, the problems and solutions never get any more complex than they were at the start. The Geometry Wars series does the opposite, where speed is constant but the number of enemies keeps increasing, so the situations are not only harder, but more complex.

So, which is the more perfect game, Tetris, or Geometry Wars? (Glaceon Mage, please add a poll to this topic!)

Its precisely that reason why I can call it perfect. Its scope is very large, but its as big as it can possibly be for what the game is trying to be. Namely a game about rotating tetriminos. Itmight not be the pinnacle of entertainment but for is intent, the game is flawless. It's like complaining that a perfect square doesn't have a good story. It's true but the lack of a plot is detracting from the fact that its a mathematically perfect square. At least that's the way I view it.