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Have you ever played a PERFECT game?

No such thing. The closest I've ever come is Mario 3.

Pretty much this. Everything in this game has a reason for being where it is and not a single pixel was wasted. If there is anything close to a perfect game, it's this.
 
There are a lot of games I think were fantastic, but I'd give only three of those the label "perfect" (=perfect for my gaming tastes)

Turrican 2 (Amiga)
Tie-Fighter (PC)
Journey (PS3)
 
Super Mario World. The one thing I dont like about it is that its almost too good - nothing has come even close since.
 
EDIT: scratch that, Rhythm Heaven for DS.

Anyone can play it. Controls are lightning responsive. Even if you don't like the music it's integral to the game, so the soundtrack becomes a mechanic. The ramp up in difficulty is smooth as butter, and I could go on and on.
 
The only game I've ever played that was perfect is VVVVV. My definition for perfect here is that there was no part of the game where I felt like it was poorly designed or a detriment to the experience in any way. Every aspect of the game works to its better.

Three games that I call perfect in the sense that they had flaws but those flaws were completely negligible to the overall experience are Mario 64, OoT, and Shadow of the Colossus.
 
Age_of_Empires_II_-_The_Age_of_Kings_Coverart.png
Age of empires 2 is a perfect game imo. Almost (and I say almost because i have yet to find flaws) flawless and with tons of replayability.


Assassins Creed 2 is close to a perfect game for me too, but sometimes the controls are a bit too glitchy to call it perfect.
 
Well, thats really subjective really.
I think its possible to play something you believe is perfect, and you don't see any flaws with it, or at least not see any flaws as breaking the experience for you.

I mean I think some of my most favourite games are among like...Kingdom Hearts, Zelda, Metroid, Metal Gear, Halo, Bioshock just to name a very few and I love the hell out of them.
Would I say they don't have any flaws at all, probably not, at least theres something that can always be better or improved on. I think its a saying too, to enjoy something because its flaws, so I don't know, really depends how you define perfect.

If I'm trying to think of a game I can't think has any flaws.... One that comes to mind to me at least is perhaps Last of Us. I think the game had me captivated all the way through and I can't think of any areas not handled well or annoyed me.
Shadow of the Collossus is perhaps another, while I think I could say getting from A-B was a flaw in that you could get lost and it could take a while, I think this is capturing that quote earlier, I think I enjoy it because of its flaw. I don't think I'd like it anymore if I could just teleport to the boss for example. Maybe they could have had minor enemy encounters along the way too, or something to keep the journey from going to A-B more interesting, but even so, I think that would take away from what I think of the game as, "A game with just bosses"

So I don't really think we should focus on branding games as being perfect, cause its a really subjective thing and there can be several variations of it for yourself. I think if they are iconic, memorable, enjoyable experiences, then it doesnt have to be perfect for it to mean the most for you
 
Yep, glad to say I've played several perfect games.

Manhunt did what it set out to do absolutely flawlessly. Level design, gameplay, atmosphere, difficulty, and a beautiful sense of sweeping escalation right to the climax. Plus Brian Cox whispering in your ear the whole time. Glorious.

Devil May Cry 1. Later games were more complex, but I felt they lost the tightness that made the original perfect. DMC 3's style system is magnificent, but the package is dragged down by uninspired enemy design, meandering levels, and plodding pacing. The non-stop rollercoaster of the first game combined with its brilliantly complex, finely-tuned, genre-defining combat and some of the best boss battles in gaming elevate it to perfection. I never get tired of replaying it.

Gears of War 1. Another example of the first game of its series remaining flawless, while its sequels innovated in some areas only to lose focus in others. A handful of finely-tuned weapons, sublime difficulty, and six hours of perfect firefights.

Saints Row 2. The only perfect open world game.

Bulletstorm. Dick-tits, dinosaurs, and setting dudes on fire, then slide-kicking their legs out before cutting them in half with a blast from a quad-barrelled shotgun. This game did everything right, and never put a foot wrong.

Silent Hill 2.

Resident Evil 4.

Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 3.


Bayonetta 1 doesn't quite make the cut due to the QTEs. Bayonetta 2 falls just shy of perfection due to Loki. Zone of the Enders 2 has a few tedious sections that mar an otherwise perfect game. Dark Sector's story lacks personality. But since these are all essentially perfect games with the most minor of blemishes, I'm giving them shoutouts.
 
Zelda: OOT
Mario Galaxy 2
Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time / Up Your Arsenal
God of War 2
Twisted Metal 2
SSX Tricky
Shadow of the Colossus
Demons Souls
The Last of Us
Final Fantasy VI
Chrono Trigger
Zone of the Enders 2
Metal Gear Solid
Devil May Cry 3
Metroid Prime
Journey
Halo
Panzar Dragoon Saga
Soul Calibur
Virtua Fighter 4
Freespace
Ultima Online Pre Trammel
Age of Empires 2
Simcity 4
Dues Ex
Shadowrun genesis v.

To name some. I mean, PERFECT is something that may be out of reach, but the above are about as close to it as I have seen.
 
EDIT: scratch that, Rhythm Heaven for DS.

Anyone can play it. Controls are lightning responsive. Even if you don't like the music it's integral to the game, so the soundtrack becomes a mechanic. The ramp up in difficulty is smooth as butter, and I could go on and on.

I was going to go on a rant on how nothing is perfect, how all my favorite games are flawed in some way, and that if you find perfection that easily you're just easily sold...
...and then I saw this, and it's completely true. I would even add that the medals are the perfect kind of end game difficulty: separates players in terms of skill, yet is obtainable through hard work, and doesn't really bar you from much if you can't actually obtain them.

If being perfect is just doing everything you set out to do exactly right, this game would be a great example. It also shows you'll more easily find perfection in simpler endeavors.
 
Just going to pick on Shadow of the Colossus for a bit. Can't really see why that game is called perfect when the Flame Guardian and it's clone exists. The fact that there's a clone of one of the colossi seems like an obvious thing that would have been improved if you had fought an original design. Killing those small things also feels so much less satisfying than killing the big ones. I mean why are they even classified as colossi when they're so dang small >:(
 
When i think about a perfect game, i think about Journey. There is nothing in that game that i would have liked to see changed or different and i can't think of any faults it might have. Everything about that game was meant to be the way it was. I couldn't have imagined the game with different music, visuals or gameplay. Journey is pretty much perfect in my book.

I haven't finished Ori yet but presentation wise, i get the same feeling as with Journey. There's nothing to fault and there's nothing i would have liked to see changed. Not sure if the gameplay will make me feel the same way but we will see once i'm finished.
 
I mean literally perfect (having no mistakes or flaws).

I have played one perfect game in my 15 years of gaming, and that game is Metroid Prime, everything about it is perfect.

NPTt1jX.jpg


In fact, Metroid Prime is the only perfect thing I have ever seen in my whole life. It got me questioning that popular saying "nothing is perfect".

So now I'm here creating this thread: have you ever played a perfect game?

And once again, I mean LITERALLY perfect.

Metroid Prime is also the only title I would call "perfect"

I love Demons Souls and Dark Souls but both games are flawed/uneven in many ways

Metroid Prime just nails everything from graphics, music, control, settings, atmosphere, bosses, abilities, how the story is told and even with regards to replayability. .

It is by far my favorite game of all time
 
The world ends with you is perfect. Everything fits, and it's great.

Gameplay, Soundtrack, Story, Graphics, even the Minigames- it's like one big Puzzle, where you notice that something misses when you take it away.
 
There is so much expectation around everything today that it has become impossible to find something that doesn't disappoint anybody. That is, if by "perfection" you mean something objectively perfect. If you want my favourite game, I have plenty, but I guess all of them have flaws in other people's eyes, so...After games became more than just pure mechanics (pong, pac-man, space invaders), I remember perfect "moments" within them, some episodes that I remember and have touched all the right strings. Here what comes to mind (spoilers):
- Uncharted 3,
scene falling from the sky
- Shadow of the Colossus, the first and third colossus
- San Andreas,
reaching Area 51
- Journey,
dying and losing the friend I've spent the whole game with. I woke up and I started flying in the heavenly area by myself. I felt so sad, despite the place I was in. After a minute or two, a movement in the distance: I saw my friend flying around in circles, trying to find me. We went into the light together. So powerful.
- Portal, shooting the first portal, stepping back and forth for fun
- Portal 2,
shooting at the moon + potato Glados
- Chrono Trigger,
Magus, Frog
- (a recent one) Tales from the Borderlands,
skipping the credits
 
If I had played a perfect game I wouldn't have any more reasons to play other games right? Sounds boring :(

Just like people, imperfections in a game is what makes those games what they are!
 
I've played four perfect games:

Ocarina of Time
Resident Evil (2002)
A Link to the Past
Super Mario World


Almost perfect, but not quite:

Symphony of the Night
Super Metroid
Castlevania III
Silent Hill 2
Alundra
Tetris
Civilization I, II and IV
Thunderforce IV
 
No game will ever meet the literal definition of "perfect." When I think of a perfect game, I think of a game executed so well that I can't think of anything I would add or change to make it better. For me, the only games that fit the bill are Super Mario World, FEZ, and Spelunky.
 
Metroid Prime is pure perfection incarnate...or as close as a game could ever be to that.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 though...it's a very close 2nd. That game to me is flawless, the highs are higher than any platformer before it, and perhaps more than anything that could ever come after it.
 

I actually cannot think of a flaw. Structurally, the game is a masterclass. So much there for powerplayers (find all the pieces of heart, the hidden things), logically sound when it comes to game rules, flexible in approach (I always did the dungeons in a certain order to suit how I wanted to play) and had a wonderful storyline driving it - that flip to Dark World. Amazing.

Best moment in terms of satisfaction, knowing where to use the light world warp mirror in dungeon 6 to pick up a piece of heart. Awesomely obscure for the hunters.

Yeah. No changes. Not even graphically.
 
No, always found something wrong with every game i enjoyed and even recommended to people.. no such thing as a perfect game for me...
 
It's not even my favourite game, but Resident Evil Remake must be the closest to a perfect game I've ever played. I simply don't see room for improvement, even the tank controls work fine for this kind of game.
 
The question presented by the OP can't really be discussed intelligently until you define what it means to be a "perfect game" - in detail. You say no mistakes, but how do you go about determining whether or not something is a mistake in a game.

Really this seems to just be "what is your favorite game of all time". The answer to that question, for me, is Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.
 
Tetris.


Close-to-perfect (most of these have really tight mechanics and I could replay anytime):

SF2
Metroid Prime
Zelda OOT
SMB3
Mega Man 2
Shovel Knight (can't get over how much I like this)
 
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