Tears of the Kingdom is the sixth game in 30 years to receive a perfect score from Famitsu and Edge

As the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom approached, it became clearer and clearer that something big was coming, but probably not even the most optimistic person expected this level of success. This new installment has become the fastest-selling game in the series, reaching the stratospheric figure of 10 million copies sold in just its first three days on the market, and is on the verge of breaking into the top 10 on Nintendo Switch. And the critics have been unanimous in their praise, giving it perfect scores - including in this editorial office - in two of the world’s most prestigious magazines, such as Japan’s Famitsu and the UK’s Edge.

In fact, Tears of the Kingdom scored a 10 in Edge and a 40 in Famitsu, although it should be noted that the Japanese magazine’s scores are based on the opinions of four editors. To put this achievement in context, it is only the sixth game to achieve this in the last 30 years.

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Zelda, always on top

Let’s take a look at this milestone a little further. Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario 64, Final Fantasy VII, Halo, Elden Ring... Over the past three decades, great games have been released, and only Tears of the Kingdom and five other games have been able to reach Famitsu’s 40 and Edge’s 10. Moreover, no less than four of those six are installments of The Legend of Zelda. These are the six games that received perfect scores in these publications:

The next date to measure the success of Tears of the Kingdom will be in December, when The Game Awards gala will be held, as it is every year, and the GOTY awards will be handed out in each publication. Will another challenger arrive in 2023, or will time allow us to put this year’s releases in perspective?