Japan’s biggest gaming magazine, the Famitsu [JP], has given Nintendo’s newest Mario game New Super Mario Bros. the highest honor in the latest issue. All four editors who tested the game gave 10 points out of 10, resulting in a perfect 40/40 score.

New Super Mario Bros. is already the fourth game in 2009 to get a 40/40 rating, even though until 2007 the magazine was well-known for not giving away this score easily. But the perfect rating isn’t that surprising, as the game seems to be really that good and many reviewers outside Japan gave it the thumbs up already.

Here is a time line for all of Famitsu’s 40/40-games so far:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, for Nintendo 64)
2. Soul Calibur (1999, for Dreamcast)
3. Vagrant Story (2000, for PlayStation)
4. The Legend of Zelda – The Wind Waker (2003, for GameCube)
5. Nintendogs (2005, for the DS)
6. Final Fantasy XII (2006, for PlayStation 2)
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, for the Wii)
8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, for PlayStation 3)
9. 428: Fusasareta Shibuya de (2008, for the Wii)
10. Dragon Quest IX (2009, for the DS)
11. Monster Hunter Tri (2009, for the Wii)
12. Bayonetta (2009, for PlayStation 3/XBox 360)
13. New Super Mario Bros.