Perfect Pair

Perfect Pair is a homebrew NES game and the third and final game in the developer's Holiday series. Most likely the occasion for this title is Valentine's Day. The idea was that a physical version of this game could be gifted to a retro gamer as the end of the game could be personalized.

In this game the player controls Cupid bringing eternal happiness to a couple by collecting all hearts in each level. Each level takes place on a fixed, single screen and has a chain-like lay-out with loops that have hearts inside. To collect a heart Cupid needs to circle the heart on the chain to change the chain's colour. Once the loop is completed the heart inside is acquired. A loop does not need to be completed in one go. The colour changes when Cupid has passed and this can be continued at a later movement. Cupid is controlled direct and no other buttons are used as there are no other actions.

While the string-like design does not leave much room for evasion it is still needed to avoid the lurking enemies. The player needs to keep track of their paths so as not to become trapped. The game keeps track of the score and there is a limited amount of time complete a level. Levels gradually become more complex. Later levels introduce big hearts. When one of those is acquired, Cupid briefly becomes invincible and can run through enemies, stunning them for a short while.