Dark Souls is actually a really good example of a game that very consciously presents you with differently balanced options during character creation. But what it does well is presenting you with enough information to see clearly, "Yes, this option is weaker, I should only choose that if I want an extra challenge at the beginning".
F-Zero did an interesting job of balancing the various vehicles too. If you knew how to read their stats anyways! Heavier cars tended to have better top speeds, but handled very differently than a light weight one, and the forthright showing of other performance stats lets you figure out which style works best for you. If you weren't good at breaking, you stuck with light high maneuverability cars until you got better at breaking. The game rewards you with better potential performance if your skill was up to it, but it sure punished mistakes harshly on all difficulties. I generally prefered light weight cars, so I had to accept very slow top speeds usually, and no durability. If only the Storymode wasn't so bloody hard!
Another thought on Wizard Slayers: they are cited as an example of a kit that is universally bad, but if you played in a campaign where magic items where exceedingly rare their drawback becomes trivial, and they become better than a vanilla fighter.
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