The year-end VG awards of 2012

[Gare]

Here's mine. I skipped a few questions that I didn't really have an answer for.

The best games you've played this year?

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (The plot and true ending just blew my mind. If you have a DS and haven't played it yet, FUCKING DO IT and don't stop until you reach the true ending.)
Saints Row: The Third (100% fun. I can't believe how much better this is than pretty much any GTA game ever.)
Valkyria Chronicles 3
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Alice: Madness Returns
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time
And maybe Sol Trigger, though I haven't finish it yet, but so far it's pretty good.
Same goes for Mass Effect 3, which I started, but haven't finished yet. I don't know what the ending is, but I have a suspicion that people were just overreacting.

Your overall game of the year?

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, although it isn't a "game" in the traditional sense of the word. This visual novel has been a part of my life since mid-July. The entire thing has been a pretty fantastic experience, and overall the most memorable thing I played/read this year.

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?

The dudes who made Saints Row 3.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa:

Spoiler warning:

Sol Trigger:

Spoiler warning:

Genso Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki. It's that new Suikoden game on the PSP that everyone hates. The game itself is okay, and not as bad as people make it out to be, but what made it really memorable was the soundtrack:

Spoiler warning:

Oh, and maybe the soundtrack of Alice: Madness Returns. I recall it being pretty cool, especially the tune that plays in the Queensland section.

Biggest surprise of the year?

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. I didn't expect too much from it, and actually found the first 30 or so minutes of the game fairly boring and was tempted to drop it. However, after playing for a few more hours I got totally hooked on the story and characters. It's an insanely long game though, and therefore I haven't finished it yet. But it's really damn fun. Also, dat art style.

Saints Row: The Third. Waited to get this until it was on sale because I didn't expect much from it. I mean, I heard it was fun, but I'm usually not a fan of GTA type games. But man, this game is fucking great in co-op. Like I said in some other thread - most fun I had with a game in quite a while.

Also, the announcement of the Dark Souls PC version.

Biggest disappointment of the year?

Probably Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Which is weird, because I had a blast with Brotherhood. But this one was just... bleh. It was still a solid game, but it really felt like they completely ran out of ideas by this point. The entire game felt redundant. They should've just retired Ezio after Brotherhood.

Most memorable VG character of the year?

Minato Kageaki, the protagonist of Full Metal Daemon Muramasa. Saying anything about this guy would be a spoiler, so I'll just leave it at that. Also...

「鬼に逢うては鬼を斬る、 仏に逢うては仏を斬る。 ツルギの理ここに在り。」　[Meet a demon - slay the demon. Meet a saint - slay the saint. Therein lies the way of the sword.]

That phrase has basically been burned into my mind ever since I started playing the game, further proof of how memorable this whole thing was for me. And it gains even more importance when the game finally explains what those words really mean.

The game you sank the most hours into this year?

Full Metal Daemon Muramasa. No contest. Being a visual novel, and a long one at that, this robbed me of countless hours. As far as "proper" games are concerned, maybe Phantasy Star Online 2 and Skyrim.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?

A bunch of stuff on the 3DS like the new Phoenix Wright and so on, even though I don't actually own the console yet. Tomb Raider. Metal Gear Revengeance or whatever the hell it's called. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Half Life 3 (one can hope). Many other games I can't remember right now.