The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

Gosh I got sucked up in this game. Exceeded all expectations. It's not original or unique, it doesn't shake things up, but it takes many of the things I love in RPG's and put them together in a way that just feels great. It has good character interactions, bonding events, NPC's with stories, cooking, mini-games, over 60 hours of gameplay if you do more than the basics, outfits, classic RPG turn-based battle system, difficulty settings, sidequests galore, an interesting story, a large cast, great locations, some nice, more subtle story telling elements, good voice acting usually, a sense of humour, customization. It's just... awesome.

I am mega-pumped for part 2 this fall