We're not just debating the best video game of 2009 this week. We've got other awards to dole out. Today, I declare which '09 game had the best cut scenes and which was the runner-up.
Winner: Little King's Story
The obscure Wii-only Japanese role-playing game mixes city-building with Pikmin-style roaming-gang action with unexpectedly touching storytelling with the year's best and weirdest cut scenes. [Ready my Little King's Story review] This game is a Japanese RPG. Cynical as I am about the genre, I expected maudlin, melodramatic and cliched cut scenes. Instead I got loveliness like this:

Some gentle weirdness:

And some wild oddity:

I could go on...

But, really, just watch the 4-part round-up captured by YouTube user lToby7l that starts here:

Runner-up: Halo Wars
If you want something more conventional from your cut-scenes, something that puts possible/scuttled Halo movies paradoxically preemptively to shame, there's these winning cut-scenes from Xbox 360-exclusive real-time strategy game Halo Wars.
Watch all the Halo Wars cut scenes or just jump to 20 minutes, 30 seconds for the best one:


Honorable mention: Madworld
I'm not sure if end-credits count as a cut scene, but this profane, Not Safe For Work Madworld credits sequence deserves some sort of highlight.

Look for more special-category awards from the rest of the Kotaku team throughout the week.


</img> </img> </img> </img>


More...