Seems to me it was all about what was going on when you were playing.
I'll never forget being a kid on Christmas, seeing the first snow level on the first DK Country. It's things like that that stick with you.
I absolutely love when things like that happen. When I first beat Paper Mario, I watched those fireworks for maybe half an hour. I always thought there'd be more to that game when it ended, but there wasn't. When I had to turn it off for the first time after seeing the end, I felt incredibly sad it had to end.
...Of course, I hadn't gotten all my party members to tip-top shape and there were dozens of secrets waiting for me. It's things like that that make Mario RPGs special to me. I've never been unsatisfied with any of them I'va played. Paper Mario was so great because it was such a strange look for Mario--I had explored the storybook-land of Yoshi's Story (another great game), but PM was so incredibly thought out, making such rich use of the already beautiful setup. It was one of those games where you could go to a location and o nothing but walk around and enjoy the scenery. The Thousand Year Door expanded impressibly on these elements, and I loved it all the more. The party characters in each weren't too expanded on, but that's what you get from a lighter RPG. It's not always such a bad thing, though--some games get a little too dramatic with their characters, in a way where it's just awkward to watch and not something really meaningful (I'm speaking of general odd moments here, like when anyone in Baten Kaitos screams o_o, not something like Celes' suicide attempt in FFVI). Anyways, though, I really like the adventures those games have taken me on.
But there's still several more.
