Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Heartwarming
- When you defeat Hooktail, she coughs up Koops' dad Koopley, who has been living inside the dragon's stomach for 10 years, making a heartwarming reunion ensue.
- Another one happens when you free the other 90 Punies. Punio reunites with his little sister Petuni, who gives him a Dried Shroom. It was supposed to be a Mushroom, but she and the other Punies were imprisoned for so long...
- In a finely executed Call Back, the two siblings show up at the very end to wish you and Peach farewell... and they have fresh Mushrooms this time.
- Yet again, another moment of heartwarming occurs after you defeat Macho Grubba, when it is revealed that X is Jolene, who has sent Mario messages on his Mailbox SP because her brother, Prince Mush, has vanished and Grubba was responsible. Prince Mush came back and reunited with his sister.
- How can you forget Admiral Bobbery? A letter written by his dead wife finally convinces him to return to the seas after a long, tear-invoking scene.
- Vivian deciding to stay on your side in Chapter 4's climax.
- It's been said before (though I can't remember where exactly), but before fighting the final boss, there's a sequence where you see characters sending encouraging messages/thoughts/whatever to Mario before facing the aforementioned boss. One that appears several times over, 'written' in green is "You go bro"—as insignificant as it is, it always makes me smile.
- Personally, The Thousand-Year Door game is this tropers favorite game of all time. Not just for the gameplay, which is amazing, but for the characters. Never before did I grow to care so much for such a large cast. So the end was touching for me. The initial good-byes of all the characters at the harbor start it off, showing how all Mario's partners have grown over their adventure. Then, Goombella's e-mail tells Mario how everyone is doing, how everyone's lives got better because of Mario. The icing on the cake for my favorite game.
- Prior to that, for similar reasons, the most uplifting part of the Hope Spot scene during the final fight might not even be hearing the good wishes of all the friends and admirers Mario has made over the region - a large number of the speech bubbles that start filling the screen in the cut back to the palace are cheers for his by then definitely player-beloved partners.
- It's a small one, but the fourth cursed chest thanking Mario for letting him give a huge speech was touching.