Question, Glad0s. Are you playing the SNES version of FF6, or the GBA version? I played the GBA version first, and have played a bit of the SNES version since. I think the retranslation and presentation upgrades in the GBA version really helped draw me into the world. But I was honestly drawn into the game LONG before the opera scene (Which, by the way, is not all that special. It was impressive for the time, but as with all technical marvels, it has become dated). I can't really put my finger on why I love it so much. Part of it is the battle system, with each character contributing a unique skillset, but also the customization available through espers and relics. Finding effective relic combinations is very fun in a tactical sort of way, and I think the relic system is the unsung hero of FF6. Also, Kefka was just hilarious and evil and unpredictable throughout. He IS the Joker, and he is awesome.
I played through all the Metroid Prime games on the Trilogy collection, with the pointer controls, and they are AWESOME. I tried the Gamcube version of Prime 1 at my friend's house and found it exceedingly unintuitive. Wii controls or bust! : P
The first time I played Super Metroid, I got pretty mad at the invisible passages, breakable walls, etc. I had no idea I was supposed to be on the lookout for that kind of stuff, so I got lost A LOT. However, I played through the game a second time about a week later and beat it in one sitting, and THAT was a great experience. I think Metroidvania games get better on subsequent playthroughs, because you already have an idea of how to get past all the roadblocks that frustrate you the first time. When you're blasting through the game at a breakneck pace, you feel like a total badass and it's sooooooo much fun.
I don't understand the hate on the Paper Mario games, especially from the RFN crew and TYP. Simple =/= bad. In fact, there's a very Fire Emblem-esque (which makes sense because both are made by Intelligent Systems) strategy to knowing exactly how much damage you'll deal to an enemy. Also, people tend to overlook how much action commands add to the game. Also, in The Thousand Year Door, there's more complexity, with the Stylish! opportunities which boost your star gauge. Also, you can really spice up the battle system with the use of badges, which add quite a bit of variation to your fighting style. Sure the game is easy, but so are most RPGs in my opinion.
It may seem a strange choice to some, but my favorite game of all time is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. I don't know if I could really explain why I love it so much, but I've played through it 12 times, 2 of which were 100% complete files (Including pit of 100 trials beaten, complete Tattle Log, all badges, all recipies, all star pieces, all shines, all troubles solved, all grifty tales heard, all wonky tales heard, all Luigi's books bought, reclaimed the Glitz Pit champ belt; only thing I don't have is level 99, but I am over level 60 in my best file. It's just soooo tedious to level up at that point).
It just never gets old to me. It just has the perfect Mario feel, a good sense of humor, great use of the paper aesthetic, and a great soundtrack. The one big complaint that I will concede to is the TONS of backtracking in the game. It's not great, but I didn't feel like it ruined the experience for me.
Ahhh... writing this makes me want to go back and play it now... I've been planning to do a "masochist run" for a while now: Level up only BP, no badges, no upgraded partners, no superguarding..... : D