Before I read this topic and its posts I was thinking to myself "Paper Mario reminds me a lot of Monkey Island" (I've been playing it lately on the VC). I was then surprised to read posts about Paper Mario because it is completely unlike Monkey Island in terms of gameplay. I think what makes me relate Paper Mario to Monkey Island is the numerous possible outcomes from your actions. It makes the games seem much less linear and you have much more freedom. This in turn makes the environment seem richer. I guess what I'm trying to say is these are the reasons why I love MI and PM so much, because of the script writing and the choices you get to make. An example of one of these branching choices is in MI1 where you can catapult a rock onto your ship which later determines whether Carla, Otis and Meathook meet up with you again. It isn't crucial to the story but makes it all the more interesting.