Totally agree, the revision to the story line for the later versions removed a lot of the emotional impact for me from the original. Felt like they were just padding for more episodes. Especially regarding Bpee contemplation of/SI attempt, the change in the timeline robbed it of any impact (in the later versions, at that point in the story just leaving to live/work elsewhere -and she had some options- would have had the same result). The moment Monthai finds out about what happens and realizes how close he came to losing Bpee before he returned from Australia, huge emotional high point for me.
Wow. I've seen all of these (expect Meteor Garden, but that's because I could not find subs for this when I started watching dramas, so I saw the mainland, Korean, and Japanese versions instead, and I can't with this story line anymore). And will just start that my drama count for the 2000s is in the high upper digits.
For me, nostalgia is a huge factor with these dramas (have to add Sweet 18 and Prince who Turned to Frog as favorites that stand out from my early drama watching years). Can't say I miss anything in particular about the style from then (the fashion can be particularly cringe-worthy), but nothing has beat Coffee Prince for me the the honest exploration of feelings.
For me, nostalgia is a huge factor with these dramas (have to add Sweet 18 and Prince who Turned to Frog as favorites that stand out from my early drama watching years). Can't say I miss anything in particular about the style from then (the fashion can be particularly cringe-worthy), but nothing has beat Coffee Prince for me the the honest exploration of feelings.