I'm 39 and my first machine was an old Atari. Every generation has had amazing games. Fundamentally it comes down to design and how much enjoyment you get out of the games. You can't really compare the size and immersive nature of modern games to those of the 80's and 90's but for their time they were amazing. Things move on graphically but the basics always remain the same. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. But if you play the original Mariokart for example now, do you get the same buzz as playing the lastest version? Probably for an hour, once you've completed it, as its so easy :)

Everything about it. Amazing design and graphics for its time. It really stood out.

Mine was Super Mario World. Not a bad first game.