Game of their respective generation and reasons why

[SvennoJ]

In my experience:
Gen 2: Space invaders. The go to game of the time, always fun. True arcade experience.
Gen 3: Jet Set Willy 2. Huge, mysterious, open world in the 80's.
Gen 4: Civilization. Instantly hooked, played for years. (on PC though)
Gen 5: Zelda OOT. Oh the memories are so much better than the real thing.
Gen 6: Everquest. Instantly hooked, played for years. (on PC though)
Gen 7: Tlou. Nothing really jumps out that matches the impact of the previous gens, yet tlou was near cinematic perfection.

More general, if you use Halo to put a new console on the map then Gen 7 is Wii Sports.
Best transition from 2D to 3D was MGS imo. I didn't get along with the camera in SM64 and never made it past the ice world, too slippery and impossible to aim / see where I was going, kept falling off, frustrating.