Absolutely not. I only got into Nintendo games about a year ago and to be honest, I barely played any Nintendo games as a kid. I played mainly license games.

Pikimin 3 / Xenoblade


/thread

It depends on the game honestly. I really dont think Wind Waker has held up very well over time. Its awesome graphically but the gameplay is just too easy. I was playing F-Zero GX the other day and I could easily make the case that it is a better racing game then anything that came out in the 7th gen. Nostalgia done right is the greatest asset Nintendo has though. When they announced Mega Man for Smash Bros, it was a massive announcement and everyone was happy, even though its a very nostalgia filled thing.

I also think yes and no. I agree that the 2D Mario games are quite simply less good than a lot of other platformers, but people play them because they're Mario. Rayman is an excellent example of a game that's just better and more creative in every way.

But I also think that there's a special sort of spark to a lot of Nintendo games, even new ones, that makes them more likely to be nostalgic from the get-go. Something about the personality tends to just stick with you. Of all the gaming I've done, Nintendo games are the only ones that tend to stick with me in that certain way. They're just memorable.

2D Mario is probably better with nostalgia and 3D Mario not. For me, the N64 era represents where the Nintendo franchises really came into their own, they had to really, really push it to maintain the sales of their platform practically on their own, and they became the definitive 1st party developer in the world and kept that title till today.
Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time are without a doubt among the most incredible gaming experiences of my life and are part of a very exclusive list of games that I can pop in today and love every bit as much.