ausroller

I recently came across this article http://www.bspcn.com/2008/06/09/the-best-n64-games-that-still-matter-today/ which discusses Nintendo 64 games that are still relevant today and it got me thinking about our old systems. Everyone likes playing their favourite childhood games and a great deal of the enoyment comes from the nostalgia of it. How much enjoyment comes from the game mechanics themselves? I love Goldeneye as much as anyone but who can honestly say that it's a better shooter than Call of Duty 4? I feel that this phenomenon only applies to the N64 generation though, because to me games on the SNES are still unrivalled in terms of what they do. When I play Donkey Kong Country 2 or Super Mario World I'm not playing it because I enjoyed it when I was younger (well, partly), I'm playing it because they're still the best 2D platformers ever released. So what older games are still the pinnacle of their genre to you? Which older games would you choose to play over a newer one based solely on how fun it is and not on the good memories you have of playing it?