They were my first as well and I have many fond memories with them. I really like the art style, it looks pixelated but polished to me. Not sure how to describe it, but reminds me how some SNES games hit that sweet spot between looking retro but detailed enough ti achieve that timeless look. The music is pretty iconic to me but honestly each gen has a great ost. As a kid I also loved how the pokedex was laid out, it was cool seeing images of the different environments and imagining what kinds of pokemon will be available there
Story and gameplay wise they’re pretty straightforward. I’d say they’re a great starting point to get into pokemon, kanto is the most iconic region and I remember helping some of my classmates who got into it during the pokemon go era. Looking back they might not be too impressive but as a kid there’s so much wonder stepping into this world, memorising all the pokemon and exploring the region, which is helped by its more nonlinear design
Honestly Kanto just feels like the ‘pure’ pokemon experience to me, the simple good old days. Lol technically it is but it really set the mandate of what pokemon is and what you can expect from it. The characters are also pretty memorable to me, but the anime enhanced that. You can just look online and see how many memes, theories and even creepypastas are about Kanto, it just goes to show ingrained it is within our culture