The aesthetic serves a purpose though. Hi-fi 3D game assets take orders of magnitude more work to create than low-fi 2D ones. I agree that nostalgia and familiarity are what allows gamers to accept NES-style graphics as a valid form of low-fi 2D art. The creator of Stardew Valley mentioned he wouldn't have been able to finish the game had he had to create 3D assets that looked as good to people as the current 2D art.

Having people accept NES-style pixel art is a boon to indie devs. Games like Super Meat Boy have higher res 2D graphics but is still a similar aesthetic. Low-fi poly is also a retro art style. However I've noticed that low-fi poly games are still rendered in high resolution and using more advanced lighting techniques so still requires more work than low-fi 2D.