This.
Sim City 4 is maybe the only 3D management/strategy game I have loved. Unlike most 3D sequels of 2D games (like Rollercoaster Tycoon III, much more profound than the II, but vulgar, unattractive, charmless), Sim City kept all its charm typical of the 2D era. The modern games have lost the cuteness so present in the old strategy/management games like Transport Tycoon, Theme Hospital, etc. This cuteness was important to me because it allowed to play in a satirical way, or in a non-realistic way.
To be honest, I don't know if I would have loved this new game when I was a child, I remember being first attracted by the colorful graphics and the funny councilmen. My cities were like a full world, closed and unique, not like Paris or London but like Springfield or Duckburg. Sim City (or Caesar III, Pharaoh) allowed me to learn how to manage a city, but also to imagine stories.