Late eighties/early nineties, aka the sweet spot. Old enough to get to play some really retro stuff (NES, Atari, etc.), but young enough to get to enjoy SNES, PSX, N64, etc. fresh.
It was right before the internet was a "thing" too, so it really fostered a lot of camaraderie with those of similar interests in your neighborhood. I'm sorta glad I didn't have the internet as a young kid, too distracting. Now I couldn't imagine life without it, but a lot of the "mystery" is gone with it too.
I've only played the first Battle Network, but I enjoyed it. I liked the unique take on the IP. There were quite a few of those ones I believe.
Have you given any of the really old school Mega Man games a shot?