I don't really understand why people view interests based on nostalgia as a weakness. Being nostalgic doesn't have to mean that life isn't good or that things were better once upon a time.
Like what you like, do what you do, and enjoy what you enjoy without apology!
However, I agree with you, trying to capture past enjoyments and in cases like this, continue to make new memories and fun times, go for it I say!
Nothing about what I did, nor wrote was driven by a longing for the days of yore, mine or otherwise. I enjoyed learning to write software for the 6502, it was a simple instruction set, fairly clear, concise, and simple.
I haven't written 6502 in a number of years, and gave my NES collection to a friend last year. That I have an old PCB on my desk, yes, is nostalgia.
Never had an NES growing up, never played one until I got into NES dev. I was turned onto it by a classmate. We're both too young to have had the NES growing up, so we simply couldn't be a nostalgia play. There's a lot of folks who get into because it's surprisingly approachable, and scratches the itch of "make a game." TFA just had a bad quote...