I think the art style holds up pretty well even today. A strong creative direction, as well as integration of visuals with gameplay, story and atmosphere is what defined good graphics for me.

I would argue by that definition SimCity 4 (from 2003!) can hold its own against any modern city-builder:

More of an arcade flight sim, but I think this covers what you are looking for:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1636710/The_Brew_Barons/