I grew up during the prequel era, so despite the critical reception of those films, I feel it was a great time for the franchise. A lot of great games, books, toys, eventually The Clone Wars, and as a kid I loved the prequel movies too.
I think from a kid’s perspective, there hasn’t been a whole lot to latch onto compared to when I was a kid. If I were a kid now, I probably would’ve gravitated towards Marvel stuff inbetween the SW movie releases.
It’s funny you say that because I grew up around the same time but had a different experience. Star Wars was my favorite anything, but as much as I enjoyed the prequel trilogy at the time, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was just as exciting if not more so - and not just for me, but for other kids my age too.
Hard to compare a kid’s experience now vs. then, but I’ll say at the very least the mere existence of an animated show (not to mention multiple shows) is a big plus. When I was a kid I was chomping at the bit for a SW TV show. All I got was a “micro” series, “micro” meaning almost pathetic (in length, not content) 5 minute “episodes.”
There’s really only two things that seem to be lacking in comparison. First of all, video games. The new Battlefronts, despite their reputation, are actually pretty solid. But otherwise, there’s almost nothing. Second of all lacking, is extra material with the ST characters. Due to the PT’s timeline (and nature as a story with a set ending), there was a lot of room for stories in-between the new episodes. Thus far, there hasn’t been too much of that.