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There is something aesthetically pleasing about any piece of engineering that foes exactly what it is designed to do, nothing more and nothing less, that economical efficiency of peak design. You can see it with architecture, think of any iconic machine, there's a reason why the Ferrari GTO is worth so much, yes they look beautiful but they were also the fastest most reliable racing cars on the planet at the time of their appearance, the blackbird, looks incredible and flew at insane altitudes and speeds, the Spitfire, looks amazing turned better than any other plane in existence at that time. the form emerged as a by product from the engineers drive to achieve ultimate function.
90s mtb is the same, they are peak bike, they do everything very well, ion road they are great, off road they are great, as a tourer, as a commuter or as a cruiser, you can take a good quality 90s mtb and with just a few tweaks completely transform its suitability to a particular role, there's a reason why 'hybrids', grabbel bikes, city bikes etc etc etc all look like 90s mtbs, that's when the bicycle reached its zenith.
You can have faster road bikes, but they will be shit on any surface except the smoothest tarmac, you can have better off road downhill bikes than a 90s mtb, but it will be shit on the road or going uphill on any surface. They look great because they are great, they strike the perfect balance between all the criteria that count, lightness, strength, durability, flexibility, comfort, versatility. Peak bike anon, they look like they can do it all because they can do it all.
