Referencing mechanics, art, music, or a theme from a past game can be difficult. People tend to remember only the things that past games do well, while forgetting the hours they spent hating certain mechanics, or design flaws. When trying to invoke nostalgia for the player, only implement the aspects of the game that the original developers did well. This way, your players will be able to enjoy the powerful memories of the past, while fixing the problems that games from the past contained. This will lead to creating powerful experiences for players that will keep them coming back for more.
Example: Items in The Binding of Isaac Rebirth
The Binding of Isaac Rebirth does an excellent job of giving the player that "epic win" moment of picking up powerful items in games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, while expanding on the idea. In Rebirth, there are many more items and item synergies than in A Link to the Past, but the player still gets that nostalgic feeling of becoming slowly more powerful as you progress throughout the dungeons. The shops, which hold some items, also are randomized, which gives the player more options overall.
Example: The MAKO from Mass Effect
I am in the small subset of people who played Mass Effect and found the MAKO to be both super cool, and very fun. While the MAKO never made a full return to the Mass Effect trilogy, there were some levels hidden in Mass Effect 2 that allowed the player to take part in a MAKO-like experience with a different and very upgraded version of the original vehicle. While it wasn't the same as going to a random planet and dropping down in a futuristic moon-buggy, the ME:2 missions certainly cut away the awkwardness of the original machine while still paying homage to its quirky fun.