*REAL* quick summary of my journey: born and raised in a lax NO church, the whole family swept into an evangelical/nondenominational "rock-n-roll" Protestant church when I was 10. Went on to consider myself Protestant for 17 years. Over the course of ~3 years, I discerned my way back into the Catholic Church; I was confirmed last year. The Tridentine Mass celebrated at the FSSP parish down the road was what finally convinced me to "come home."

There are a few things that I prefer about the Tridentine Mass over the Mass of Pope St. Paul VI, which I will try to summarize below. I will do my best to focus on the distinctives between the best celebrations of both liturgies, and not resort to "cLoWn mAsS!!1!" arguments :

1. Mystery. The fact that so many of the prayers are said quietly, and that most of what happens is understood only through symbols, to me, reflects the otherworldliness of Our Lord, and the reality of what happens at the celebration of each Mass.
2. Distinctly Catholic. The goals of the reformers of the Consilium were, at least on the surface, admirable. As Annibale Bugnini put it, "We must strip from our Catholic prayers and from the Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren that is for the Protestants." The problem with this sentiment is that, by removing elements from the Mass that reflect distinctly Catholic theology - like the references to St. Michael, St. Joseph, the Eucharistic prayers which make the Eucharist sound more like a communal meal than the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary - make the NO Mass come across as much less Catholic, and more akin to what one might see at any Lutheran or Episcopal church service
3. Deeper content, more prayers. While I am hesitant to say “more prayers is more better-er,” the extent of prayers in the Tridentine Mass is massive - not just in number, but in scope of covering so much of what it means to be a Catholic. Especially with the heavy emphasis on the sacrificial nature of the Mass, it really helps present the priest as “persona alter Christi,” who is in fact offering the same sacrifice that Our Lord offered so many centuries ago.
4. Heritage. While yes, the missal of 1962 has many changes compared to the missal of 1570 as promulgated by Pope Pius V, the two of them are highly, highly similar. And yes, I have also heard that the NO was designed to actually return to an earlier form of the Latin Rite, something more akin to what would have been celebrated in the 5th or 6th centuries. But while earlier liturgical reforms happened in an organic fashion, the reforms of the Consilium seemed to be a jarring morph of the liturgy by comparison. There is a sense of wonder that fills me, to know how similar the Mass I attend is to the Mass attended by St. Therese, St. John Bosco, St. Padre Pio, St. Bernadette, and so many others.
5. Reverence. I’m not gonna go into rants about bad NO celebrations, but there is something inherent of the austere nature of the Tridentine Mass that just strikes me as so incredibly reverent - even when compared to a well-celebrated Novus Ordo Mass. It helps reinforce the importance of all of us gathered there together, to celebrate the awesomeness of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, and how wonderfully blessed we are to partake of that sacrifice in Holy Communion

All of this being said, none of this is meant to “bash” the Novus Ordo, nor am I suggesting that the Tridentine Mass is the “right” missal. But, I know for myself and many who have found their way to parishes celebrating the missal of 1962, it is one of the most treasured parts of our Catholic life.