Mine is Lady Sia for GBA. It’s just a platformer but I just love it played and completed more 20 times. Will probably speedrun it in future.
Mine is Lady Sia for GBA. It’s just a platformer but I just love it played and completed more 20 times. Will probably speedrun it in future.
It’s not super obscure, but I think I’d have to go with Star Tropics. Gameplay wise it’s very similar to Zelda, but the setting and story is more like EarthBound. Interestingly the game is a first-party Nintendo game that has never been released in Japan despite being developed there. Another thing is that it’s been almost completely ignored by Smash Bros. I think it got a mention in Brawl’s chronicle, but that’s it. Even Ultimate forgot about it despite having all kinds of deep cuts among the spirits.
Staying on the Zelda tip, I’ll always have a place in my heart for Crystalis (1990) on the NES. More linear than Zelda but with significantly more RPG elements worked in.
If you want to get even more obscure, both Neutopia (1989) and Neutopia II (1991) for the TG-16 are great! Extremely obvious Zelda inspiration but they hold up well on their own merits.