Aphrodite My problem with railshooters is that I can't figure out why we would need them at all! I don't get why an essential means to create a believable world - to walk where you want to walk - is eradicated! Dont't get me wrong: I accept them as a mini game or as a short sequence within a larger concept. But in itself it falls flat. It makes out of videogames a shooting gallery - the original idea behind videogames was to evolve from shooting galleries to something better. So the whole concept of railshooters is a giant step back to the point where it all startet.
As far as I'm informed the parachute idea was originally a minigame in pilotwings 64. It had its purpose as one of many disciplines. As standalone it is just a game of skill. I wouldn't call it a genre at all.
Yes, maybe you are out of sync: The zelda series has done a lot for the time travel genre. There is also chronotrigger, so back in the 90s I wouldn't call it a rare genre at all. It should be on the unjustly forgotten list. Back in the 90s you had a lot of ideas that are now rare! Every studio tried to implement something new. It's like they had an aversion to resemble each other. I mean you had a discussion that Sonic is just a faster Mario because of the rings! Nowadays this seems unbelievable.
Link to the past is older than the gamboy zeldas. Or do you mean the 3DS remake "A link between worlds"?