Skyblazer (1994) is a relatively obscure gem of a platformer released for SNES, featuring quite decent music and visuals among other things.

Following the game's truly original plot, Sky, a cocky young hero, has to free a princess sorceress kidnapped by an evil deity Ashura. In order to do so, he must traverse a non-linear world, collecting various spells, abilities, and powerups on his way. Helping him is eloquently named Old Man, who teaches young Sky to memorize patterns — just after delivering another insult.

The game has numerous tricks and glitches that allow drastically cutting the time normally spent exploring the game's world, and you bet the author uses them well. See the submission comments for more information.