Weird RPGs

I’ve been in the mood to play an RPG style game but one that has a notably non-rpg element as a focus. Think legend of the river king series, (tried all NA releases in the series and just couldn’t get hooked) I love the idea of a fishing RPG or a sports RPG, I just haven’t found anything that scratches the itch yet. I’d prefer something SNES/GBA or Switch, but any and all suggestions are appreciated!! Also happy to clarify if my request isn’t specific enough, I’m sort of trying to figure out what I’m asking for as I’m asking for it.

Hylics

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Dave the Diver. He is a spear fisherman who is doing his friend a solid and fishes in the day time and runs a sushi bar at night. The more money you make the better you gear is for fishing. The story line is fun too

Maybe Weird West? It controls like a twin stick shooter and is light on the RPG elements. You can upgrade your guns and a small handful of abilities but the game is mostly getting into shootouts with enemies. It's not exactly typical wild west stuff either, there are some dark magic elements and cults mixed into the main story.

Disco Elysium is an RPG without a combat system and instead you use your stats to solve different adventure game puzzles.

Inscryption is a deck-builder RPG where your cards have stats and effects that can be upgraded or changed.

You mentioned SNES/GBA so make sure you give Mario Golf / Mario Tennis a try on GBA.

They are made by the same company and in the same style as Golden Sun and are both solid sports games and solid RPGs.

Dink Smallwood ..... doesn't get any weirder than this 😂

The Earthbound series, also called Mother in Japan. Idk which ones are available in the U.S., other than Earthbound. I’ve played a lot of it, and it’s a weird, quirky little game.

Have you ever checked out The Legend of the River King games or even something like Dave the Diver? Both have that exact vibe you're looking for.

Hylics 1 & 2

pyre \- fantasy demon sportball the rpg

anno mutationem \- metroidvania crossed with point and click detective advanture

indivisible \- puzzle platformer metroidvania crossed with valkyrie profile atb battle system, with platforming mixed into the battles sometimes

sakuna of rice and ruin \- brawler platformer crossed with rice farming sim

tunic \- soulslike zeldalike game about meta-gaming

guardians of azuma and harvestella \- action adventure xrossed with farming sim

unicorn overlord \- rts crossed with a deeply programmable auto-battler

13 sentinels aegis rim \- deeply branching nonlinear VN crossed with a tower defense strategic rts - and the most insane plotline i've ever read in any media, the most complicated story i've engaged with that you would never believe manages to eventually be completely internally consistent

atelier ryza (series) - the entire atelier series is primarily a deep and complex crafting mini-game with jrpgs elements and slice of life anime VN elements wrapped lovingly around it - ryza1 and sophie1 are the most modern and representative starting points imho - sophie1 will be more puzzle-like, more challenging crafting, ryza1 is more free-flowing; also ryza is atb and sophie is turn based

* tERRORbane (Switch, Steam) - bugs are features
* Steambot Chronicles (PS2) - a creative way of controlling your robot with the two analog sticks

A few favorites I haven't seen anybody else mention yet --
- Chulip, the kissing RPG about kissing where you have to try to kiss everybody in town... even the sewer residents. It's on PS2.
- Moon Remix RPG Adventure, on Switch, PC, and PS4. Calls itself "the anti-RPG". You're the guy who has to fix everything after some hero stormed through the world on some quest and wrecked everything in the process.
- Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, on DS. One of the very weirdest, funniest, weirdest, most visually unique, and definitely weirdest RPGs of all time. And it's a Zelda spinoff! Tingle the man-elf is on an adventure all his own, and though it does feature some "combat", trust me: if you're looking for a weird RPG, this is DEFINITELY what you're looking for.

Two quick honorable mentions, both for Wii:
Opoona is a really cute RPG about a blobby little alien guy who crashes on a planet and has to get a job to find his blob sister. Weird and a lot of fun, but definitely has turn-based combat so not quite what you've asked for.

Little King Story is an endlessly charming RPG/RTS/Life Sim/Pikmin-like that doesn't get anywhere near the love and discussion it deserves. A kid finds a magic crown that makes everyone magically bow to his will, so what else is there to do but conquer the nearby monster-filled kingdoms one by one until you rule all!? Visually and especially musically, one of the prettiest games on the system, and just an insane amount of stuff to do and see. Not really an RPG and definitely has combat, but if there's one game out of all of these I wish more people would play, it's Little King Story. (The Wii version if at all possible -- the PSL remake-quel was an admirable attempt to keep the series rolling, but man oh man, they butchered the aesthetic and slathered the whole experience in microtransactions. Then it still sold worse than the original! Shame... A modern version could be incredible.)