I’d argue that this is akin to new anime fans calling the old great series like Full Metal Alchemist “obscure”. They were huge when they came out, but new fans largely haven’t watched the old greats. That doesn’t mean they were unpopular. It just means the new generation hasn’t found them yet, because the current stuff is enough to keep them occupied.

Ori was huge among metroidvania fans when it landed. But nowadays, players have largely moved on. That doesn’t diminish the old games, it just means new players haven’t bothered digging through old games.