Castlevania (entire series)

[JarylGaren]

aka

"the heartrending story of a warrior family lineage and their allies fighting against an entire time of day and the dark lord, who happens to be Dracula"

so I grew up with two of the three NES Castlevanias (namely 1 and 3) thanks to my grandparents, and barring some missed games here and there (like the two N64 games, the PS2/Xbox games and the Lords of Shadow games), I've been a big fan of the series ever since!

the Castlevania series is known for having a couple of different gameplay styles/interpretations:
there's the Classicvanias, which are more straightforward 2D platformers where you have to get from the start of the level to the finish, while having to work around your character's rather limited mobility (for platforming game standards).

then there is the Metroidvanias, which are probably some of the more well-known entries in the series thanks to Symphony of the Night and the subsequent games for GBA and Nintendo DS, though it can be argued that Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest could also count here as well, since that one's more like an action adventure game too.

and in 3D, the series kinda experimented a bit too. the two N64 Castlevanias seem like the closest to bringing the classic style of the series into 3D, where you have to clear distinct levels to proceed, but the levels themselves tend to be much larger, so you have to explore a bunch in them too.

the games for PS2/XBox (Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness) seem more like them trying to make it a bit more like God of War or Devil May Cry, with the combat being very focused on combos, and the platforming looking like it's being kind of a pain in the ass.

and then there is the Lords of Shadow games, which tend(ed?) to garner pretty divisive reactions from a lot of fans of the series. Personally, I just prefer the general vibe and style of the classic- and Metroid-style Castlevanias, but at some point I would still like to play through the LoS series. Those also look like they're going a bit more in a combat-heavy direction, but from what I remember of Mirror of Fate, that one's actually trying to be more like the Castlevanias on GBA and DS.

[EdenCoven]

Love classic Castlevania here. Planning on streaming a bunch of them in October. The SOTN style has lost some lustre over time but we're still very partial to Aria and Ecclesia. Really want to eventually check out the PS2 games also at some point, just because we missed them at first and the style of them seems appealing now. Lords of Shadow is a video game and you can play it.

The N64 games are just so fascinating though we never finished them. They're both extremely atmospheric and also incredibly goofy. You have skeletons on motorcycles hundreds of years before motorcycles were invented. You have a slow-walking segment where you carry MAGICAL NITRO across the level without getting blown up. Absurd gaming. Wonderful stuff. There are vampires as normal enemies instead of jsut Dracula and vampirism as a status effect. So cool.

[ElTipejoLoco]

Harmony of Despair's multiplayer is a guilty pleasure I wish would get re-released, even though trying to complete it is a randomly number generated chore. God's Garb.

I've not played the entire series' library, unfortunately, so I don't think I can offer proper opinions. Of the classic platformers I think I only really played WiiWare ReBirth and stopped at maybe stage 3? I remember that maybe I played a little bit of Super Castlevania for a race or something once, also. I can't remember if I finished or not.

Of the exploratory RPGs, I've played through Symphony of the Night's Live Arcade release (plus its extra characters' modes) and the DS's Portrait of Ruin (plus its own extra characters' modes and the arcade-y boss-rush-y modes singleplayer) only.

I own (technically? DRM is confusing sometimes) a larger amount of the library that I've yet to properly sit down and play, and it's not like there aren't the more modern collection rereleases out there still available I suppose.

[CyanSorcery]

for a hundred years people told us to play symphony of the night, to the point that it was like "ok it can't be that good lmao it's gotta be overhyped"

then we finally played it about 3-4 years back (first castlevania game we played honestly) and it was like, ok they didn't lie this is some good stuff

[Ja'aran]

i feel like castlevania has been about gay goths longer than it has hetero he-men and i am okay with this

[EdenCoven]

I will never accept Simon Belmont or He-Man as heterosexual beings

[JarylGaren]

I still maintain that they should've gone with Simon Belmont's Castlevania Chronicles look for Smash Bros Ultimate, where he looks the most like a BDSM barbarian.

as designed by the one and only Ayami Kojima (whose artstyle is *really* pretty, imo!)

[StarlightNecromancer]

I know you could always emulate them, but with the handful of handheld Castlevania games that got put on Steam I was so happy that I could play them. Aria of Sorrow was just kind of always out of my reach.

Now if only we could get Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness ported to modern stuff and I could die happy. They're even on the GOG Dreamlist for their games preservation initiative.

[Cania]

I played all of the GBA Castlevanias and Dawn of Sorrow at release and they blew me away. I thought SotN couldn't possibly live up to those.

but then I played it a few years ago and nope, it's easily the best in that group. it's so weird and chock full of secrets, plus absolutely gorgeous. it's got The Juice. love that god damn game so much

[JarylGaren]

I played through the entirety of Symphony of the Night for the first time through the PS4 version, and it's *really* good, but I feel like the game does drop off a bit in the second half (aka the Inverted Castle). since there's basically no story-stuff happening anymore, and you're just wandering the map, searching for Dracula's Relics to unlock the final boss battle.

I know some people are *really* into that, but I personally prefer just a bit more guidance and story in my games. it's basically the same reason why Zelda Wind Waker and Metroid Prime 1 & 2 kinda fall off towards the end, where you're just wandering all over the map to look for the things that unlock the final area and boss fights

but also, my first SotN-style Castlevania was Circle of the Moon, followed by Dawn of Sorrow, so I was already used to how the sequels handled things before I got to properly play the "original"

[Enbyeon]

While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

[JarylGaren]

While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

to be honest, I do really miss the Classicvanias too. *especially* because everyone and their grandmother is making Metroidvanias nowadays, so the genre does feel a bit... crowded.
so I kinda found myself replaying Castlevania 1 on the Anniversary Collection a bunch, because even though it's the first game of the series, it still holds up *remarkably* well, imo (which I can't really say about, say, Mega Man 1 for example)

Bloodlines is also *really* good, I played that one on the Anniversary Collection for the first time when that one got released a couple years ago, and I liked it a lot! in fact, I'd say I actually prefer it over Super Castlevania IV, which I just never really vibed with.

though if I had to pick my favorite of the Classicvanias, I think I'd actually pick Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge from the Gameboy. It's a *ridiculously* big step up from Castlevania The Adventure (which is a game I dislike) in terms of quality, and the music is *phenomenal* for Gameboy chiptune standards! shout-outs to the Crystal Castle theme:

[Faith]

While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

[Enbyeon]

Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

Yeah, I've played both. Love those games. Actually enjoyed them more than regular Bloodstained (although I liked that one too).

[JarylGaren]

Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

Yeah, I've played both. Love those games. Actually enjoyed them more than regular Bloodstained (although I liked that one too).

man, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night burned me *real* bad, because it was the one and only game I backed on Kickstarter. And me, the fool, chose the Switch version, not knowing that the Switch version of the game eventually turned out to be really bad.

supposedly the game got better on it after it got updated a bunch, but the damage was already done for me. And then when I tried to get into the game again on PS5 and Steam, I just couldn't really click with it, despite loving the DS Castlevanias, which this is *very* much a sequel to.

[heavyserpent]

While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

I am definitely with you on this. The classic Castlevania entries are the most fun overall - the exploration ones are extremely charming and still totally solid, fun games, but ultimately there's no way to get away from the fact that they are 2D action games that have directly flatter level design and less compelling action than the classic CVs, and all they really have to offer in place of the action they diluted is gear-hunting and basic exploration (most discovery in those games kind of just end up being, go around and fill in all the squares on the map until you find where to go; it's not very involved as exploration).

They all control really solidly, with great mechanical foundations and tons of charming things to see - Symphony of the Night in particular is a total aesthetic masterpiece - but ultimately they don't really do a lot with their more complex movesets, and a lot of their appeal lies in their novelty; I think the stronger classic entries with their focus on more developed and taut action fundamentals have a lot more lasting appeal.

(Not to say all the classic entries are spotless; I'd definitely take even the most flawed of the metroidvanias over, like, Castlevania Adventure or Haunted Castle lol. The classic run of the series has much higher highs but also much lower lows.)

But I think a big part of the appeal of the Castlevania series, and why I had a lot of fun playing through almost all of them last October, is that there's a lot of variety within it, so it's fun to go from the classic 2D games to the multiple, extremely divergent 3D takes in CV64 and the PS2 games, to the metroidvania entries that take a few games to really settle into formula and see all the different reinterpretations of the CV mechanics and aesthetics.

though if I had to pick my favorite of the Classicvanias, I think I'd actually pick Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge from the Gameboy. It's a *ridiculously* big step up from Castlevania The Adventure (which is a game I dislike) in terms of quality, and the music is *phenomenal* for Gameboy chiptune standards! shout-outs to the Crystal Castle theme:

This is a great pick. As fantastic as Symphony's music is, I think Belmont's Revenge has the coolest music in the series actually; every one of its stage themes are top-tier. Some of the most driving tracks in a series full of them.

It's tough for me to pick a favorite - something between the original game (the most taut), Rondo of Blood (best aesthetics and boss fights of the classic games), the X68000 game (most intricate and intense levels, feels like a real successor to the original specifically), or Bloodlines (best mechanics in the series with really fun momentum). Symphony is the coolest of the metroidvanias for its amazing aesthetics, huge variety in abilities, and the inverted castle being the best realization of exploration in the series, but I'd still put it below the other four, probably.

Ultimately one of my favorite game series even if I'm only hugely passionate about, like, the first third of it. I definitely should replay a bunch of them for October since I've been into 2D action stuff a lot lately.

[JarylGaren]

the X68000 game (most intricate and intense levels, feels like a real successor to the original specifically)

oh, speaking of the X68000 game, I beat Castlevania Chronicles recently, which is basically a port/remake of it!

I liked it a lot! But also, man, it does get pretty spicy later on, even on Easy difficulty. The fight against the werewolf gave me a bunch of trouble, I feel like that version of the Werewolf is much more threatening than the one that's in Rondo. Or, at least it felt like it at the time.

I also recently replayed through Castlevania 1 again on the Playstation 4-version of the Anniversary Collection, and I feel like I keep improving with the game. On that playthrough, only the final level and Dracula's second form gave me trouble. So at some point I'm sure I'll be able to clear the game without losing any lives!

[EdenCoven]

Good to be reminded of this thread due to Retro Gaming Twitch's Biggest(?) Event of the season: dot_lvl's classicvania challenge. So now we have some fresh feelings on a few titles.

Castlevania 1: Still an all-timer.

Super Castlevania 4: Have cooled on it a little while also gaining new appreciation for how good the OST is. We now think the bosses all kinda blow but it's still a pretty cool game. Was fun to go through again at least.

Haunted Castle: God playing this again after a year was like starting fresh again. Still has great sound and is plenty of fun but one must be reminded how busted this game is periodically. We had forgotten the fleamen take two hits in this one and lol. lmao.

[heavyserpent]

Played through Castlevania 3 a couple times. I really like it but it's ended up as one of my less-played games in the series - but it is definitely way up there in the series canon. I've always felt like the upper route with Sypha is a lot more fun than the lower route, with Alucard, but playing it again the lower route isn't that bad - except for that one pain-in-the-ass stage with the falling blocks... Sypha is still the coolest of the partner characters though.

the X68000 game (most intricate and intense levels, feels like a real successor to the original specifically)

oh, speaking of the X68000 game, I beat Castlevania Chronicles recently, which is basically a port/remake of it!

I liked it a lot! But also, man, it does get pretty spicy later on, even on Easy difficulty. The fight against the werewolf gave me a bunch of trouble, I feel like that version of the Werewolf is much more threatening than the one that's in Rondo. Or, at least it felt like it at the time.

I also recently replayed through Castlevania 1 again on the Playstation 4-version of the Anniversary Collection, and I feel like I keep improving with the game. On that playthrough, only the final level and Dracula's second form gave me trouble. So at some point I'm sure I'll be able to clear the game without losing any lives!

I honestly think the X68k game / Chronicles is the hardest out of all the classic ones save for, like, the US version of 3 or maybe Adventure. It's rough! I do think it's one of the strongest and most taut games in the series, with some super cool setpieces (love the raft at the end of stage 2 and the tower of dolls in stage 6), but no doubt it's a stiffer challenge than most of the others.

The werewolf boss is definitely harder than the Rondo one, especially cause you really have to not only make it through the last section of the clock tower basically damageless to stand a reasonable chance, but also have to work your way up to the cross + triple shot by making it into the hard-to-reach item area AND do it all in a fairly tight time limit... I do think the x68k werewolf is one of the coolest and most dynamic bosses in the series though. The bit where she pulls off the clock hand and comes at you with it is so exciting every time lol.

The last level in CV1 is kind of a dick, and feels like the messiest bit of design in the game to me... It feels like it's set up for you to make a choice between either taking your powered-up weapon from the last stage into Dracula with a high heart count, or using the stopwatch (and basically all your hearts) to safely get through the clock tower with its hordes of fleamen, but the clock tower is so absurdly dangerous that taking the watch feels like the safer choice every time. Conceptually interesting though, and I do think none of the Dracula fights in the series are as fun as the first game's (plus it's kind of weak that they eventually just start reusing the first Dracula form in basically every future game after a certain point, but making it weaker and less interesting every time).

Keep at it! CV1 deathless is definitely really achievable and super fun to get down.

Good to be reminded of this thread due to Retro Gaming Twitch's Biggest(?) Event of the season: dot_lvl's classicvania challenge. So now we have some fresh feelings on a few titles.

Castlevania 1: Still an all-timer.

Super Castlevania 4: Have cooled on it a little while also gaining new appreciation for how good the OST is. We now think the bosses all kinda blow but it's still a pretty cool game. Was fun to go through again at least.

Haunted Castle: God playing this again after a year was like starting fresh again. Still has great sound and is plenty of fun but one must be reminded how busted this game is periodically. We had forgotten the fleamen take two hits in this one and lol. lmao.

Haunted Castle's high-hp fleamen lol. It's a really endearing and memorable game but the hitboxes and character movement are so rough that you basically have to memorize it all. I do think it's one of the weakest entries in the series but it's not without its charm.

CV4's bosses feel like a lame misstep and definitely not really up to the series' standard. Even if you don't go into them with triple cross, half of them barely do anything... CV4 is a fun sporadic romp but it's not as replayable as the best games in the series, with its bloated runtime and awkward difficulty curve - but I still think it's solid overall. Definitely agreed on the music; stage 2 and 3-3's tracks are all-series highlights!

[JarylGaren]

Played through Castlevania 3 a couple times. I really like it but it's ended up as one of my less-played games in the series - but it is definitely way up there in the series canon. I've always felt like the upper route with Sypha is a lot more fun than the lower route, with Alucard, but playing it again the lower route isn't that bad - except for that one pain-in-the-ass stage with the falling blocks... Sypha is still the coolest of the partner characters though.

I remember liking Castlevania 3 a lot back when I played it a bunch on my grandparents' NES (where I also played Castlevania 1 a lot, too), but I feel like over the years I've kinda come to disagree with the common notion that it's the best of the NES trilogy, particularly with the US and EU versions.
the japanese version feels a lot more managable, largely because every enemy deals its own specified number of damage, and it doesn't do the "everything eats a quarter of your life in one hit during the last couple of stages" thing that Castlevania 1 did (and was designed around).

The last level in CV1 is kind of a dick, and feels like the messiest bit of design in the game to me... It feels like it's set up for you to make a choice between either taking your powered-up weapon from the last stage into Dracula with a high heart count, or using the stopwatch (and basically all your hearts) to safely get through the clock tower with its hordes of fleamen, but the clock tower is so absurdly dangerous that taking the watch feels like the safer choice every time. Conceptually interesting though, and I do think none of the Dracula fights in the series are as fun as the first game's (plus it's kind of weak that they eventually just start reusing the first Dracula form in basically every future game after a certain point, but making it weaker and less interesting every time).

Keep at it! CV1 deathless is definitely really achievable and super fun to get down.

to be honest, I never really grab the stopwatch (intentionally) in the classic-style Castlevanias anymore, because I always usually prefer being able to remove enemies from my vincinity with another subweapon instead of stopping them in their tracks. and, well, it doesn't work on bosses, so that's another thing going against it.

and yeah, I agree that Dracula's first form is probably the most fun in Castlevania 1, especially once you've figured out the way to avoid his hellfire attack and hit his head with the whip at the same time almost guaranteed.
and the later castlevania games increasing your character's mobility means that even on your first go you can generally run circles around Dracula's first form, since it was designed for a more limited moveset in mind.

I will!

[Enbyeon]

This reminds me that I should try and beat the M2 remake of Haunted Castle, since I own it and enjoyed what I played of it.

[heavyserpent]

I remember liking Castlevania 3 a lot back when I played it a bunch on my grandparents' NES (where I also played Castlevania 1 a lot, too), but I feel like over the years I've kinda come to disagree with the common notion that it's the best of the NES trilogy, particularly with the US and EU versions.
the japanese version feels a lot more managable, largely because every enemy deals its own specified number of damage, and it doesn't do the "everything eats a quarter of your life in one hit during the last couple of stages" thing that Castlevania 1 did (and was designed around).

Yeah, I agree. I like 3 quite a bit and there are only a small handful of games in the series I would put it below, but I definitely think it's not quite as good as 1 - its highlights are fantastic, but it's not as even or as dense a game as the original. Just compare the first level of each game - they're basically equivalent in difficulty and in how engaging they are, but the third game's stage 1 is like three times the length and is largely comprised of long, empty, flat rooms. It's a much longer game and doesn't feel like it has quite enough ideas to fill out its level design in the same way CV1 or, later, the x68k game or Rondo do. Its boss fights are fairly weak too; nothing really on the level of Frankenstein, Death, or Dracula in the original game. (And more minorly, the route split system is kind of undercut by the fact that the falling block level at the end of the lower routes really stinks... as a result I just play through on Sypha's path every time.)

Not to say it's not still a great game - the multi-character system is cool, the level design is still very strong even if it's not as consistent as 1's, and it has some of the best music in the series, but it definitely isn't the clear best of the NES entries - just the biggest and most lavish-feeling.

The Japanese version is definitely the way to go, I think. The most affecting change, to me, isn't even the increased damage, but that the US version cuts out a lot of the better subweapon drops in the game, making it harder to get powered back up if you die in an inconvenient spot - that and enemies having more health in the US version makes it feel like a little more of a drag.

to be honest, I never really grab the stopwatch (intentionally) in the classic-style Castlevanias anymore, because I always usually prefer being able to remove enemies from my vincinity with another subweapon instead of stopping them in their tracks. and, well, it doesn't work on bosses, so that's another thing going against it.

and yeah, I agree that Dracula's first form is probably the most fun in Castlevania 1, especially once you've figured out the way to avoid his hellfire attack and hit his head with the whip at the same time almost guaranteed.
and the later castlevania games increasing your character's mobility means that even on your first go you can generally run circles around Dracula's first form, since it was designed for a more limited moveset in mind.

I will!

I don't bother with the watch in most of the games for the same reason. Weapons tend to be most important for bosses, anyway, and the watch burns so many hearts that you can't really just use it liberally unless you already know the stage well - CV1's last level is an exception, though; I think it was probably specifically built with you taking the watch in mind.

The Dracula form 1 thing being reused over and over is both one of the series' weaker spots mechanically (it's hard to make the same fight engaging in new ways over and over; even x68k and Rondo both just basically drag-and-drop Dracula 1 but make him quite a bit weaker) but also aesthetically - it's not very exciting to just see the same final boss over and over, even if the first form is often just a prelude to the real fight that comes after. I feel similarly about the classic Mega Man games, which fall into the pattern of just having every final boss being the little floating Wily capsules every time. It's fine if the last boss is always going to be some variation of Dracula but it'd be cooler for them to shake it up in various ways (which they do on occasion, I like what both Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia do with it).

This reminds me that I should try and beat the M2 remake of Haunted Castle, since I own it and enjoyed what I played of it.

It's really good! A little on the easy side, but it's pleasantly dense and is a huge improvement over the original. I'd put it as one of the better games in the series for sure.

[EdenCoven]

Today's thoughts:

Castlevania 3 (or rather, we played Akumajou Densetsu, the JP version) is still so tough ooh owww. And this is the easier version! It builds so much on the first game, but is way more harrowing. Still, I know we could learn it if we put the time in. It's just so much easier to pick up one of the shorter games. This was a Sypha run but there's entire levels and routes we've barely touched.

Played a bit of Rondo too and that one always knocks us on our ass after having not played it for any length of time. It's so much closer to a normal action game and everything has SO MUCH health. But it's also extremely cool. Going to enjoy digging in properly and giving it another finish.

[FearRanger]

I never really got INTO the Vanias until my teenaged years (Before then I only touched the Classicvanias and could NEVER get used to the movement so I'd stop after the first or third stage), so my first in-depth experience was Aria of Sorrow! It was SO GOOD the gameplay is smooth and engaging, the music is fantastic, it looks pretty, and since then I've been playing more and more Vanias.

Nowadays I've been more into the idea of giving the Classicvanias and N64 a shot. The latter I did try as a kid and was interested but I got distracted, but lately I've been thinking of giving the older games a proper attempt, especially since completing Bloodstained and actually getting to enjoy the classic-style gameplay!

Also ngl, knowing that one of the versions of N64 has you playing a werewolf puts that game HIGH on my interest sgjfhkslgjjgsgljshf

[heavyserpent]

Today's thoughts:

Castlevania 3 (or rather, we played Akumajou Densetsu, the JP version) is still so tough ooh owww. And this is the easier version! It builds so much on the first game, but is way more harrowing. Still, I know we could learn it if we put the time in. It's just so much easier to pick up one of the shorter games. This was a Sypha run but there's entire levels and routes we've barely touched.

Played a bit of Rondo too and that one always knocks us on our ass after having not played it for any length of time. It's so much closer to a normal action game and everything has SO MUCH health. But it's also extremely cool. Going to enjoy digging in properly and giving it another finish.

3 is tough! I agree, even the Japanese version is tougher than a lot of the other classic entries - although I really like it, I think it has some awkward elements and rough edges compared to the first game (the additional lag on crouching attacks makes the game feel a little less responsive, and I don't like how heavily axe knights are used next to staircases, especially given that crouching thing, because it means you have to really walk on eggshells around them in an unpleasant way).

I finally got a 1CC in it for the first time yesterday. It can be mean, but as long as you get the platforming down, and be careful to stick with high-power weapons (I like triple cross on Trevor and lightning orbs on Sypha, there's a good argument for keeping Sypha equipped with the ice magic though) it's definitely very workable.

I never really got INTO the Vanias until my teenaged years (Before then I only touched the Classicvanias and could NEVER get used to the movement so I'd stop after the first or third stage), so my first in-depth experience was Aria of Sorrow! It was SO GOOD the gameplay is smooth and engaging, the music is fantastic, it looks pretty, and since then I've been playing more and more Vanias.

Nowadays I've been more into the idea of giving the Classicvanias and N64 a shot. The latter I did try as a kid and was interested but I got distracted, but lately I've been thinking of giving the older games a proper attempt, especially since completing Bloodstained and actually getting to enjoy the classic-style gameplay!

Also ngl, knowing that one of the versions of N64 has you playing a werewolf puts that game HIGH on my interest sgjfhkslgjjgsgljshf

Aria probably is my favorite of the handheld metroidvanias - that or maybe Ecclesia, but I think Ecclesia loses something in its moving away from the Metroid-style world map (and still doesn't have action quite as good as the originals despite its level design being more of a linear action game).

Definitely try getting into the classic games! I think they are some of my favorite action-platformers. The more limited movement can take some getting used to, but it helps to keep in mind that the games have a strong strategic element and that you're really just being asked to think about your next few moves ahead of time at any given moment - but that for the most part, these games aren't really too demanding and aren't overly difficult relative to some other entries in the genre.

I like the N64 games a lot actually. They have some very wonky elements and you do have to get used to the messy camera, but I think they have a fantastic sense of scale and feel like great, atmospheric adventure games in ways the later PS2 games don't. And I'd definitely agree, the werewolf Cornell in the second version is a big bonus (as is the rival who transforms into a giant chimera partway through the game haha).

Also nice raven!