Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

My favorite Castlevania game. Perfection.

Well, it does a fantastic job of conjuring the absolute finest presentation the system's hardware could handle. Moreso than other Castlevanias, it really, *really* wants you to plan out and memorize your ideal route for each moment of every level, and things will spiral out of control quickly if you dillydally or let the enemies get in their first hit or two. If that's the kind of challenge you want, this game offers plenty of it, with two very different characters and quite a bit of branching.

Alternate 5 as Richter will be your tomb for an hour or two

While it doesn't feel as tight as Castlevania IV in terms of control, Rondo is a superior game as it has far more interesting and dynamic level design while actually being fairly challenging unlike IV. Adored the amazing soundtrack, diverging level paths, and aesthetics. It took the elements that worked in past CV games and elevated them to perfection.