On topic: I was never a big fan of "Simon's Theme". It's very iconic and I think it's pretty catchy, but I dunno... It's not bad but it's not as AWESOME as many people says. Compared to the "stage 1" tunes that came before AND immediately after it (Vampire Killer, Bloody tears (sort of), Beginning, Reincarnated Souls and Opposing Bloodlines) it doesn't even sound very Castlevania-ish to me.
Ah, well, it's all a matter of taste. It's might not be the most intricate piece of music Castlevania has seen, but... it is awesome, all right. It's the iconic opening to one of the series most iconic games:
of course it's Castlevania!
But then again, I feel the same way about the other tracks you'd mentioned -- Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Opposing Bloodlines? I love them all, but I still don't find them as good as some of the music I'd heard from other games.
Vampire Killer is catchy, but doesn't have that dramatic substance that could make it successful outside of its original format. Hence some of the tiresome heavy-metal VK arrangements in later games that I could never take to... When I listen to it, it's most often only on the NES version.
Beginning has a similar problem, although it was more successful in transitioning into different instrumentations...
Bloody Tears? It's absolutely great: musical, catchy, enthralling -- but so incredibly short! And, again, it lacks substance. So after hundreds of loops of the same 30-second tune -- no matter how great the music actually is -- it eventually loses its luster.
Opposing Bloodlines? It always came off to me as exceedingly repetitive. Maybe it was a matter of personal taste, but it also felt as if it lacked more interesting content. Still great, anyhow.
But remember: if anything, I've only dissected their faults to make their unmarred qualities shine even brighter. So I don't need to be insulted, either.
Don't forget, I love this music just as well!!
Another song I have a real hard time appreciating is "Invitation of a crazed moon" from PoR. I really love the rest of the soundtrack in that game, but the very first song is not my cup of tea. At all. It does everything right on paper, but completely misses the mark anyway, or something. Can't explain. I guess it boils down to personal taste.
Finally, I was not a fan of the remixed tracks in Castlevania Chronicles. "Wicked child" was especially hard on the ears for me... the NES version is fantastic though.
Yes. I could never really take to Invitation either. It didn't sound anywhere near what I'd expected, and it kept feeling odd ever since. It's all right, but definitely not one of my favorites.
And yes again, the Chronicles remixes are weird, they are like a techno version of the original ones, or something like that.
Yup. I second you there.