Bit of a side note, if we go by soundtrack, I think X68000 wins almost by default. It has some of the best tunes of the series (Chronicles remixes, like Simon's redesign, don't do the original justice at all). It definitely has the best version of vampire killer, arguably the best wicked child, and a VERY cool bloody tears mix, and that's not including the original music present. Plus, it probably has the most "heroic" mix of Simon's theme... Damn, I wanna play this game again... (while the difficulty is extreme for me at parts, its the good kind that makes me wanna keep playing like in Ninja Gaiden).
Graphically speaking, it's a really great looking game for the time and platform. The sprites are definitely better than SCV4, and the different levels pop out more than in 4, and moving to each stage feels as different as it did moving through stages in 1. Plus, the opening cutscene is IS old school horror flick, and the ending cutscene is much better than 4's, with MUCH more detail in the castle crumbling, the background, Simon, and we even see birds flying off in the distance. Nice touch. Gameplay is also super exciting because of the tight controls, and a more balanced multi directional whip.
I'm so nostalgic for 4, but I'm lately starting to notice it's simplicity. After paying it for so long, I even notice how it can start to drag at parts. Plus, like I said, the ending is super simple, the opening scene is super simple, even though they speak a thousand words. It still think it's a beautiful game and one of the best and more memorable of the 16 bit era, but something is happening to it for me. Still think it has the absolute best lead up to Dracula in the entire series. Starting to think if it wasn't my first, I might think very differently of it today.