Topic: Your favourite MetroidVania

[Pfil]

Since it features a map and some backtracking and exploration, I decided to include Mirror of Fate, because it resembles more a MetroidVania than a ClassicVania.
I also included both PS2 games, since the blue map and the RPG elements are present there, and Simon's Quest, because it was the first exploration Castlevania (though it didn't have a map, but it set the ground for what later CV would become for many games).
These are all very arbitrary decisions, and I didn't want to leave any possible vote out because of not including a game.

[Pfil]

Well, I tried to add Simon's Quest (NES) but it doesn't let me.
Please some mod can do it for me?
Thanks! 

[Lelygax]

You still can fix the older if you want

[X]

SotN. It blew my mind when it first came out and I still enjoy it to this day.

Although I'm not sure LoI and CoD aren't so much metroidvanias as they are dungeon crawlers.

[DoctaMario]

I picked SoTN because I don't really consider Simon's Quest an MV. Symphony is like comfort food to me though. It's a game I pick up when I'm in an unfamiliar place and need something close to home. It's easy and it relaxes me. Even th CV Puzzle game helps somehow. Might be the music too...

[Pfil]

Oh, the music! It must be one of the albums I heard most in my entire life... I don't know, like... 500 times maybe.

[DoctaMario]

It truly has one of thr best soundtracks in the series. It and LoI are among my favorites.

[Pfil]

Mine are PoR, CoD, OoE and SotN (MV).
And in ClassicVania games, Bloodlines, without a doubt.

[Dark Nemesis]

Well, i voted for SotN, but i like the same SotN, along with AoS and OoE.

[Pfil]

Well, i voted for SotN, but i like the same SotN, along with AoS and OoE.

Excellent selection of 3 games!

[Shiroi Koumori]

Oh, this is easy. SotN.
It holds the title for being the very first ever video game soundtrack that I bought.
And my undying crush on Alucard (Thanks to Kojima's painting).

[Puwexil]

Symphony is a fantastic game. Some of the other ones have aspects of being fantastic games, but they sorely lack in one area or another. It's not like anyone pretends Symphony is perfect or faultless; it simply contains the most interesting riffs on a much-explored concept with the ablest craftsmanship to bring those elements together.

[Intersection]

I elected Circle of the Moon, confident I'd be the first to vote for it... but I was wrong, it seems. Who is that nameless hero who did so before me? 

But here's the problem: I share an equally fervent enthusiasm for each (true) Metroidvania game on this list. CoD and LoI are, I agree, closer to dungeon crawlers. SQ, well, doesn't really fit the category. And as for MoF... I'm speechless.

Now, the Metroidvania genre is invariably dominated by SoTN, and for very good reason. But I have mine for loving CoTM.
For one, it's the first Castlevania game I'd ever played. An ordinary visit to a friend's house, at the time it came out, had granted me that honor. And so, half a decade later, I had "Awake" still ringing off in the depths of my memory long after I'd forgotten up to its very name. A miracle had me encounter it at the end an aimless internet search...

But, objectively, here's how Concerto of the Midnight Sun can stand out from amongst its compatriots:
- It's the only Metroidvania (along with OoE) that had a truly challenging level of difficulty.
- Its Dual Setup System was one of a kind, offering an abilities system more diverse than Sorrow's.
- Its music was nothing short from incredible.
- Its visuals, while blurred by the GBA's dark screen, were artistically gorgeous.

[Abnormal Freak]

SOTN. Easily.

After that I'd probably say AOS.

[Beaumont_Belmont]

Circle of the Moon is my favorite. I feel it did a good job of melding the whip-wielding gameplay with the Metroid exploration, and I liked the difficulty. The DSS system was pretty cool to play around with, as well.

I like Symphony of the Night, but I feel that the inverted castle feels undercooked. The backgrounds only got a slightly different tint (I feel they should have been completely different) and there's not a lot of variation in music to make the areas feel unique like they did in the first half of the game. It's still a great game, I just wish there was more variation in it.