NITM is very awesome and better than PS1 SOTN and even DXC SOTN.
even though PS1 SOTN is more polished, NITM's pros and extra content more than make up for it.
I do like that it strives to be more than just a simple port. Like
"we could just take what already exists and move it over, but system limitations would lead to that being inferior. So what can we do to offset those deficiencies?"So they tried to add some stuff. Maybe it only added 30 to 90 minutes of gameplay with the new areas and items, but I like that they added a whole new playable character and then made an effort to edit the Richter sprites that the original game used so that he's actually wearing the clothes he's supposed to be wearing in the game (and does wear, briefly, when you see him in the Arena in the PS1 version).
The execution of the altered sprite is... mixed, to put it charitably, but I can at least appreciate that someone in a development position noticed that continuity error and tried to fix it. Their hearts were in the right place throughout, at least, and it doesn't diminish the PS1 version in the slightest.
So I find it difficult to get worked up about how one is objectively horrible. Nocturne is definitely heavily flawed, but I wouldn't rank it anywhere on a list of Top Ten Worst Castlevanias. I've played Vampire Killer MSX and Haunted Castle. I've played Legends. Castlevania at its worst is a whole lot worse than Nocturne in the Moonlight.
WTF is up with that tree monster though. It looks like it came out of Bob Ross' worst nightmares.
"And now it's time for us to add in some happy little trees--"
"WRONG KIND OF HAPPY WRONG KIND OF HAPPY!!"