Uh OH! Our argument is a bit of a paradox it seems. Castlevania Harmony of Dispair is TOO Castlevania for some of us, because it doesn't have anything new, yet Lords of Shadow is NOT Castlevania enough because it's too different and doesn't have enough series staples.
Should we be critical of gameplay, design, and innovation? Yes. Should we be condemning these games to be "BLARHGH THE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO TEH CASTLEVANIAS" nope. Some people would only be happy with remakes of Castlevania IV and III for the rest of eternity. Some only with Symphony of the Night 2,3,4,5,6,7. What we have before us are two games that will clearly not be the last in our long line of games, a series that has had MANY good and BAD games in it's history. Many of which we will live to see. These changes are an inevitability in the game world as our minds and expectations progress. HOWEVER, if Order of Ecclesia (metroidvania), Adventure Rebirth (classicvania), Harmony of Despair (multiplayer), and Lords of Shadow (3D action adventure) will not be enough to satisfy your nostalgia, you are better off sitting home rehashing the past, and not on a internet board.
While I generally agree with this post, an argument can be made by someone who prefers certain ones of these to be done differently. Adventure Rebirth, for example, falls short of what a much better 'classicvania' could be. It felt like a cheap $10 download, and completely underwhelming next to something like Mega Man 9, imho.

I didn't think it was
bad, but I didn't think it was anything above mediocre.
My biggest gripes about Castlevania are less about innovation vs. delivering series' staples (I'll be into a metroidvania, classicvania, 3-D game, etc, if they're good), and more about aesthetic. I would like for the tone of a Castlevania game to be nailed, first and foremost. Curse of Darkness is a pretty solid example of what I don't want from the series. I thought the execution for the story was downright embarrassing. Corny characters and other things contributed to the problem. The character styles and dialogue from some of the DS games were questionable for me too, but at least the game play is decent enough for me to still enjoy the overall experience.