When you have been a Castlevania fan for as long as I have, having seen the series grow and change since the original release on the NES - you will witness the ups and downs from the community. You, sir/ma'am honestly need to take a step bak and take in realization, that before these exploration and RPG elements had taken hold of the series until the release of Lords of Shadow - really wasn't a true drastic change (if you're an old head.) The exploration element began with the release of Castlevania (NES) and Vampire Killer (MSX) Both had been two prototypes for two completely different play styles. Each one, still adding the platforming and challenges - Vampire Killer began the exploration route (keep in mind that Metroid was released in '85, if I remember correctly.) This also introduced the item menu and of course the 'map', which I never really go too far in depth in to playing VK, so - I couldn't really explain any more.
Konami then returned to the exploration element with Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, this added in Weapons, Relics, Currency and RPG elements. When gathering hearts, these react as EXP for Simon - upon leveling up, Simon will in fact gain a defense bonus from attacks, while upgrading his whips increase his attack power - this also introduced Day and Night Elements (seen later in CV64) in which during the day, monsters are easier to kill, while at night, they gain in strength.
Many years later SoTN is released in 1997 - This introduced the exploration elements (taken from the Metroid series) and reproduced the RPG elements from the original release of Simon's Quest (but more updated.) Then we have seen these elements change and grow with CoTM, HoD, AoS, DoS, PoR and OoE.
You have been educated, if you feel betrayed - I am sorry, but you honestly have no room to speak. Even though, you wished to address a statement to the community, your argument is invalid. When LoS was released, it still added in RPG elements (slightly, but upgrading skills) and kept the numbering system (attacks, focus gain...etc.) So if you wish to continue to scream, cry, moan and groan - may i suggest gamefaqs.com's forums? I never felt betrayed, I enjoyed watching the series grow from its cradle and change over the years and mature. Most of us, are sick of the Metroidvania element, and honestly, its quite boring now. Most of us miss the Classicvanias, but I personally have enjoyed playing all the changes that have taken place through out the series.
If you spit out with hate, towards something you "care" about, then you obviously never had passion for the series to begin with. Yes, we have our ups and downs, things we disagree with some things, but in reality, this community has formed a brother/sisterhood for many years, and many more years to come.