Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

The castle is enjoyable to understand: a new movement ability changes what an old corridor can offer, and equipment choices make exploration feel personal. Detailed sprites and a remarkably varied score give returning to a room its own pleasure. It is not a tightly balanced challenge throughout, and some useful systems are poorly explained. Start with curiosity rather than a completion checklist. This is the original 1997 PlayStation game, not a similarly named handheld adaptation.