Symphony Of the Night! Although Dracula X Chi No Rondo, is a really close second. But its damn near impossible to find that game. and IM KEEPING MY COPY!!!
Don't get me wrong...I *LOVE* Symphony of the Night, but my favorite has to be Super Castlevania for the SNES. It was the first Castlevania I ever played, and I have fond memories of it.
I also really enjoyed Lament of Innocence. I don't know why everyone keeps dissing it. It was at least worth the $19.99 I paid for it.
And of course, any of the Castlevanias on GBA are great.
Super Castlevania was awesome, too. The first time I played rotating level, my mind was blown. In retrospect, it wasn't that amazing, but back then, my god, I was impressed.
Yeah SOTN easily, it's one of those games that when someone says "best games of all time" it always comes up in my mind. ( a roundabout way of saying it's one of the best games of all time.
This is a no-brainer; SotN takes the crown without a struggle. Not only is it the best CV by far, but IMO, it's also the best 2D action/adventure game ever.
SOTN and The 64 3d version i actually had a ton of fun with that one. Hated the ps2 one becuase it was so repeditve and the levels looked exactually the same with a different buffer...