A Metroidvania showdown, Metroid vs Castlevania.

[Veknoid_Outcast]

Argh, I realize I didn't answer the OP correctly.

1) Metroid, although both have turned out excellent "Metroidvania" games since 1994.
2) Super Metroid, but SoTN is an outstanding game also. My favorite Castlevania is AoS.
3) Guacamelee, Shadow Complex, and Teslagrad