Symphony is the Final Fantasy 7 of the series. Its the most popular , The one where a large group of newcomers started, set the game design and art direction revamp for entire series. Yes its held by alot to be the best

Eh, not really - Final Fantasy 7 was still a Final Fantasy game, with menu based combat and a huge over world to explore. It was just bigger and had FMV - Symphony of the Night is an awesome game, but it was really more a spin off of the original series.  Its sad that its the only thing modern gamers accept as Castlevania.

The only game with RPG elements before it was Simon's Quest, and that played FAR differently. Before SotN, Castlevania's was a series of action platformers staring the whip- weilding Belmonts, and none of the games took place entirely in a Castle.  In a lot of ways SotN stole just as much from Super Metroid as Lords of Shadow stole from God of War.

Don't get me wrong though, SotN is one of the all time great games - you need to check it out (on XBOX Live or PSN.)  The other Metroidvanias are of varying qualities, and I'ld only check them out if you really like the SotN formula, since they're essentially the same game.  Especially the Sorrow games, which feel like complete rehashes.  (OoE and CotM stand out amongst the other Metroidvanias for being somewhat unique.)

I also can't believe how many people are defending Harmony of Dissonance - you know the only unique sprite work in that game is a few frames of animation for Julius Belmont?

As far as classicvania goes, download Casltevania 3 (NES) Super Castlevania 4 (SNES) and Rondo of Blood (Turbo Duo) if you have a Wii.  They are generally considered the best of the old games. 

Oh, and the new game looks alright - seems more Castlevaniaish then LoS, so it atleast has the potential to be good.

Eh, not really - Final Fantasy 7 was still a Final Fantasy game, with menu based combat and a huge over world to explore. It was just bigger and had FMV - Symphony of the Night is an awesome game, but it was really more a spin off of the original series.  Its sad that its the only thing modern gamers accept as Castlevania.

The only game with RPG elements before it was Simon's Quest, and that played FAR differently. Before SotN, Castlevania's was a series of action platformers staring the whip- weilding Belmonts, and none of the games took place entirely in a Castle.  In a lot of ways SotN stole just as much from Super Metroid as Lords of Shadow stole from God of War.

Don't get me wrong though, SotN is one of the all time great games - you need to check it out (on XBOX Live or PSN.)  The other Metroidvanias are of varying qualities, and I'ld only check them out if you really like the SotN formula, since they're essentially the same game.  Especially the Sorrow games, which feel like complete rehashes.  (OoE and CotM stand out amongst the other Metroidvanias for being somewhat unique.)

I also can't believe how many people are defending Harmony of Dissonance - you know the only unique sprite work in that game is a few frames of animation for Julius Belmont?

As far as classicvania goes, download Casltevania 3 (NES) Super Castlevania 4 (SNES) and Rondo of Blood (Turbo Duo) if you have a Wii.  They are generally considered the best of the old games. 

Oh, and the new game looks alright - seems more Castlevaniaish then LoS, so it atleast has the potential to be good.

the comparison to FF7 was not a game design comparison but what each game did for their respective series

What do you think about the first instalment? And simons quest? is the third that much better? I've heard it's hard as hell!!

Eh, the first game is a very straight forward platformer, and pretty short too.  Castlevania 4 is actually a remake of it.  Its fun, and fairly challenging if you don't abuse holy water.  Its a fun, short game, but like I said, not as polished or complex as its sequels.

Castlevania 2 is one of my favorites in the series - but its not for everyone.  It's a weird departure from the first game, and you spend most of the game going into random towns and wandering the country side trying to figure what you're actually supposed to do.  It's also so poorly translated that it is almost impossible to beat without a faq or strategy guide.  I'll say this, if you like Zelda 2, then you'll probably like Castlevania 2.

Also, for who ever asked, Gabriel Belmont and LoS is in a different time line then the classic games.  The pre-Symphony of the Night Games do usually star a Belmont though.  Games after are a bit more random (only ones to star a Belmont decendant straight up are the 3D games and Portait of Ruin and Harmony of Dissonance, which are generally thought to be two of the worst Metroidvanias.)