i like symphony of the night better, alucard powers are more interesting that samus', i prefer the gothic setting instead of the sci fi one and symphony of the night represented a reinvention for the franchise, while super metroid was a perfeccion of the old gameplay.

Why play Metrovania when you can just play Metroid?  I've always like the linear Castlevania games better and I think Super Castlevania IV is the best in the series.

Super Metroid is the better game. They're both classics though - SotN just rips Super Metroid off shamelessy.

Super Metroid is one of the best games of the 16-bit era - so is Castlevania IV.  Symphony of the Night doesn't quite stack up to either one of them.

I say super metroid. Although that was a tough choice. Castlevania has much better music I think.

I enjoyed SOTN more because I played it when it was a new title. Even so you can`t ask which one of the 2 is better. It is like asking us to choose between tits and ass. They are among the few games that defined the whole generation.