This is an experience that you'll never forget.
Gameplay: This game is huge. There are many hidden areas to explore and secrets to discover. The game starts off with medium to hard difficulty depending on your familiarity with the series and slowly becomes easier as you near mid-point. I say the mid-point because the latter half of the game can sometimes be too easy.
Graphics: This is the best looking Castlevania to date. The sprites are beautifully drawn and the PSOne throws in some nice effects to add more depth to the otherwise flat feel of 2D games. The backgrounds are richly detailed and often contain some very convincing, spatial illusions.
Sound: The music is very well conducted, memorable and I have to say The feeling of each area is heavily influenced by the background music. The voice acting is mostly very good but can sometimes be very awkward. Sound effects are your standard collection as you’d expect with a few highlights here and there.
Value: Combine a couple different endings with each character, several save names to play with, hundreds of items to collect, secrets to find and you've got yourself a game that you will be playing ten years from now.
It's a shame that 2D gaming has been practically stranded in the wake of the 3D era. Hopefully Konami will recognize the demand from consumers for side-scrolling Castlevanias on Nintendo's handhelds coupled with the consistent failure and outright rejection of their 3D attempts and create more titles in the vein of SOTN on home consoles in the future.