Castlevania 2 is my favorite, by a slight margin. It was the game that got me into the series. I would think that you, Rufus, would like it because it has a lot of RPG elements. My only complaint is in the boss department, CV2 has 3 bosses, all of which are pathetic weenies. I've come to call the Grim Reaper from part 2 'Grimmie', it's just funny how pathetic he is, especially after how hard he was in part one. You just tickle him with your whip or a silver knife and he dies. The others aren't much better either. Besides that, though, the game is very good, THE best adventure game on the NES (some would say Zelda, but I don't think so).