i finished a playthrough of castlevania aria of sorrow last night, a game i've played like 5 times through already, and goddamn is that experience still fresh as hell. i was using it to help wind down before bed every night. did i possibly "wind down" for 1-2 hours when i should've gone to bed? yeah, but i still had a good time.
i've maybe finished symphony of the night only once despite starting it several times. aria of sorrow is has the formula that made symphony great but with hindsight as it's greatest asset, making the experience so clean and tight. it can be a hard game but it's so completable and so approachable, especially in how it paces your progression.
it's only negative qualities are in how i feel the warp points are spaced out in relation to each castle area and how you have to navigate out of the final area back to the main castle if you want to improve your completion rate. otherwise, a near perfect game.