See, this is what I don't understand. You're such an "avid" Castlevania fan, but you don't give a flying fuck about whips. That's what the games were based on from NES, to SNES, all the way up to Symphony. Now, Symphony brought some new ideas into the mix, but left out the original element of the whip. As far as gameplay mechanics go, the whip has always been easier to use with a longer range and just plain badass. DoS and all the other handheld entries (besides the comeplete shite that is Circle of the Moon) left out whips. PoR brought them back and in a big way and I was glad to see it. There are 9 different kinds plus all the normal weapons. If you can't say it was good to see whips back, then I know you're full of it.
As far as bagging on Charlotte, I can clearly see you didn't spend much time with her or even give her the time of day. She's not meant to be the powerhouse of the game. She's meant to make the game well rounded. She had some great magic attacks (many which rival anything Johnathan can pull off). Just go through a wifi boss battle with those Japanese folks with pumped up characters. Most of them play with Charlotte and use some brutal spells. Once you equip the Magus Ring, she pretty much has infinite magic and that's where the real fun begins. You dimissed her long before you even had the chance to enjoy her unique abilities. Hey, your loss, not mine.
You totally ignore my point about the paintings. I said nothing about them being huge or adding a ton of area to the map, but they were a nice change. I'm sorry, but after going through Dracula's castle game after game, it was getting boring. Hey, the inverted castle in SotN was cool and all, but we all know it was just a cheap game extender. Finally we get to see some new locals beside brick and mortar. As far as the game being "small", it was no less "small' then DoS was. DoS is decent sized, but it's not some sprawling castle. The painting added some extra depth and they were decent sized condidering they were a whole new level. Look at previous Castlevanias, the levels weren't long, but they were varied and interesting. Your attention span seems hindered by anything that isn't an epic War and Peace of level design.
Plus, the extra mode in both DoS and PoR was thrown in, but at least in PoR, you got to play as a memorable character who could kick the shit out of what's his name. Yea you had Alucard in DoS, but he's nowhere near as good as he was in SotN and Richter also wipes the floor with him. Plus, PoR is an homage to Castlevania games. You've got elements from Rondo of Blood (multiple enemies from the game), Castlevania 3 (Grant, Trevor, and Sypha), DoS (boss battles), and others I can't even think of at the moment. DoS is a great game, but the addition of wifi play and trade, even though they aren't amazing, are still a nice touch in PoR.
Yet playing as some pussy futuristic white haired emo kid from Hot Topic is your idea of a good Castlevania. To each his own.
+ L, 
) along with Sotn, that would be heaven for me. 
