I'd heard for years that this was "the bad one". It's just different from the Castlevanias that preceded or followed it. You can actually see the blueprints of the genre that the series would eventually take on starting with SotN; Simon's Quest has a nonlinear critical path across a map that you're gradually able to access more of as you obtain progression items (although exactly what has opened up to you is rarely very clear, unfortunately). While I didn't really gel with the maze that is trying to "solve" this game, I could absolutely picture someone who owned its original release really resonating with it, mapping out each area and puzzling out where to go.
The cryptic hints are apparently only somewhat less cryptic in the Japanese release, and a proper translation would only help so much; I will grant the game's detractors that much.