Personally, I prefer my search action to be more on the Metroid side. Less rpg elements and repeat enemy hallways, with more dynamic movement options. Turns out though, the game that popularized rpg elements and a slower pace is actually really good.

Symphony of the Night is a triumph in many ways. The feel of controlling Alucard is unreal, impossibly tight yet graceful. It achieves the rare status of being a game that just feels fun to control in itself. You could place Alucard in a grey box room with one respawning enemy, and I'd still have a great time practicing back dashing into speedy melee hits.

The world design is also to be admired. I think that many contemporary search action games make the mistake of having their worlds be too convenient. Things connect together in perfect ways, and the ideal route is always conveyed clearly yet subtly. I say screw that! Castlevania is willing to let the player get lost, truly lost without guidance, diegetic or otherwise. Making a world like this truly memorable lies in utilizing the negative space. The time when the player needs to walk to or from a warp point, or finding their way to a deserted dead end on the far side of the map.

The inverted castle is an excellent end game victory lap. It is entirely repeated content, but flipping it on it's head changes how you interact in a fundamental way. Truly a triumph.