>>11903907
..but the fact it gives the player i-frames.
Because of all this, and because the level design is often tame in difficulty (prioritizing exploration more than action in many ways), I found Rondo to be the easiest Classicvania, confirmed by the fact it was the first Castlevania game I could 1cc consistently once I learned all its stuff.
Next one is X68K, this one is actually on the more difficult side of the series although it retained changes from previous games so it's not "pure" either. Jump on stairs, diagonal-down whipping, etc. But it did add something new that I never see anyone criticize (probably because this game not being as popular, isn't put under the glass as much): it has a refill HP grass item, which you can use anywhere anytime you want. It does take the sub-weapon slot though.
Next is Bloodlines, this one is easily the oddest of the classic bunch. It keeps some of the previous changes (jump on stairs, diagonal-up whip) but adds back a few things from the NES games, at least partially: it makes jump arc static, can't change direction mid-air like you can on IV, Rondo and X68K, however, you can change the facing direction mid-air, which wasn't on the NES games.
It has whip upgrades, but goes a step further and adds a super upgrade that gives the player a supersized flaming whip and a screen-filling super attack. It's kind of a god mode but it balances it out a bit because you lose the super upgrade if you get hit once.
Sub-weapons also all have super attacks, works a bit like the item crash of Rondo.
Also, like Rondo, and I forgot to mention, sub-weapons lack a ranked numeral system, so you can spam away from the get go. (cont.)
