Really cool remake but mostly works as just its own unique CV game with cool multiple versions built in.

gonna be honest the soundtrack kinda saves it for me, otherwise it's like us castlevania 3 in terms of how much bullshit it throws at you

Cool box art and soundtrack are kinda all this game has going for it. The level design is fundamentally broken, with almost every threat being an unpredictable "gotcha" aimed at making you memorize the stages by heart instead of actually enjoying the game. Arrange mode is just a bandaid on a fundamental level design issue and doesn't help much, I still won't call it a fair challenge.
At least it was saved from emulation hell by getting a PS1 port, since this system is way easier to emulate.