Bloodlines is an excellent expression of classic Castlevania. It avoids a lot of the mediocre level design of Castlevania IV while maintaining the brevity that works well for the series; this would be a great game to power through once in a while. It also has a more interesting setting than the rest of the games. The only drawback is that the midair physics revert back to the NES days. I'm neither for nor against the greater whip control provided in Castlevania IV, but the ability to change directions midair is sorely missed here. I'd say this game and IV are neck and neck, and which is better comes down to personal preference, but I prefer Bloodlines.