I made it to block 7 without using saves, then I made it to block 9 with them before it became a bit too much for me. game's good! Castlevania's good! there's so much here that I love even if the difficulty is a bit too over tuned for me. the clock tower level where you beat the boss and then it tells you to go backwards through the whole stage, using the abilities of the new character you just got, immediately shows the potential that this series' mechanics have when paired with the right level designs. that really surprised me!
maybe if I return one day I'll check out some of the other paths.