Metroid is also a hella shorter series than Castlevania. The first game is still pretty playable, but the second...ehh... at least Super Metroid will always be a classic. On the other hand, Fusion will always be a complete piece of shit :( I should give Super Metroid a run through sometime this year, too... haven't played through it in years.

I wish they had made more 2d Metroid games. I may not be much of a fan of the Prime and Hunters games, but at least they were able to kick out 3d versions without pissing off too much of their fanbase. It's crazy how wildly different people feel about the 3d Castlevanias vs the 3d Metroids.