Why does the Metroidvania genre refer to Symphony of the night, rather than Simon's quest? [closed]

Based on the Wikipedia definition, the Metroidvania genre has roots in the Metroid and Castlevania series/games.

Metroidvania is a subgenre of the action-adventure genre of video games. The term itself is a portmanteau of the series' Metroid and Castlevania. Specifically, the term derives from the Castlevania title, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, of which is generally considered to contain certain aspects of gameplay comparable to that of the Metroid series of games. As such, the term is used to invoke gameplay concepts and mechanics similar to that of these two series. The portmanteau "Castletroid" is also used to described the genre, albeit less frequently.

While the Metroid genealogy is obvious, the Castlevania part puzzles me. Why does it refer to Symphony of the night, if the main gameplay elements defining the genre were laid in Simon's quest (and Metroid)?

Did SOTN introduce something new that I miss, that clearly defines the genre?

Note that with the context of Castlevania, I refer exclusively to Simon's quest and Symphony of the night; it's implied that the other games preceding SOTN were side-scrolling platformers.

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1 Answer

Because Symphony of the Night is considered by many to be the definitive Castlevania experience and an exemplary game of the Metroidvania genre.

While some of the elements that are considered to be part of the genre were introduced to Castlevania by Simon's Quest, Symphony of the Night drew inspiration from Simon's Quest and expanded and improved on these elements. Symphony of the Night offers a more complex and intertwined map to explore, a greater diversity of abilities and weapons, and delivers an experience much closer to how we view games of the genre today than Simon's Quest.

SotN also had a much better critical reception than Simon's Quest, and is remembered much better. In addition to redefining what to expect from a Castlevania game, it was also considered to be one of the best games of the era, receiving universal praise and placing on several "best games" lists.

In a nutshell, while you could point to the earliest work possible that shares traits of a genre, it is often more useful to start with the best known or most obvious examples to define it. While the first examples of art were cave drawings, if you wanted to explain how we currently think about visual art it is probably more helpful to use renaissance or more modern paintings.

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