A friend of mine let me borrow his copy after I told him that I had never played the game before. He told me that it was a crime that I hadn't played SOTN. (By the way, not only had I not played SOTN, I hadn't played any Castlevania games before) Since he put it like that, I decided to borrow the game from him. That had to be one of the best decisions I've made (entertainment wise) so far in 2005.
After getting home and playing the game for a good amount of time, I found myself to be absolutely mesmerized by the game, and I couldn't put the controller down. Wherever this game was going to take me I was totally willing to go. I got to the point where I had to own this game for myself, so I went out and purchased a copy while I was still borrowing my friend's copy. This game had me absolutely hooked. So after over 15 hours of playing time and 197.0% of the game completed, I can say that I've had a very fun time playing this game. I have seen all 4 of the game's endings, I have searched through almost every inch of both castles, and I don't think there's a problem with that (do you?).
This game has made me a Castlevania fan. I just played Lament of Innocence at a another friend's house yesterday and I'm sold on that game now too. And this is all because SOTN just drew me in. Bottom line: If you haven't already played this game, go and play it right now!!!