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Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA, 2001)

Subgenre: ARPG (character building through hp/mp/hearts upgrades and leveling, no shop, a few NPCs, consider pros and cons for new gear)/Igavania

Movement Mechanics: Slide (default), Wall jump, Super jump (similar to upwards shinesparking)

Partially non-linear structure - you don't have to do all bosses in one set order
Pretty frequent save points (these also restore hp/mp, no save point next to the battle arena though). To create multiple saves you have to reset the game and copy the file in the system menu
Card system buffs (combine two cards for passive elemental and status effects, healing with the jupiter/mandragora combo but it's slow, gotta look up where cards drop)
Teleporters (generally well placed though there could've been a teleporter near the beginning and in the top left)
New enemies appear in previously cleared areas (makes backtracking more interesting), Also easy to backtrack without fighting overall due to the run and double jump moves
Extra "character mode" unlockables (magician, shooter, etc. - basically classes) provide some replay value after beating the game
Very good map system overall (heavy boxes (basically locked doors) aren't marked)
Rewarding detours for hp/mp/ammo upgrades overall (harder platforming paths or enemies that guard them)
Minor puzzles (sewer, boxes as platforms)
Optional Battle Arena area
Some sequence breaking possibilities (early sewers, more?)
No difficulty options
No sub weapon inventory (it works like in Rondo of Blood instead - it was 2001 people!)

Playthrough - Video Review - Mini Review

Influenced by: Castlevania series, probably Zelda series, possibly Pokemon, Quake 1-2 (new enemies in previous areas)

Influenced: Possibly Metroid Prime or Aggelos (new enemies in previous areas), Shaman King (GBA)