Best Metroidvania Clones

This is one of my favorite genres (or subgenres whatever), but I feel that there's not enough games in this style. What are some of the best out there that aren't a part of the Metroid or Castlevania franchises?

Cave Story.

Shadow Complex, an x360 arcade game. Really, one of the best in the genre. I think of it as Metroid meets Metal Gear. It's truly a fantastic game. Probably my favorite x360 game. That's either really sad or really awesome. You decide.

Project Black Sun. Similar to Chasm, as in there's not a lot to it, but it gets the job done extremely well. It tends to be a bit harder though. And it was made by one or two guys and I believe it almost bankrupted them, so they kinda stepped away from all that. But I got it off Desura for $2 and thoroughly enjoyed it

Isn't Lone Survivor kind of like that? Not sure. But it gets good reviews. And I know UnEpic is one. Though it has heavier RPG elements akin to Symphony of the Night. But it's pretty well reviewed as well if I remember. Haven't tried either of them

Cave Story is fantastic. And there's still free versions floating around. But it's probably worth the cash to get a polished version off Steam or something

Also the last couple of Wonderboy games on Genesis/Master System were pretty good Metroidvania style games. And I believe even Blastermaster falls into that category and I know it's had some bad sequels, but I'm pretty sure it's had a couple good ones as well if I remember right

This is one of my favorite genres, but I haven't found very many games that scratch that itch for me. And sadly I don't even like Metroid. But I love the GBA and and DS Castlevania games. Most of them anyway. Portrait of Ruin was alright. And I couldn't get into Order of Ecclesia...

Edit: Also forgot, the Shantae games kinda fall into this category since they're basically side scrollers who require finding new abilities to advance and whatnot. But they put their own spin on things. I keep trying to get into them, but just can't for some reason. So take them with a grain of salt. But they're there if you're interested. They're also all about to get Steam HD releases

And also when you sign up for GOG for the first time, they give you like 5 free games. One of them is Treasure Adventure Game or something like that. It's surprisingly good for a free game. But its not fantastic. It is pretty much a metroidvania though. You just go island hopping instead of exploring different parts of a cave or something. It has no controller compatibility though. But finding things like xpadder or joy2key are pretty easy to get and figure out

guacamelee!

In order from my most recommended to least, though I honestly love all of these games:

Cave Story
Guacamelee
Shadow Complex
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Rex Rocket
Darksiders
Antichamber
La-Mulana

Some of those aren't 2D games but still follow the metroidvania formula of exploration, item/movement upgrades and backtracking.

Koumajou Densetsu 1 and 2, aka "Touhouvania" are Castlevania clones in the truest sense.

And especially the second one is a great game.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../koumajou4.png

Fortune Summoners is my favorite. You have three different characters with three completely different playstyles that you have to use to solve the puzzles. The combat is really fun and the world is pretty. The story is your typical anime fluff where three 12 year old girls are out fighting monsters that adults can't handle.

Did I forget to mention the main characters are 12? Cause they're twelve. And Arche, the lead character, uses a sword that's as big as she is. And it's not because the sword is oversized, she's tiny. And she's also very dumb. There's Sana, she's the quiet one with water and healing magic. And because she's the healer and because water segments suck, the part of the game where you have to play as her is the worst part of the game. But then there's Stella, the best character. And one of the snarkiest little girls. And her theme is awesome.

I really, really hate this term. Mostly because Metroid and Castlevania have an incredibly different core gameplay experience, despite the superficial similarity of exploring the vast map filled with goodies.

Why does EVERY SINGLE "Metroidvania" game use Castlevania as it's template, rather than Metroid?

I think Castlevania is a lot more accessible. There's more action, more plot, more easter eggs, more anime influence, I believe it has more sequels in the series and makes it easier for people to find the one they enjoy. They're all slightly different.

My experience with Metroid is that the few I've played were almost too similar. Very empty. Very by-the-books on the exploration and attaining items. Lots of backtracking as well. It didn't seem like there was as much meat. Though for those who appreciate it, it's probably a "less is more" mentality. Which I respect, but it's sadly kinda lost on me. And I'd wager it's lost on most people who prefer Castlevania. Developers included. But I think the core of the Metroidvania'ness is just that there's a map to explore, and ways are blocked, and you need items and upgrades to advance. Sprinkle in some canon fodder and a few boss fights and they'll call anything a Metroidvania