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The legacy mechanic is also just a gimmick that never really amoumts to anything, only a handful of traits have significant gameplay impact and one of those does this through saying "For the love of god don't play this one"

Oh right I should talk about this

Most of your criticism I agree with, but I take exception to this. Gameplay-wise, yes, it's mostly a gimmick, but it (combined with the upgrade system) is a really good example of game elements underscoring plot elements. When you finally reach the end and SPOILERS SPOILERS HORRIFYING AMOUNTS OF SPOILERS, it's a lot more meaningful from the sense that each run was a different individual, taking up their father's or mother's or uncle's sword to continue the task the family has assigned to themselves.

Also worth noting is that I think the spells are mostly Castlevania references for a reason; the level design, and in particular the way enemy attack patterns combine, is phenomenal in my opinion, and especially on New Game+ the strategy can be pretty deep.