Well I finished all the villager sidequests and beat the game, but not without considerable abuse of the rewind feature. If it weren't for the testicle-pulverizing difficulty it would easily land a franchise favorite spot right after the big 3 (Super VI, SotN, and Aria of Sorrow). Gameplay's a lot of fun and aesthetically the game is top-notch; I didn't realize that some of my favorite franchise tunes originated from this game. Hell, I didn't even recognize my all-time favorite Castlevania track Ebony Wings until I finally had that 'oh shit! I know that song' moment after listening to it for ten minutes. I still prefer the kick-ass heavy metal of Harmony of Despair's rendition, but the OoE version is still darn good with its organ melody (linked for comparison).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcKqiDWFhoc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HioQ_JYOrYY