Shadow Tower

then again one of the bosses is literally the loch ness monster so I dunno

I adore the enemy design here, they're all so weird and off the wall, most memorable ones being those flowers that shoot OP magic attacks that can hit you thought the walls and make extremely unsettling noises, and those weird capsule things that attack you instantly when you enter the room. They really pushed it with the durability system, and I think it makes for an amazingly interesting mechanic where you have to adapt to using multiple weapons and armor to survive. The fact that the poison swam area damages your boots the highest is a great example. I wish they implemented something as bold in the Souls series, where durability is simply an annoyance. I don't remember anything special about the leveling system, seemed pretty straightforward to me. And the fact that they used HP as currency, such a fantastic idea they never explored in later titles.

The lack of music makes the whole experience much more harrowing and gives it an almost survival horror tone. The ambient/monster noises really got to me when taken together with how easy it is to suddenly die, break your weapon or armor, and all the dangers the game throws at you. Really effective at creating a bleak and decaying atmosphere.

/\ agree, this is one of the most demonic games ever made, scare the shit out of me in some parts.

Some of the best creature modelling on the PS1 though, and maybe some of the most original and creative designs in ANY game I've seen. Probably worth a playthrough for the monsters alone.

I've gotta disagree with the story point. Playing through it, I've been getting small narrative bits here and there, that seem to be slowly piecing together a story throughout. Much like the Souls games, it just feels more minimalistic in the way it tackles it: Basic set-up at the start, that gives very vague information, and then breadcrumbs of info throughout, but never giving too terribly much information at any one juncture.