Determining the very best weapon in a Castlevania game is a bit of a lottery to be honest. Model changes, like between a 1H Sword and a Fist for example, will make the game feel significantly different, and the combination of this and player preference essentially makes it boil down to trial and error. That said, there are quite a few that stick out, performing head and shoulders above the rest, so do yourself a favour and pick up one or more of the following, and experience true peak SOTN performance.
Runesword
- Functions as a ranged weapon.
- +40 ATK, -4 DEF.
For the vast majority of the game, melee weapons are essentially restricted to being well… Melee. Then the late game rolls around and weapons come along that turn such things on their head, of which one is the Runesword. When swung this particular weapon will fly forward from Alucard, damaging anything in its way before returning to the source. This isn’t necessarily the strongest of weapons from an attack power perspective, however the fact that it can be thrown out constantly and hits enemies in a huge arc means that it can see serious use. It’s quite awkward to get your hands on, requiring that you kill the Dodo enemy found in the Reverse Entrance until it drops, but it’s worthwhile for us. Some weapons are novelty for novelty’s sake, but this backs it up with some serious power.
Moon Rod
- Special move throws crescent moons across the screen.
- +17 ATK.
It might seem unusual to have such a low attack power weapon in this list, but it must be understood that the Moon Rod is all about the special move. By completing the Hadouken combination (Down, Down/Forward, Forward + ATK) the Moon Rod will release massive moon projectiles that fly forward across the screen. Alone this is a powerful ranged spell of sorts, however thanks to the suggestion of ‘mrBADGUY0077’ on the Gamefaqs forum, we discovered that it’s excellent at taking down the Guardian enemies. This makes the initial levelling process in the reverse castle tremendously easy. We would normally make a stop off in the Forbidden Library to grind some late game equipment, however this is a quicker and easier way to get the levels flying in as soon as possible.
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Heaven Sword
- Functions as a ranged weapon.
- Equipping two unlocks a special when pressing both attack buttons.
- +21 ATK, -1 DEF.
In our first entry, we discussed a sword that functions like a ranged weapon, and here in the Heaven Sword we have the other. Unlike said Runesword, this particular weapon doesn’t have a major outward arc, but rather it flies forward in a straight line before returning to Alucard. Alone this is quite a useful weapon, especially if you can get it to drop from the annoying Cloaked Knights in the Clock Tower, however it’s when you equip one in each hand that things get really interesting. This unlocks the ability to activate a special skill by pressing both attack buttons, pictured above, that deals a tremendous amount of damage whilst looking flash as all hell. It’s unlikely to have longevity, especially because you have to stay still whilst casting the special spell, but it’s great fun to play with regardless.
Fist of Tulkas
- Two special moves available.
- +38 ATK.
Quite possibly one of our favourite weapons in the entirety of Symphony of the Night is the Fist of Tulkas, which as you might imagine is a fist weapon. Not only does it come with a high amount of attack power and the innate superior critical strikes of fists, but it comes with two fantastic special moves. The first of these is the fireball, completed via the ‘hadouken’ method (Down, Down/Forward, Forward & Attack), which flies forward and deals a big amount of magical fire damage. Secondly, by pressing Back, Forward & Attack, the weapon will initiate a ‘fists of fury’ skill, in which Alucard will stand in place and fire out constant attacks, capable of hitting multiple times. Combined these make the Fist of Tulkas one of our favourite weapons throughout the game, and we often like to keep it in our off-hand for the convenient-yet-powerful straight spell.
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Sword Familiar
- At level 50+, the Sword Familiar can be equipped as a weapon.
- +50 to +99 ATK, depending on familiar level.
Given that the Sword Familiar itself is almost universally agreed to be the best familiar, the usage of this weapon does come with the caveat that well, you’re going to have to pick another to follow you around. Still, outside of the hilariously time consuming Muramana, the fully levelled version of this weapon is the single highest attack bonus that you can get. Sadly, the equipped version of the familiar doesn’t come with any special moves or such, but it does feature the same swift attack animation of the Alucard Sword type, so it’s quick and easy to use. We would have preferred some kind of special along with this if we’re honest, but at the end of the day, who doesn’t love swinging a glowing green sword around?
Alucard Sword
- Teleport Slash special move available.
- +42 ATK.
Speaking of the Alucard Sword, we would be remiss if we didn’t include it in this list. Sure, it gets outclassed by quite a few of the other weapons in this article, and you do have to wait a fair while before you find where Death spirited it away to. Upon getting your hands on it, the sword will feel like a pretty powerful weapon, but it’s the Teleport Slash special move that really sends it over the edge. If you didn’t play with this during the intro, and why would you, it’s not exactly signposted for you, you now get the chance to do so. Completing the hadouken special movement (Down, Down/Forward, Forward & Attack) will teleport Alucard forward a short distance and have him fire off two quick attacks. This doesn’t necessarily propel the blade into the absolute top performers from a DPS perspective, but the teleport spell gives it an element of safety and utility that others don’t have. Well, most others don’t…
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Masamune
- Teleport Slash special move available. 2-Handed Sword.
- +90 ATK, -30 DEF.
Alright, so maybe one other weapon has a Teleport Slash, and unfortunately for our prior choice, this one is a great deal more powerful. The Masamune, found as a rare drop from defeating the Black Panther enemy in the Reverse Clock Tower, is the most powerful Two-Handed weapon in the game outside of the ridiculous Muramana. Simply slashing the weapon is good enough, because the huge attack power will ensure that you deal a high amount of damage with every strike, but much like the Alucard Sword the real appeal comes from the special move. Completing the very same button combination (Down, Down/Forward, Forward & Attack) will again teleport Alucard forward, after which he will swipe twice with the Masamune, dealing huge damage to enemies in range. Yes you are sacrificing 30 points of defence and yes you’re having to use both hands to wield it, but the combination of its power and the teleport strike make it a real force to be reckoned with.
Crissaegrim
- Swings whilst Alucard moves.
- One swing is 4 hits of the weapon.
- No recoil at all.
- +36 ATK, +1 DEF.
Finally we settle upon the best weapon, by a great distance, in the entirety of Symphony of the Night. In fact, this particular weapon is likely the best ever created in a Castlevania game, old or new. We’d go so far actually, to say that this is the most powerful melee weapon that any Metroidvania has played host to. This thing is absolutely positively broken. It’s far, far too powerful, and by collecting it you will effectively remove any difficulty that this game has, and it wasn’t exactly a hard game to begin with. Kill enough Schmoo enemies in the Forbidden Library and this monster is yours to play with.
The basis of its power comes from the first three bullet points above. Being able to swing a weapon without stopping is very powerful but not entirely exclusive to the Crissaegrim. What is exclusive however, is that it has no recoil and that one swing will hit 4 times in a fraction of a second. What results from this is a walking, constantly swiping death machine of a protagonist that is suddenly capable of quite literally walking through almost any enemy in the game. Having played quite a few Castlevania games, we must admit that we’re actually glad that such an insane weapon doesn’t exist in any of the others, but if you’re revisiting SOTN or indeed playing it for the first time, you’d be silly not to experience the madness at least once. Just don’t blame us if you invalidate any form of challenge in the second half of the game, and belittle any other weapon in the series’ history by comparison.
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Categories: Castlevania - Symphony of the Night