Valmanway

Valmanway (also known as Crissaegrim) is a sword that means "Blessed Wind". The wind can create the illusion of many swords being swung at once.

Valmanway has been the most effective sword in Symphony of the Night (where it is known as the Crissaegrim), Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow. In all appearances, the wielder is able to slash several times with a single attack and walk while attacking. It is not the strongest sword, but it can land several hits and can be continuously swung. While its power comes from the wind, wind is not an elemental attribute that creatures can be strong or weak against in the games it appears in, so it just deals normal damage. The animation sequence is quite different for each of the games it appears in.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
In the English version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the Valmanway is called a Crissaegrim, which is the name of a mountain range in Tolkien Lore. It is essentially an upgrade of the Vorpal Blade (Sonic Blade in Japan). Like the Vorpal Blade, it can be swung frequently while walking. The difference is that it slashes four times per attack as opposed to one. This is considered the most powerful weapon in the game, as the player can just mow down everything in front of Alucard. The swing covers all ground in front of Alucard from higher than his head to as low as his feet. It can only be found by going into the Forbidden Library and managing to get a Schmoo to drop one.

The Crissaegrim is a one handed sword. This means that it is possible to obtain two of them and wield one in each hand. Thus, by repeatedly pressing both attack buttons while walking, Alucard becomes practically invincible. Using this method, the final form of Dracula can be defeated in about 30 seconds (depending on the player's level).

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
The Valmanway in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow has deceptively low attacking power. It makes up for this in a big way by hitting several times with one attack and being able to attack while walking, just like it did in Symphony of the Night. The sword is rather short and its flurry covers everything in front of Soma's kneecaps to a bit higher than his head.

This weapon is only available as the top prize for completing Boss Rush Mode in good time (under 4 minutes). The player will most likely need the Chaos Ring before being able to earn this weapon, which means that all the souls have probably been acquired already by the time this weapon is obtained. The Positron Rifle and Excalibur are the runner up prizes if the Boss Rush is finished a minute or two too slow respectively. There won't be much game left by the time the players get this weapon, but at least they can always carry it over with a new game on Hard Mode. It is recommended to try to get this when still on the original game though, since starting a new game will reduce Soma's level and make Boss Rush mode more difficult than it needs to be. It is not possible to sell the Valmanway to Hammer though, so players cannot try to earn big money when playing Boss Rush mode. If the player finishes this mode under four minutes and already has a Valmanway, the next hardest item to obtain will be earned (or a Potion, if all weapon prizes have been received).

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
The Valmanway is the most evolved and powerful of the Sword class weapons. Like its other incarnations, it can be swung effortlessly while moving forward. When swung, a short sword appears in front of Soma. From this sword comes a long green energy wave that extends the swords' reach considerably. Numerous cutting patterns appear above and below this line. Unlike every other weapon in the game, it has no special magic consuming attacks, but it doesn't need one. It is almost as fast as the player can press the buttons.

It can only be created by sacrificing an Abaddon soul, the Lord of the Locusts, which is the second-to-last boss in the game. The evolutionary chain of this weapon is:

Short Sword → Cutlass → Long Sword → Fragarach → Hrunting or Mystletain → Joyeuse → Milican's Sword or Ice Brand or Laevatain → Burtgang → Kaladbolg → Valmanway

To create this sword from scratch, the player will need to use the following souls:
 * Armor Knight
 * Corpseweed
 * Great Armor
 * Mollusca or Treant
 * Killer Clown
 * Catoblepas, Frozen Shade or Ukoback
 * Iron Golem
 * Arc Demon
 * Abaddon

Castlevania: Order of Shadows
This item is once again called the Crissaegrim in the Cell Phone game Castlevania: Order of Shadows. The sword is swung in an arc above Desmond's head and releases a large wave that matches the size of that arc, which travels forward toward the end of the screen. The weapon is dropped from the first Minotaur that is defeated, usually the one at the base of the area near the entrance to the Inner Sanctum.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
Similarly to Symphony of the Night, the Valmanway hits four times and can be used while walking, but it is called Valmanway rather than Crissaegrim. It drops from Dracula (the boss of Chapter 6), Astarte (the boss of Chapter 7), and Legion (the boss of Chapter 8) in Hard Mode, and can be used by Soma and Alucard. An upgraded version called "Valmanway +1" drops from "R. The Count" from Chapter 10; this upgraded version functions the same as the regular, only offering a boosted Attack stat. This also means that only Soma and Alucard can receive the weapon, as characters in Harmony of Despair can only obtain items that they can use.