However, it's not a patch on the game's Infinity +1 Sword, the Soul Reaver (which would later obtain Sword of Plot Advancement status in the sequels), which can one-hit kill bosses. It does high damage, being a Flaming Sword. The Fire Sword in Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen.There is also the Balmung if it isn't Hard Mode which only slightly less powerful than the Claimh Solais and is of the Darkness type meaning its effective against that one boss mentioned above.The Claimh Solais is hardly more useful than Soma's bare fists against him. Not to mention Death's Scythe is one of two weapons that annihilates That One Boss, Julius Belmont, who is neutral to dark and tremendously resistant to holy.The Claimh Solais is Holy element, which nearly every enemy is weak to, has a faster swing, and has a more forgiving hitbox even if it doesn't reach quite as far. It has more raw attack power than the bonus sword "Claimh Solais" and has the greatest reach in the game, but it's Dark element, which a lot of enemies are resistant to, and its great reach is offset by being slow and unable to hit things at point-blank. In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, there is an enormously powerful weapon called Death's Scythe that can only be found about halfway through the game and only if one is playing Hard Mode.Abusing a small glitch to double jump early (which normally comes just after Nation of Fools) can get you the Nebula (a homing whip), the most powerful whip that is obtained before Vampire Killer note For some reason various other whips better than it but worse than Vampire Killer can be obtained after you get Vampire Killer, a powerful weapon that will last until endgame unless you abuse a Good Bad Bug to buy the Holy Claymore early.
Later on, the Vampire Killer itself takes on this role - it's not one of the game's several Infinity Plus One Swords and you don't have to go out of your way to get it (just beat That One Boss), but many players stick with it for its ease of use and handy elemental attributes. Its high power and speed will get you through a large part of the game. In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, you're almost sure to pick up a Long Spear on your first visit to the Nation of Fools (high Random Drop rate).