Hunter Whip

The Hunter WhipCastlevania: Circle of the Moon instruction booklet, page 20: "Nathan Graves (player) is the chosen successor to wield the "Hunter Whip"." is Nathan Graves' main weapon in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. It is a magical whip held between families for generations that can change its attack power and even its form as a result of the combination of different magical cards.
==History==
Unlike the holy whip known as the Vampire Killer, which can evolve from a leather whip to a chain whip with a spiked-ball tip, the Hunter Whip stays most of the time as a leather whip and it cannot be held limp. Instead, when the attack button is held, Nathan will spin it very fast around his body, doing minimal damage to anything that comes near.
This weapon was used by Morris Baldwin and Nathan Graves' parents to vanquish Dracula years ago. When Nathan's parents died, Morris took him as a disciple along with his own son, Hugh, intending to choose one of them as a successor when they had reached adulthood. While Hugh, as Morris's son and the better fighter (or so he claimed), expected to obtain the whip, Morris instead chose Nathan, leading to bad blood between the two disciples.
==Characteristics==
The Hunter Whip is a leather whip that does not evolve by collecting power-ups as the Vampire Killer did in most of the earlier games. Most games created after Circle of the Moon share this trait, although they all start the whip out in a more advanced form. This whip has a quick snap and instead of being able to go limp, Nathan can rapidly spin it in a manner that it can block projectiles and repeatedly (but weakly) damage enemies. This circular motion was later emulated in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance when the whip was combined with the Energy Circle, although in that game it didn't spin as fast.
While the whip cannot be powered-up in the traditional sense, it plays a more pivotal role in magic casting. By combining an Attribute Card with the Mercury, Diana or Mars cards, Nathan is able to imbue the whip with different elements, have it shoot projectiles, or even change it into other weapons such as swords, hammers and even a magic handgun (for more information, see Dual Set-Up System/Combinations).
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Animations===
COTM Hunter Whip.gif|Hunter Whip from Circle of the Moon.
==Trivia==
*In the pause menu of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, the whip is referred to as "Vampire Killer".
*It is possible that the Hunter Whip is simply another name for the Vampire Killer, as it has not always been called as such on a game-by-game basis (e.g.: it was called the "Mystic Whip" in the NES and Game Boy titles, it was only officially referred by name in-game in Castlevania: Bloodlines, and evidence can be found in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia when both times the Vampire Killer is mentioned, it is referred to as "the holy whip" instead of by name).
**It is also possible that it is a whip made with alchemy, as it changes depending on which cards are equipped, much like the Whip of Alchemy with elemental powers in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.
*The appearance of the Hunter Whip is similar to a real-life performance hybrid whip, which has a handle with an adjustable length.
*In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Simon Belmont begins the game with the Beast Hunter, which may be a reference to the Hunter Whip.
==See also==
*Leather Whip
*Vampire Killer (whip)
*Whip
==References==
Category:Whips
Category:Circle of the Moon Items