Arthur

Arthur
Artwork of Arthur from Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins.
Universe	Ghosts 'n Goblins
Debut	Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection (2021)
Appears in
Console of origin	Arcade
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Homeworld	Human Realm
Created by	Tokuro Fujiwara

Sir Arthur (アーサー) is the main protagonist of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise.

A Mii Fighter Costume modeled after his armor was made available as DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Character Description

Arthur is a brave knight that battles against the supernatural to rescue the Princess Prin Prin (named Guinevere in some games). Though he will stop at nothing to save the day, he infamously has shoddy armor that breaks easily, leaving him quite literally exposed in his boxer briefs and making him susceptible to a one-hit game over - it is with this mechanic that has made the Ghosts 'n Goblins series notoriously difficult to finish. The character itself is modeled after the British hero of legend, King Arthur.

Ghosts 'n Goblins

Arthur as he appears in Ghosts 'n Goblins

The tale of Sir Arthur begins in Ghosts 'n Goblins, when during a relaxing day, the Princess is suddenly kidnapped by the demon Satan. Arthur dons his armor and battles his way through monsters from the cemetery all the way to the castle of the Demon Realm, acquiring new weapons and upgrades along the way. Arthur eventually reaches the castle where he fights The Great Demon Lord Astaroth. Although he seemingly defeats him, it is revealed that the room was an illusion and a devious trap installed by Astaroth, sending Arthur all the way back to the Graveyard and forcing him to journey once again. Arthur makes it to the castle once more, carrying a Cross in hand and fighting the true Astaroth. Arthur perseveres against the Demon Lord and reunites with the Princess.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Arthur as he appears in Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Three years later, the village is under attack again by ghosts after the Demon Realm is restored by its new leader, Lucifer. The ghosts begin to steal the souls of the denizens, unfortunately including the princess. This forces Arthur to set off on another perilous quest, slaying new monsters such as Ohmu and Beelzebub, and eventually making his way to the Castle of the Evil Demons. Upon defeating the Castle's most powerful guardians, including a revived Astaroth, Arthur is visited by the archangel St. Michael, informing him that the only way to rescue the Princess' soul and kill Lucifer is to travel back to the beginning to procure the "magic power from the goddess of battle". This comes in the form of the Psycho Cannon, a powerful force bestowed upon by the goddess Valkyrie. After journeying the path to the Castle once more, Arthur defeats Lucifer, freeing all the souls that he had consumed and restoring the Princess' soul into her body. The ending later reveals that Arthur anticipated the return of the Demon Realm, and prepared for it by improving weapons and imbuing them with magic power during those three years.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Arthur as he appears in Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts

After the events of the previous game, Arthur sets off to find a weapon powerful enough to kill Lucifer once and for all. During his time away, the Princess helps the townspeople rebuild the kingdom. Four years later, Arthur returns to celebrate the complete reconstruction of the kingdom; however, during their reunion, a demon kidnaps the Princess and takes her back to the Demon Realm, with Arthur once again in pursuit. He eventually makes his way into the castle of the new leader of the Demons, Sardius - but before he can get into Samael's chamber, he receives a psychic link from the Princess informing him that the he needs to retrieve the Goddess' Bracelet to vanquish Sardius; it is also revealed that she had been wearing the bracelet and is why the demons captured her in the first place. After Arthur successfully secures the bracelet, he finds himself at the castle yet again, where the revived Astaroth and Sardius himself await. With the magic of the Goddess' Bracelet, Arthur kills Astaroth and its new second form Nebiroth, as well as the leader of the Demon Realm. He and the Princess then reunite once more and travel home safely, watching the sunrise from the back of Arthur's horse.

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins

Arthur as he appears in Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins

Sometime later, Hades assumes control of the Demon Realm and sends his underlings to once again kidnap the Princess in the hopes of mixing her blood with the demons', allowing them to force their rule over the Humans and destroy Arthur once and for all. Arthur hears of the plot and rushes over to the castle, but unfortunately is too late, forcing him to go into another quest. During his adventure, Arthur uncovers a number of Light Rings, 22 of which are needed to open a portal within the depths of Hades' Black Palace stronghold. Arthur eventually reaches the Palace and faces off with Astaroth one final time, entering the portal created from the rings. It is in this dark domain that Arthur finally encounters and duels Hades. If Arthur manages to find all the Light Rings, he is able to successfully destroy Hades and rescue the Princess (if he hasn't, Arthur will be forced to return to the beginning to find the remaining Rings). They return to the kingdom to a hero's welcome.

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights / Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights II

Arthur as he appears in Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights

Years later, Demons return to steal the souls of the kingdom's maidens. In response, the Princess summons several of the land's best knights to defend the realm, while Arthur and his new ally Lancelot head off to retrieve the stolen souls. They eventually reach the new Demon Lord and defeat him, but Lancelot is ambushed and kidnapped during the scuffle; the same nearly happens to Arthur, but he is saved by the arrival of Percival. In the sequel, the two journey forwards to save Lancelot. During their travels, they are intercepted by the Black Knight, who appears to try and impede their progress. After defeating him, they discover that the Black Knight was actually Lancelot, brainwashed and forced to wear demonic armor. After saving him, all three battle and defeat the demons once more.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Mii Fighter Costume

A costume for the Mii Swordfighter modeled after Arthur was made available as a part of the Round 9 batch of DLC costumes.

The sword it uses is the Lance, a long spear used for cavalry charges during medieval times. It is Arthur's default weapon in the games that he can throw in a straight line either forwards, upwards, or downwards. It can also gain upgrades in certain games, depending on what armor Arthur is wearing; if he is wearing the Bronze Armor, the Lance becomes a Rocket Lance, which leaves behind a trail of fire; if he is wearing the Golden Armor, he will throw bolts of lightning with Thunder Magic.

Spirit

A DLC Spirit of Arthur was added into the game, unlocked with save data for Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection. It would later get its own Spirit Battle after being added to the Spirit Board as of v12.0.0. It is a Primary Grab Spirit under the Ace class.

His battle uses a Mii Swordfighter, assisted by a red Ridley who is meant to represent a Red Arremer. Only throwing items will spawn during the match. The stage is the Battlefield Form of Spear Pillar, meant to resemble the entrance to the Demon Realm Castle from the original Ghosts 'n Goblins, and the song used is "Attack - Soma Bringer". Only the Mii Swordfighter must be defeated to win. The Mii Swordfighter will normally wear the Black Knight costume; however, he will instead wear the Arthur costume if it has been purchased.

No.	Spirit	Artwork Origin	Type	Rating	Effect	Slots
1467		Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection		★★★	Item Throw ↑	1