Arthur

Arthur
Unlockable Status	Unlockable
Health	N/A
Stomp	No
Grace Hit	No
Abilities	4-way Projectiles Double Jump Duck Crawl
First Appearance	Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)

“Send forth the hordes! Sir Arthur will slay them!”
― Arthur, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011)

Arthur is a playable character in Mushroom Kingdom Fusion and member of the Mushroom Kingdom Coalition. He is a master of projectile weapons, but lacks the ability to stomp enemies.

History

The valiant knight of an unknown kingdom, probably residing near or within World 4, The Demon Realm. He has time and time again saved the kingdom from the wicked Demon Village that emerges (always with a new master) to conquer the mortal world, usually kidnapping his beloved Princess Prin-Prin for unknown goals (due to her royal blood).

Despite the Demon Realms always gaining a new master, his nemesis remains Astaroth, the first Demon Lord to invade the mortal world.

In Namco X Capcom, it was revealed that he and Gilgamesh (from Namco's Tower of Druaga) were two of the most famous heroes in the Divine World, nicknamed the Gold and Silver Knights. Arthur here first found out that one of his enemies from Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Red Arremer Joker, was the legendary Demon hero Firebrand. The two became rivals, both respecting their skills.

His latest appearance was in Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins, where Princess Prin-Prin was once AGAIN kidnapped by the new Demon Lord, Hades. But as always, Arthur saved her and defeated Hades, wrecking the Demon Village once again.

Gameplay

Arthur has a significantly different play style compared to Mario. He lacks the ability to stomp any enemies, even including the lowly Goombas. He must rely on his mastery of projectile weapons to dispose of enemies. Arthur uses the Stomp Boots stackable powerup in order to help defeat stomp-only bosses such as Calliope the Clown, Egg Marine, Lololo, Lalala and most sonic bosses.

Arthur is regarded as a "momentum" character, one that grows more powerful the longer he's kept alive. This is due to the nature of his powerups stacking atop on him and allowing him to use multiple abilities, such the Sun Shield, Apollo's Shoes, and Halo Armor all at the same time. However, if Arthur is hurt and loses his armor, he will lose all of his accumulated powerups as well.

Arthur can take only two hits before death. He will lose his armor and be reduced to his trademark heart-print boxers. He also suffers significant knockback when struck.

Arthur shares some universal abilities, such as SMB2-style pickup/throw, picking up shells/keys, and using guns.

Level Controls

See Basic Controls which goes over Map and standard Level Controls.

Below are non-standard controls specific to Arthur in his Initial form (except when otherwise noted). Parenthesis indicate optional.

Action	Key[s]	Description
Weapon Attacks	[Directional Keys] + Press RUN	Arthur can throw whatever his current Medieval Weapon in 4 different directions, be it on the ground, in mid-air or underwater. See Sub-Items (Medieval Weapons) for more details.
Double Jump	Press JUMP + Press JUMP	During a first jump, in mid-air, you can jump again.
Crawl	Hold DOWN + LEFT or RIGHT	While Ducking, Arthur can crawl in the left or right direction. Crawling is slower then normal movement speed.

Power-Up & Sub-Item System

Arthur has both Power-Ups and Sub-Items.

Power-Ups

Power-Up	Form	Shop Cost	Description
N/A	Armorless Arthur	N/A	When Armored Arthur is hit by an enemy, he becomes Armorless Arthur. He dies instantly if hit while in this form. If Arthur reaches a flagpole and clears a level in this form, he upgrades to his initial form, Armored Arthur.
Armor (Initial)	Armored Arthur	N/A	This is Arthur's regular form. Arthur can take a hit without losing a life.
Angelic Armor	Angel Knight Arthur	$300	Arthur can take a hit without losing a life. After a Double Jump, press JUMP again to perform a third jump. Holding DOWN + RUN, Arthur turns into Statue Arthur, where he'll be invincible to most projectiles. Releasing DOWN or RUN turns Arthur back from Statue Arthur. Turning into a Statue while in the Air has Arthur descend vertically and can destroy most enemies below. After 2 seconds, Arthur will change out of Statue Arthur.
Red Armor	Red Armored Arthur	$600	Arthur can take a hit without losing a life. Arthur can throw an extra Sub-Item projectile on-screen. Press SHOOT to instantly swap between Sub-Item weapons.
Golden Armor	Golden Armored Arthur	$750	Arthur can take a hit without losing a life. When standing still, Arthur is protected from the front from most projectiles. He can also do a powerful charge attack by pressing and holding RUN.
Gemini Man Suit	Gemini Man Arthur	$750	Arthur can take a hit without losing a life. Press SHOOT to fire a Gemini Laser. The Gemini Laser can be fired in 8 directions. It bounces along solid surfaces until it hits an Enemy or bounces off the screen. One 1 Gemini Laser can be on the screen at a time.
Sci-Fi Armor	Doom Arthur	$1000	Arthur can take a hit without losing a life. Includes a Rechargeable Energy Shield: when hit, and if you aren't hit for up to 6 seconds, the damage is ignored and Arthur keeps the Power-Up. Allows you to charge up an attack to shoot a rocket. Be careful, since the rocket can damage Arthur as well.

Sub-Items (Medieval Weapons)

Arthur gains new weapons in the same manner as in his original games. This means they can be found in [?] blocks and randomly dropped by enemies. Most are retained after death. Arthur keeps weapons in his inventory box, thus he keeps any 2 at once. The currently-equipped weapon will be shown in blue while the reserve weapon will be in red. Here is a current list of weapons, with the number of shots allowed at once in parentheses next to each weapon's name:

Sub-Item	Shop Cost	Max on-screen?	Description
Lance	$100	2	This is Arthur's traditional starting weapon. A straight moving projectile that does moderate damage. Can kill Buzzy Beetles, but not Thwomps. Only stuns respawning enemies like Dry Bones and CV Blood Skeletons. Can knock shelled enemies into their shells so that Arthur can pick them up.
Dagger	$200	3	A fast but weak projectile. 3 can be on-screen at a time.
Torch	$150	2	A projectile that is affected by gravity. Short range, but explodes on contact, causing a minimal damage explosion (doesn't hurt Arthur). Possesses strength equal to a Hammer Bros. Suit hammer. Melts Ice Blocks.
Hand Axe	$200	2	A fast-moving projectile that does decent damage, but spins in a wide, circular motion (hard to use in tight spaces). Shelled enemies can be knocked into their shells so that Arthur can pick them up.
Shield	$250	2	A medium ranged projectile that breaks through enemy armor. Blocks most projectiles it comes in contact with.
Big Axe	$300	1	Arthur's strongest thrown weapon, but is quite slow. Slices through the toughest of armored foes. Can pass through multiple enemies.
Blue Fire	$250	2	A projectile that is affected by gravity. Very Short range, but leaves a blue flame that runs along the ground a short distance (doesn't hurt Arthur). Does damage over time. Can hurt Ghosts and melts Ice Blocks.
Discus	$250	2	A moderate damage projectile. If the projectile makes contact with the floor, will ride along the ground and does damage to enemies it makes contact with.
Scythe	$125	1	A moderate damage projectile. Leaves a slash upon contact with an enemy, which deals extra damage. If the projectile makes contact with the floor, will ride along the ground and does damage to enemies it makes contact with.
Sword	$250	N/A	A melee attack weapon (enemies must be right next to Arthur), but can be swung fast and does strong damage. Can slice through armored enemies and can break bricks.
Crossbow	$500	2	A moderate damage projectile that fires two bolts at once. One projectile travels at a higher angle then the other.
Triblade	$250	2	A sharp blade projectile that travels in an L-shape before returning to Arthur. Hard to aim, but does decent damage.

(Note: All Medieval Weapons can be aimed straight up, as well as straight down when in midair.)

Trivia

• If the player starts a level as Arthur, the "Stage Introduction Map" music from the arcade version of Ghosts 'N' Goblins plays.
• If the player clears a level as Arthur, the "Stage Clear" music from Ghouls 'N' Ghosts for the Genesis plays.
• When Arthur loses a life in a level, the "Lost Life" music from Ghouls 'N' Ghosts plays.
• When Arthur grabs the Starman, a remix of the "Graveyard" theme from Ghosts 'N' Goblins plays. This remix comes from the 2005 Japan-exclusive PS2 game Namco x Capcom.
• When Arthur gets an extra life, the 1up sound from Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts plays.