Have you ever been in a relationship with something that you love deeply, but that same love is not reciprocated? I have been there, my friends, I have been there. But I am not talking about some sappy romance or anything like that. I am talking about my love for the original Capcom Nintendo game Ghosts ‘n Goblins. I have loved the game concept and design for as long as I can remember, but the game, due to its maddening difficulty, has certainly never loved me back.
Well, despite that, I have also wanted toys from the series for just about as long as I have known about the game, and now, thanks to Union Creative, I FINALLY can add the series protagonist, Arthur, to my collection. All of these years of abuse have finally paid off in toy form (and I actually finally beat the mobile version of the game this past summer!), and it is a heck of an awesome thing to finally have ol’ Arthur on the shelf, next to contemporaries like Mega Man, Mario, Samus, and Pit. Plus, Union Creative is not only giving us the classic NES Ghosts ‘n Goblins version, but also the SNES Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts golden armor, too.
Previews of these figures were originally shown off way back in early 2016, so while it seemed like a terribly long wait to get them (I had times when I was afraid of cancellation), the extended development time turned out to be worth it because, overall, Arthur turned out great, but this is also not a one-off release as this kicks off Union Creative’s “Game Classics” line (the second figure has already been announced). So, if you like what you see in this figure, you have multiple options for ordering him, so check out the bottom of the page for links. There is a UC Shop exclusive version that includes the Holy Cross weapon, so while that is not featured here, you certainly can get it.
As more and more details of this release were revealed, I knew that there would be a lot included with these figures, and a comprehensive feature would be pretty involved. That is proving to be true because, honestly, with the exception of the inclusion of a pile of bones, UC has pretty much included everything you could reasonably need for an Arthur figure. All of the requisite accessories are accounted for, and you can achieve just about all of the distinct looks needed for both the silver and gold armor. Plus, the configuration of the armor, and how it is organized to create the “undies” look, help make for a LOT of pieces, as you will see.
So, right out of the box, you get a LOT of stuff, and admittedly, at least at first, this figure can be a bit intimidating. Not only do you get the lance, knife, axe, and torch, but you also get swappable face plates, hair, hands, a stand, boxer shorts, cape (for the SGnG version) and full suit of armor (that has no less than 22 pieces if you count them all), making for a pretty massive release. A lot of the pieces are pretty straight forward, but the armor will be an entire discussion unto itself, so I will save that for last. With the exception of the cape, helmets, and armor, underwear, and lance colors, these two Arthurs are pretty much the same, so I will be looking at them mostly together. It is important to note, however, that the silver version is considered the standard release, and the gold deluxe, with different price points to match.
Starting with the accessories (because it is easiest), as mentioned, with both releases you get the iconic lance (silver and gold as appropriate), the more useful knife, the axe, and the torch for weapons. These are all sculpted well and look great in-hand, and while I find the lance the most well known, and the knife my personal favorite, I think Arthur looks better with the torch (man, I HATE that weapon in the game) or the axe, but he can hold them all well. It is certainly cool to have all of these options, but I feel like most people will pick one to display and the rest will be relegated to a life in the old parts bin thereafter. The stand is pretty, well, standard in terms of functionality (I have been getting a lot of these since I started really collecting Japanese figures), but I like the “Game Start” imprint and the control pad added to the base.
For Arthur himself, there is a TON going on, but both of these figures look absolutely fantastic. Now, I am instantly more attached to the silver version because I have more of a nostalgic connection to the NES game, but I also like the more classic looking armor style and color. Granted, the armor is the same as the gold, with the exception of the color and helmet, but it is enough to set it apart. I prefer the slotted “mask” portion, but that is just me, and the golden helmet is certainly cool, too. With each release, you essentially get two iterations of Arthur, illustrating the in-game progress: the armored version, and the boxer shorts version (as he is more commonly seen). As you might expect, all of the swappable parts are included to recreate both looks, and then some.
Arthur come with two face plates: one I call the “standard” with interchangeable beard pieces, and the other is the “stylized” face. The latter will be less familiar to American fans as, my knowledge, the only place where Arthur was ever portrayed with “Pac-Man” eyes was on the cover of the box of the original Japanese release of GnG. While that might be rather pointed, as this is a Japanese release figure, it is a neat little nod, and it can only be used with the helmet, as it is lacking ears needing to be present for the hair piece. The standard head is more traditional in terms of the portrayal of Arthur, but it is also more involved in terms of pieces. There are two beard pieces that can be swapped out: one with gritted teeth, and the other with a closed mouth. The closed mouth piece has sculpted ears, so it can be used with the hair piece, but cannot be used with the helmet because the ears will not fit inside, and as you can imaging, the inverse is true for the gritted teeth piece. This is a real bummer for me as I would like the ability to do both, but I can see how that would have been an aesthetic challenge for the helmet.
Additionally, the standard head has poseable eyes, and man, I NEVER tire of this feature, especially when it works as well as it does here. The head splits in half and each eye has a little knob that can be used to position the eyes. This is very effective for pictures and displaying as Arthur can lock right on an opponent. It takes a little practice to get the posing down so it doesn’t like one eye is wandering a bit, but once you have it down, it is awesome. Oh, and that aforementioned hair piece functions well, but even though it is not canon, you can always leave it off for a balder and tougher looking Arthur, too. Either way, this is a very expressive toy, and the faces and eyes really add to that.
Now, as a full figure, Arthur is actually a mostly naked, and rather skinny guy. He has some cartoon proportions based on the source art, and that is mostly due to a large head. Arthur has skinny limbs to help accommodate the armor, but you can, of course, outfit him in just his unmentionables, so that is both hilarious and awesome. If you are familiar with Revoltech figures, Arthur’s joints are modeled on the same concept, so you can actually take this figure apart completely if you want, but all of the joints on my figures are nice and tight, and can support most posing. I do want to mention that this figure is actually bigger than I thought it would be when I first say pictures online. Armored up he is about 4.5 inches (or 120mm) tall. This is nice as it puts him taller than the Sentinel Mega Man, but still shorter than say, my SOTA Street Fighter figures, so the whole Capcom crew looks good together.
Okay, so that gets us to the armor, and I have to say, even though I was expecting the design to be configured this way, I was still not completely prepared for it. Each and every armor piece fits over a part of the Arthur base figure. The chest armor, the gauntlets, even the feet fit into the boots, making the hands the only parts that are outright swappable. This is actually a pretty slick way to get us both the armored and unarmored looks, but it can be intimidating at first. The first time you swap out the armor, I would suggest doing so in an organized fashion, and there are “R” and “L” imprints on each piece to help you along. I find all of the pieces to fit well, but I can see how some people might consider this figure to be “fidgety” because since each piece can move and is independent, it can take some time to make sure everything is straight when you are posing. Also, the shoulder armor is a bit of a pain to get in place when you care suiting up, so a little patience will be needed there, too. All that said, I think everything works really well, and it makes for a pretty impressive get up for our poor hero, even if it can only take one shot before you are left in your underpants.
Wow! I have not anticipated a new release this highly in a long time, and overall, I am very pleased with the outcome. Ghosts ‘n Goblins is so iconic, so I am very pleased to add Arthur to my shelf (in two forms!), and Union Creative did a wonderful job with just about everything. I would love to see the red armor make an appearance in this line so Arthur could have a devoted enemy (he had his own game in Goblin’s Quest anyhow), but any ghoul or vampire or zombie you have in your collection will do just fine. I highly recommend this figure if you are a GNG, Nintendo, video game, or just action figure fan because it does not disappoint. You can order him right now HERE, so don’t delay. I will be watching Union Creative closely for further figures, hopefully we can cash in on more iconic NES characters in the future.
