Arthur (Shining the Holy Ark)

Arthur

Arthur the mercenary
Vital statistics
Race	Human
Class	Swordsman -> Champion
Gender	Male
Faction	Innovators
Birthplace	Enrich
Relatives	unknown
Appearances	Shining the Holy Ark

Arthur is a young mercenary from Enrich who takes the role of protagonist in Shining the Holy Ark. Through most of the game he serves as the host for an Innovator spirit, and may still be an Innovator.

Background[]

A young mercenary but one with a rapidly building reputation, Arthur's services are engaged for the capture of Rodi, who is wanted for being involved with Sabato (the king's advisor before he lost a power struggle with the enchantress Rilix). More specifically, the mercenaries Melody and Forte were hired by the king of Enrich (under Rilix's control), and the two of them apparently decided to take Arthur on as the front-liner in exchange for a cut of the reward.

When the three mercenaries confront Rodi, however, a cave-in caused by three Spirits' crash landing leaves them all seriously injured. The Spirits use Arthur, Melody, and Rodi as host bodies, in turn helping them recover from their injuries. Since Rodi has lost his memory and Forte has been possessed by an evil spirit, the three set aside their problems and journey together as a team.

Personality[]

According to the instruction manual for the original Japanese version of Shining the Holy Ark:

"Although young, he is a very experienced free commando. With his dry personality, he manages any assignment with a level head. It appears that his one weakness is women's tears." (Translation by Atolm of the Shining Force Central boards)

This weakness may in fact be a chief motivation for his acting to oust Rilix from Enrich. Initially, aside from the spirits' vague and unjustified admonition that the three of them are not to be separated, Arthur's only given reason for accompanying Melody and Rodi is to help Melody save Forte. Since Melody and Forte are not his friends, and in fact she is rather belligerent to Arthur prior to their acquiring the Spirits, it seems likely that Arthur simply could not turn down a woman in distress, no matter who the woman may be.

Arthur is also a free spirit by nature, turning down the most generous offers of steady work in favor of continuing his travels as a mercenary.

Strategy[]

Arthur will usually be the strongest physical attacker in your party and scores criticals reasonably often, so you should use his regular attack as much as you can, reserving his MP usage for out-of-battle healing unless absolutely necessary. For the same reason, when buffing your characters with Attack or Ferocity spells, Arthur should be the first recipient.

In boss battles, it is important to keep Arthur from being killed and revive him as quickly as possible if he is killed, since he cannot be removed from the active party. This means that you will have one less party member to work with as long as Arthur's HP is at 0. In contrast, reviving him during regular battles is a waste of resources, since he is a host for a spirit and will thus be automatically revived after the battle's end.

Powers & Magic[]

If killed in battle, Arthur is instantly revived with 1 HP once the battle is finished. In addition, he learns the following spells:

Heal

Level 1 - acquires at Level 5

Level 2 - acquires at Level 9 promoted or at Level 31 unpromoted

Level 3 - acquires at Level 21 promoted or at Level 37 unpromoted

Level 4 - acquires at Level 26 promoted

Return

Level 1 - acquires at level 10

Spark

Level 1 - acquires at Level 15

Level 2 - acquires at Level 5 promoted or at Level 26 unpromoted

Level 3 - acquires at Level 14 promoted

Level 4 - acquires at Level 18 promoted

Suppress

Level 1 - acquires at level 19

Slow

Level 1 - acquires at Level 3 promoted

Level 2 - acquires at Level 16 promoted

Attack

Level 1 - acquires at Level 19 promoted

Raise

Level 1 - acquires at Level 23 promoted

Level 2 - acquires at Level 28 promoted

Inferno

Level 1 - learns upon completion of Ceremony of Evolution

Level 2 - acquires at Level 20 promoted

Quotes[]

In Enrich Dungeon

Sabato: "Melody, don't you want your partner Forte back? Arthur promised to help Melody, giving his word as a mercenary, correct?"

In Enrich Castle

King of Enrich: "We offered you the position of Defense Minister because we have confidence in you and need your skills. It is a handsome offer, no?"

Sabato: (if yes)"Even though you know it's a good offer, you still value your freedom more."

Sabato: (if no)"Are you saying that you're better off being a mercenary, and value your freedom more?"

Trivia[]

External links[]

External link