Who is Thief Arthur?

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy‘s first DLC character has been announced and she is a bit of a surprise. It is a cameo character called Thief Arthur, from the Million Arthur series. Which might confuse people, because the Million Arthur line of games, manga and anime is not exactly a big deal outside of Japan. Why is Thief Arthur? Why should people care about her and Million Arthur in general?

Well, let’s go through things together.

Who is Thief Arthur?

She is one of the million Arthurs in the Million Arthur series. Here is how the lore works in the series. The one who pulls Excalibur gets to be one true king of Britain. Which is how the actual myth goes, right?

Except in Million Arthur, a million different Arthurs ended up being judged worthy and pulling the sword. After one pulled the sword, a duplicate appeared and chose another bearer. You get the idea.

When it comes to Thief Arthur, she just wanted some of Camelot’s riches. She did not intend to take Excalibur. But, now she has it and is in the running to rule the country. In addition to SNK Heroines, she appears in other Million Arthur games, like Million Arthur VR: Character Command RPG, where she is one of the main characters alongside Diva Arthur, Mercenary Arthur and Merchant Arthur.

Also, this is technically Thief Arthur’s second cameo. There is actually another one! Did you play Megadimension Neptunia VII? There was a Million Arthur DLC character there! (She costs $2.99.) While the Million Arthur there is a more general one, she does come with a Thief Arthur set that makes her look like this particular Arthur!

Can I play Million Arthur games in English?

Most of the Million Arthur games are Japan-exclusive mobile titles that are trading card games. This includes the original installment, Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur, and the most recent release, Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur. The original title was briefly available in English outside of Japan, thanks to Gamevil, but service ended in 2015.

Both of these games also appeared on consoles, though in Japanese. Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur also appeared on the Japanese 3DS and Vita for a while, but service ended in 2016. In addition, Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur appeared on the PlayStation 4 and Vita in Japan, but service there ended in March 2018.

However, there is one way to play a Million Arthur game in English right now! Remember how I mentioned Million Arthur VR: Character Command RPG? Well, that VR card game is available in English! It is available for $39.99 and is compatible with the HTC Vive.

What is next for Million Arthur?

It is wise to keep apprised of Million Arthur, because multiple new games are on the way. There is a chance at least one of them could head westward, though all three are definitely heading to Japan.

Million Arthur: Arcana Blood is the one with the best shot at being localized. It is a fighting game that originally released in arcades in Japan in 2017. On November 29, 2018, it will be heading to the PlayStation 4. (Thief Arthur is in it!)

Another project is Han-Gyaku-Sei Million Arthur. This is a MMORPG that will appear on mobile devices. Your goal is to defeat the other Arthurs, so you can be the one true Arthur. It is also going to get an anime adaptation from Genco and J.C. Staff.

Finally, there is Kou-Kyou-Sei Million Arthur. It is being billed as a “character hunt action-RPG.” It is a mobile game that is in development, though no release window has been set yet.