Red Arremer



Red Arremer (or Firebrand) is a gargoyle created by Capcom in 1985 originally for their arcade game, Ghosts n' Goblins as one of the first strong enemies you encounter. He is also the mascot of the Ghouls n' Ghosts series, usually being behind the logo in blue flames.

Appearance
In common, he has red skin and only wearing blue cuffs, with gray wings. His face is a distinct evil grin, and often has a spike-shaped bump on his head. In the later games featuring him, such as Gargoyle's Quest II, his wings are blue rather than gray, and his skin changes a slight tone (either more pink or more yellow depending on games)

His appearance in Ghouls n' Ghosts is the only drastically different look he had - he wore armor (green or gray), and had a tipped tail, as well as having a gray horn on his head. He is also dressed like this in Namco x Capcom.

Story
The narrative arc of the few games in which Red Arremer/Firebrand has starred are not well linked. Perhaps Firebrand exists in different incarnations, explaining differential appearances. Perhaps he ages and changes over time (the below story is an attempt at combining the slightly distinct Game Boy and NES version).

Firebrand began as an apprentice gargoyle. As the Demon Realm (Ghoul Realm in the American NES version) began to see the mounting forces of war from an unknown source, Firebrand defeated demons, freed kings from baleful influences and finally discovered his true identity: the Red Blaze, a creature who freed the Demon Realms from King Breager, the Lord of Destruction. Firebrand had to test himself against Rufinell to become the Red Blaze. He then destroyed Goza, the king who summoned Breager, and finally sieged Breager's castle and defeated the evil beast with his Magic Darkfire. Lord Drakoan (possibly the same Lord, named Satan in the Japanese version, who stole Arthur's bride) gave him the right to conquer Earth. It remains unexplained why he did not.

Firebrand reappeared when the Demon Realms erupted into war over Crests that granted incredible power. The Earth Crest gave power over earth and boosted one's strength, the Fire Crest granted one offensive abilities using flame, the Water Crest the ability to explore and control the oceans, the Air Crest the ability to fly unhindered and master the wind, the Time Crest the ability to move through time (when Firebrand gained it, he was able to restore part of an earlier form, possibly a Red Blaze form), and the Heaven Crest unknown power. Firebrand captured all six Crests, but his battle for the Heaven Crest left him vulnerable and tired to a brutal assault from behind by the beast Phalanx. Firebrand was apparently able to hold onto one part of the Fire Crest despite Phalanx's best efforts, and Phalanx lost the Crests.

Firebrand recaptured each Crest after having escaped from the Colosseum's dragon, Somulo. Yet the Heaven Crest eluded him. Having prepared as well as he could, he sieged Phalanx's castle, killing numerous powerful demons and finally stepping into Phalanx's skull-columned lair. He battled Phalanx through successive stages of power until finally Phalanx unveiled the Heaven Crest and his true form. In a battle on floating platforms over molten earth, Firebrand finally defeated Phalanx and discovered the true power of the Crests: when combined, they formed the Infinity Crest, an artifact that gave unimaginable (possibly infinite) power.

Yet Phalanx was still not defeated. Apparently, Phalanx was simply the exposed part of an entity named the Dark Demon. Firebrand discovered the Dark Demon's previously concealed lair and destroyed it. Finally, he had captured unlimited power. Yet because he wished to discover the power lying inside of him and continue to satisfy his urge to engage in worthy combat, he disposed of the Crests entirely.

Firebrand is known to have visited the Human Realms once: the entirety of the story of Demon Crest took place there. Yet whether he has visited again is up to some debate. For one, the exact location and time of the events in Demon's Crest are not certain. For another, though the Red Arremer character was inspired by the gargoyles that harangued the player in the various Ghouls n' Ghosts, it doesn't seem that Firebrand was in fact one of those gargoyles.

The SNK vs. series implies that Firebrand is among the strongest fighters in the Demon or Nether Realms. Considering his success in the Crest Wars and against Breager, this is highly plausible.

Abilities
Flight: Early on in his career, Firebrand could only fly for limited periods. In Demon's Crest, he could maintain the same altitude indefinitely but could not go any higher, essentially gliding. With his Aerial and Ultimate forms, he could fly incredibly swiftly, ascending upwards rapidly. This is likely a game contrivance, as Firebrand flew across the world map in Demon's Crest at incredible speeds. It seems likely that he has a cruising or gliding speed in his normal form suitable for relatively close quarters and a fast travel speed.

Headbutt: Also unveiled in Demon's Crest, Firebrand had the ability to break rocks, skulls, and other hard entrances simply by delivering a powerful headbutt. He could not use this ability against enemies in the games, however.

Fire Breath: Strangely enough, there seems to be an element of contradiction in the games regarding Firebrand's patented firebreath. Gargoyle's Quest implies that it is an innate power, but Demon's Crest has him able to launch the small orbs of flame only thanks to a part of the Crest of Fire. Perhaps this is reverse causal: he held onto that bit of the Fire Crest thanks to his affinity with flame.

Adhesion: Firebrand's claws were powerful enough to let him stick onto any solid wall, though not ceiling surfaces. Players in both Gargoyle's Quest and Demon's Crest would use this ability combined with flight to scale high towers.

Buster: A fire attack capable of shattering blocks and other smallish objects that would impede Firebrand's way. It also seems to do more damage than the normal Firebreath.

Claw: A specialized firebreathing technique, this strange goo-like flame (as pictured in Demon's Crest) allowed Firebrand to adhere to spiky or otherwise dangerous surfaces as well.

Tornado: Strangely enough, this breath weapon is not only scarcely a weapon at all, but is in fact of an aerial and not pyrokinetic persuasion. The Tornado has a short range and can do damage, but its primary function is as a stepping stone for Firebrand. Using them wisely, players could scale entire levels simply by creating a new aerial stepping stone and jumping.

Demon's Fire/Magic Darkfire: The ultimate firebreath, Firebrand used this to defeat Breager and gained it again when he found the last piece of the Fire Crest after defeating a demonic wolf called a Grewon in the ice level of Demon's Crest. The Ultimate Gargoyle form Firebrand gains upon forming the Infinity Crest is graphically similar to the Magic Darkfire, except it is also capable of charging much like Mega Man's Buster weapons.

Games

 * Ghosts n' Goblins (multiple, 1985)
 * Ghouls n' Ghosts (multiple, 1988)
 * Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy, 1990)
 * Super Ghouls n' Ghosts (SNES, 1991)
 * Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992)
 * Demon's Crest (SNES, 1994)

Notable crossover appearances:
 * SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millenium (Neo Geo Pocket Color, 1999)
 * ''SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom (Neo Geo, 2003)
 * Namco x Capcom (PlayStation 2, 2005)