Nintendo is best known for its key franchises like Super Mario, Metroid and Pokemon. Those games are extremely popular and everybody knows they’ll eventually appear on Nintendo’s newest system. Once in a while, the company dares to innovate and dares to bring new franchises on the market. Today, they bring us ARMS. A game where you’ll fight with flexible arms, using the motion controls of the Joy-Con. Is ARMS worthy of the Nintendo label or should we forget all about it? Time to find out!
A different fighting game
First of all, it’s important to know that ARMS isn’t your regular fighting game. As we’re used of Nintendo, they innovated a genre and gave it their own twist. The first important change is the way you see the action. This isn’t a 2D-like fighter like Street Fighter of Tekken. You fight in an open 3D arena where the camera constantly hovers behind your character. It comes closer to Punch-Out!! due to this camera and that’s a good thing. ARMS feels like the next step in the Punch-Out!! franchise without actually being part of it.
ARMS simply couldn’t be part of the Punch-Out!! franchise since it’s simply too different. In ARMS, you’ll have to pick one of the several fighters from all around the world and equip them with your own combination of extendable arms. Once you’re ready to go, you can throw punches and guide them to hit your opponents or curve your attacks to avoid obstacles. The fun doesn’t stop there yet! You can avoid attacks thanks to your dash or you can jump high in the sky to make it rain on your enemies. As if this wasn’t good enough already, there are also power-ups on the field and a special gauge to fill so you can inflict some massive damage. As you can see, ARMS isn’t your regular fighter but the real power is hiding in the different arms you can use
Create your own fighter
In ARMS, you can select from a variety of fighters. The roster isn’t as big but the fighters are carefully selected. You’ll find all-around characters like Ribbon Girl, heavy hitters like Master Mummy, speedsters like Kid Cobra, extremely flexible characters like Helix and a lot more. All characters really have their own strengths and weaknesses and truly are balanced. The Global Test Punch already indicated some of the fan-favorite and more powerful characters but if you choose your arms correctly, you can defeat everyone on the field.
ARMS is here to stay
The different arms are the real power of the game. Before you start the round, you have to select one of the arms. The fun thing here is that you can select two different ones, one for each arm. Every character has three arms to start with but the more you play, the more extra arms you can unlock with in-game currency. The best part about the arms is that they really change the way you play. You can, for example, select two heavy arms to inflict a lot of damage but these are slow to use. Or, you can go with fast and light arms that are only successful when you manage to perform several combos. This means you can play ARMS as a combo fighter or as a more arcade fighter, depending on the arms you’ve selected. Of course, you can’t really create your own fighter but the choice of arms gives you enough freedom to create the perfect fighter for your playstyle.
Discover different modes
In case you thought ARMS was a simple fighting game with only solo and split-screen action, you’re wrong. Nintendo added a lot of different modes to keep you hooked for the next couple of weeks. Of course, the one-on-one and split-screen mode are both available but these aren’t the only ones you can play. A lot of the modes have a cooperative element with Team Fight being one of my favorites. In Team Fighter, you’re tethered together with a piece of string and you’ll need to defeat a duo of other players. The most dangerous and fun part about this mode is that friendly fire is on, you’ll really need to watch out!
Need a more simple mode? Why not try V-Ball where you’ll have to smack an explosive ball over the net. First to score five wins. Now volleyball is great but basketball might even be better, right? Hoops got you covered. In here, you’ll need to grab you opponent and send them through the net to score points. Both modes aren’t the main attraction of the game but it’s fun to have them anyway.
If you like to play alone, there are some fun solo modes as well! In Skillshot, you’re tasked to break targets with precision. While the 1-on-100 mode is the local horde mode of the game. Here you’ll select your fighter, arena and are challenged to survive 100 opponents, one of my favorite solo modes. If you want to test out the different arms, you can play the Arms Test before you jump into the crazy horde madness.
To conclude, ARMS also supports online play, divided in Party Matches and Ranked Matches. In Party Match, up to 10 Switch systems supporting 20 players can connect to the lobby. In this lobby, four players can fight in two-on-two versus matches. There are also ranked matches, where players fight one-on-one across the world. As you can see, ARMS truly got you covered when it comes to playable modes!
Motion control isn’t the only option
If you watch official trailers of ARMS, you’ll see most of the players using the motion controls of the Joy-Con controllers. To be honest, it’s the best and most fun way to play ARMS but after a while, your arms will get tired. Fighting enemy after enemy in the Grand Prix mode (a solo campaign) can become very tiring so it’s good to know that other control options are available. You can also use the Joy-Con grip, single Joy-Con, Pro Controller or handheld mode to control the game, taking away the motion controls.
It’s great to have an alternative to the motion controls but if I’m honest, ARMS is meant to be played with motion controls. It’s simply a lot more fun to curve your attacks with your movements rather than you analog sticks. Handheld mode offers a lot of fun on the go and the controls work well but again, the magic is simply lost if you play it without motion control. It’s good to have the option included and perhaps it’s even necessary to survive long gaming sessions but aside of that, motion controls really are the way you should play.
Solid presentation
The last thing I would like to point out is the strong presentation. ARMS looks extremely good on the television screen or the Nintendo Switch screen in handheld mode. The colors really are vibrant and the characters are designed with a lot of attention to small details. Each character has its own look and they all fit the game perfectly. The music and graphics reminded me of Splatoon from time to time, delivering the same colorful and cheerful vibe in combination with great gameplay mechanisms.
The playable arenas are a great example of this. The all fit the game and give the playable characters some more background. The best part about the arenas is that they offer enough variation to keep you motivated. You’ll be able to next to Japanese blossoms, science labs, huge bowls and a lot more. ARMS delivers and I’m hoping we’ll see even more characters and arenas in the future.
Conclusion:
ARMS marks the start of another great Nintendo franchise. It has the same vibe as Splatoon back in the day but innovates enough to be something completely different. This isn’t your regular fighting game, ARMS is something new and that’s something we can only applaud. It’s a fun game and the modes, characters and arenas offer enough fun to justify getting it in stores. A real story mode could make it even better but as for now, it’s another great addition to the Nintendo Switch library.
