Pros:
+Colourful cast of characters. In games like this I find that having a varied-looking roster is a big deal, and I'm happy to say that everyone in this game have their own unique look and personality about them. Some (all?) of them even have unique traits, although these seem to be minor, like a character who does an auto-side step when he blocks an attack.
+The variety of different arm types. I didn't know enough about this game before going in, so the fact there was so many different arms surprised me. They each have unique properties, and for a game called "Arms", they did a great job of making the arms feel like different weapons.
+The stages are another thing that I didn't realise were so diverse. I figured it'd just be big empty boxing ring-like stages, but there's quite a few nice looking ones with their own gimmicks, like those beyblade-type things.

Cons:
-Very light on content. Even with DLC there's only 15 characters and stages. There's no story mode and arcade mode is basically the exact same for each character. There's a couple of extra modes, like 1v100 or the 3 types of mini-games, but they feel like nothing more than a few minutes of distraction.
-Control customisation is severely limited. I had problems with both the motion controls and the joycons in grip controls. In motion controls I found moving with motion control to be a pain, but you can't change it to the joystick, and in the joycon grip the block button is in an awkward place and you can't change that either.

Mixed/Not important enough to be a pro or con:
~So I haven't unlocked every arm for every character, but with what I have unlocked, it looks like every character can actually unlock every arm? On one hand it's nice that they basically let you use any character you want without worrying about how good their arms are, on the other hand it does have a huge impact on how unique the characters are.
~The game clearly emphasises motion controls above any other control scheme, but to me it just felt like movement with that was way too slow. I can't call it a complete con because it does let you use the controller, but I can't call that a pro either because when you do use the control you can't help but feel like you're not getting the full game experience (and I'm pretty sure the control you have over the arms is limited when you play with a controller too, since you can't control each arm separately). So even though the game gives you some choice, it felt like no matter what I picked I was missing out on something. I think that if I was fully invested in the game (I'm only playing it as part of the free trial for Nintendo Online members) I would put more effort into getting used to the motion controls.

Notes:
•I haven't played a ton of online, but what I did try out was super smooth and fun.

Nintendo tries a fighting game other than Smash and it doesn't turn out well.

I think a lot of it has to do with how they shot themselves in the foot, neutral is set solely around two commands that while used in modular ways and can be done in combination to each other already gives a very small skill ceiling to get to. To make matters worse, neutral game is far more about poking rather than mind games. You're attempting to get the luckiest frame advantage possible before you can either set them up for a grab or attack into a super.

There's no real interest here after an hour, it's a poor fighting game on its own and the singleplayer content doesn't really fix that either. It's no Shaq Fu for sure, there's some competency here to the kinesthetics and the aesthetics themselves pop (although, i found the soundtrack forgettable). There's definitely an idea of where fun is had here but the competitive mindset these kind of games bring just end in tedium. Go pick up something else really, rather than the bottom of the barrel of the Switch lineup.

(This review was originally written for my Retrorendum blog, so some things are outdated.)

ARMS is Nintendo’s second new IP since the Gamecube, and it has given the people who haven’t actually played it with a mixed set of reactions. After the original reveal trailer back during the Nintendo Switch press conference in February, many people thought that it was just a gimmick game to show off the joycon’s power, and wouldn’t end up being much deeper than Wii Sports boxing. Will ARMS hit it’s mark or take a punch to the face?

Title: ARMS
Available On: Nintendo Switch
Reviewed On: Nintendo Switch
Info: Nintendo, 2017

WARNING MINOR SPOILERS FOR ARMS

Story: ARMS takes place in a world where a mutation exists that allows the effected individuals to stretch their arms out to almost unimaginable lengths. According to the ARMS Laboratory this “ARMS” mutation has existed for around 1500 years, and effects a very very small slice of the population. No one knows how the mutation occurs, those who receive it just wake up one day and have extendable arms. Of course with a mutation such as this it is natural to create a world famous championship fighting show, and that show is what you play in ARMS. As of the day this article goes live there are 13 characters/ fighteres in the world of ARMS, as well as a secret boss character that I’ll leave out for spoiler reasons.
Spring Man - A classic upbeat pretty boy fighter
Ribbon Girl - A famous pop star turned brawler to please her fans
Master Mummy - An undead freak seeking revenge for his family
Mechanica - A genius young girl who built a suit with extendable arms to participate in the league
Ninjara - A ninja student who joined the fight as his graduation project
Kid Cobra - A popular streamer and snakeboarder who was born with the ARMS mutation
Twintelle - A well-known actress who uses her stretchy hair to fight
Byte and Barq - A robot dog and cop duo
Min Min - A ramen shop girl with noodles for arms
Helix - A green gooey failed experiment from the ARMS Lab
Max Brass - The reigning champion of the ARMS league (also planned to be the first new playable fighter)
And finally,
Biff - The friendly announcer for the ARMS League who has one hand on the top of his head.
Each character has their own signature arms, backstory and goals for winning the ARMS League, but aside from what I’ve mentioned there isn’t much story. This might not be the case forever though, because Nintendo has stated that they will be releasing free fighters, stages and ARMS as DLC later on, with included lore tidbits alongside. ARMS’ story and lore is pretty interesting, but it really is bare bones at the moment, so I can’t rate it any higher than 6/10.

Visuals/ Music: The art style and tone of ARMS is one that feels like is was custom tailored to the springy, colorful world the game takes place in, and never leaves you bored while you’re experiencing it. Each locale you visit while brawling is bright and vibrant, and no two stages feel even remotely similar in tone, shape or lighting. There aren’t any texture problems in the game, and the only thing that ever bothers me while I’m playing is Spring Man’s character select model (if you play the game you’ll see what I mean, but that’s just a personal gripe). Aside from that, every character is beautifully modeled and the unique character design rivals the likes of Overwatch and Pokemon in creativity and detail. Even the menu system is slick and bright for the most part, the only exception being that the main menu (which you don’t spend too much time on) is pure black and yellow which some people find obnoxious. ARMS also has the single smoothest and most satisfying Party lobby system of any multiplayer game I’ve ever played. Each stage has a special theme to accompany it as well, and while you probably won’t hear them much during the fights, listening to the soundtrack outside of gameplay is great. My only complaint with the music is that it’s really obvious they wanted the main theme to be integrated into the game everywhere, because chunks of it are woven into over half the stage themes. It’s a great main theme, and very catchy, but it annoys me that it shows up everywhere. The visual and audio design of ARMS gets a 9/10.

Gameplay: Finally, we can talk about ARMS gameplay. ARMS is a fighting game unlike any other, so much so that I honestly don’t know what to compare it to. 2-4 players are thrown into an arena, each equipped with extendable springy limbs and a set of 3 different fists or “ARMS” to choose from. Each character has different stats in speed, strength, and health, as well as an interesting ability ranging from self heal and time slow to quadruple jumps and an arm turning into a dragon. These differences allow you to really find a character that fits your playstyle, and along with every character being able to equip any ARM eventually by spending currency in a minigame called the ARMS getter, any person can customize their own fighter. The main focus of the single player content is the Grand Prix, which is essentially the Arcade mode of ARMS, you play through ten consecutive battles against AI opponents, with the occasional minigame mixed in. Through the Grand Prix you can learn a little about the lore of each character, as Biff tells small snippets before each match starts. There are currently 7 game modes in the game that you can play single player with bots, local multiplayer with up to 4 players, or online in a rotating lobby. Of course you have 1V1 battles, which is the core experience of ARMS, but you also can play 2V2 with each team tied together to force teamwork and communication, and 1V1V1 which is unbalanced and annoying. On top of the fighting there are also 3 different minigames to choose from, Hoops, V-Ball, and Skillshot. The final gamemode is 3 players versus a boss, which can be incredibly fun and challenging on the higher levels. The fighting of ARMS is fast-paced and addicting, but isn’t perfect. It’s difficult to play two player local online, as the lobbies don’t always have room for an extra player, 1v1v1 always ends up with one person being ganged-up on so the other two can just play a normal fight, and grab spamming is definitely an obnoxious (but effective) tactic many people use online. Despite these issues and a lack of a true campaign/ story mode, ARMS delivers some of the most intensely gratifying gameplay I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in the last few years. Gameplay receives an 8/10.

Verdict: ARMS is a game that I can only hope will grow. It’s in very early stages now, so it’s not clear whether or not it can climb up to be a major franchise for Nintendo, but things are looking pretty good for this wacky fighter as far as the first week goes. I’ll definitely be playing it for a while with my friends, and I should be dipping back in every time a new character, game mode or map is released. ARMS has surpassed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as my second favorite Nintendo Switch game, and will likely hold that spot until Super Mario Odyssey and Skyrim come out in the winter this year. I can’t recommend ARMS enough, but if the lack of single player content is a let down for you, you should still consider picking it up maybe in a year or at christmas when more content has filled in the gaps. ARMS gets a solid rating of 8/10.

Side Note: Since this review I played over 120 hours of the game, played all the post-launch content and collected literally every item in the game, and my opinion has gone wayyyyyy up.
(Reviewed on June 23rd, 2017)

70

When Splatoon released on the Wii U in 2015, I was hopeful. I was hopeful of a new Nintendo, a Nintendo that is no longer afraid of the risky ideas, the brainchilds of a newer generation that resulted in fun, fresh titles. ARMS, a game about boxers with extendable arms and colorful wrestler personas, follows in Splatoon’s footsteps; it brings creativity and accessibility to a table that Nintendo didn’t even know was there five years ago.

ARMS has been advertised as a game built for motion controls with primary control schemes available. This is one of the few times I believe that the motion controls are the best way to play. Players can hold one Joy-Con in each hand and physically punch to send their arms flying across the stage. Pushing both arms out grabs opponents, and tilting the Joy-Cons towards each other activates a shield.

A large problem in the industry is hamfisting motion controls into titles, trying to meet a “motion control quota” for peripherals like Kinect and PlayStation Move. For ARMS, it feels like motion controls were a natural evolution in the design process. Nintendo could’ve easily gone the route of building a game around motion controls to gimmick-ize the Switch even further, but they played it smart, and let ARMS stretch it’s creativeness.

As someone technically familiar but inexperienced with fighting games, ARMS is a great beginner’s guide to the genre. ARMS teaches players the rhythm of combat, so to speak. I realized this after literally tracking the rhythm of a punch’s distance and keeping the beat of executing Min Min’s parry, but the core design of ARMS is a streamlined version of fighting game meta. Punches are long and easily readable; supers are simple barrages just to punish openings; the meta is focused on wake-ups and openings; all these elements are implemented to test the player’s reflex, timing, and execution, simply but effectively.

Mechanically, ARMS is a brilliant guide for fledgling fighting game players, while still maintaining enough depth to keep matches unpredictable and interesting. My main concern, however, is the possible discrepancy between motion and traditional controls. Miming punches gives more leeway than steering them, and players don’t seem to be able to steer individual controls with just one stick. It’ll be interesting to see how ARMS is treated within the competitive scene and how the meta will flourish.

ARMS embraces its competitive nature through and through, even channelling it within the game’s UI. Every menu has a yellow motif, with crisp fonts and animations that emulate TV sports channels. Of course, ARMS embraces sport through and through. The game’s aesthetics are what I imagine Brazilian pro-wrestling looks like; bright colors, masks and costumes, nicknames, cheering fans...competition is in the blood of this game; it’s great to see Nintendo finally tapping into the eSports side of things.

Nintendo has been using the Switch to experiment with their first-party titles, from the unprecedented world design of the latest Zelda, to...basically everything about ARMS. It’s exciting to see a company so adamant on formulaic design approach the drawing board with ambition, especially when it results in something great. Nintendo is throwing surprising punches, and they’re hitting hard.

actually a pretty good pick-up-and-play game to play with your friends, or online if you're wanting to play the game more competitively. the motion controls the game has are a gimmick more than anything, but looking past it, the gameplay mechanics are the most interesting i have really seen in a 1-on-1 fighting game, playing almost more like a shooter in some senses than a fighting game. though, the lack of support from nintendo and a quick death after only a few content updates really just killed this game