Arms Review

Image Courtesy of Nintendo

Nintendo is home to many franchises like Super Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. With so many franchises, they don’t make many new ones. Enter Splatoon, a third-person shooter and a new franchise for Nintendo. The game did incredibly well despite being on the Wii U. So, a new franchise was being made.

Kosuke Yabuki, the producer of the Mario Kart series, had an idea of having a behind-the-camera perspective in a fighting game. The problem with the idea was that you can’t tell how close you are to the person you are fighting. This led to the idea of having long arms so you didn’t need to worry about whether your character would reach the opponent but rather if it would hit or miss it.

On June 16, 2017, Arms, a third-person fighting game was released on the Nintendo Switch. It was nominated as best fighting game in a few awards but also won “Game, Original Fighting” in the NAVGTR Awards. So, does the game pack a punch? Or does it more arm than good?

There are people that are gifted with a special ability where their arms are able to stretch longer than the average human can. With 20 percent of the population with this ability which is called the ARMS trait, the Arms Ministry (now known as Arms Labs) created a sport specifically for this gift. This sport is simply called Arms.

In Arms, you and your opponent duke it out in an arena where you have to deplete the other’s health

by punching or grabbing him. Thanks to the fighter’s long arms (or hair if you’re playing Twintelle), you can easily reach your opponent. There is a rock-paper-scissors system where punch can beat grab, the grab can beat shield, and shield and beat punch. You can use motion controls if you want (I honestly prefer this).

There are a few modes you can play. There is a Grand Prix mode where you fight several characters

Image Courtesy of Nintendo

and claim the championship title. V-Ball where you play a game similar to volleyball by punching the ball to the opponent side of the field. Hoops which has you grab your opponent and throw them on a basketball hoop. Skillshot where you smash targets and Hedlok Scramble where you fight for a Hedlok mask that makes you very OP (Over-Powered).

As you play these gains, you will gain coins that you can use to get arms or get artwork for the gallery.

The game overall lacks a story mode. It has so many unique characters that I wish they went more into. There is also some lore in the gallery. I give the story a B-.

The gameplay is what makes this game unique from other Nintendo games. It’s overall quite fun. But honestly, it feels lacking. The Grand Prix feels repetitive to me and that’s the only single-player mode. I give the gameplay an A-.

The soundtrack is pretty good. It has some great music like “Ramen’s Bowl,” “Ribbon Ring,” “Via Dolce,” “[NAME REDACTED],” and, of course, the title theme. A bunch of the arena themes borrow from the main theme, but overall, it’s pretty good. I give it an A.

To conclude, this game has a ton of potential. I really wish it had more story and see all these characters react to each other. I give the game an 8.3/10.

At a Glance: Arms

Summary: Fight other players in an arena with stretchable arms.

Rated: E 10+ for Every 10 and Up: Cartoon Violence

Price: $59.99

Distributor: Nintendo

System: Nintendo Switch

Release Date: June 16, 2017

Rating: 8.3/10