I am excited to share my experience with Arms – one of the latest Nintendo Switch games. Arms is a colorful, silly, and exhilarating game that brings a brand new concept to Nintendo’s fighting games: super-powered, extendable arms. With a nice variety of game modes and free DLC, this game offers plenty of new and enjoyable experiences.
Pre-Experience and Test Punch
Now, I initially questioned Arms during its reveal in the Nintendo Switch presentation the same way I did when Splatoon was revealed. I was not particularly excited for it until more gameplay was released. Today, Splatoon is easily my favorite game on the Wii U system. As an S rank player, I have come to immensely love everything from competitive play, to casual play, to its colorful atmosphere. Its refreshing change of direction definitely made a bigger impression on me compared to the other Wii U games.
So, when Arms was displayed during the Nintendo Switch presentation, my first reaction was “… What?” Similar to Splatoon, it was so odd, quirky, and unique; I honestly had no idea what to think of it at first. But I certainly had a different opinion after watching the Arms Direct. The roughly 24-minute-presentation revealed new characters, game modes, and lots of details that pushed my anticipation to new levels. I, for one, became beyond excited to see that we would be getting a brand new game just after Splatoon. I wasn’t able to purchase the Switch upon release, and actually considered not buying one at all, but Arms is what drove me to purchase one. So, I decided to get my hands on a Switch console during the Test Punch.
After watching the Arms Direct, I was pretty much set on playing Ninjara. His ability had me thinking of strategies before the game even released. Unfortunately, during the Test Punch, I didn’t particularly do well with him. I lost virtually every battle I attempted, as I was still getting used to the controls, and decided to check out the other characters before touching Ninjara again.
Official art of Ninjara and Spring Man.
As I explored the character roster, I decided to check out Spring Man. The second I heard him say “SPRINGALING!” I knew I had to get good with him. I played as him throughout the rest of the Test Punch and got significantly better with the controls. In my opinion, Spring Man’s determined, optimistic dialogue and upbeat personality make him a fun character to play as.
Current Thoughts
I have invested roughly 115 hours into this game and consider myself an active member of the community. I recently achieved ranked nine, but have had more of a fun time playing with friends in Party Match and Arena Mode. I have all “ARMS” (including ARMS plus) for most of the characters, but I am still trying to earn ARMS for Mechanica, Byte & Barq, and Max Brass.
Ultimately, I feel Arms is a creative and unique IP that has helped make the Switch tons of fun. Its comical lore, character designs, primarily balanced fighters, and free DLC make it an all-around enjoyable game. However, I feel that its current lack of content and stale meta make it easy to burn out for some folks.
Strengths
In my opinion, I think the strongest features Arms holds is its interesting fighting concept and character designs. The long, spring-like ARMS you use to fight, along with the thousands of ARMS combinations you can use, make every battle enjoyable to me. The game is certainly different from other fighting games and I feel this makes it a great title for the Switch.
Its distinctive, whacky character designs are just as colorful as the game itself. Master Mummy, who is considered by most players the tank of the Arms roster, is inspired by the Egyptian mummies, as his body is almost completely covered with bandages; an undead man who is searching for his long-lost family. Min Min is a Chinese, 18-year-old fighter who works at her family’s noodle shop known as the Mintendo Noodle House, whose ARMS are literally made of noodles. Kid Cobra is… well, we’re not exactly sure what he is, but he always wears a mask to cover his face and does not “profess a race,” implying that he could quite possibly be something not-human. Is he a snake man? A Sman? The world may never know.
Mechanica seems to contribute to the Arms updates. She is a smart kiddo.
There are even characters who have joined the Arms league that don’t have official ARMS, such as Mechanica and Twintelle, who use other interesting means to participate in the fights. Mechanica, a “youthful Arms superfan” and “engineering genius,” fights in a large, self-made fighting suit due to her lack of ARMS. On the other hand, Twintelle’s ARMS ability seems to come from her hair, so she fights with giant pigtails instead.
How these characters obtained the ARMS ability is still a big question that has yet to be answered in the comical ARMS lore, which is mentioned a lot on the official Arms Twitter. The posts are interesting, to say the least, but Arms’ lighthearted backstory and facts are fitting for a game that doesn’t require heavy or intense lore.
A closer look at some of the consistently updated Arms lore found on the official Arms Twitter. This goes into a little bit of detail about how the ARMS ability affects the body, specifically the eyes.
On top of these silly characteristics, I feel that I personally feel that the Arms playable characters are generally balanced. From my experience, fans seem to have a harder time with certain ARMS compared to the characters themselves. Helix and Ninjara aren’t considered particularly high tier characters, but competitive players Gore Magala and Neo Punch’s Avalon kick MAJOR ass with them, and that is something I love about the game. You can be good with just about any character. It, ultimately, all depends on the player.
Lastly, one of my favorite factors about Arms is the free stages, modes, and characters that come with updates. This free content is not something players have to pay for and I feel this will really keep Arms a refreshing, enjoyable game.
Weaknesses
I generally enjoy Arms, but I feel its two major weaknesses are its current lack of content and the stale meta. I am well aware that many members of the community are claiming “Arms is dead” after the release of Splatoon 2. Naturally, many fans of both games are going to move over to the newer game until the hype dies down, but its current lack of content is why many players are bored with the game. If you’ve played for as many hours as I have, without a doubt do its eleven stages, eleven characters, and minimal modes get a little boring after a while. That is why I personally enjoy playing online more than anything, the variety of players I meet always make gameplay interesting. But I feel its free, upcoming content is what will primarily keep the game alive and entertaining.
Ribbon Girl, the Airess, fighting with a Slapamander and a Sparky.
Lastly, regarding the stale meta: From what I’ve personally experienced, the meta seems to include the Hydras, Crackers, and Poppers, along with the playable characters Ribbon Girl and Min Min. Thankfully, the latest August update has nerfed the Hydras, Crackers, and Poppers, while buffing some of the tougher to use characters, Master Mummy and Mechanica.
But I feel that Ribbon Girl and Min Min’s abilities are what make them stale to fight against. They constantly jump around with “overpowered” and overused ARMS, or kick away what punches you manage to land on them. But personally, I do not feel that their abilities are too much of an issue, but perhaps they can be addressed in future updates. (Or I could build a new strategy… That is always an option too.)
Conclusory Words
Overall, I feel that Arms is a unique and fun IP that make the Switch even more entertaining than it already is. In my opinion, its brand new fighting concept, comical characters and lore, and future free content make it enjoyable to play, but its current lack of content and stale meta make it easy to burn out. I would recommend Arms for folks who are looking for a refreshing fighting game on this new, fun console.
What are your thoughts on Arms? What are you looking forward to in future updates? Feel free to share with us in the comments below.
