ARMS Review

Genre: Fighting / Party Game
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 15 hours (Includes clearing up to Rank 4 with most characters, some Party and Ranked matches, and unlocking over 100 arms so far -- Note this review is posted as of the Version 2 update)

What happens when you suddenly wake up with extendable appendages for no explicable reason?  You of course create a national sports league to fight against other stretchy combatants and be crowned champion, or so is the overall concept that is Nintendo's new IP and fighting game that is ARMS.  Taking on a cast of colorful and varied characters, players will throw far-reaching fisticuffs, boomerangs, and more as they fight, smash targets, shoot hoops, and spike explosive volleyballs.  It's bold, refreshing, and has a lot to prove as a new IP with a full price tag.  So does this new game pack a powerful punch, or leave more than a passing bruise?  Let's step into the ring and take a look at the positive and negative throws that come our way.

Art Direction / Music

From left to right: Min Min, Twintelle, Kid Cobra, Helix, and Byte & Barq

If there is one aspect in which ARMS exceeds in all fronts, it is that it has an abundance of style to spare.  Just from the title's screen bold use of colors and soulful chanting, this is a game whose aesthetics demand your attention.  From a massive mummy using his coiled wraps to a bewitching diva who fights with her twin braided hair, every character in the game has such a distinct personality and flavor in their design.  The attention to detail goes as far to the soles of the character's sneakers, which you can see an intricate design of a dragon for the ramen bomber that is Min Min.  And speaking of "soul" (excuse the rough segue), man does the music in this game carry such a soulful spirit.  Much of the songs in the game are a variation of the spirited title screen, but as this theme is so darn catchy, you can't help but chant along.  Especially once the credits start rolling: So much darn soul, it's infectious.

Online Lobby

For a company still relatively new dipping their toes into the world of online gaming, Nintendo has made a surprisingly fresh and intuitive online lobby for ARMS.  The lobby consists of floating emoji's of your and other's selected characters, in which you can emote expressions, see the progress of other player's matches, and even go into a practice mode while waiting.  Players can track winning totals, change characters / arms between matches, and for Ranked play, you can play other modes while waiting to be matched with an opponent, though you are typically matched fairly quickly from my experience.  For a portion of the game that is based on waiting for matches, this is unexpectedly very practical and fun.

The stylish and surprisingly functional online lobby that is part of ARMS.

Solid Mechanics

At first glance, ARMS may seem like a casual fighting game in which players can haphazardly exchange punches and hope to reign supreme.  However, the game has a simple, but solid foundation which offers room for deeper strategy.  Based off the rock, paper, scissors mechanic: Punches beat grabs, grabs beat blocks, and blocks beat punches.  With this in mind, players can begin to exert dominance by demonstrating patience and throwing the proper counter-measures.  From here, more depth is slowly revealed as you learn to recognize player patterns and to avoid potential pitfalls.  These solid mechanics are easy to learn, but difficult to master, which is great for newcomers and experienced players alike.  Although, pitting newcomers and experienced players together may result in disappointing thrills for both.

Single Player

For those looking for solo play, you can play the individual modes of Fighting, V-Ball, Hoops, Skillshot, 1-on-100, and now Hedlok Scramble (available as of the Version 2 update).  And then there's of course the Grand Prix, which pits the player against a series of 10 matches, with some V-Ball, Hoops, or Skillshot mixed in.  Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to stand apart from the rest of the game.  Sure, there are 7 levels of difficulty for each character in the Grand Prix and Biff, the commentator, offers some lighthearted banter before matches, but repeated play quickly becomes a bit of a chore.  With a world so full of colorful and lively characters, it's a shame we don't get to explore each of these characters further through a deeper story mode or such.  It would have gone a long way to make the Grand Prix at least more compelling and stand out more.

The world of ARMS deserved to be explored more.  Unique missions, even as simple as seen in this concept art, could have gone a long way to make a unique and more memorable single player.

Repetition

While Party Mode can offer some nice variation in modes, each match is often quick paced and thus played quite often in a short time.  Even with the variety of arms and characters, each match can start to feel like a deja vu of the same punches, grabs, and fury rushes.  It would be nice if there could be a little more variation in how the player punches or grabs.  As it stands, the repetitive nature of this game makes it enjoyable only in small doses.

Balancing

When it comes to certain stages in ARMS, there are unfortunately balancing issues that give certain fighters advantages, especially for 3 player matches.  Two players will be placed in close proximity with the third sits comfortably out of harm's way in the distant corner.  Even in 1 on 1 matches at the Ninja College, one player is placed at the top of a tall slope, while the other sits at the bottom.  Although players will switch positions upon the next match, with best 2 out of 3, one player will get the advantage of the higher elevation in the end.  It would be nice if the stages could be adapted for these scenarios and more fair balancing.

Controls

Just let me use those thumb sticks for movement!  Please!

There are quite a variety of ways to play this game, the main two control schemes in favor being the Thumbs-up motion controls and the standard Pro Controller.  My preference of play is with the Pro Controller as it offers better control of movement.  But it lacks the ease of control for curving punches that the motion controls offer.  But they lack the ease of movement.  So unfortunately, there is no perfect control scheme.  In and ideal world, there would be the option to map buttons, or perhaps to use the thumb sticks for movement when using motion controls.  Perhaps in a future update.

For a new and quirky fighting game, ARMS throws a strong punch, if only through sheer style and pizzazz.  The mechanics of this game have a strong and fun foundation, but you can't help but feel the overall package is a little shallow or lacking.  Luckily, Nintendo has promised free content in the form of new fighters, stages, and arms for the year to come.  With what looks to be such promise and a rich world of stories to be told, hopefully this will help to fill out the game.  But without some more substantial additions / changes, this game will remain a lighthearted fun bout, but only in little bouts.

If you have any questions or thoughts about this game, please feel free to comment and discuss below.  Thanks.  And happy gaming!