ARMS

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***Arms*** is a fighting game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, which released worldwide on June 16, 2017. The game differentiates itself from standard fighting games as up to four players can choose a fighter and battle using a variety of extendable arms to knock out opponents in a three-dimensional arena. By July 2018, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling games on the Switch.

## Gameplay

*Arms* is a 3D fighting game in which up to four players can control one of a variety of fighters, with the player able to perform basic fighting actions using extendable arms such as punching, throwing, blocking, and dodging. *Arms* features fifteen playable fighters, with some of them being released as downloadable content. Each fighter starts with three unique Arms that can be selected in battle, but the use of all other fighters' Arms can be unlocked in the Get Arms mode. All fighters also have unique attributes in combat. When the attack meter is fully charged, players are able to unleash a high-damage "rush attack" against their opponents. Players can also charge their attacks to temporarily increase damage and utilize elemental effects. Each character has a different set of abilities and unique Arms for different strategies. Players are able to use the system's Joy-Con motion controls or standard button inputs with controllers such as the Pro Controller to operate each Arm individually. Players are also able to customize their Arm load outs, with each Arm being able to be selected independently. Every Arm is different with elemental attributes and varying weights that affect gameplay. Up to four players are able to play in a single match, either in a three or four-way free-for-all, or in a two-on-two mode in which teammates are tethered together.

Besides the standard fighting mode, *Arms* features multiple other modes: Versus, Grand Prix, and a variety of Battle modes. In Grand Prix, players take on a set of 10 matches against computer-controlled fighters to win the championship belt. Battle mode consists of volleyball and basketball modes, a target breaking mode, and a survival mode. Players can also play online in a party match lobby with up to 20 players, or in one-on-one ranked matches.

### Characters

*Arms* featured ten playable fighters at its launch: Spring Man, a boxer; Ribbon Girl, a pop star; Ninjara, a student ninja; Master Mummy, a resurrected mummy; Min Min, the poster child for her family's ramen restaurant; Mechanica, a girl fighting in a mech suit; Twintelle, a movie star; Byte & Barq, a robotic police officer and his robotic canine companion; Kid Cobra, a professional snakeboarder; and Helix, a lab experiment.

Five downloadable characters were also added between July and December 2017, including Max Brass, commissioner of the ARMS League; Lola Pop, a clown; Misango, a tribal warrior; Springtron, a robotic version of Spring Man; and Dr. Coyle, a mad scientist and head of ARMS Labs.

## Development

The game was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division. Early on, the idea of featuring staple Nintendo characters such as Link and Mario was considered. However, the aesthetic of the game, especially with the concept of extendable arms, clashed with them, and it was eventually decided that a new cast of characters be created. The possibility of adding characters from *Punch-Out!!* was also considered but the team was concerned about alienating fans of that franchise and potentially confusing new players.

Character designs started with the arms first with the team working backwards to decide what type of character would possess it, for instance the character of Helix, started with the idea of a fighter whose arms were DNA strands, although the team initially did not know much else about him. Most fighters were designed to fill a gameplay need, although there are some exceptions where a design came first. An early concept for the game had the characters using external devices to punch their opponents; however, this was later dropped in favor of the characters extending their actual arms. Art director Masaaki Ishikawa said that the game's art style was largely influenced by *Dragon Ball* and *Akira*.

## Release

The game was announced at the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 12, 2017, and was released worldwide on June 16, 2017. Prior to the game's release, a multiplayer demo known as the "*Arms* Global Testpunch" was made available for download on the Nintendo eShop, with players being able to test the online gameplay during twelve separate hour-long sessions. Irregular post-release updates were released featuring new playable characters, stages, and arms. These free releases of additional content followed *Splatoon*Template:'s update model, while the Testpunch demo was also available for use multiple times. In December 2017, Nintendo announced that they would no longer be adding new content to the game other than balance updates. Beside balance adjustments, new Party Crash events are planned. In May 2018, a demo of the game was released on the Nintendo eShop for a limited time only. Unlike the Testpunch events, this demo only featured offline modes of single-player and local multiplayer with a limited selection of characters and Arms to choose from.

A comic series based on the game is set to be released by Dark Horse Comics in 2019.

## Reception

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At its announcement, *Arms* was compared by critics to the boxing minigame from *Wii Sports*. Jack Sheperd of *The Independent* stated after playing it at a Switch hands-on event that it was one of the "most impressive" games on display. *Edge* compared *Arms* with other Nintendo titles and thought that "*Arms* is to the fighting game what *Splatoon* is to the online shooter or *Mario Kart* to the driving game".

The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Brandon Graeber from IGN praised the game's complexity and addictive nature, but noted the game's lack of content at launch. Michael McWhertor from *Polygon* applauded the game's concept, which he described as creative, and that the game reminded him of the *Punch-Out!!* series, stating that *Arms* could become Nintendo's next big franchise. Kallie Plagge from GameSpot praised the character roster, but criticized the game's steep learning curve.

*Eurogamer* ranked the game sixth on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", and EGMNow ranked it 22nd on their list of the "25 Best Games of 2017", while *Polygon* ranked it 40th on their list of the "50 Best Games of 2017". In *Game Informer*Template:'s Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game placed third for "Best Fighting Game". It was also nominated for the same category in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards.

### Sales

*Arms* debuted at number two on the UK sales charts, behind *Horizon Zero Dawn*. It was number two in Australia, behind the same game. It sold 100,652 physical copies during its first week of release in Japan, and debuted at number one on the all-format sales charts. By July 2018, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide.

## External links

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