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ARMS (Switch) Hands-On Preview

by Justin Berube - January 13, 2017, 9:42 pm EST
Total comments: 1

Any person with two arms has a fighting chance.

ARMS is a brand new Nintendo franchise that will debut on Switch in Q2 2017. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this title during Nintendo's Switch preview event in New York City and am fairly pleased with what I saw.

ARMS will instantly remind people of their days of playing Wii Sports’ boxing mini game. That is to say that the game requires players to use a Joy-Con in each hand and to use the motion controls to actually punch. However, Wii Sports Boxing lacked depth and strategy, while ARMS seems to be much deeper of an experience.

The controls in ARMS are similar to Wii Sports Boxing. Punch with left or right, block by titling the controllers in, and leaning in the direction the player would like to go. But, unlike in Wii Sports, it's possible to hook punches after throwing them, to dash left and right, jump in the air, or dash after jumping in the air. If a player throws both punches they can execute a grab, even at insane ranges.

The game appears to have a rock-paper-scissors style of game play too. Grab beats block, block beats punch, punch beats grab.

There are several characters to choose from and they appear to have different abilities. For example, Ribbon Girl could jump several times without landing, while Ninjara could vanish briefly while executing a dash maneuver mid-air. These characters can also build up a special meter during the fight that would allow them to perform some deadly attacks.

Fights usually consist of best of three rounds. However, between each round it is possible to equip each fist with one of three different weapons that caused punches to function differently from the chosen hand.

I'll admit that the controls in ARMS took some getting used to. However, once I started to grasp them I was instantly hooked on the game. Arms reminds me of a mix between Wii Sports Boxing, Custom Robo, and Super Smash Bros.

At its core, ARMS is a very addictive arcade like experience. I'm hoping there are some cool modes added to the title because I was only able to experience the multiplayer but I know that might not be enough for everyone. Regardless, ARMS has easily shot up to one of my most wanted Switch titles, so please keep an eye on it.

Talkback

Evan_BJanuary 14, 2017

ARRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMSSSSSSSSSS

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Switch

Game Profile

ARMS Box Art

Genre Action
Developer Nintendo
Players1 - 2

Worldwide Releases

na: ARMS
Release Jun 16, 2017
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone 10+
jpn: ARMS
Release Jun 16, 2017
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: ARMS
Release Jun 16, 2017
PublisherNintendo
Rating12+
aus: ARMS
Release Jun 16, 2017
PublisherNintendo
RatingParental Guidance

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