New ARMS Details And Demo Announced

One of the more mysterious projects shown during Nintendo’s initial revelation of the Nintendo Switch was the odd arena fighter: ARMS.

While the short introductory trailer at the Nintendo Switch event in January wasn’t really enough to give us a proper taste of what ARMS was, or why we would want it, the company has slowly been trickling a steady stream of info over the past few months.

Wednesday evening, Nintendo increased the info-flow from a trickle, to a full-on deluge with a brand new Nintendo Direct presentation centered on ARMS.

For those unfamiliar, ARMS is an original arena fighter developed by Nintendo exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Players take control of a number of fighters, each with their own abilities and skills, and equip them with a pair of interchangeable, extendable arms. Players then pit their fighters against each other to duke it out for supremacy. Each arm has it’s own special ability attached to it, so the strategy is in finding the right mix of character and arms to fit your play-style.

Ribbon Girl is ready for battle in ARMS!

Players use the two Joycon controllers in much the same way that the Nintendo Wii’s Wiimotes were used. Motion control sensors allow players to throw a real punch to make their ARMS warrior of choice do the same, and can also use the motion-sensing capabilities to dodge, duck, weave, and perform a number of special attacks.

During Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo elaborated on the cast of ARMS, as well as their skills, weapons, and some of the different game modes available.

ARMS will feature a cast of ten warriors, all connected by the bonds of possessing a confoundedly enigmatic ability to stretch their arms to impossible lengths. They’ve taken this gift (curse?) and sought fame in a combat league that was established as a way to take advantage of their unique talents.

Players can choose to battle with:

• Springman – Poster boy for ARMS. He can get stronger when his health gets low.
• Mechanica – A lady who was so enamored with the idea of having extendable arms, that she built her own mech-suit so she could compete in the league. She has a special homing arm that will track an opponent.
• Ninjara – He’s a ninja! Keep an eye on him because this sneaky dude like to warp around and disappear on foes.
• Master Mummy – An all-around strong dude, this competitor has bandages that can actually restore his health when guarding.
• Kid Cobra – Slippery fella who can slide and dash around.
• Ribbon Girl – She can double jump and then get the drop on you from mid-air.
• Min Min – She is an agile warrior that can deflect incoming punches with a well-timed spin kick.
• Helix – A stretchy blob that can spread sticky goo around the arena floor.
• Byte and Bark – A robot police officer and his android canine companion. They can team up for a powerful combo attack.
• Twintelle – She has extendable pigtails, as well as an ice attack that can freeze opponents in their tracks.

Nintendo also expanded on the different selectable arms for each character. These will be available in light, medium, and heavy weight classes and can feature one of seven different attributes:

• Fire
• Electricity
• Wind
• Ice
• Stun
• Explosion
• Blind

Aside from ARMS‘ fighters and weapons, Nintendo also talked about some of the different ways in which you can play the game.

ARMS will of course, feature genre staples like a a single-player, grand Prix mode, a versus mode for head-to-head play, along with a team versus mode that lets you and a friend take on an opposing duo. The catch is that each team member is chained to their counterpart.

Otherwise you can go online in a ranked mode for 1-on-1 play on the net, create lounges in party play, or create local wireless matches using up to 8 Nintendo Switch systems.

Some of the more out-of-the-box modes are:

• Volleyball – Players compete in the sport featuring an explosive ball.
• Hoops – Basketball without a ball! Instead, grab your opponent and try to toss them through the hoop for points.
• 1-on-100 – A horde mode where it’s you against the world.

Nintendo capped off their ARMS presentation with an assurance that they will be supporting the game past launch with new weapons, fighters, and stages; however their biggest announcement was that they will be holding public beta test prior to the game’s release.

The ARMS Global Test Punch will run over two separate weeks, and will be completely free for all Nintendo Switch owners!

The test kicks off on May 26th at 8:00pm EST and will run for one hour duration’s during the following times:

ARMS will release for the Nintendo Switch on June 16th, 2017.

What do you think? Will ARMS be the next big hit from Nintendo, or will success be just out of arm’s reach? Extend your thoughts onto the comments section below.

Written by The Watchman

The Watchman is a journeyman gamer who has seen and played a good chunk of gaming history.
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