ARMS Review

ARMS has landed fully formed and instantly fun, and I can’t wait to see what comes next in this new franchise’s bright future.

Share

ARMS is a little miserly with its loot though. Coins are awarded for matches and can be spent on new loadouts for each character – where the true world-stage-warriors will define themselves, I’m sure – but it takes far too long to unlock the things you want when even succesfully matches will only net you a handful of coins. Curiously, it feels like a free-to-play model only without the microtransactions, which is a very strange thing inded. At least it provides a fun core experience whilst you’re grinding all that gold, though.

Presentation:

Distinct, colourful and clean seem to be the core foundations of Nintendo’s design principle, and they are as present as ever in ARMS. I haven’t played a game as visually arresting as this since… well, Splatoon – Nintendo’s last punky, up-beat new IP that’s about to get a sequel of its own. The cast pops with unqiue character and plenty of smart visual shortcuts to let you know exactly how they play. This actually really helps ARMS in becoming the party game it wants to be.

You’ll know instantly how Mechanica plays as opposed to, say, Ninjara or Kid Cobra, and that’s valuable design-based information that fighting games often completely ignore, instead asking you to hit up training suites to find your perfect match mechanically rather than falling in love with the look of the character and finding out they play exactly like you’d hoped.

If there’s one downside to this overabundance of style, it’s a criminal lack of Amiibo! I’ve never seen such an immediately personable and distinct cast, and with a whole host of potential poses and variants I’m floored that this game didn’t launch alongside a colourful new range of cute models. I’m a complete sucker for Nintendo’s line of toys-to-life figurines, and I’m keeping all my fingers crossed that when an ARMS 2 rolls around, it’s accompanied by a line of the things. I’d grab ‘em all. I want a little Mechanica on my desk this time next year, Nintendo! Make it so.

Aurally the game bleeds style too, with a funky main theme and great battle music scoring your cartoon fisticuffs. The menu music inserts itself into your cerebellum without hesitation, too, and you’ll find yourself humming along in your first day of play. If you don’t, you’re a monster. Character stages come with their own dynamic theme and gleefully sprinkle auditory easter eggs and callbacks throughout them, like the main theme’s electronic reprise in Helix’ lab which made me grin the first time I picked it out. Punches and grabs sound weighty and instant, too, and overall the game doesn’t stumble when it comes to its stellar sound design.

 

Conclusion:

Watching ARMS leading up to its release, I was worried it would be a flash in the pan – and what a waste that would have been, considering just how wacky and stylish this game is. I’m so glad I was wrong, however – ARMS, much like Splatoon before it, has arrived fully formed, ready to hit the ground running and prove the cynics wrong. It’s a really exciting era to be a Nintendo fan, because whilst the company are giving us amazing releases in storied franchises like Zelda and Pokemon, they’re also unafraid to put out brilliant new creations that deserve to become as venerated as the rest of their catalogue.

Few developers are taking as many risks as Nintendo right now, and even fewer are getting away with it.

Good

  • Fresh fighter that really mixes things up
  • Both approachable and deep
  • Outstanding art direction

Bad

  • Miserly unlock rate
  • No Amiibo?!
9.1

Amazing

Graphics - 9.5
Sound - 9
Gameplay - 9
Multiplayer - 9.5
Value - 8.5
Reviewer - GamerKnights

Leave a Reply

Lost Password

%d bloggers like this: