Can ARMS Become Nintendo’s Next Big Fighting Franchise?

So I’m gonna open up with this. ARMS? That game looks so good. It may be my initial reason to wanting a Nintendo Switch. But with the release of Twintelle, a character so popular she already has a Know Your Meme page, I think now is as good of a time as any to really see how good this game is, and can be.

So the core gameplay takes some explaining; most of it being done during a Nintendo Direct. But the jist of it is…well, boxing. You maneuver around trying to punch the day lights out of your opponent with special moves and powers. You can mix and match your glove types and each fighter has their own unique skills. Being able to have multiple glove types interests me most because of how many different glove abilities there seam to be here. Seems like it’ll definitely make fights interesting to watch.

Speaking of, the only thing that could be as entertaining as watching the game is watching players play the game. ARMS is controlled by holding the JoyCons and moving around with them in your hands like you’re wearing boxing gloves. Its immersive, yes, but I can only imagine how it’ll look during tournaments. Just imagine stations of people flailing about. It would cause some problems, to be sure. But at best, it’d be funny to see.

That little hurdle aside, I really would love to see this game do well. LOOK AT IT. This is such a dynamic and flashy game. It isn’t the most graphically demanding or anything, but when has Nintendo cared about that? With the art style they chose, it still looks pretty good. What I like most is feeling like I keep seeing more and more layers of the game as they reveal more. My initial look felt like I was just watching some kind of Wii boxing game, but now I see how deep that game goes. ARMS obviously took a lot of time and thought.

No. It isn’t gonna kill Street Fighter 5 for the people who have asked/ always ask/ will ask that about every fighting game that isn’t SFV. Let’s get that clear and out the way. Okay? Okay.

As things are, however, I can see apprehension to embracing this game. One, it isn’t graphically astounding. To some, that really matters and that’s okay. For $60 bucks, get everything you want out of a game. You like games that look like it can be walking outside your door? By all means. Two, the way its played will probably seem too gimmicky for some to get into it. Making ARMS a great game should be the focus, but it’s hard not to wonder if it was created for the sake of making the JoyCons super useful. If that were the case, it would suck if ARMS came out feeling like a JoyCon tech demo.

The biggest problem that may arise was one I think is something people may not think is important, but stick with me here. Will Nintendo support the competitive scene? When it comes to tournaments, a lot of developers do what they can to support the scene, mostly through balance patches. It’s a loose bit of support, but some is better than none. Even on that level, will Nintendo give this game support? Or will it just release it and never really look at it again like they eventually did Pokken? This would definitely be a great game to base a scene around. I only hope it can be embraced by the FGC.

While I worry for the games future, if only because its a Nintendo fighting game that isn’t Smash, I think ARMS will have what it takes to grow and become a tournament worthy game. It has yet to be seen, but as a person who loves to see games that deviate so far from the basis of the genre’s foundation…I want to see this game do really well. What have you guys seen of ARMS? Do you gave any favorite characters yet? Hyped by what you’ve seen so far? Let us know whatcha think.