ARMS: all the details from the Nintendo Direct (new fighters, demo, modes, free updates, more)

18 May 201723 July 2020 Lite_Agent ARMS, ARMS: Global Testpunch

Update: for more details about the additional content (new fighters, stages, etc.), make sure to check out this post!

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During today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed plenty of details about its upcoming fighter: ARMS. In case you missed the presentation, here’s the recording of the whole thing, for you to watch at your leisure:

The presentation started with a segment about the game’s “story”, before moving on to details about ARMS, and two important elements to keep in mind when choosing yours:

weight (affects momentum). There’s three categories: Light, Medium, Heavy. ARMS with multiple hits are always Light. With Medium and Heavy punches, you can block enemy attacks, so it’s up to you to chose between dodging or blocking;
attribute: fire, electric, wind, ice, stun, explosion, blind. Kicks in after charging. Each arm has its own attribute, so it’s recommended to equip two different arms to get two different powers, and gain in versatilty.

Next, here’s the 10 fighters (and their signature ARMS) introduced during the presentation:

Springman: Toaster, Boomerang, Tribolt (shoots three bolts horizontally);
Mechanica: Revolver, Whammer (hits oppoent hard), Homie (chases after opponent);
Ninjara: Chakram, Buff (puffs up after charge, and curves well), Triblast (once charged, blows up);
Master Mummy: Megaton, Retorcher (fire cannon that shoots 3 bullets), Phoenix (high arching trajectory);
Kid Cobra (a new one): charismatic skateboarder, who joins ARMS to increase the viewership of his livestreams. His signature ARMS are Slapamander (infused with wind power), Hydra, Coolerang (wide arc, with ice power);
Ribbon Girl: Sparky, Popper (which are all about speed), Salamander;
Min Min: Dragon (shoots a laser), Megawatt (big, heavy, tingly), Ramram (fiery arch);
Helix: Blorb (Flashes goo to block your opponent’s view); Ice Dragon, Guardian (great for defense)
Byte & Barq: Barq (a robotic dog) distracts opponent, and Byte (a robotic policeman) can use it as a foot stool. When they use their rush attack, they combine forces for some pretty epic combos. Their signature ARMS are Seekie (shocking heat-seeking misiles), Cracker (surround enemies in fire), and Bubb (pops off after a charge).
Twintelle: a movie star, and her ARMS are… her very twintails. She can slow down punches in midair. Her signature ARMS are: Chilla (freeze enemies), Parasol (block incoming attacks) and the Thunderbird.

Next, here’s the list of game modes for Versus:

Fight: basic mode. Bombs and healing items drop on the arena from time to time, to spice things up;
Team Fight: 2 vs 2. Allies are tied by strings, and punches can hit allies… so be careful and focus on teamwork;
V-Ball: a game where the goal consists in knocking an explosive ball to the enemy’s side;
Hoops: you play basketball with… your opponent. You need to grab them and then throw them through the hooplike a pro;
Skillshot: you need to break as many targets as possible. You get more points if you hit several targets at once;
1-on-100: defeat waves of enemies;
ARMS Test: allows you to try out randomise sets of ARMS;
Training: lets you practice through various drills.

Next, the presentation detailed how to get ARMS. As explained before, you get some prize money by winning matches. That money can then be used at the ARM Getter to get new ARMS. Fun fact, it’s possible to get duplicates, when you do, the duplicate has higher attack power.

ARMS feature 10 fighters (at launch), but with all the ARMS available, there’s literally thousands of possible combinations (10 fighters x several ARMS x 2 ARMS per fighter)

Here’s the various Match modes available in ARMS:

Grand Prix: 10 straight matches to win; variety of rules, final boss, playable in Single Player or Co-op
Party Match: challenge other players in party matches. Play with others in the same lobby, with up to 10 system and 2 players per system per lobby (so a total of 20 players). You can have 2, 3, or 4 players matches. All players in a lobby are divided in groups automatically;
Ranked match: only 1 vs 1. Win a match: rank up (it goes down if you lose, naturally). You can play another mode while waiting for your opponent to show up;
Local multiplayer. You can create a lobby for up to 8 players, and play Party Match.

Finally, Nintendo had a couple of surprise announcements. First, some pretty good news: ARMS is getting free updates after launch, adding new fighters, stages, and ARMS. Yes, just like Splatoon (and Splatoon 2)!

Next, an ARMS: Global Testpunch was announced. Just like with the Splatoon (2) Global Testfire, there will be several sessions where players will be able to try out the game online. Here’s when each session will take place:

Europe: May 27th / May 28th / June 3rd / June 4th from 2AM to 3AM, 2PM to 3PM, 8PM to 9PM
UK: May 27th / May 28th / June 3rd / June 4th from 1AM to 2AM, 1PM to 2PM, 7PM to 8PM
North America (EDT): May 26th / June 2nd from 8PM to 9PM – May 27th / June 3rd from 8AM to 9AM, 2PM to 3PM / 8PM to 9PM – May 28th / June 4th: 8AM to 9AM, 2PM to 3PM
North America (PDT): May 26th / June 2nd from 5PM to 6PM – May 27th / June 3rd from 5AM to 6AM, 11AM to 12PM / 5PM to 6PM – June 4th: 5AM to 6AM, 11AM to 12PM

The Global Testpunch is available for download from the Nintendo eShop worldwide: Europe, North America, and Japan (click here for the complete list of demos available on Nintendo Switch)

Nintendo specifies that only one mode will be playable in this demo: Party Match. You can play with up to 2 players on the same system. You have the choice between 7 fighters:

Springman
Ribbon Girl
Mechanica
Min Min
Master Mummy
Ninjara
Helix

ARMS (Switch) comes out on June 16th worldwide.

Source: Nintendo