Arms (video game)

Arms
Cover art, featuring Ribbon Girl and Spring Man
Developer(s)	Nintendo EPD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Kenta Sato Masaaki Ishikawa Shintaro Jikumaru
Producer(s)	Kosuke Yabuki
Artist(s)	Masaaki Ishikawa
Composer(s)	Atsuko Asahi Yasuaki Iwata
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Release	WW: June 16, 2017
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Arms is a fighting game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, which was released worldwide in June 2017. The game differentiates itself from standard fighting games as up to four players can choose a fighter and battle using a variety of extendable arms to knock out opponents in a three-dimensional arena.

Up to four players can control one of a variety of fighters, with the player able to perform basic fighting actions using extendable arms such as punching, throwing, blocking, and dodging. When the attack meter is fully charged, players are able to unleash a high-damage "rush attack" against their opponents. Each character has a different set of abilities and unique gloves for different strategies. Players are able to use the system's Joy-Con motion-controllers or standard button input to operate each arm individually. Conventional control methods, such as with the Pro controller, are also able to be used. Players are also able to customize their arm loadouts, with each arm being able to be selected independently. Every arm is different with elemental attributes and varying weights that affect gameplay. Up to four players are able to play in a single match, either in a three- or four-way free-for-all, or in a 2v2 mode in which teammates are tethered together.

Besides the standard fighting mode, Arms features multiple other modes: Versus, Grand Prix, and a variety of Battle modes. In Grand Prix, players take on a set of 10 matches against computer-controlled fighters to win the championship belt. Battle mode consists of V-Ball (volleyball spin-off), Hoops (grab and dunk your opponents), Skillshot (target breaking), 1-on-100 (a series of 100 enemies). Players can also play online in a Party Match lobby with up to 20 players, or in one-on-one Ranked Matches.

The game was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division. Early on in development, the idea of featuring staple Nintendo characters such as Link and Mario was considered. However, the aesthetic of the game, especially with the concept of extendable arms, clashed with them, and it was eventually decided to make a new cast of characters. Character designs started with the arms first with the team working backwards to decide what type of character would possess it, for instance the character of Helix, started with the idea of a fighter whose arms were DNA strands, although the team initially did not know much else about him. Most fighters were designed to fill a gameplay need, although there are some exceptions where a design came first. An early concept for the game had the characters using external devices to punch their opponents however this was later dropped in favor of the characters extending their actual arms.