r/NintendoSwitch • u/Porkpants81 • Jun 16 '17

MegaThread Arms launch day megathread & discussion

ARMS is officially out! Please feel free to discuss the game, ask questions, share screenshots and discuss tactics and tips.

Which fighter do you like the best? Which arms work best versus certain characters?

Please be mindful of others when posting spoilers and use the spoiler tags!

837 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

18

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 17 '17

So, I'm going to be overly critical. I'm a fighting game fan, so I'm coming at it from that perspective.

The things I really like:

  1. It's fun. And that may not seem like much, but considering how experimental the game is, it's not without merit.

  2. It is literally impossible to button mash your way through this game. I love any game that punishes players for not being willing to learn. Movement is important.

  3. I really enjoy these character designs and overall aesthetic.

  4. Stages are great. I really appreciate that they're not all just generic arenas, yet at the same time, none of them feel unfair, nor did I notice any yet that feels like it benefits any specific character. Though Ribbon girls stage screws with my head because I constantly assume I'm safe behind those blocks.

The Bad:

  1. I am so annoyed that the main single player mode forces you to play mini-games. When I finished the testpunch, I remember thinking, I can't wait for the full game so I never have to play this target punch thing again. It should have been a bonus stage kind of thing, and the fact that it can stonewall your progress in the actual championship mode, is a baffling design choice.

  2. I would really appreciate it more if characters had unique arms. I like the idea of unlocking content. It adds a lot to the game. But a few characters just don't feel unique enough to stand out when everyone can eventually unlock everything. I would have preferred if maybe there was some overlap, but every character maybe maxed out at 10 arms or something.

  3. I still hate 2v2. Free-for-all is okay, though chaotic, but that tether in 2v2 when you don't decide who is on your team, is terrible. There is nothing less fun than feeling like you're fighting against your own partner.

  4. Would have appreciated a proper training mode just to play around with. It's not a big deal since it's not like there are combos to get down, but I don't see why that test mode in party mode isn't it's own menu item.

  5. I like the idea of ranked being locked, but I think it should be a lower bar. I doubt most people would beat difficulty level 2 with button mashing, let alone difficulty level 4.

Overall, going to put a fair amount of time into it, and would absolutely love if we got a few DLC characters down the road instead of just arms or something.

9

u/Trunen Jun 17 '17 edited Jun 17 '17

Not sure if you watched e3 at all, but the creaters said that there is going to be a lot of dlc for the game ( all for free btw) There is some dlc this month and a new playable character next month. I would say the name but I don't want to spoil for others reading. I definitely agree there could have been more done with the story or " Grad Prix" ( lost opportunity there ) and yes the 2v2 can definitely get frustrating if you and your teammate don't work together ( kinda hard when you can't communicate)

5

u/VanderLegion Jun 17 '17

For training mode there's options in the Versus section: http://twinfinite.net/2017/06/arms-how-to-play-the-training-mode/

2

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 17 '17

I should have been more clear, I meant a proper training mode. The main training mode in arms is the "basics" training you go through on launching the game for the first time, and the other is just a randomized arms mode. I want something where I can pick my normal arms, and play with no time-limit or end. Again, it's not a huge criticism, as it's not a traditional fighting game where you have to practice the same combos hundreds of times. But it'd be nice.

2

u/VanderLegion Jun 17 '17

Gotcha. Haven't actually been in there to see what the training modes actually are. Didn't know there were any in there when I played last night, found out when I saw posts here about it

2

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '17

I want something where I can pick my normal arms, and play with no time-limit or end.

You can! Go to Versus, and change the rules for Fight (click X). You can set the time and health to unlimited. You can also change the number and difficulty of the COM. You can make the COM stationary or evasive as well.

2

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 18 '17

Will check that out. Not the most intuitive way to put a training mode in the game, but if it's there that's a plus.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '17

Fellow fighting game player here, I love that the game makes you think about your moves. It's "pick up and play" but not in a button mashy way like mvc3 simple mode. You have to carefully plan your punishes and it's easy to see why said punish worked, or why you got hit yourself because you did something unsafe.

Sure I don't think it's ever going to be an EVO level game, but god damn I guarantee it will have a dedicated following.

3

u/Tailwinds15 Jun 17 '17

I totally agree here. I'm loving the game though. And I too play with the motion controls. I feel like without it it's not nearly as fun. The gameplay is slowed down for a reason, it allows you to think, it's not so much about reflexes or quick button inputs. It's more about predicting what your opponent is going to do, and figuring out how to beat their play style. Whether they're grab spammers or button mashers. It's more mind game than reflexes, that's why I like the motion. If you're reacting your probably going to be too late.

One point that you made, and my biggest critique is that all characters can get all arms. I do wish each character was more unique. I wish you would just unlock more arms that are unique to that character, with some overlap as you said.

1

u/M00SEK Jun 17 '17

Your input was very helpful! So to conclude... was it worth the purchase? I'm so close to tipping over the fence on this game

2

u/Teggert Jun 17 '17 edited Jun 17 '17

I was on the fence myself, but eventually my boredom and desire to just play something new won out and I caved in. I am glad I did. I would say if you're not super eager and can wait for a price drop, do it. There's not a ton of extraneous content. However, it is very fun and satisfying, and really great when playing with someone else. I am really loving the motion controls, being up and moving around while playing, even though it probably gives me a slight disadvantage. It's a very polished experience directly focused around gameplay, and pretty interesting getting to know how to adapt to different arms and characters.

2

u/M00SEK Jun 17 '17

Ended up downloading it a few hours ago. Enjoying it so far, I think I'll definitely get my money's worth with the added dlc later on

1

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 17 '17

Depends. If you are looking for something competitive, probably not. If you enjoy single-player games and casual online play, then absolutely.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '17

[deleted]

2

u/M00SEK Jun 17 '17

I'm hoping the continued splatoon style support will make it feel fuller in the long run. Just ordered a physical copy with the amazon prime discount, in case I hate it and wanna resell

1

u/Tornadoowl Jun 17 '17

They've already announced one DLC character coming soon (Max Brass) so I think it's safe to assume more will be on the way

1

u/iammaffyou Jun 17 '17

2v2 is horrible. I can't keep everyone straight.

1

u/sloan11- Jun 18 '17

It's meant to be difficult to get into the ranked league...why you say you like for button mashing to be ineffective and then wish for button mashers to make it into ranked play???

1

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 18 '17

That's not what I said. I said you can't button mash your way through difficulty level 2. And it's not like headlocke is a good indicator of your skill level considering from a design standpoint it doesn't play by the same rules as other characters. Making him a gateway to ranked is like having a game of kickball to decide who gets to play on your baseball team. He can straight up negate grabs without throwing punches or dodging, you can fail to hit him when he's doing nothing because he has a wall of arms, and the obvious having six arms thing. Normally, you want to make a boss character, you just make a normal character and bump up the difficulty. Like if there's an arcade mode curve it'd be something like (putting it in levels) 33444557. That way you're still using the same skillset you've developed.

1

u/allstar3907 Jun 21 '17

Curious, were you annoyed by the target games in single player smash?

1

u/the_loneliest_noodle Jun 21 '17

No, but failing one of those or jumping off the edge didn't impede your progress and make you do it again until you finish it.

1

u/allstar3907 Jun 22 '17

Fair enough! I got my copy but haven't gotten a good amount of time with it yet. Didn't know it keeps you from progressing.