Nintendo is not really known for fighting games besides Super Smash Bros. and yet the company has released several over the years. There was Urban Champion, though that was closer to a brawler, and Joy Mech Fight, which still holds up today. The most notable fighting game from Nintendo besides Super Smash Bros, at least in recent years, is the unique fighting game Arms.
Arms is an arena fighter that sees players take control of various characters who have extendable arms and duke it out. There was a bit more to it though, as the characters are all unique and have interesting abilities, such as some having their Arms abilities manifest in areas other than their Arms for more variety and having the option to equip various augmentations to your character for a fight. It also helps that each character feels unique and realized, making it ripe for more story potential.
Arms is often thought to have been a sales failure, but this is not the case. The game actually sold over two million copies, which is extremely good for a new IP, especially one in the fighting game genre. Nintendo did a lot to support the game for a long time after release, and excellent online play and updates kept the game alive for a while, but now more is needed.
Arms showed there is potential for more fighting games from Nintendo besides Smash, and the game even impressed folks at Capcom who were open to Street Fighter crossover content for the game. Perhaps the time has come for Nintendo to consider making a sequel to Arms and expand the formula further. A sequel could build on what was established in the first game, while also improving on areas that Arms struggled with.
The unconventional gameplay of Arms made it a harder sell for many in that the focus on aiming and dodging was a bit much for casual players while the gameplay didn’t provide enough for fighting game enthusiasts in terms of technique and expression and thus found itself in an awkward position. A sequel could learn from what went wrong there and perfect the gameplay to properly find the audience it deserves.
As for the characters, we have already seen fighters who use their arm abilities in non-traditional ways, such as Twintelle whose arm ability involves her hair. Perhaps a sequel could further build on this idea and introduce new mechanics, and even Legs as a function. To be specific, characters whose limb extensions would be focused in their legs and would provide a different variety could be a feature.
Nintendo could also revamp the various equipable weapons and gear, both for rebalancing and for making the experience more geared to a clear audience. At the same time, the various modes from the first game that didn’t connect with fans, such as the volleyball mode, free-for-all mode and short rope mechanic could be taken and redone to address the various complaints. characters could be given more of a story than in the first game and more single-player content can be added. It would also be nice to see some of the scrapped ideas brought to life, such as the ones labelled Plant and Sumo that were found by Data Miners.
Perhaps the best direction would be to embrace the esports scene and a competitive audience, while still giving content for single-player fans like Street Fighter 6 plans on doing, or various games from Netherrealm Studios. A sequel could be thought of as a competitive version of Punch-Out or something along the lines of Ready 2 Rumble meets Tekken (Bandai Namco did help with the game after all). Perhaps Nintendo’s original idea of using Punch Out characters could be tapped into with some guest appearances, or Nintendo could even try for a fighting game crossover with Street Fighter for a character like Dhalsim.
As for a potential story idea, there was a cancelled Arms comic planned, so maybe that story could be used in a sequel. The characters in the game all had amazing elements to them, so a full story would be something very much worth exploring. In addition, more minigame modes could be included to add variety that will help keep the game going.
Arms was a great fighting game, and while it was rough in some areas, it is an IP with so much potential. If Nintendo were to truly work at making an amazing sequel that addresses the fan complaints, then it would no doubt be a hit. As it stands, this is too good a game to leave as a one-and-done.