There were many games shown off during the Nintendo Switch reveal presentation, but one that stood out was Arms. The game has been compared to Wii sports boxing but is closer to Punch Out, much with its unique characters. Everyone who has played Arms has raved about the motion controls being amazing, but the game also can be played without motion controls, and like a standard game.
I have long felt Nintendo needed to make a new fighting game IP and given that this is Nintendo, they wont just make a typical fighter. Arms is a fighting game that has a truly unique nature to it, from the fighting to the characters, everything just feels fresh. Nintendo compared this to a boxing game with shooting elements and that made me think of something. This is a character based fighting game that will be an introduction to fighting games for many, and given that Nintendo is pursuing eSports, they might push Arms as an esports game of sorts.
That is all well and good, but this does draw parallels between another game. Blizzard’s Overwatch is a character driven multiplayer FPS game that has served as a gateway to the genre for many. Arms comes across as a fighting game parallel to that game, both in terms of how it plays to bring in people, and how the characters have been received. If Nintendo plays it right, the way Blizzard has, Arms could be one of the biggest new franchises in recent years.
You may laugh at this idea, but the fact is, Nintendo is applying what they learned from Splatoon to the fighting game genre but are taking it a step further. Every aspect of this game just oozes character and personality, and people want to know more about it. The fan art of characters like Ribbon Girl and Spring Man is growing by the day, and the other characters are also extremely well received. There are already calls for the game to have a representative in Smash, and while they started as a joke, they have become serious now. Arms has developed a major fan following in just a few days, and it will not be released for a few months. If the game has a good story to it, both good online and singe player, and continues to build on the awesome characters shown, there is no limit to what Arms can achieve. Splatoon was a breakout hit on the Wii U, but I believe Arms will far surpass anything else.
The above was the opinion of the writer and not necessarily that of Real Otaku Gamer or its staff.