Shaping up

Opinion appears to be curiously divided on ARMS, even within the Nintendo Life office. Some say it's shallow and limited, while others are more excited about its hidden depth and waggle-friendly gameplay, which calls to mind those glory days of Wii Sports boxing.

If the thought of flailing your limbs around to pull off moves is dampening your enthusiasm for ARMS, you may well be holding onto the hope that it's possible to play the game without resorting to motion controls. The good news is that it is possible to play the game using the old-fashioned stick and buttons combo, which is fine when you're only interesting in single or online play. Local multiplayer is obviously going to be a big draw given the portable focus of the Switch, and while there's the option to use a single Joy-Con each, producer Kosuke Yabuki says you'll miss out.

In an interview with Famitsu - kindly translated by Nintendo Everything - Yabuki explains the various control schemes available:

Famitsu: What was the reason you chose to use the 'thumbs up pose' out of the numerous control schemes available?

Kosuke Yabuki: During the Switch's development, we were wondering how we could hold the Joy-Con to play games. Even though it supports the standard grip, the Joy-Con fits in your palms nicely if you tilt them. I thought, if we were to make a game that involved swinging the Joy-Con around, it should use that kind of grip. So, we decided to combine the prototype that became the basis for Arms with that grip style. And, since the internal sensors are more accurate, you can control it with much lighter movement, so I don't think it will be that tiring. Since there will probably be some people who aren't good at the physical controls, we made it possible to play using the buttons as well. They can use the buttons on the Joy-Con, or the Pro Controller. It is also possible to play using just one Joy-Con, so you can share the fun and play with others.

Famitsu: Can they play without any problems, using only one Joy-Con?

Kosuke Yabuki: Yes. But their available actions might be a little limited. So you should use two Joy-Con when you're looking to get serious… that's how we designed the game.

Yabuki also spoke about the amount of content in the game, stating that:

There will be more characters, with more arm types. What we have available today is just a portion of what will be available in the full game. You can look forward to more information gradually coming out as the release date approaches.

There are many more that everyone can look forward to… but I can't talk about them (laughs). Having only 1v1 matches in the online mode would be too exhausting, so there are other modes being prepared. However, the game is boiling down to 1v1 battles in the end, with them as the main focus and the other modes being on the side.

How will you be playing ARMS? Will you embrace motion controls, or do you prefer to use the pad and buttons approach?

[source nintendoeverything.com]