It's been more than a decade since motion control took the world by storm on Wii and it often feels like a distant memory we're more than happy to forget. Building a fighting game, a genre that's all about precision inputs, might seem overly optimistic, but that's exactly what Nintendo has set out to do with Arms. And you know what? After spending a few hours playing an updated build of the game this week, I can say that it works.
The idea is simple - you hold the two Joy-Con like a pair of joysticks in an upright position. By tilting your hands together, you can move your character around the battlefield. You attack by physically punching outward where each punch responds to a twist of the wrist letting you curve each hit as you please. The R and L buttons allow you to jump and dash, respectively, while the triggers launch into your flurry attack. Turn the Joy-Con sideways and you can block. It seems simple enough on the surface, but there is a lot of hidden depth here - the responsive motion controls enable a level of precision that's a pleasant surprise.
In many ways, the twin-stick design recalls Sega's seminal Virtual On series with its focus on arena-based one-on-one battles. By placing a premium on positioning and timing, the strategy changes dramatically from that of a typical fighting game. Like Virtual On, Arms presents players with left, right and centre attack options which can be customised between each round. Dodging and countering your opponent's attacks feels great and learning to take advantage of each character's unique features brings an extra layer of strategy to the mix. Arms simplifies the formula somewhat by always maintaining a lock on your opponent, but the basic idea of dodging and countering feels satisfying.
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