The next two months will be great for fans of fighting games, between Injustice 2, Tekken 7 and ARMS, the upcoming Nintendo Switch exclusive.

　　Despite being a new IP, the latter game already received a great reception at hands-on events. So much that in an interview published in EDGE's latest issue (#306), Game Producer Kosuke Yobuki confessed his hopes for the IP.

　　It would be like a dream for this to become a franchise spanning decades, but right now, only a small number of people around the world know about ARMS: those who closely follow new games and technology. First, I'd like those people to play ARMS and have fun with it. This game offers a brand new playstyle, brand new characters and brand new strategic gameplay.

　　Characters will fight with extendable arms, with Joy-Con enabled motion controls showcasing the "true feel of the game" according to Yobuki. The game has been designed as deep but intuitive, to lure in even those who aren't usually hardcore fans of the genre. Earlier in the interview, Design Director Shintaro Jikumaru talked about the design process behind the basic mechanics with this goal in mind.

　　I wondered if there was any way to make ARMS a little more accessible as a fighting game. Specifically, whether it would be possible to replace the elements that make up a fighting game with something more visually intuitive. For example, instead of having openings in your defense during or after an attack, we have the arm extension and retraction mechanic. And instead of strong and weak attacks, we have light-but-fast and slow-but-heavy weapons.

　　Jikumaru also reassured fans that the size of the roster will be eventually much bigger than what's been announced so far.

　　The fighters we've announced are just a fraction of what's to come. We'll be introducing fighters all the time, with all sorts of abilities.

　　ARMS is launching on June 16th worldwide. Check out Dave's hands-on preview from a couple months ago to learn why he was impressed by the game.