History YMMV / ARMS

* CultClassic: While it didn't sell poorly, selling over two million copies in its first year, the game was heavily overshadowed by other multiplayer titles on the Switch (most notably sister game ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', which released only a month later). But despite quickly losing buzz amongst the wider Nintendo fan community, ''ARMS'' still managed to earn a surprisingly sizable and loyal fanbase, with many hoping for a sequel, and the series would gain fighter representation in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' through Min Min's inclusion in that game's second "Fighters Pass".

** The ''ARMS'' fandom has a minor rivalry with that of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''. A vocal minority of ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' fans like to mock ''ARMS'' for being a newer and less popular multiplayer IP; at the same time, some fans of ''ARMS'' have come to resent ''Splatoon'' for becoming more popular than it. It's important to note that this is generally a minority of both fandoms, as most fans generally regard themselves as FriendlyFandoms as seen below.

** ''ARMS'' and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' are commonly bundled together during Nintendo Directs, leading to the two fandoms commonly mingling and becoming this. It also helps that ''ARMS'' is being marketed in the same manner that ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' is: an alternate Earth with a surprising amount of history and lore which serves as window-dressing for a quirky take on a standard multiplayer game genre set to vibrant visual aesthetics, catchy music (J-Pop for ''Splatoon'', Brazilian Music for ''ARMS'') and wacky character design.

* {{Moe}}: Mechanica, the [[TeensAreShort lit]][[ShorterMeansSmarter tle]] BrainyBrunette who always has the happiest victory dance.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** Ninjara's ability to teleport a few feet instead of dash gives his grabs a much higher chance (grabs are supposed to be [[AwesomeButImpractical very easy to disrupt]]) of successfully connecting without being swatted away. Since a grab automatically deals 150HP of damage the second it connects, many Ninjara players were able to spam teleport and grab and rack up huge win counts, leading to a BrokenBase about whether the combo was overpowered. Since each test character was limited to their three starting arms, by the time people had developed effective counters, a large part of the test period had ended.
** Kid Cobra became this after the game's launch, since he excels on both the ground and the air, having a FlashStep and little-to-no jump delay. His weaknesses are clear (his normal ground dash is the slowest in the game, and his quick dash requires and uses up punch charge), but most players can't land any good hits on a skilled Kid Cobra. He was the first fighter to get an outright nerf, having his jumping distance decreased in version 2.0.0.

** Helix is called "DNA Man" in Japan. Presumably, he was renamed Helix because it sounds like a name, and still fits the genetics theme (since a strand of DNA is typically depicted as a double helix).

* ItsShortSoItSucks: Some critics have constructively pointed out that the biggest weakness of ''ARMS'' is the lack of replay value: They played it for at least two weeks after purchasing it and simply had no more interest in playing it again.

* MemeticBadass: The producer of the game, Kosuke Yabuki, has been subject to this treatment following the post-tournament exhibition match at E3 2017, where he took on the tourney's winner, pro fighting game player Zerk, and [[CurbStompBattle handily kicked his ass six ways to Sunday]]. His lack of hair and extreme fighting skill has even been compared to [[Webcomic/OnePunchMan Saitama]].

* AngstWhatAngst: Once the player beats Hedlok off Max Brass' head, he just goes back to flexing and posing as if nothing happened. [[spoiler:Not even getting socked out of his own arena by Dr. Coyle gets him down; he just floats in on Parasol ARMS and flexes like normal.]].

* SelfFanservice: While Twintelle's derrière is very prominent in the game, it is nowhere as large as most of her fanart makes it out to be.

* UncertainAudience: ''ARMS'' runs into this owing to its very unconventional gameplay. In theory, the game was meant to attract casual players with its variety of modes and relatively simple controls and more hardcore gamers with its depth of customization and deceptively complex gameplay rewarding bait-and-punish and attack-block-grab RPS play. In practice, it hit a bit of a sour spot where the focus on aiming and dodging was too overwhelming for casual players while not providing enough room for technique and player expression for fighting game fans. Thus, while the game wasn't a flop by any means, it didn't become the "hot new property" that Nintendo EPD was hoping it would be, instead gaining a small, devoted fanbase that appreciated its weirdness.

* UncertainAudience: ''ARMS'' runs into this owing to its very unconventional gameplay. In theory, the game was meant to attract casual players with its variety of modes and relatively simple controls and more hardcore gamers with its depth of customization and deceptively complex gameplay rewarding bait-and-punish and attack-block-grab RPS play. In practice, it hit a bit of a sour spot where the focus on aiming and dodging was too overwhelming for casual players while not providing enough room for technique and player expression for fighting game fans. Thus, while the game wasn't a flop by any means, it didn't become the "hot new property" that Nintendo EPD was hoping it would be, instead gaining a small, devoted fanbase that appreciated its weirdness.

* AngstWhatAngst: Once the player beats Hedlok off Max Brass' head, he just goes back to flexing and posing as if nothing happened. [[spoiler:Not even getting socked out of his own arena by Dr. Coyle gets him down; he just floats in on Parasol ARMS and flexes like normal.]]
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The game's initial reveal made it look like it could only be played with motion controls, which worried people who dislike motion controls. Fortunately for them, the game has four other control schemes, all of them traditional.
** Twintelle was initially not included in the Testpunch demo, but was added after a number of fans complained.
** After players complained about some of the controls issues (such as blocking with the left stick), the Version 3.0 update allowed players to freely reconfigure their controls to any setup they like.
** Prior to Version 3.2, winning matches was the only way to earn coins, making it hard to earn new ARMS. With the Badge system, collecting coins became much easier.
** Grand Prix Mode got flak for being unreasonably brutal in the later difficulties. Version 5.0 updated all difficulty modes, sans the highest, so that the challenge gradually increases as they player progresses instead.
** In a more general sense, having splitscreen multiplayer could be seen as this, as another high-profile Nintendo fighter (''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'') required two consoles to play together even locally (Wii U version) or heavily favors player one in the Field Phase[[note]]which uses a camera style similar to what ARMS has[[/note]] (Switch version).

* PresumedFlop: The game is often thought of as a failure, with people comparing its performance to ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', in part thanks to Creator/{{Nintendo}} positioning the two games as sister titles. While it certainly didn't become a juggernaut like ''Splatoon 2'', which quickly established that series as one of Nintendo's biggest, ''ARMS'' still did well for itself. It managed to sell over 2 million copies in its first year; impressive for an experimental new IP (especially a fighting game), and on-par with smaller Nintendo franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' and ''Franchise/XenobladeChronicles''.

** The ''ARMS'' fandom has a minor rivalry with that of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''. A vocal minority of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' fans like to mock ''ARMS'' for being a newer and less popular multiplayer IP; at the same time, some fans of ''ARMS'' have come to resent ''Splatoon'' for becoming more popular than it. It's important to note that this is generally a minority of both fandoms, as most fans generally regard themselves as FriendlyFandoms as seen below.

** ''ARMS'' and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' are commonly bundled together during Nintendo Directs, leading to the two fandoms commonly mingling and becoming this. It also helps that ''ARMS'' is being marketed in the same manner that ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' is: an alternate Earth with a surprising amount of history and lore which serves as window-dressing for a quirky take on a standard multiplayer game genre set to vibrant visual aesthetics, catchy music (J-Pop for ''Splatoon'', Brazilian Music for ''ARMS'') and wacky character design.

* PresumedFlop: The game is often thought of as a failure, with people comparing its performance to ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', in part thanks to Creator/{{Nintendo}} positioning the two games as sister titles. While it certainly didn't become a juggernaut like ''Splatoon 2'', which quickly established that series as one of Nintendo's biggest new IP, ''ARMS'' still did well for itself. It managed to sell over 2 million copies in its first year; impressive for an experimental new IP (especially a fighting game), and on-par with smaller Nintendo franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1''.

* UncannyValley:
** [[BlobMonster Helix]] is... odd. His movements are erratic and unnatural, and his voice isn't doing him any favors, either. It's not enough to make you dislike him, but it is enough to unnerve you. Lampshaded by his [[http://arms.nintendo.com/fighters/helix/ character profile page,]] where his "gross factor" is literally OffTheChart.
** Kid Cobra's spine moves in a very snake-like manner. While it matches his [[AnimalMotifs snake motif]], it looks unnatural for a humanoid to bend like he does.
** If Helix faces against Kid Cobra in Grand Prix, Biff will {{lampshade|d trope}} this.
-->'''Biff:''' It's one weird-movin' dude versus another! It's gonna get weird!

* PresumedFlop: The game is often thought of as a failure, with people comparing its performance to ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', in part thanks to Creator/{{Nintendo}} positioning the two games as sister titles. While it certainly didn't become a juggernaut like ''Splatoon 2'', which quickly established that series as one of Nintendo's biggest new IP, ''ARMS'' still did well for itself. It managed to sell over 2 million copies in its first year; impressive for an experimental new IP (especially a fighting game), and on-par with smaller Nintendo franchises like ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles''.

* OlderThanTheyThink: One of the ideas that served as the backbone for ''ARMS'' was Kosuke Yabuki [[https://miketendo64.com/2017/02/06/an-extensive-famitsu-interview-kosuke-yabuki-arms/ wondering why every fighting game seemed to use a 2D side view, even in 3D arenas.]] So he decided to place the camera behind the player character. While such a setup is rare, ''ARMS'' is far from the the first fighting game to do this. (''Videogame/OneMustFallBattlegrounds'' is one example. And another well-known example, especially in Japan, is the [[Videogame/GundamVsSeries Gundam Extreme VS]] series).[[note]]However, if we were to label fighting games with the distinct label "格闘ゲーム" (a term that Japanese developers specifically use for games they truly consider to be "Fighting Games" as intended, more often than not for fighting games that simply has two fighters in an arena), then ARMS is indeed a special 格闘ゲーム/Fighting Game that does not follow the trend of 2D/2.5D views in fighting games[[/note]]
* PresumedFlop: The game is often regarded as a failure, with people comparing its lack of success to the breakout hit that was Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s other multiplayer IP ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. While it certainly didn't become an "evergreen" title similar to ''Splatoon 2'', which released a month later, it still sold over 2 million copies in its first year; impressive for an experimental new IP, much less a fighting game.

* FanPreferredCouple:
** Spring Man/Ribbon Girl, if only because the two of them are the {{Series Mascot}}s. That is until their ages were revealed in the Grand Prix and website profiles respectively. [[note]]Spring Man is 20 years old while Ribbon Girl is 17 years old.[[/note]]
** Japanese players and artists can have a bit of fun with shipping [[HoYay Spring Man/Ninjara]] due to [[RedOniBlueOni their different personalities and interests.]]
** Dr. Coyle/Max Brass, because [[spoiler:her ending card shows that [[WeUsedToBeFriends they were once a couple]].]]
** Min Min/Ninjara, likely due to the two of them [[BreakoutCharacter being so popular individually.]]

* MemeticBadass: The producer of the game, Kosuke Yabuki, has been subject to this treatment following the post-tournament exhibition match at E3 2017, where he took on the tourney's winner, pro fighting game player Zerk, and [[CurbStompBattle handily kicked his ass six ways to Sunday]]. His [[BaldOfAwesome lack of hair]] and extreme fighting skill has even been compared to [[Webcomic/OnePunchMan Saitama]].

* WinTheCrowd:
** Initial reactions had people skeptical, due to the odd presentation of the original trailer and the idea of a motion-controlled fighting game making it seem like it was just going to be the {{Waggle}} of ''VideoGame/WiiSports'' Boxing all over again. While impressions from those who went to hands-on previews shortly after the reveal were positive, it wasn't until the April 2017 ''WebVideo/NintendoDirect'' and then the May/June Global Testpunch that it was made clear just how mechanically deep the game was going to be.
** On a similar note, the reveal trailer also raised concerns over how much content the game would have and whether there would be enough to give it any staying power. The May 2017 Direct showed that not only did the base game contain a decent amount of modes and fighters to keep things interesting, but that new content would be made available as free updates.

* OlderThanTheyThink: One of the ideas that served as the backbone for ''ARMS'' was Kosuke Yabuki [[https://miketendo64.com/2017/02/06/an-extensive-famitsu-interview-kosuke-yabuki-arms/ wondering why every fighting game seemed to use a 2D side view, even in 3D arenas.]] So he decided to place the camera behind the player character. While such a setup is rare, ''ARMS'' is far from the the first fighting game to do this. (''Videogame/OneMustFallBattlegrounds'' is one example. And another well-known example, especially in Japan, is the [[Videogame/GundamVsSeries Gundam Extreme VS]] series).