Exactly five years ago today (June 16th, 2017), Nintendo released their next big original in-house IP after Splatoon: a quirky multiplayer boxing game called [ARMS](https://youtu.be/hY2_Xu3f8Bc)! To put this into perspective, by the time Min Min was added to Smash, the following games were turning five years old: Splatoon 1, Mario Maker 1, Fire Emblem Fates, Pokemon ORAS, The Witcher 3, Metal Gear Solid 5, Bloodborne, and Ori and the Blind Forest.
This game was one of the first to be shown off for the Switch, and was positioned to be a major release for that summer. It appeared to have a lot of things going for it: a unique colorful style and presentation, an eclectic yet recognizable cast of characters, a potpourri of game modes and unlockables, a shockingly amazing online infrastructure for early Switch days and even now, and a whole suite of content updates over the course of the next year. It seemed like a recipe for success and was going to join Splatoon as one of the hottest new IPs on the scene!
But… the game didn’t really quite take off as Nintendo had hoped, casually or competitively. Instead it fell off in favor of other first party games for people’s multiplayer fix. Upon its release, critics and players generally praised the game for its style, online play, and assortment of game modes. And if you were a parent, you likely bought this game as one of the first multiplayer Switch games for your family. But those critics also took issue with the (ahem optional) motion controls, the fact that you couldn’t remap your button controls at launch (which okay yeah fair), the grind to unlock all your equippable arms, and the general feeling of moment-to-moment combat getting a bit stale after a while. Even after all the updates came out which also added the ability to remap your buttons, it still wasn’t enough in the end.
Even with the general apathy towards the game by most, ARMS still has its fans even today. In the meantime as mentioned, arguably the game’s most popular character, [Min Min](https://youtu.be/M_NNyXaBW-I), later appeared as DLC in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and reintroduced the IP to the masses, while simultaneously making Min Min one of the most hated characters on the roster this side of Smash 4 Bayonetta. Many still hope this universe gets revisited someday, and with 2022 essentially being “2017: Round 2” in terms of the Switch’s output, there’s a non-zero chance that could happen. I mean if Splatoon can get two entries on the same console, so can ARMS. For some history on the game’s development and post-launch, see [here](https://youtu.be/zLYD4Z9VTh4) and [here](https://youtu.be/iZI-UxXXv7A) respectively. So what do you think about this game, five years after it originally came out? Who are your favorite characters to play as? Do you enjoy Min Min in Smash? And do you hope Nintendo does something with the game in the future?