Arms’ new fighter is a spirit warrior with poisonous scorpions for fists

Nintendo released a new fighter for Switch fighting game Arms this week, bringing the game’s roster to 13 playable characters. That new character is named Misango, and he fights with a trio of poison-based attacks and a spirit buddy at his side.

Arms version 4.0 updates adds Misango, a new stage named Temple Grounds and three new Arms: Scorpio, Glusher and Skully. Misango is joined by a spirit companion who aids him in battle. He can absorb the spirit by charging, either by charging via dash or jump or by guarding for a period of time. The latter move will turn the spirit into a “small pillar of spiritual energy,” which Misango can use as defensive cover.

Here are some nitty-gritty details on Misango’s spirit friend, via Nintendo’s Treehouse Log:

Absorbing the spirit is where things get a bit more complicated: see, the spirit rotates through three different colors in order—red, yellow, and blue—and which ability Misango obtains from the spirit depends on what color the spirit is at the time it’s absorbed.

If Misango absorbs the red spirit, he’ll don a mask with a small set of horns, which gives him the ability to resist flinching like Mechanica or Master Mummy. If he absorbs while it’s blue, he’ll get a mask with some wings, which gives him better mobility. And this one’s my favorite: if he absorbs the yellow spirit, he gets this spiky-looking mask and the ability to automatically block all incoming blows for a short period of time upon activating his rush combo (yeah, it’s hecka buff.)

As previously mentioned, the three new Arms coming to the game thanks to Misango’s addition, feature poison-based attacks. The Scorpio Arms are a pair of poison-injecting arachnids that crawl along the ground and then hop up to attack their target, Nintendo said. When attacking from the air with Scorpio, they transform “into a fast-moving disc that can fly in a straight or wide arc, making it really hard to stop.”

Grid View

• Misango in Arms Nintendo
• Misango in Arms Nintendo
• Misango in Arms Nintendo
• Misango in Arms Nintendo
• Misango in Arms Nintendo
• Misango in Arms Nintendo

Misango’s Glusher Arms are heavy, poisonous weapons that behave similar to the game’s Blorbs. His other option, Skully, is a light, poisonous set of Arms that can be used “to pester and interrupt, but don’t count on it winning in a head-on Arms collision.”

Nintendo describes Misango as having a medium-high difficulty curve, and the Treehouse blog has some tips for players looking to play as and against him. Misango is available for free as part of Arms’ version 4.0 game update.

Arms is available now on Nintendo Switch. Here’s our review of the game.