Beta elements

Beta elements are gameplay and aesthetic elements of a particular game that were shown in official material or referenced internally but not included in the final game. The following is a list of beta elements in ARMS.

UI

A filled Rush Meter in the January demo.

• The Rush Meter originally featured a button prompt once filled.
• Most character portraits were somewhat different in ARMS's January demo.
• In ARMS's January demo, the win counters consisted of blue dots in place of the game's final white dots.
• The VS symbol when a match begins was originally black with a yellow outline.
• A number of UI elements indicating player number, using red and blue colors, were present in the January demo.
• The "Ready? ARMS!" and "K.O." voice clips seem to originally have had a different voice actor.
• An early victory screen had a different position of the WINNER! text and rendered the stage in black and white.
• Instant replays after KOs originally only said "REPLAY" and not "ARMS REPLAY" like in the final game.

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  An early win counter.

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  The character portraits in the January demo.

ARMS

• The Tribolt was originally called the Trident.
• The Megaton was originally called the Big Punch.

The early Popper and Slapamander designs.

• The Popper initially had a primarily orange color scheme and featured a different Brand.
• The Slapamander had a black color scheme with orange accents at some point in development, closer to the final design of the Slamamander.
• Some characters had different standard ARMS in the game's January demo, some notably overlapping with other characters:
  • Ninjara used the Sparky and Tribolt as his second and third standard ARMS.
  • Master Mummy used the Homie and Revolver as his second and third standard ARMS.
  • Mechanica used the Toaster and Boomerang as her second and third standard ARMS.

Helix wielding two gumshield ARMS.

• An ARM internally named "gumshield" exists in a working state within the game's files. It looks similar to the Clapback, though with a yellow rim and dark navy blue center. It also has an unused brand featuring a lion. If another fighter punches this shield while it's extended, their ARM will stick to it and will be released if the gumshield user punches again or they knock the opponent down.
• PhalanxCp, as it is known internally, is an unused ARM which is essentially a Guardian with the Explosion attribute. There is a leftover parameter file and special effects directly associated with it internally, though it lacks a specific model and unique textures.

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  A close look at the early Popper design.

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  The textures for the unused Brand logo featuring a lion.

Fighters

• Master Mummy's and Mechanica's grabs originally dealt 150 damage, the same as all other characters in the January demo.

Game Modes

• There are a number of unused game modes listed internally including mode match, bowling, hockey, targeting, crane game, rhythm boxing, kumite, crocodile, rugby, and soccer.
  • A number of files and folders also share the word "Dance" which could be related to the rhythm boxing mode.
• The prototype for Skillshot shown at GDC 2018 revealed that initially the player had scores for each of their ARMS.
• A prototype bowling mode was also shown off at GDC 2018.

Stages

• There are an excessive amount of unused stages inside of ARMS' files, though the majority of them lack any content. The following are stages that have more than just internal names:
  • TestStage_Gallery has multiple NPCs that are associated with it although only one loads on the stage and it is in a t-pose stance.
  • TestStage_MiniSoccer still has camera movements for use in Replay mode.
  • A heliport stage features unused helicopter objects circling the playable area and also contains a basic layout.
  • TestStage_Omura01 contains a multitude of breakable boxes and targets as well as a Snakeboard from Snake Park.

Objects

• Multiple unused objects relating to unused game modes and/or stages exist internally. Some of their internal names are CommonParam_Heli, CommonParam_KumiteBike, CommonParam_Pazzle, TestObj_PazzleKey, TestObj_ReactObj06_Pazzle, CommonParam_Bowling, TestObj_DungeonRoom, TestObj_DungeonRoom_Hole, and CommonParam_Matoate.
  • Those with the string "CommonParam" at the beginning of their name are most likely related to minigames.
• Multiple NPCs referring to an unused gallery stage exist and are named Npc_Gallery_Crowd_Boy, Npc_GalleyBoy, Npc_GalleryMgr, Npc_Gallery, Npc_GalleryGirl, and Npc_GalleryA internally.
• A basketball-like object exists in the game's files as well which may have originally been associated with Hoops.
• Many unused enemies are also left internally. Some of their names are Enm_Human, Enm_Party, Enm_Shokushu, Enm_Drone, Enm_Bike, and TestEnm_MM_Robo. A few of these enemies could relate to other beta game modes and/or other objects.