Ring Fit Adventure Fitness Log Week 24: Featuring the Fitness Boxing 2 Demo

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I'm back to get fit!

A not-so-secret: I haven't been staying fit. In terms of weight, I'm a bit over where I was in November 2019. Body mass index-wide, it's still “normal weight”, but if I'm doing nothing, that could change, and that's not what I want. I made the stupid, public decision in April 2020 to stop playing Ring Fit Adventure until 2021 because the 2020 Olympic Games got delayed to 2021, and the Olympics being in 2020 was why I was playing Ring Fit Adventure to begin with. (In case you're wondering, Team Koopa is competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. ...I'm also assuming it's not getting cancelled in 2021.)

I was supposed to course-correct in the second half of 2020 (at the recommendation of my chiropractor, no less), but anyone who has been on my Nintendo Switch friend list knows that I haven't actually been playing Ring Fit Adventure since I wrote that. It turns out that I'm not good at self-improvement, and documenting things on KoopaTV helps me actually do things. Also, since I wrote that article in the second half of 2020, my back has been relatively decent (not needing big chiropractic adjustments), but my shoulders and neck are the tension areas.

Before I get into what I did this week, note that there will be no Ring Fit Adventure story/adventure mode content this week. We last left off completing the final world of the game, World 23: Finalia, and then going through World 24: Extra Fitness Lv. 181. It's a good idea for, uh, search engines to have the week # in the article title to be the same # as the world featured in the article itself, so... You'll get other content for the fitness log comeback.

This Custom Fitness List was generated with shoulder-helping exercises.
(Ring Fit Adventure doesn't break out exercises that help the neck.)
Bow Pull x28; Fan Pose x28; Back Press x20; Overhead Squat x20; Standing Forward Fold x16; Robo-Wrecker (Novice); Aerochute (Novice).

Super Nintendo World Osaka Opening Delayed Until Coronavirus Shoos

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - This surprises no one.

Once upon a time, KoopaTV wrote a headline (and an article to go with it that maybe you should read), “Super Nintendo World Set to Open February 4, 2021”. A few weeks later, Nintendo's lead on the theme park, Shigeru Miyamoto, toured the area and trespassed on Lord Bowser's property. Everyone throughout the process was wondering how opening a theme park in the middle of (well, it's probably middle-end of) a global pandemic is a good idea, and the answer has been that Japan hasn't had it as bad as the rest of the world.

Back in April or so, Japan got headlines like, “What Japan Can Teach the World About the Pandemic” and “What Lies Behind Japan's Successful Management Of The Pandemic”. Nowadays, the headlines are “Why Japan, Once a COVID-19 Success Story, Faces the Prospect of a Dark, Deadly Winter” and “Japan hospitals slammed after underestimating third COVID wave”. The Japanese have gone from competent to complacent, and now they're all getting pwned by the Chinese Communist Party Virus.

As a result, Universal Studios Japan has announced that Super Nintendo World's opening has been postponed until sometime after the Osaka prefecture state of emergency has been lifted. (The ANNOUNCEMENT of when it'll be opened will be made after the state of emergency is lifted, as opposed to the opening happening right after.) Nintendo hasn't added much of anything to the discussion, though they did edit into that Shigeru Miyamoto tour video description,

Joe Biden: Inauguration Day

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - A new chapter in history indeed.

I should've published this hours ago, but it's just so boring and blah that I really have to push myself to get it out. But I ate some fiber in-between the live inauguration and... tonight, so here we are. Uh... this is a live reaction log with just myself, by the way.

Get used to hearing “President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.” from now on. He follows the KoopaTV tradition of President Barack Hussein Obama and President Donald John Trump for getting the full name treatment.

[11:23 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-qYgs_yOXA
[11:23 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Amy Klobuchar is talking for some reason.
[11:23 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I'll pay attention when someone with "president" in their imminent-future job title talks.
[11:32 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: They're doing some sorta prayer thing.
[11:36 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: They're doing a Color Guard thing, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem.
Reminder that the United States has a bottom-tier National Anthem.
[11:37 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Anthems are one of the few things the Soviet Union pwned America on, and if the new Administration really is going to bring communism to America as right-wing commentators proclaim, then hopefully they get a better anthem too.

Welcome to the Fódlan Senate, Raphael Warnock the Warlock

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I'll take you through Raphael's epic journey.

There once was a boy named Raphael Warnock, born in the Commoner class, who cared deeply for his commoner family. He was far from privileged, and had to work hard for his opportunities.

Young Raphael Warnock was disappointed in only getting HP and Magic on his first level-up.
...But little did he know that learning Magic would set him up very well for the future.

Through resolve and grit (and a little luck), Raphael Warnock had the opportunity to attend a prestigious school with a religious tradition. Leaning into skills he didn't know he had (and thought he had a bane in), Raphael Warnock actually excelled and graduated.

Raphael Warnock graduated as a Warlock!

Raphael Warnock the Warlock wanted to aspire to something more, more than himself, so he dedicated his life to helping other people. He was going to be an activist for the lower classes that he himself was rising out from, preaching for justice with compassion.

This led Raphael Warnock the Warlock to fight for social justice against the forces of oppression. He started off with a bottom-up approach, protesting in the ebony street trenches for justice and liberation against the selfish government, keeping himself alive with the brute force of his signature Warlock Punch, the Pneuma Gale.

It's Math: There Was No Steal of the Clout-Based Splatfest Super Star Vote

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - There's no steal to stop.

We got some highly unfortunate results from last weekend's Super Mushroom versus Super Star Splatfest in Splatoon 2, in which I told you to support Team Super Star:

Landslide results. Look how successful KoopaTV was in persuading you: 68.20% of participants voted for Team Super Star!
(Unfortunately, they didn't actually win.)

While my own personal results were mostly fantastic (10 wins and 4 losses—and one of those losses was inevitable—versus Team Super Mushroom in Splatfest Battle Normal... and a 13 win/8 loss record against other Team Super Stars), the 53.41%–46.59% and 54.12%–45.88% clout split represents the widest margin since the clout-based system was implemented. That article I just hyperlinked explains the clout system fairly well, and it also states that it's pretty much fair.

However, many of my Team Super Star colleagues are out on social media and promoting conspiracy theories that the Splatfest was rigged and stolen. And while I wouldn't put it past the forces of the Mushroom Kingdom to do underhanded, illegitimate tactics (for example, Team Super Mushroom members could make fake Octolings to join Team Super Star and lose on purpose), the actual reasons I've seen for why the Splatfest was unfair is due to the number of mirror matches that Team Super Star had to deal with. (Here are a few examples.) In other words, since KoopaTV was too successful in convincing the population that you should prefer having Super Stars over Super Mushrooms, most of a Team Super Star member's Splatfest experience was facing other Super Stars, as you can see in my 14-game non-mirror match to 21-game mirror match experience in the paragraph above.

This article will explain why population-size/mirror match-related reasons aren't valid complaints as it relates to clout results.

The Nintendo eShop New Year Sale to Open 2021 (Two Weeks In)

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - First-party games... and Ace Attorney. And much more.

Did you know that it's now 2021? Nintendo didn't seem to realise until now. Meanwhile, KoopaTV already capped off 2020 with our Game of THAT Year awards. Anywho, Nintendo is doing a big New Year Sale ending January 22, 2021 at 2:59 AM Eastern. Yeah, there was just a big sale at the end of December 2020. But it's the new year!

Meanwhile, over on PlayStation, their holiday sale literally started when Nintendo's did (end of December) and has gone on for almost a month now, ending Tuesday. So Nintendo has had two separate sales in the span Sony has done one.

This isn't an ordinary sale. Nintendo has put up some of their own games at a 30% discount. First-party games on sale include:

• Splatoon 2—$42 (30% off)
• Kirby Star Allies—$42 (30% off)
• Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics—$28 (30% off)
• Super Mario Maker 2—$42 (30% off)
• BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!—$7 (30% off)
• Yoshi's Crafted World—$42 (30% off)
• Snipperclips—$14 (30% off)
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker—$28 (30% off)
• ARMS—$42 (30% off)

Some of these videogames I forgot even exist (like Yoshi's Crafted World and Snipperclips), so it makes sense that these games would be on sale because now I just mentioned them and gave them attention. Over 1250 games are on sale on the Nintendo eShop right now. I particularly recommend Splatoon 2 (which has a Splatfest going on right now, though maybe it's not friendly to newbies if you gotta fight teams like this) and Kirby Star Allies. ...And if I'll have people to play Clubhouse Games with, that'd be interesting, too.

You know, whenever there's a major sale, CAPCOM is there to follow. If there's an Ace Attorney game on the 3DS or Switch (well, the Switch just has Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy at $15, or 50% off), it's on sale. Ace Attorney, if you somehow haven't gotten into it yet, should be your first priority. Other CAPCOM games include 50% off Ōkami HD ($10), 34% off Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection ($19.80), and 40% off Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition ($12). Oh, and just to giggle, Ubisoft has extremely deep discounts, like 75% off Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. But I'm still not going to buy it.


Buy Ace Attorney. There's nothing else to say. ...Well, if you've already done that, maybe share what other sales you're interested in. And if you're interested in obtaining funding for those sales (or future sales), try winning the KoopaTV Loyalty Rewards Program. You'll get an unused eShop card code from Ludwig if you do.


Ludwig was just complaining the article before that certain Nintendo games aren't worth spending $60 on, so this is a nice counter.
No one should be surprised by this Nintendo sale, since they did the same thing in 2020.

Telling You Now: New Pokémon Snap Shouldn't be $60

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Nostalgia trap.

After yesterday's decidedly non-game-related Pokémon news item, The Pokémon Company International followed it up today with a trailer and information for New Pokémon Snap, which we first heard about mid-2020. They also opened up pre-orders for the $60 game, releasing April 30.

There's a lot of generic chatter out there about how the game looks much more vivid and detailed in the Pokémon animation and personality (look how Torchic roasts the fluffruit!) than the likes of fellow Nintendo Switch title Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, and that was always going to be the case for a game that is entirely based around photographing Pokémon doing detailed animations.

You can check out Pokémon Snap (originally released on the Nintendo 64) on the Wii U Virtual Console right now for $10. I personally experienced it for $10 on the Wii's Virtual Console. Still, I couldn't imagine paying $60 for a game that's, say, three times bigger than that. (Over 200 Pokémon in this one versus slightly over 60 in 1999. You won't just be taking one picture of each Pokémon, though. You'll be taking several, because they'll have multiple poses and multiple gradings.)

If you're an Aipom fan (or a completionist), you'll want to document all of Aipom's poses in the Photodex.
And you'll probably have to trigger them by doing different things, some unlockable as you progress.

A lot of Millennials (myself not included) have fond memories of playing Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo 64. Even Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went to her cousin's house to play Pokémon Snap, since she didn't have her own Nintendo 64. (Just like how she doesn't have her own money, but she wants to spend yours.) Thanks to a marketing collaboration Nintendo did with Blockbuster, players could print out their in-game photographs to be real life stickers. Despite many people claiming to have those memories, I've yet to actually ever meet anyone showing off their Pokémon Snap stickers, be it in 1999 or 2019. I guess they gotta exist somewhere, though.

If not for that marketing push, Pokémon Snap (and its sequel) wouldn't be as successful/anticipated as it was. I'm sure New Pokémon Snap will sell more than the Nintendo 64 version. I'm also sure that you won't get $60 out of it, just by the nature of what kind of game it is. It also had the advantage of being the first (with Pokémon Pinball) Pokémon spin-off videogame, back in the Pokémon late 1990s craze. That helped.


Ludwig doesn't want to downplay the appeal of observing and interacting with Pokémon in their natural environment, but if you found the Glimwood Tangle live camera to be boring... well. Pokémon Snap isn't wholly uninteractive like that, but it's not that far off. There's apparently some kind of plot thread called the Illumina Phenomenon, but who cares?

Pokémon 25th Anniversary Promotions Begin... Katy Perry?

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - A look into their celebratory plans. (Not game announcements.)

I told you all I'm not a fan of speculation when The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) announced at the end of 2020 that they want 2021 to be a big Pokémon year: The 25th anniversary.

...And, I mean, did anyone speculate that they'd start with this? I think not:

That Rube Goldberg machine chain reaction took them a month to get right. It's impressive and very referential to each of the generations/regions in order, like the giant mountain half a minute in being Sinnoh's Mt. Coronet.

As for the ending, I was just trying to learn what a Beyoncé was a few years ago, and now there's this Katy Perry character? I'd think Beyoncé at least has the same é as Pokémon, but TPCi is promising music collaborations with multiple other unnamed artists, not just Katy Perry. I think they should've gotten native musicians that integrate Pokémon into their performance, like Virbank City Gym Leader Roxie and her punk rock band, Koffing and the Toxics. Here's hoping. Anyway, take a look at this:

1. Pokédex
2. Pokémon Egg
3. Pokéblock Case with Pokéblocks inside
4. Explorer Kit for the Sinnoh Underground
5. Pokémon Musical Dress Up props
6. Mega Evolution Key Stone
7. Electrium Z Crystal
8. Pokémon Curry cooking set

Cute picture, right? TPCi plans to do regional revisiting every month starting in March with Galar. They should be in Kanto by the end of 2021. There will be other monthly events too, and fun (?) sellable merchandise like oversized underpowered Pokémon cards. I guess they'll get articles if I have nothing else to write about. And who knows, maybe there'll be a game announcement at some point.


Ludwig wished that every region had their own musical sensations, but apparently that's not the case. Are you looking forward to the 25th anniversary promotions? Do you care about this Katy Perry person or her music? Ludwig isn't impressed with her as a person after reading her Wikipedia article. Comment in the comments section!

Bowser's Furious that Bowser Jr. is Teaming with MARIO!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Also, don't trust trailers.

We know back from September 2020's award-winning Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct that there will be a game releasing exactly one month from now called Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury for Nintendo Switch.

We know all about Super Mario 3D World, since it was a best-seller on the Wii U, being the second-most-selling game. (In raw numbers, that's not saying much, but...) Lord Bowser has a great car in that, and Mario snatches bodies of dead Goombas. There's also a LOT of fursuits, since the game has a fixation with cats. However, you don't know anything about Bowser's Fury. (I happen to have experience with it... in my personal life, not as a game mode.) Nintendo put out this trailer today, with an accompanying press release with little information contained:

Let's be clear: Nintendo hasn't given a clear, written definition of Bowser's Fury. Not on the website (“Stay tuned for more details about this action-packed addition to the game!”). Not on the eShop page (“Additional details about what fun things this game has to offer will be revealed soon!”). Not in the press release, though that had many details about other things, like a Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibo, and that the original adventure will now have online multiplayer. Plus, there will now be a Mario-coloured (blue and red) Nintendo Switch system, which will never be allowed into my castle.

KoopaTV's GOTY 2020 Awards!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Game of THAT Year 2020... and other categories.

You have been trying to influence KoopaTV's staff all weekend since we published our Game of THAT Year 2020 nominations, plus other categories. And we have been debating them all weekend... and today, right up until this was published. You can imagine how much work that forces on me, since I have to write things for every category, but the categories aren't decided until late...

Anyway, 2020 really sucked, for a variety of reasons. One of them is that a lot of the videogames that we played during the year were released in other years. 2020 was a backlog-clearing year. That has big implications for how we approached the Game of THAT Year 2020 award.

Fortunately, most of the awards aren't going to videogames, but are going to ourselves—stand-out KoopaTV articles. While game developers slowed down in 2020, we kept going at the same pace as always, so there's a lot of content!