Vortexica's "The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses - Master Quest" Experience

By VORTEXICA - TL;DR: It's good. Go see it if you get the chance.

In a previous article, I talked about how important music is to the Legend of Zelda series, and mentioned that it even has its own concert tour known as Symphony of the Goddesses. Well, talking about all that in such detail put me in exactly the right mood for a big ol' Zelda gaming binge. So much so in fact that I also went right out (13 days later...) and snapped up a ticket for my closest performance.
 

Enter 'HeyListen' at checkout to get 10% off UK @ZeldaSymphony tickets! #Zelda https://t.co/dZaCLxOBrF pic.twitter.com/hUM1P6diVP

— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) August 17, 2016

If I'd waited a bit longer, I could've saved some cash too! Stupid fairy...

Anyway, a few days ago was the date in question. Let me tell you all about it...

Bubble Burst Bernie? Sounds Like Something We'd Make

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - *snicker* I'd do it better, though.

You'd think I would have some level of respect for Stephen Colbert and his career. We're both political satirists, right? Well, you'd be wrong. I'm not a fan of him, his previous show, or his new gig at The Late Show. Though he did help (sort of?) Herman Cain out, once.

But, I guess we cross paths sometimes. Like this:

Play Bubble Burst Bernie! Just try to avoid landing in the top 1% of players. That URL again is https://t.co/aCjQU8HHpF. #LateShow #LSSC

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) May 6, 2016

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert made a game? Yeah, even Gamasutra is reporting on it. Though their angle isn't on Colbert or Bernie, it's “lapsed game dev returns” to do something. Said developer is Darius Kazemi, who apparently spent a week working on the game. Other credits include The Late Show animator Tim Luecke, Bernie Sanders's voice, and The Late Show music guy Ballard C. Boyd. Produced (I guess?) by Late Show writer Rob Dubbin, who we apparently have to thank (?) for not having in-game purchases:

@GODMODEINTERNET the world is fortunate that in-game purchases were out of scope for the project

— Rob Dubbin (@robdubbin) May 6, 2016

So... want to play it?

REVIEW: Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - We should've gotten Donkey Kong: Trooper Challenge instead.

You may recall that in the March 2016 Nintendo Direct, they announced Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge for the Wii U and 3DS. Anyone who bought an amiibo at participating retailers between March 25 and April 27 got free codes for the Wii U and 3DS versions. I went to one of those and bought some amiibo, and got codes.

If you want more details about that, stay tuned for the conclusion of the “How Team Koopa Escaped Rio” series here on KoopaTV. Whenever that is finished, it'll be linked to at the bottom of this review. I want to focus on this game, Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge.

Now, the reason that it comes with an amiibo? You need at least one amiibo to actually play. Could be any amiibo. But only a select few amiibo give you special things in the game. I'll talk more about that in the review, but that's just something important to get out of the way.

I don't particularly feel like making particular sections for each part (gameplay, graphics, whatever) of the game like I've done in some previous reviews. I'm feeling holistic right now. All screenshots for this review are from the Wii U version.

Is The Wii U "Watchup" News App Worth Your Time?

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - The so-called Hulu of the News.

Today I received a push notification on my Wii U Gamepad upon turnin' the system on. It was advertising a news service called "Watchup" on the Wii U that's FREE to download off the eShop! Well, hey, I like hearin' the news (so I can commentate on it for this website), and I like my Wii U. These things should fit together.

Courtesy of their press kit.

 
However, this isn't an exclusive-to-Nintendo kind of thing. This is an entrepreneurial company, Watchup, Inc, that says they're out of Stanford. Their slogan for the Wii U?

"Gamer on the outside but news junkie on the inside? 

Watchup on Wii U is a multitasker’s fantasy come true!

Catch up on today’s news from hundreds of local, national and international sources on your favorite game console. Customize your daily newscast and get more in depth news coverage by reading related articles on the GamePad. Get it from the eShop for free."

Well, at least someone out there is trying to make the Wii U GamePad central to some experience out there. But how well does the app perform and does it satisfy my news junkie-ness? That's the basis of this review.

A Review Of Choice: Texas — Should You Choose It?

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - It's a "very serious game", so I'll write a very serious review.

Choice: Texas is an "indie" game that has gotten a lot of press on KoopaTV; more than some MAJOR console games have. (This will now be the sixth article dedicated to it.) This month, we were finally able to announce that it is fully playable after more than a year of development. As such, this Best PC Game Of 2014 nominee will be the first PC game reviewed by KoopaTV! Congrats to the developers.

As a bonus, I'll even try not to let my personal biases about abortion and the developers themselves (or their biases against KoopaTV, such as blocking our Twitter account) get in the way of the review. Enjoy.

The game's logo, which omits the colon in the name.

You can read my preview of the game's first playable forme back in May here.

Play the game at: http://playchoicetexas.com/ 

Rummaging Through The Phoenix Wright Files!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook: Vol. 1: The Phoenix Wright Files.

If you follow me on Miiverse, you'll know that I took out that thing in the sub-title from the library. Well, I have to return it by tomorrow, so might as well review this manga for KoopaTV. Sure, it's not a videogame. But it's based off one! Loosely. Fortunately, it's based off the KoopaTV-favourite Ace Attorney franchise.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook: Vol. 1: The Phoenix Wright Files is a "doujinshi", which means the fact that it reads like a collection of drawn short fan-fiction is intentional, because that's basically what it is. There are 20 "cases" in the book (having diverse plots such as Maya Fey needing to find a waterfall for training, to Maya Fey begging Wright to let a stray cat live in the office, to Wright, Maya, Edgeworth, and Franziska von Karma competing to win free noodles) all written and drawn by different people with different styles. It's sponsored by Capcom, and brought over here by Del Rey Manga, a division of Random House. In 2008.

A Meta-Review of IGN's Rating System

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Senseless bashing of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Let's do something a bit different today. Today, we're going to review a review, and a review process. What are we talking about? This Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn review from the folks over at IGN. At KoopaTV, one thing we're very much aware of is the lack of journalistic integrity in today's gaming media. Naturally, we're spotless ourselves.

This review, by now ex-IGN guy Mark Bozon, is the foremost example in my mind of shoddy journalism that exists by a mainstream videogame publication. There is nothing worse than this shitty excuse of a review. I think we can learn a lot from dissecting it. It may be almost seven years old now, but it's the low-point in videogame journalism and probably responsible for some people not buying this Intelligent Systems game, one of the best games on the Wii!

(Spoiler-Free!) Ace Attorney 5? JUDGE KOOPA IS PRESIDING. VERDICT IN!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - The long-awaited Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies review.

I have been saying I'm going to write a Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies review ever since the day it came out in North America, over a month ago. Since I want you to get it, I decided the best way to approach this review is spoiler-free. If you get spoiled, that reduces the chances you'll get it. So no spoilers. The review format will be a modified version of my earlier review.

Judge Koopa is here. Stand up. ...Now sit down and pay attention!

Punch-Out!! for Wii! LET'S TAKE A SHOT AT IT.

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - "A comeback is like a yo-yo. You gonna go down, but you comin' right back up. And then you may end up walkin' the dawg."

This is KoopaTV's first review of an actual game, if we don't count reviews written by our lovely guest posters. Hey, if you want to be a guest poster and submit something, check out the guest posting guidelines. Now with that out of the way, it's time to review the 2009 instant-classic, Punch-Out!! for Wii, developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games and published by Nintendo. It's a sequel to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (or Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream if you've only played the NES version from Animal Crossing or the Virtual Console) and Super Punch-Out!! on the SNES (available via Wii's Virtual Console. Not really worth it).

Pathways to Adventure: Pokémon Gold and Silver

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Summary: Typhlosion sweeps the entire region.

So I was at Savers the other day, and there was a Pokémon book that stood out to me: Pokémon Gold/Silver: Pathways to Adventure by Jason R. Rich (writer of articles in magazines such as "Gay City News"), which was a relic all the way from November 2000. Back 13 years ago this was $9.99 — now it was discounted to $1.99. I didn't know this existed, so I had to buy this, and I knew I'd review it! And it's even an "Official Nintendo Licensed Product". It was published by Sybex, which no longer exists if you try to go on their website.