Watching the Three Episodes of Pokémon: Hisuian Snow

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Not sure I should be watching this now, but...

A friend of mine just asked what I think of Hisuian Zoroark. And, I mean, I dunno, it's a Normal and Ghost type. Cool typing offensively, and interesting immunities to its own typing defensively. Too bad it's super frail, so its defensive typing doesn't matter much... and since it's only in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, we don't have a good idea of what its actual movepool would be in a real Pokémon game.

Still, since I haven't played Pokémon Legends: Arceus (yet), I don't really know much about it.

Onto the Icy Blue ❄️

The first half of the episode is quite slow, but ultimately a father and kid are talking about a malicious Zoroark that was bullied and mistreated by humans. The father thinks that humans and Pokémon can't co-exist, and it's obvious that disproving that notion will be a theme of the series.

The kid goes into a forest all by himself and encounters a grunting Hisuian Zorua, who uses creepy ghost powers to make the kid laugh out loud before mauling him. I gotta say, the child deserves it. Somehow, the Zorua is so incompetent at mauling the child (I believe his name is Alec) that they end up rolling off a cliff together to end the episode. Pretty bad so far.

It'd be cool if this was a single-episode affair and this was how it ended.
Unfortunately, there are two more episodes, so they're probably not dead. Let's keep watching, then.

Koopa Kingdom Statement on Assassination of Shinzō Abe

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - ...We didn't do it! And it's sad that someone did!

In extremely upsetting and disturbing news, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe was assassinated last night by fatal gunshots while trying to hold a rally/speech for fellow Liberal Democratic Party member Kei Satō's re-election campaign for the House of Councillors seat from Nara Prefecture. While Shinzō Abe wasn't the Prime Minister anymore and didn't have the best health, you can figure that he's still quite popular among many of his countrymen, and certainly moreso than his successor (who also left), Yoshihide Suga. When Shinzō Abe speaks... people listen. The suspect, who is currently a guy named Tetsuya Yamagami, allegedly had an homemade double-barreled shotgun and shot and killed Shinzō Abe with it due to disliking the former Prime Minister.

I oughta note that the suspect's name is Tetsuya Yamagami, not Hideo Kojima (and certainly not any Koopas), like some FAKE NEWS claimed. (While that links to Kotaku, Kotaku is reporting on FAKE NEWS by others. ...Though it is still Kotaku, so there are many things wrong with that article, like the laughably shameless last paragraph where piracy-promoter Zack Zwiezen asks the media not to use 4chan or Twitter trolls as sources, while he's using disreputable forum ResetEra as a source in that same sentence.)

Anyway, speaking on behalf of all of Koopa Kingdom and the Royal Koopa Family, we are in mourning at the loss of Shinzō Abe. He was a great patriot for the nation of Japan, and Koopa Kingdom and the former Prime Minister had similar desires and goals to rid the universe of Cappy, who had captured the Prime Minister and permanently changed the course of history. Shinzō Abe was really the first sign that Mario's hat is big trouble. He wanted help. We wanted to help him. I've always wanted to meet him, but I didn't have the opportunity to while I was in Japan (despite the former Prime Minister's alleged influence over that trip). Ultimately he fell to non-Cappy forces (well... I guess we can't rule out what the suspect's motivations really were) and the universe is still threatened. Big shame. Shinzō Abe also was a foe of the Chinese Communist Party, which we (and everyone else) share an animosity with.

We're very saddened and wish the best for his widow, Akie Abe, and for all of Japan! And we wish the worst for his assassin.


Rest in peace, Shinzō Abe. Feel free to share your own condolences in the comments section below.


Exactly two months later, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died. Naturally.
Over two years later, Ludwig found himself on the receiving end of an assassination attempt.

E3's 2023 Incarnation to be Managed by ReedPop

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I'm cautiously pessimistic about the direction this is going in.

When telling the media (but not to anyone directly—even after this news, the E3 website still claims “E3 2022 See you next year”) about E3 2022 not existing, the Entertainment Software Association (the ESA—the American gaming industry's trade and lobbying group) also claimed they were putting their efforts into making E3 2023 really awesome. Apparently this involves having ReedPop—known for organising PAX and New York Comic Con—manage and figure out everything, because the ESA can't do that.

ReedPop is also known for being behind media outlets such as Digital Foundry, Eurogamer, GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo Life, Pure Xbox, Rock Paper Shotgun, and VG247. Perhaps ironically, some of those sites have reported FAKE NEWS about E3 in the past, like which companies would and would not be a part of E3 2021. (As well as publishing FAKE NEWS in general.)

E3 2023 will continue to be in the Los Angeles Convention Center “during the second week of June.” June 11 is the second Sunday of June, though June 1 is on a Thursday, so I don't know if they count that as the first week of June or it's the first full week of June. There will also be a digital part, but if you do show up to E3, there will be in-person things for normal non-industry people. (I've traditionally recommended against that since it involves being stuck in line for hours, though maybe things will change?)

Splatoon 3 to have a Nintendo Switch (OLED model)—not a new hardware revision, FAKE NEWS media!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - The hardware looks FRESH.

I very recently wrote an article admonishing the FAKE NEWS media (and clickbait addicts) for “leaking” “insider” information about an upcoming Nintendo Direct—they got it wrong twice in one month. In that article, I slipped this line...

“Thankfully, unlike last year's long list of disgraceful media outlets and personalities that promoted FAKE NEWS, I didn't come across anyone saying there'd be a new Nintendo Switch hardware revision revealed.”

But just one week later (July 5), we get this stupid video titled “Is a Switch Pro Reveal Imminent?! Nintendo Privates Switch Lite & OLED YouTube Trailers” from the insufferable folks at GameXplain. (Specifically Joey Ferris.) I'm not embedding it because it's a shameful piece of garbage, and I don't recommend you actually click that link and give them a view. It's pretty funny they start the video with:

Took Me Over 21 Years to Learn Zero Wing's Voice-Acting is Fan-Made

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - “ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US” is real... the voice isn't.

Upon hearing that Zero Wing was coming to the Nintendo Switch's Sega Genesis emulator, I thought that maybe I should finally bite and upgrade the KoopaTV Family Group subscription of Nintendo Switch Online to the Expansion Pack.

And the compilation video immediately starts with the Zero Wing introduction. The most important part is first! (And while it's interesting that MEGA MAN: THE WILY WARS is available, you're better off playing the original NES games on Mega Man Legacy Collection, which is on sale for one more day.) But wait... why isn't there voice-acting? I remember this having voice-acting, and that's a large part of the meme appeal of Zero Wing! Nintendo must've edited the video!

Fireworks over at Tama's House!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Boom! Bop!

I don't actually like fireworks. They're loud and frightening and I always wonder what happens on the way down. That said, it's either that, or talk about the meaning of INDEPENDENCE, which is in a pretty bad Earth state, at least. I mean, Hong Kong is in a completely pwned state (and its opposition leaders are in prison) compared to the active protests before. Ukraine is Ukrekt, or on its way towards that (don't ask me how to actually pronounce Ukrekt).

So fireworks it is. Who is hosting this year's party?

It's Tama, Nippon's one and only Pyrotechnist!

We just gotta head over to Shinshu Field. Only at night. It's a big field, but you go up some hills and then down some steps and you'll reach his house. You'll know it when you see it based on its design. There's also a sign marking that it's the house of Tama the Pyrotechnist:

Well, yes.

While I'd rarely characterise any of the music in ŌKAMI as a “bop”, the music in Tama's house is a bop. Don't get me wrong, the music in the game is great. Just not the boppy style. That's why I muted the sound effects for this clip of the fireworks party (featuring the Cherry Bomb) inside Tama's house. Oh, and, um, don't be worried about him:

ŌKAMI HD is currently 50% off on the Nintendo eShop, as part of the Big Ol' Super Sale that ends July 6. (It's also on sale on Steam.) I highly recommend it not just for the fireworks, but for everything else.


Did you enjoy Independence Day? Or was it just a normal Fourth of July to you? Why not discuss this in the comments section?

KoopaTV's June 2022 Review Newsletter

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - We've lived through insignificance!

That June 2022 sure was a month, wasn't it? Normally we'd be coming out of June with great energy from the month's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, but that wasn't a thing this year. And there was a lack of significant central events in its place (with the exception of the event that'll be mentioned in the top five recommended experiences section of this newsletter).

Ah, th-that's not to say that KoopaTV now is a low-energy publication publishing crap content. In fact, I have five pieces of evidence to the contrary:

Top Five Recommended Experiences of June 2022

Take a look (and click on them if the hyperlinks are blue instead of grey) at these great works published on KoopaTV in June, listed in chronological order:

1. SLEEP 2022: The Most Important Conference This Week! — The most important central event of June 2022 was the SLEEP 2022 conference, which Ludwig covered in this article, including reactions to several of the research abstracts presented.
2. Simultaneous Remove and Replace: The Case of the Dollar Discrepancy for Ace Attorney Trilogy Mobile — Ludwig investigated a curious discrepancy in the prices of the brand-new mobile re-ports of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. (This remains to this day.)
3. Star Wars: KOTOR2 Gamebreaking Bug Exposes Professional Game Reviewers as Frauds — If there's one article out there with definitive proof that professional reviewers and Metacritic is a fraudulent exercise, it's this.
4. I'd probably get Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes if it wasn't a "Warriors" game — Someone just can't get a committed interest in Musou games, even if it's been rather heavily Fire Emblem-ised. Has really fun screenshots.
5. Don't forget about those fake "insiders" and "leakers" for the June 2022 Nintendo Direct — It's not just game reviews that is fraudulent—media outlets in the gaming industry also recklessly publish FAKE NEWS but try to trick you into believing it's credible. (And then you keep trusting them after?)

I ought to mention, regarding STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords for the Switch, they released a hotfix yesterday (June 30) resolving the issue. Moving on to the next story...

Nintendo eShop's Big Ol' Super Sale... with AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I'll pick something up. Will you?

For a week now and for a week longer, Nintendo has a “Big Ol' Super Sale” on the Nintendo eShop. This features over 2200 games on sale ranging from 30% off very recommendable Nintendo-published games like Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age and Paper Mario: The Origami King to 83% off extremely recommendable games published by other companies, like CAPCOM. ...You know, 83% off Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, 83% off Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, 75% off Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, and 33% off the Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection. (The first three of those are on the 3DS; the last one on the Switch.) Experience the great story and character designs of the franchise yourself by playing it.

But what I'm looking at right now for my own purchasing purposes is AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES, which is another adventure game like Ace Attorney, but published by Spike Chunsoft. It's directed and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who also directed and wrote the three Nonary Games titles, such as Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors which I featured in the KoopaTV nine-year anniversary article last month. AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is a whopping 80% off ($40→$8) and has a demo on the Switch eShop. It's also recommended by friends of mine.

So for the rest of this article, I'm going to go through my demo experience and at the end, let you know if I bought AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES or not!

Don't forget about those fake "insiders" and "leakers" for the June 2022 Nintendo Direct

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - They thrive (by lying to you) only when you have a short memory.

My live reaction—and the later popular opinion—was that yesterday's Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase was a fantastic success, with many interesting games. It's not an empty public relations statement when Steve Singer, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Publisher and Developer Relations, said this in a press release about the newsdrop:

“With dozens of new games featured in this Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase arriving soon, players have so much to look forward to on Nintendo Switch. This robust showing from our development and publishing partners highlights the versatility of Nintendo Switch, with a deep game library that continues to expand, entertain and delight.”

While I'm annoyed at the lack of the Oxford Comma at the end, he's correct on the substance. It wasn't long ago that the conventional wisdom is that the only justifiable reason to get a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo-published titles... and you'd use some other hardware as your primary gaming device. To honest people paying attention, the Nintendo Switch has blew that conventional wisdom apart, and events like this Partner Showcase clearly displayed the breadth and depth of third-party game publishers’ support for the Nintendo Switch. I'm pleased by it as both a gamer and as an industry commentator.

And yet... the event that we received on June 28, 2022 was NOT the event that “insiders” and “leakers”, boosted by foolish media outlets, was saying we'd receive. (Neither was the June 22 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct, which was Nintendo's only published-by-Nintendo game Direct of the month.) They were hyping up something else. Thankfully, unlike last year's long list of disgraceful media outlets and personalities that promoted FAKE NEWS, I didn't come across anyone saying there'd be a new Nintendo Switch hardware revision revealed. Instead, I came across two prominent (widely reported on) and demonstrably incorrect theories that were hyped up... neither of which made much sense to begin with. But that didn't stop the media from reporting on them.

Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase June 2022 Live Reaction

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Very solid!

On Monday morning, Nintendo of America announced a new Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase. This only features games from third-party companies—not developed by Nintendo themselves. Immediately, my only expectation was to hear about Dragon Quest Treasures, because Dragon Quest Day 2022 told us to come back June to hear more information. And, well, there's not much of June remaining, so this is really the last opportunity for that.

Besides that basic expectation, I had no expectations going into this. And I'm also the only staffer in this reaction log, because it's a stupid time of day to have a reaction log and it's on extremely short notice to rejigger one's day to accommodate the Direct... and maybe there's fatigue among the staff. Well, my reactions are enough.

[9:00 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: It's 9 Eastern.
[9:00 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Where's the Direct?
[9:01 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKB3WXRWTCM
[9:01 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Found it.
[9:01 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I really shouldn't be live-reacting to a non-stream; this is just lazy.
[9:02 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Is this Monster Hunter?
[9:02 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: ...yeah there's a gunlance.