Nintendo Direct June 21, 2023 Live Reactions!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - There's a lot of emotion involved, at least.

Today, there was a Nintendo Direct livestream featuring roughly 40 minutes of information focused mainly on Nintendo Switch titles launching this year, including new details on Pikmin 4. Watch it embedded here:

I gave a live-reacted text log (annotated with select screenshots) below. KoopaTV staffer Kamek is also present in the log... in his own way.

[9:54 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7t5jnpkCkI
[9:55 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: I NEED TO USE THE BATHROOM AHH
[9:59 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Back.
[9:59 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Not sure if I did a good job wiping myself but I don't have enough time for that!
[9:59 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Some people have already asked me what I expect or want to see in this Nintendo Direct. I expect nothing. I didn't ask for this event to happen.
[10:00 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: But I am interested in the fact that media people / influencers / whomever have claimed that Nintendo backed out of E3 2023 because they have a weak lineup and have nothing to show.
[10:00 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: First thing: Pokémon.
[10:01 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Someone also told me there wouldn't be Pokémon at Nintendo Direct because Pokémon has their own event.
[10:01 AM] Ludwig Von Koopa: Obviously mistaken.

HARVESTELLA: From a Farm Sim Fan's Perspective

By WITCH PRINCESS - Hey, I'm back.

It's been a while since I wrote on this site. From medical to personal problems, I've just been busy. Ludwig encouraged me to return to try to cheer me up. In the end, I hope everyone here (if you remember me) can forgive my chronic absence from creating content.

I'm here to share my thoughts on the HARVESTELLA farming simulation demo from Square Enix.

If you don't know, I come from Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons). That's a huge farm simulation series that has a fantasy spinoff known as Rune Factory. Published by Marvelous and localized in America by Xseed Games, there are two titles on the Nintendo Switch: Friends of Mineral Town and Pioneers of Olive Town. The GameCube classic A Wonderful Life will release on the Switch too!

Of course, I'm a huge casual gamer and a huge life/farming sim fan. HARVESTELLA should be perfect for me, right?

KoopaTV's April 2022 Review Newsletter

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - The many going-ons of April 2022!

We got through another month together, KoopaTV fans and readers! And I thought April 2022 went by super quick. I mean, I gotta make decisions on what to do for the next round of the KoopaTV Loyalty Rewards Program ALREADY? It felt like I just gave the prize out for the last one, and now I gotta do that again.

But along with KoopaTV Loyalty Rewards Program-related stuff, we have other things to review in this newsletter reviewing April 2022. Starting with...

New Comments Form Experience

Added to the list of “so-called improvements that Google has made across all Blogger websites that no one asked for”, the comments section form to submit a new comment has been totally changed as of... sometime later in the month. (Sometime April 25?) I think it's worse. It used to be a box but it's just expandable white space now. But I'm also more concerned about if it actually works for everyone or not, since some folks in the support forum are saying that their comments section is now just broken and people can't actually comment things anymore.

If that applies to you, I ask that you email me at ludwig at koopatv dot org and let me know. (Obviously, if the comments section is really broken, you won't be able to use it to comment to me that it's broken.) For your information, there's no opt-in or opt-out to the change. It's forced upon me. ...Well, as far as I know. Maybe if I was more TECH-Y I could do something. Let me know if you actually like this more.

Top Five Recommended Experiences of April 2022

What kind of new articles were there to reply to? Check out this chronologically ordered list of experiences published in April 2022:

1. Humour Under Assault and Battery — When people believe that words are violence, you get things like Will Smith slapping comedians. Ludwig even got banned from somewhere for laughing at someone else's joke!
2. Censorship? Contrived Chrono Cross Controversy — Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is a new victim of the drive-by anti-censorship squad that reflexively moan about social justice warriors ruining games. But if you objectively look at what happened... there's no censorship and the whole outrage is laughable.
3. In a WEIRD (but real) Tweet, Miyamoto/Illumination Delay the Super Mario Bros. Film to Spring 2023 — There were a pair of tweets from Nintendo and from Illumination about the untitled Super Mario Bros. film. Illumination's was normal... and Nintendo's was strange. I dissected the Nintendo tweet line-by-line in this article.
4. Yes, Maya Fey Did Say Phoenix Wright is an Attention Whore — It's been a question in the Ace Attorney franchise—does Maya Fey have that much of a mouth on her that she's saying the phrase “attention whore”?
5. Don't Fall for Yuji Naka Trying to Redeem Himself or BALAN WONDERWORLD — Yuji Naka is trying to revise the commonly acknowledged development history of BALAN WONDERWORLD... but if you read between his lines like I did in the article, you can get to something closer to the real truth.

OF COURSE, everything on KoopaTV is worth reading, so be sure to... read everything!

No More Heroes 3 Coming to Non-Switch Platforms Fall 2022

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - ...Punks. (Though that's thematically fitting.)

Last week, XSEED Games, a component of games publisher Marvelous, announced that No More Heroes 3 (also known as No More Heroes III will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, the Xbox Series, and PC (Steam and Windows Store) this autumn. By the time it releases on those systems, it will have been a Nintendo Switch-exclusive for slightly over one year. And if you asked SUDA51 in September 2021, he'd say there are “no plans at the moment” to port the Nintendo Switch exclusive to other systems. ...And then Grasshopper Manufacture got acquired by NetEase Games a month after that and everything changes, I suppose.

Non-Nintendo gamers really didn't have to wait long for SUDA51 to create plans!

XSEED promises this port will have “improved HD visuals, framerates, and faster loading times”... of course, it already has HD visuals, although the frame rate and the loading times on the Switch version do leave a lot to be desired. All three of the visuals, frame rates, and probably loading times were improved for the Switch version right before release, as well as in a day 1 patch and a day...40-ish patch. ...But, yes, they could be improved a lot more.

The improved port will release at $60, just like the Switch version. There will also be a limited-time “Day 1 Edition” that's physical with an art book, a CD with “select songs from the soundtrack”, and a licence plate. My biggest question about all of this is if that CD with select songs (read: not all of them) will be the same ~56-minute selection of twenty songs that Marvelous made available on YouTube for only four months before taking it down. I was at first wondering if they'd re-upload that altogether for the benefit of the expanded audience, but I can totally see it now being an “exclusive” physical bonus that you won't ever see again after the promotion period is over. To this day, lots of the soundtrack isn't available ANYWHERE.

No sign of No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle being ported to PlayStation and Xbox too. ...But they probably will. I mean, they suddenly got on the Switch, so...


Ludwig would recommend the mainline series! He doesn't regret it. (Though he does think that Day 1 Edition would probably be a bad idea.) Maybe they'll be even better on stronger platforms? Let KoopaTV know what you think in the comments section.


That Day 1 Edition is available as a Digital Deluxe edition with a 22-song soundtrack that is different than the 20-song soundtrack, but still omits most of the soundtrack.

E3 2021 Preview Update: SQUARE ENIX, SEGA, and an Online Portal

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - More companies, more fun... all virtual!

Normally I like to refrain making articles that are really announcements about announcements—but in this case, multiple mainstream gaming media outlets (like VG247) have reported false information such as, “Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, EA, Sega, Sony, and Square Enix will not make appearances [at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2021].” Misinformation often travels farther than the truth, so here's the most up-to-date E3 2021 company attendance information:

The list of companies confirmed for the all-virtual E3 2021 continues to grow with the addition of several high-profile video game publishers and developers, as well as tech, hardware and streaming companies. SQUARE ENIX, SEGA, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, XSEED Games / Marvelous USA, Inc., Gearbox Entertainment, Freedom Games, Devious Eye Entertainment, Turtle Beach, Verizon and Binge.com are joining the fray and preparing to bring major announcements and reveals to fans throughout E3, which takes place June 12 through June 15.

Previously confirmed E3 partners include Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive and Warner Bros. Games.

We've known that for a week, but some irresponsible outlets don't update their original stories that are wrong, and they're still indexed on search engines. You'd think the least they could do is keep updated information on the BIGGEST EVENT IN THE INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR. Nah. They also could've been a responsible website like KoopaTV and not mention that companies that will actually come later will not make appearances.

Anyway, Bandai Namco, SEGA, and SQUARE ENIX will actually be there. It's true EA and Sony will not be there—which is why they're the only two companies KoopaTV originally stated wouldn't be there. Dunno about Activision Blizzard, but I'd be happier without them. Really curious what Verizon has to share.

Everyone's Having a Nintendo New Year (2020) Sale

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - And all I do is promote Ace Attorney like an automaton.

I am obligated to write an article about Nintendo's tremendous New Year Sale (of the new year 2020) on the Nintendo eShop right now, which ends January 17, 2020 at 2:59 AM Eastern. There's over 900 games on sale, the majority of which are on the Switch. Many other interesting companies, such as XSEED, Inti Creates, SEGA (including ATLUS), and most importantly, CAPCOM, are in this too.

You may remember CAPCOM just had a Winter Sale mere weeks ago, and I was very fortunate to get someone I just met on that sale's last day to buy Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy at 33.33% off. As of today, she's absolutely in love with the game, and is right about to finish the fifth and final case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It was the last good thing I did in 2019. Maybe getting you to buy Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy at 33.33% off (on the Switch; 60% off on the 3DS along with the sixth game in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney–Spirit of Justice; while the fourth game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is 50% off; and the fifth game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney–Dual Destinies is 70% off. All of these are originally $30, except for Apollo Justice, which is originally $20.) will be the first good thing I do in 2020.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a weird 44.33% off to be $33.99, so it can try to masquerade as a handheld game or something. I'm in the game and training hard, but I can't recommend it anyway. ARMS is also on sale. Of course it is.

But in terms of Nintendo games I actually endorse, there's Splatoon 2 and Kirby Star Allies, at 30% off each. I can tell you that Splatoon 2 is still actively played, despite the lack of content updates. In fact, that's where I met that girl whom I convinced to purchase Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy mentioned in the second paragraph.

Take a look at everything on sale over here. Here is a Nintendo Switch link leading directly to purchasing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy.


If it's not obvious, the best thing you can do if you own Nintendo systems is to stock up on Ace Attorney games. You likely won't get the chance for these to be on sale for another several months. That'd be a shame. Let Ludwig know if you found something else you're interested in, too.


Ludwig actually bought stuff when this New Year Sale happened in 2019; though many of the games on sale then (besides Ace Attorney) are no longer on sale now.
Instead of several months, you only had to wait one month.
Or wait next year for the New Year Sale of 2021.

Defending Kill the F*****?

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - For its true message.

A company out of Los Angeles, California, Skaldic Games, recently caused a huge controversy over a game they tried to release on Valve's Steam Greenlight. Very controversial, and as such, we would like to issue a content warning for our younger audience concerning language. Hence the title-censorship that is sure to kill the search engine optimisation for the article.

Here's what Skaldic Games says about themselves:

"Skaldic Games is an independent video game developer from the Los Angeles area. We try to bring to life new games and apps with unique ideas."

Well, we definitely like new games with unique ideas.

The idea in question? Release a game called Kill the Faggot for free on Steam. You are tasked with shooting gays and trannies running across the screen while avoiding shooting normal people. This got instantaneous outrage and Valve deleted it.

Skaldic wrote a statement about it here. 

We wanna show you what we mean, but unfortunately, the YouTube video provided by Skaldic Games showing gameplay footage got deleted by YouTube for violating its Terms of Service.

Transitioning Transgressive Artistry To Censorship

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Guess who we're siding with.

It is a continuing fight, between the forces of artistic expression (hell, any expression period) and the forces of bullying and political correctness. We do not choose the battlefield. We do not choose the occasion, the time, the place. But we must be there to meet the call to battle, and defend our freedoms wherever they are threatened.

Our latest fight takes place on publisher XSEED's Twitter feed. XSEED is famous on KoopaTV for... pretty much nothing, since apparently we haven't name-dropped them once in the site's history.

XSEED is a company that is basically dedicated to bringing what would otherwise be Japan-only videogames into North America. There are several reasons why these games might be stuck in Japan. No company has the resources/time for them, they are seen as unprofitable, or they're just... weird and inappropriate for mainstream American audiences. They are known for their high-quality translations and dedication to the material. For Nintendo, they brought "Project Rainfall" babies (or bastard twins, if you're comparing to Xenoblade) Pandora's Tower and The Last Story on the Wii to North America.

If you didn't get the point yet, here is XSEED according to XSEED:

"XSEED Games was formed in November 2004 by a small group of industry veterans with a common vision; to cross pollinate the avid gaming culture of Japan and North America. Delivering unique, innovative titles across multiple platforms and genres, XSEED Games is dedicated to publishing products that appeal to and enrich the North American market."

Anyway, back to fighting. One of the games XSEED is localizing is Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed. It's on Sony platforms only. It appears to be one of those games similar to High School DxD, which KoopaTV put pains into telling you is inappropriate for children and the workplace. It's probably no coincidence that you could read it as "Akiba Strip" in the website url. So no screenshots of the game here. It's clearly for Mature audiences only.