Announcing Punch-Out!! Week!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Every article next week is Punch-Out!! related!

Take a gander at the Terms Index, assuming you're reading this when it was published. Scroll down to the Punch-Out!! section. The entire series is only on there once under Punch-Out!! Wii where Rawk wrote “I didn't want DKC to 'return' for one game and fade back into irrelevance (kind of like Punch-Out!! did), but sadly I thought that's what it would do.”
That's not right for this fantastic series. It hasn't had the opportunity to achieve the exposure that we at KoopaTV regularly give to Super Smash Bros. 4, or the Donkey Kong Country series, or the Ace Attorney series. As it stands, it's like every week is Super Smash Bros. 4 week!

We're going to right this wrong, so every article from Monday to Friday of the week August 19-August 23 will have strong Punch-Out!! references. And the site logo will temporarily change, too.

The logo is here in case you want to look at it after next week is over.

“Hey Ludwig, I don't care about Punch-Out!!, can I just not show up to KoopaTV for a week?”

Uh, no. For one, you should care about Punch-Out!!, and for two, these aren't exclusively Punch-Out!!-related articles. It's just every day the Terms Index will get some much-needed love in that section. There will be plenty of references to other games, too.

And there's a special surprise at the end of the week, too. Enjoy.

Ludwig has played Punch-Out!! on the NES via Animal Crossing on the GameCube, Super Punch-Out!! via the Wii's Virtual Console, and Punch-Out!! Wii by actually buying it.


To see the first article for this week, click here!

(Round 2) Ludwig's Character Battle IX Votes

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Still every 12 hours.

Well we all know by now who I voted for in the GameFAQs Character Battle IX Contest... for Round 1. But it's Round 2 now. And just like before, I'll tell you in advance who I'm voting for. The first match is August 18 at 9 PM PST, or August 19 at 12 AM EST depending on your timezone. 12 hours later, the next match happens. Same as before.

Nintendo's Foray Into Free-To-Play

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Hooray? ...Not really.

So some parts of our videogame industry are becoming obsessed with the F2P concept. Meanwhile, Nintendo has been above it all, only recently experimenting with the concept of paid DLC with Fire Emblem: Awakening and New Super Mario Bros. 2. Even the most allegedly disturbing of industry trends can't just go unnoticed by Nintendo.

Ubisoft's Franchise-Only Philosophy — Unity Falls, Division Wins

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - It's not only right, but it bodes well for the future.

Recently Ubisoft executive Yannis Mallat said that,

We won't even start if we don't think we can build a franchise out of it, there's no more fire and forget - it's too expensive.

That means that everything Ubisoft is working on now is going to become a franchise. Everything except ZombiU, apparently.

Story Without Cutscenes

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - I don't want to talk about this anymore.

You people don't get it, do you? I just published an article dismissing that alleged Masahiro Sakurai column where he supposedly said that Super Smash Bros. 4 won't have a story mode. Now that information has spread across Miiverse and people seem to understand that Sakurai never said there wouldn't be any story mode at all. Good! The bad? The fact that there won't be cutscenes is leading some to believe that there can't be a story mode by default!

How Many Times Can You Call it New?

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Four times now. And counting.

The New Super Mario Bros. series has been beaten up a few times here on KoopaTV. This is going to be one more time (and it won't be the last). We all know that, in America anyway (and that's all that matters sales-wise), there was Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. Meanwhile, we've had New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and New Super Mario Bros. U. So do some counting. Three Super Mario Bros. games on one Nintendo console, and FOUR New Super Mario Bros. games on four different consoles.

KoopaTV's Live The Wonderful 101 Direct Reactions!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 15.

Time for Hideki Kamiya and PlatinumGames to host their own Nintendo Direct for The Wonderful 101. I'm Nintendork 13 13, Rawk is RawkHawk2010, and YR is masteryoshirider, and THIS... is the [Koopa Keep] AIM Blast.

Screencap courtesy of Rawk.

Good Things Came From Yesterday

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Satisfaction.

First, I'd like to say overall I came out from yesterday's Nintendo Direct pretty happy. Sure, the lack of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was weird, but for what I actually expected (which was no new games and just marketing efforts to the hardcore), those expectations were exceeded.

KoopaTV's Live Reactions to Nintendo Direct 8/7/13

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Rawk has a meltdown big enough to defrost the Tropical Freeze.

Contrary to the log you're about to read, I'm publishing this article, not YoshiRider123. Who knows why he isn't. Anyway, this is our [Koopa Keep] AIM Blast as we watched the Nintendo Direct that happened today. If you'd like to watch the Direct yourself, check out the official archive here. I'm Nintendork 13 13 and the others should be obvious.

Helper-To-Hero Gets It Right

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - How to properly make clearing the same sequence with several characters less repetitive and exhausting.

Earlier here on KoopaTV I said I'd write an article about how much Helper-To-Hero added value to Kirby Super Star Ultra compared to Kirby Super Star. Well, this is that article. I kept my word! To those who don't know, this remake-exclusive mode lets you play as a Helper character (one for each Copy Ability) as you go through a boss rush.

Presenting your cast of characters. That Bonkers time is crap, by the way.

Look at that screenshot above. Twenty different Helpers. And only one difficulty mode.