Pokemon Snap
Reviewed by Cinderquil
Explore the Pokemon Island with Todd, the Pokemon Photographer, to
capture the greatest Pokemon Snapshots there for the one-and-only,
Prof. Oak! Drive the Zero-One, a vehicle that the Prof. has prepared for
you. Take photos of the Pokemon you meet in the wild, and explore
secrets you may find. Take a little tour around the natural world of Pokemon.
Taking photos.. sounds easy right? Not with Prof. Oak around! He'll be
keeping scores of the shots you take. He'll be very picky, so time your
shots right, center the picture, and make it look great. The higher the
score, the better rewards you might receive. This game allows you to
take your cartridge to Pokemon Snap Stations in Block Buster stores.
While you're there, buy yourself a card, with a credit inside so you can
take your best pictures and print them out in mini-sized stickers!
Graphics: 3 out of 5
The Pokemon you meet are up and alive in 3D! So the Pokemon are just
about the only great graphical pictures around, with a little bit of the
scenery like the water, hills, and logs, but every thing else might look
a little strange. Some scenery even looks a little weird, like the forests.
You'd probably not even notice it, as you're only focusing on the Pokemon.
Todd doesn't even look like his original self! Prof. Oak in the other hand,
he looks like he just came out of the Kid's WB Pokemon episodes! Overall,
the Pokemon look great, and some of the scenery like the water and the
lava really fit in.
Music and Sound: 3.5 out of 5
Hearing the Pokemon chant in their natural homes please many kids playing
it. The background sound isn't much, it's soft and you can listen to the beat
of the music fitting in with the location you're in. Unlike Pokemon
Stadium 1 or 2, Pokemon in here actually sounds like the ones in the
TV Show. This might be the only chance you'll get to see 3D Pokemon
sounding how they're suppose to sound like in a game. Prof. Oak talks
to you, sounding just like the TV Show. I guess they were trying to fit
with the Anime show as much as possible, and keeping it enjoyable for
kids to play. Remember that the show is pretty popular now to many
many kids in North America!
Game Challenge: 2.5 out of 5
This game is sooo easy! If you want to get done the game very fast, and
not caring about how well the shots are, then you'll skim through this
game like a piece of cake. You'll only advance to the next stage if you
get the specific number of Pokemon in your camera, not bothering how
well the picture actually is. It is though, a challenge to get perfect
scores on each of the Pokemon. Some moves to fast, and you might even
have to use an apple as a lure to get them closer and standing still. There
are a few puzzles to solve, to advance to the next stage, no matter how
many pictures you've captured. The Zero-One goes by itself automatically,
so you might not have the chance to get a perfect picture. There are also
special pictures that sometimes are hard to receive, like the Balloon
Pikachu and the Flying Pikachu, but some are very easy, like the Surfing
Pikachu. These special bonuses gives you extra points towards your goal
in finishing the Pokemon Report. Prof. Oak expects great pictures from you!
Game Play-Fun: 2 out of 5
Just taking pictures is just like exploring in a different world. This
game may get boring very quickly, as all you do is take pictures of the
Pokemon. It really depends on what kind of a person you really are. If
you're the fun type who'd like any sort of Adventure/Exploring game,
this game may just keep you occupied for a few days, and even a few
weeks if you're still striving to get a perfect score on those pictures.
For those who only like exciting games that keeps you busy, this game
might not be the type for you. It is fun sometimes, to do the guiltiest
things, like hitting Pokemon with apples and pester balls to knock them
down on the ground!
Rumble Pak: 2 out of 5
Though Pokemon Snap supports the Rumble Pak, you'd hardly really
notice the difference. When you do hit a Pokemon with an apple or a
pester ball, you'll feel the shake on the controller, sort of like how
the Pokemon feels. How would you feel if somebody threw hard stuff
like apples at you?? Yea, that's right, the Rumble Pak does give a little
bit of rumble excitement to the game, just like all the other games that
supports the Rumble Pak. In the game, you'll be hitting the Pokemon a
lot, just to get their attention, so unless you love the rumble, you might
as well take it off in case your hands afterwards, feels shaky and rumbly
after you play the game.
Frustration
What really bugs me in the game is how the Zero-One moves, the way
you are able to turn around, and that they don't include all 151 Pokemon!
Only about half are featured in this game. That's probably the worst thing
that could hit a Pokemon game, is not featuring all of them in it. The
Zero-One in the other hand, it moves by itself, at an average speed
(I guess). It might move a little too fast for you to make a Pokemon
to look at you, and take a shot, because once you get a perfect pose,
you can barely turn around to get it before you go past it. You can turn
left or right slowly with the Control Stick, or use the Left and Right C
buttons to turn sharply, but that might be just a little too fast for the
eyes. Also, Prof. Oak is a little picky on your photos!
Replayability: 3 out of 5
You can easily replay the courses you take, if you captured poorly done
pictures. When you are done with all of the courses, you'd probably go
back to redo something wrong or something you missed, right? Playing
it over and over again might be a little too boring, and you might put
this game in the corner for a while, until you feel like exploring again.
Snap a picture, take it to Prof. Oak. Snap a picture, take it to Prof. Oak.
Even though you might think that your picture is great, Prof. Oak might
not. He's a little too picky on your photos, as they can't have any part of
their body cut off, and they just about can't be taken sideways. Too small
of a picture gives you a big fat ZERO!
Game Value: 3 out of 5
It really depends what kind of a gamer you're really like. If you're the
adventure/exploring type, this is the game for you. If not, you might
as well choose a different game. Although this game is the same price
as any other N64 game, it might be nice if the price was lowered about
$10 less. That can't happen though, as Nintendo will never do that, but
lucky for Pokemon Snap, it became a Gamer's Choice, and the price WAS
lowered. If you are a Pokemaniac, you will go for this game, no doubt!
It IS the first Pokemon for the N64 after all!
Overall: 3 out of 5
Here's the overall thing I think about Pokemon Snap. The game is great
for explorers and good for people who just wants a time-out from other
games. It's great if you just want to fool around with something (like
taking pictures) or maybe even doing guilty things! This game can be a
challenge, remember, but it could also be a fast and easy game if you
don't care about the points. That's the end of my review and thoughts
about the first N64 game for Pokemon... A game for all of those
Pokemaniacs out there!