N64 What can you tell me about Pokemon Snap?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Pokemon Snap was one of the few games (along with Banjo-Kazooie and SMB 64) that made me want to get a Nintendo 64, yet it only took seeing it in action once (through a review show on TV) to permanently burst that bubble.

Just so we are clear: I think it's a lovely idea with tons of potential to it, but something has to have gone terribly wrong in development to make the final product that dull and uninteresting, at least on the surface. And once I heard that this safari-like game didn't even feature the whole available roster of Pokemon (!!!), that seemed to confirm it.

I'm not one to just take my own opinion as fact and move on, however, and so I ask you to tell me about your experience with it (specially if you played it back in the day) to try and get me to give it a second chance.

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

I had it many years ago and I really liked playing it on my Nintendo 64. I thought it was pretty cool to take pictures of the Pokémon in the different environments within the game and it was fun throwing the apples and the pester balls trying to get the pictures too. I did want to actually be able to explore the level without being on that track, kind of like a free roam.

 

[MasterEn]

it's not a bad game. it would be more enjoyable with friends. i watched the runawayguys play it and their reactions to professor oak grading their pictures was pretty funny.
it has more of an arcade feel to it, but nothing along the likes of star fox 64 or any other of the best arcade games. i think it's meant to be more relaxing than anything else.

 

[Boo Man]

well my best friend at school had a N64 and he was a major Pokémon fan as everyone was at the time
i remember he got Pokémon Snap for his birthday and we played it for the first time together
we were both super excited but after a little while we were both thinking the same thing.. is that it?
he was trying to convince himself it was still good but i could see he was trying not to cry
i also remember being shocked at the price tag on the box

 

[Bakuma1997]

A kind of neat experience, think of it like a kid-friendly rail shooter, i never cared on beating the levels, i just picked a course and snapped photos to keep them, ah Project 64, simpler days... that was one of the games that got fucked by me not havign a joystick, so i had to tap the arrows to simulate light tilt

 

[Boo Man]

im sure its a decent game if you go back and play it these days but for its time i think it was highly disappointing considering the price and hype around Pokémon
the gimmick was you gotta catch em all not take photos of em all
that was a big miss in my eyes

 

[Tonberry]

It kind of rocks. It's one of those games that you can play over and over and over again as a kid because it feels new every run (the level plays out the same every time unless you do tricks you unlock later on, but we didn't care as kids), but as an adult it might get stale having to redo the levels all the time if you want to get high scores.

All in all I'd say it's a pretty quaint and unique experience for what it is. Pokémon is at its best when it's got that safari feel to it, and this was the closest we ever got back in the day.

 

[SoThankful]

i watched the runawayguys play it and their reactions to professor oak grading their pictures was pretty funny.

I can totally imagine how that goes.

 

[HarmonieGirl]

I got and played this game shortly after I got in Pokemon (so... like 1999) and I found it fun back in the day, but have never really had any urge to revisit it since.

For me to enjoy such a thing nowadays, I'd want it to be a full adventure, as opposed to being on-rails. Unfortunately, they went and made another Pokemon Snap that just followed the same formula as the last and thus I haven't played it.

 

[MasterEn]

I got and played this game shortly after I got in Pokemon (so... like 1999) and I found it fun back in the day, but have never really had any urge to revisit it since.

For me to enjoy such a thing nowadays, I'd want it to be a full adventure, as opposed to being on-rails. Unfortunately, they went and made another Pokemon Snap that just followed the same formula as the last and thus I haven't played it.

they did that because i guess there is a 10 to 20 year processing method on getting feedback for their games. it's the only thing that makes sense about the new installment being a retread of the first game.

 

[dkpopman]

Played it like 6-ish years ago with my girl. It's very laid back and cute, but not deep in the slightest. We passed the controller back and forth per level, and had a great time seeing the funny little guys move around and interact with each other.

It's a pretty graphically impressive game for the system, seeing as it's levels are so contained. I could see that being a selling point for it when it released. Nowadays, if you want to play something like this, the newer switch pokemon snap title would probably be the better game to play. It's got a little more going on, and the photo rating system is a little more advanced. Lacks the soul of the original though.

My biggest gripe with the game was very granular. As a half amateur/half educated photographer, The fact that framing and following the rule of thirds doesn't effect your score bothered me, but it makes sense for them to not count that, honestly. No kid in 1999 was worrying about that stuff.

I'd say give it an honesty try and see what it feels like for you. Maybe save it for a moment when you're in the mood for a very casual, arcadey experience.

 

[NotReallyHere]

...something has to have gone terribly wrong in development to make the final product that dull and uninteresting, at least on the surface.

I'm not one to just take my own opinion as fact and move on, however, and so I ask you to tell me about your experience with it (specially if you played it back in the day) to try and get me to give it a second chance.

I think this may simply be a moment of, "you just had to be there." Snap is many things, but is personally a game that I have never thought of as "dull" or "uninteresting."

The concept at the time was pretty original. Nintendo seemed to be obsessed with cameras and photos in that moment (Game Boy Camera, anyone?) and while the mashup of their then-new franchise and photography may have seemed odd, it began to click when I read a little more about it. Oh, I get it - nature photography! Like National Geographic!

I was certainly not the biggest Pokemon fan, but I did enjoy birdwatching, collecting bugs, and just watching the world go by. And while the game may seem simple these days, back then, I was floored to be able to observe Pokemon in their "natural" environments. And the game is all about Easter Eggs, trying to get certain Pokemon to do certain things by baiting them, or disturbing a nest, or keeping them from fighting each other. On many levels, taking photos of them was secondary to just watching them carry on with their little digital lives

Oh... and the stickers!

Around the time of the game's release, you could take your cartridge to Blockbuster to print out a sheet of stickers of the actual photos you had taken in the game. And let me tell you, this was a big deal in the age before smartphones. I remember seeing those little stickers everywhere - on lockers at school, on signs at the playground, on some of the other games I would rent. I've even seen them on secondhand Game Boys and other consoles from the time. It really did a lot to make the game feel like "yours," and also gave you something to show for the effort you put into getting the perfect shot.

And on top of that, the official Player's Guide had a section in the back for you to place your stickers in the glossary! So you were able to build your own photo album of your best shots - provided you had the game, the guide, access to a Blockbuster, and deep enough pockets, of course

Still, what a time - and one of the rare cases where a game was able to give you something tangible, something that went beyond just the screen and save data. For those of us that were there, it made for memories that have lasted a lifetime. Just like photographs, themselves

 

[Ikagura]

And once I heard that this safari-like game didn't even feature the whole available roster of Pokemon (!!!), that seemed to confirm it.

Isn't it because of memory limitation?

 

[MasterEn]

Isn't it because of memory limitation?

possibly. an n64 cartridge is limited to about 90 mb max if i remember correctly, and i think the ram is about 8 mb or around that. very few games had large levels. i think the banjo games and quest 64 had expansive levels with out extreme draw distance or fog being used to cover up the levels loading in. most others used level geometry to mask it or just had small levels in general.

 

[HarmonieGirl]

they did that because i guess there is a 10 to 20 year processing method on getting feedback for their games. it's the only thing that makes sense about the new installment being a retread of the first game.

I'm afraid another factor may be that the loudest voices weren't even clamoring for something different. I saw lots of sentiment for a Pokemon Snap sequel in the years leading up to the sequel and not a lot of clamoring that it needs to be a change. I can't understand how anyone would have wanted it to be the same, but to each their own.

 

[MasterEn]

I'm afraid another factor may be that the loudest voices weren't even clamoring for something different. I saw lots of sentiment for a Pokemon Snap sequel in the years leading up to the sequel and not a lot of clamoring that it needs to be a change. I can't understand how anyone would have wanted it to be the same, but to each their own.

a good idea for the sequel would have been to let the player roam free in some environments and let them take pictures from any angle or distance. the first game tries to do this a little bit; there are things that change as the level progresses, and some stuff can be missed out on if you go too fast.
there's nothing wrong with having self contained levels, or being set on a specific path; but we mainly got that due to storage limitations. there's only so much you can cram into a n64 cartridge.
there could have been 2 modes, on rails and free roam; to give both a nostalgic throwback and a new take on the photography gameplay.
but nintendo always seems to take away the most bizarre lessons or ideas from fan feedback; and sometimes it seems like it takes years if not decades for them to even notice. considering that it took until 2017 for them to release the original game on the wii u; a system seemingly tailor made for a picture taking game, i'm actually surprised that they bothered to make a sequel, and not just a rerelease.
i am also getting the impression that they may just not like the game in general. pokemon snap was released for the wii u in america January 5th, 2017; the wii u was discontinued at the end of january of that same year. the system was released and out for 5 years, and it was right before it was discontinued that they did that.
it might just be best for pokemon snap to stay in the past.

 

[gastd]

I don't know what to think about this Pokemon part, It's something completely new as a Pokemon photographer but I think we could have done more with it - there just aren't enough options in this game!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Isn't it because of memory limitation?

I don't know -- Stadium got every single Pokemon modelled, animated and thrown into the game with unique animations for each and every attack.

 

[MasterEn]

I don't know -- Stadium got every single Pokemon modelled, animated and thrown into the game with unique animations for each and every attack.

it's not hard to do that when you only need the pokemon to be 3d. the backdrops for the battle arenas are pretty minimalistic. enough detail at a glance, but not much variety. and they still had to compress the announcer's lines to fit them in there as well. and some animations reuse assets too.

 

[ThatOneLum ThatOneLum]

Snap was always a fun game, but only if you're hyper into pokemon.

Personally, I'd say that the original game doesns't offer much these days over New Pokemon Snap because the concept is pretty much identical but New Snap has more variety and a bunch of QoL improvements.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It’s short, it’s fun, is charming, it’s cheap, and it’s like nothing else on the console. A prime “cozy game” example. It’s a game about taking pictures, yes, but it’s also about manipulating your environment in order to get the best shots you can muster. As you go along, you slowly get more equipment to help find new Pokémon and interactions in the environment.

It was the first N64 game I ever beat. It’s a well worth it romp to take if you’ve never done so before! Plus, it has an insane development history, involving a small team called “Jack and Beans” being formed from inexperienced people who were given a wad of money and no direction other than to make a game. Using the Pokémon IP in combination with their idea of a picture taking game (plus the inspiration of Virtua Cop and Time Crisis’ innovations in the 3D rail shooting genre) finally allowed them to bring a game to completion, and thankfully it turned out quite good.