Pokemon Snap (Nintendo 64) review "I watched the TV series, I got the games, I collected the cards, I played with the toys, I read the books, and I went to see the movies. (The first movie is still one of the only movies that ever made me cry, and DON'T PRETEND LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.) And even though I missed out on Hey You, Pikachu (oh dear?), I was able to get the other non-RPG N64 Pokémon game, Pokémon Snap."

As a young, impressionable 8-year old back in '99, and also a recently converted Pokémon fan, I wanted everything that had anything to do with Pokémon (much to my parents’ dismay). I watched the TV series, I got the games, I collected the cards, I played with the toys, I read the books, and I went to see the movies. (The first movie is still one of the only movies that ever made me cry, and DON'T PRETEND LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.) And even though I missed out on Hey You, Pikachu (oh dear?), I was able to get the other non-RPG N64 Pokémon game, Pokémon Snap. And while there wasn't a whole lot to the game, what was there, was crazily addictive.

You play as Todd, a young, aspiring photographer, who actually appeared in the anime for a little while, but nobody really remembered him. (Was Tracy not available?) He's been employed by Professor Oak to take pictures of all of the Pokémon on Pokémon Island. Oak sends you on this suicide missio...er; I mean epic quest with a machine called the Zero-One, a vehicle that moves along a track that leads to a portal back to Oak's Lab. This sort of begs the question: If Oak is the one who's critiquing your pictures, he must have some photography experience, so instead of building these long, elaborate courses, why didn't he just take the pictures himself?

The gameplay is that of a fairly simple rail shooter, only instead of a gun, you have a camera, and instead of things becoming dead, they smile, pose, call their friends over, and make funny faces. Simply press the Z button to look through the camera, the control stick to look around and find a Pokémon, and the A button to take your picture. But, that's not all there is to it. A lot of factors go into your picture's score. For example, a Pokémon that's facing you will score way more points than one that isn't. If the Pokémon is doing something interesting, like eating fruit, interacting with another Pokémon, or showing off, it will be worth more than if it's just standing there, looking at you like an idiot.

But, the Zero-One isn't permanently stuck to the rails. In a few missions, the Zero-One can turn into a raft and float in water, and at other times it can fly, so you can go through caves and clouds. But, even with all of these capabilities, the game designers saw fit to only put 7 levels in the game, one of which has only one Pokémon in the entire level. The last time I played this game, I went through every level, took a picture of every Pokémon, found all the Easter eggs, and finished all the post-game content in less than 3 hours. And seeing as how I've gone back and played the game multiple times, the concept hasn't outstayed its welcome. So, a few more hours of playtime wouldn't have been a bad decision, especially since not even half of the Generation 1 Pokémon were used in this game. I'm not saying they needed every Pokémon, but seriously. None of the Eeveelutions (although they did have Eevee)? None of the Nidos? No Onix? No Aerodactyl or Kabutops? No Gengar? No Tentacruel? Neither of Pokémon’s original mascots, Clefairy or Poliwhirl? HAL dropped the ball on that one.

But, the Pokémon that are in the game do get some very entertaining moments, like when Pikachu is riding on top of an Articuno, or when you throw an apple in front of two hungry Magmars and they use Flamethrower on each other over it. But, don't think this is just some no challenge game designed for mentally-deficient four year olds. In order to "catch 'em all", you're going to actually have to think a little bit. For example, in one of the later levels, you'll find a Mankey early on. Taking a picture of it won't result in a ton of points, however, if throw a certain item near it, it will set into motion a chain of events that will eventually lead to one of the most exciting moments in the game. And there's something like this in every level, so the game really encourages exploration and trying new things.

One of the things I really liked about the game was going back to early levels with all of your new toys, and finding all the Pokemon you weren't able to find before. For example, in the first level, there a big mound that if you just take a picture of it, it will just say "?". But, if you come back later, with some extra accessories, which are given to you by the good professor whenever you reach certain objectives, you can get a picture of it for massive points.

If I have to compare this game to another one (and this may sound crazy), it might be Portal. Both titles are short games that get straight to the point. Both are built on a single, simple idea. Both have a final boss against the single thing that’s been driving you since the opening cutscene. (OK, so a lot of games are like that, it’s still a similarity.) And finally, both games are just plain fun that will leave you wanting more once the credits start to roll. (Also, the credits screen for both games is pretty cool.) Pokémon Snap is available on the Wii Virtual Console, so if you want a fun, little game that will take up a couple of hours of your time, give it a look.

Before I go, I just realized that both of my reviews so far have been HAL Laboratories games. Next time, Super Smash Bros. Melee! Or maybe not.

Community review by nickyv917 (January 28, 2012) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.