In 1999, Pokemon Snap released on the Nintendo 64, introducing audiences to the most recognizable game in the photography simulation genre. Pokemon Snap was beloved because of its unique depiction of Pokemon in nature because they moved around and interacted with their environments for the first time. It had been beloved for its simple yet creative puzzle-solving mechanics, which required the player to manipulate Pokemon as well as their environments with the throwable items they carried. At this time, photography simulators were relatively unknown outside of Japan, and Pokemon had never been seen in this way; Pokemon Snap then is in part so cherished by fans because it was something fresh that breathed life in to these creatures which we had only seen battle in sprite form until that point. It makes sense then that 22 years later, Nintendo and Bandai Namco would try and recreate the special moment for any new generation of gamers on a new generation of hardware where it may push the boundaries of the original and it is hardware limitations much farther. This enhances the question: how successful is totally new Pokemon Snap at capturing exactly the same feeling of wonder as the 1999 classic?
The moment-to-moment gameplay of recent Pokemon Snap is similar to the 1999 original, composed of taking pictures of Pokemon and submitting them to the professor to become scored. This might sound like a complaint or perhaps an issue; However, New Pokemon Snap is still fun. The photography simulator genre hasn't seen a major title in the time between, so it is nothing like the sport is ignoring decades of progress. The gamer carries snacks and, like a new addition to the series, Illumina Fruit. The Illumina fruit helps make the pokemon it hits glow having a bright aura and will occasionally trigger a special animation or event. The player may also trigger a melody to experience for the Pokemon, causing them to awaken or dance. The Illumina fruit is an interesting, if not a confusing, addition to the sport. The Illumina fruit does not reliably raise the star rating of the photos, and it is often hard to surmise when it will trigger some kind of special action or event. Since it is a limitless resource, I discovered myself utilizing it somewhat mindlessly of all Pokemon since there was no need to use it strategically. While this is a small issue, it made one of the game’s most advertised additions a little too bland and routine. This feeling of disappointment with the mechanic is compounded by the fact that each major region has a separate Illumina fruit that must definitely be unlocked to advance the storyline. To put it simply, the Illumina fruit frequently feels underwhelming, especially when you are unlocking it for that third or fourth time.
The game’s best feature may be the Pokemon and the world they occupy. Whether it be the rain forest, the coast, the desert, or any of the game’s myriad other locales, the classes are always springing with life. A part of what made the original great is it was the very first time gamers got to see Pokemon within the wild. New Pokemon Snap recaptures this magic and then some. The Switch, quite obviously, enables a significantly greater degree of graphical fidelity than the decades-old Nintendo 64. It has been long enough that seeing largely the same gameplay place into lush hi-def environments is enough to constitute something refreshing and different. The pokemon interact with one another not to mention move between environmental setpieces. There are many creatures in the game, with lots of hidden Pokemon to find on any given route. We have not seen this degree of detail in a Pokemon game before, and for long-time fans, it is a joy to behold.
One from the other strengths of the environments is their variation and quantity. There are far more levels in New Pokemon Snap compared to original, and every of them has multiple variants. Many levels have a branching alternate route. Moreover, each area includes a research-level. Once the player levels up the area, next time they return, they will notice different Pokemon and various behavior from those that were there before. This leveling adds a new layer of depth to the formula, and combined with the fact that the gamer can only submit one photograph of every Pokemon per tell you the course, incentivizes otherwise necessitates replaying each course at least two times. This repetition is a little a mixed bag, however. Although it adds a lot more content to the game, it feels artificial. It's possible to trigger multiple interactions with one Pokemon. These interactions are associated with star ratings, of which there are four per Pokemon. To obtain all, it would require player to accomplish a course 4 times for a Pokemon unique to a given route, that is most of them. This 4 playthrough minimum is helped along through the fact most of the Pokemon occur across night variations and level states for the night and day variant. Regardless of the variation, it's hard to stay engaged when you are running the same course for that third amount of time in a row after you have already taken the photo you'll need but were not able to submit it since you had taken a different one. The boredom of the repetition is eased when the player unlocks a high score feature and the ability to accelerate, but these are locked before the late game. Players having a high tolerance for repetition will likely enjoy the added length, however i suspect many will feel a little fatigued like I did.
One of New Pokemon Snap’s better features may be the addition of a personal picture album and photo editor software kit. The photo editor software kit allows players to consider an image and personalize it with filters and stickers, alongside other adjustments like cropping along with other edits to shot composition. While you can’t submit these edited photos for review, they may be posted to the in-game social feed or distributed to friends. This feature could be a large amount of fun to get creative with the photos you take or saving photographs that aren't of Pokemon. Even though it is easy to go the entire game without touching this selection, the ones that wish to spend many of the time using the game will likely appreciate its addition.
The Verdict
New Pokemon Snap is largely successful in recapturing the special moment from the Nintendo 64 original. As the game suffers from excessive repetition and also the underwhelming nature from the Illumina mechanic, the game’s stunning graphics, environments, and Pokemon behavior more than compensate for its shortcomings. While it will most likely not attract people who are not already keen on Pokemon, for fans, New Pokemon Snap is an excellent bit of fan service and wholly charming.
