By Lakyn Gardner
“Pokémon Snap” is a first-person rail shooter game developed by HAL Laboratory and released for the Nintendo 64 in March of 1999. Pokémon Snap follows a young man by the name of Todd Snap on his journey to take pictures of Pokémon.
As you can probably tell from the title of the game, the goal is to take photos of Pokémon. Pokémon Snap consists of seven courses starting with the beach preceded by the tunnel, volcano, River, Cave, Valley and then a special course known as the “Rainbow Cloud”.
Players move to new locations by achieving a certain number of points. Points are awarded to you depending on size, pose and technique. I feel as if the game is really rewarding when you set up a shot.
The game runs at a steady pace, but I feel it’s lacking content. This game only contains 62 out of 151 Pokémon. This game was originally supposed to be released on the Nintendo 64 DD, which was an extension for the Nintendo 64 to add a disk drive. I believe if the game were to be released for the 64 DD and they could have added all 150 Pokémon and more levels, this game would have been far more intriguing and had much more replay value. However, this game has plenty of Easter eggs and secrets to keep you entertained for the time you play.
One could easily beat this game in a three-hour setting if they’re determined. However, if someone doesn’t take the time to enjoy the world that was created, they have missed the point of the game. The game is meant to take you on a slow-paced scenic adventure, which it does perfectly.
The controls are a little wonky. It’s very hard to control a first-person camera with only one analog stick and the unique build of the 64 controller
makes for an unpleasant experience. Also, you can throw items like apples and pester balls located on the A button.
This game was an amazing nostalgia trip and I had a wonderful time, 100% completing the game for this playthrough. I give this game a 7 out of 10, the controls were a hindrance to the score of this game.
