Gotta snap em all! (Pokemon Snap 64 (N64))

Member Name: chaobreeder16

Product:	Pokemon Snap 64 (N64)
Date:	10/07/08 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: beautiful visually, great audio,a very original and fun idea

Disadvantages: dated by todays standards, too short

Well as the majority of people know pokemon is the well known franchise comprised of an alternative world where a trainer of 10+ years old goes around the planet collecting pocket monsters in containment fields called pokeballs. The original games of the red and blue version where originally released in the UK in 1998 and since have taken the world by storm and continue to thrill the hard core fans who were around during the original release.

I actually did have the original version for the N64 in which you used the N64 controller to take pictures of pokemon through a number of terrains. The control stick moves your camera around and the game pad buttons are used to snap the pictures, throw out pokemon food, play the pokemon flute or throw out a pest ball which shocks the pokemon and releases a purple gas.

I currently have the wii virtual console version which I found just as good as the original, but I use the Gamecube controller for it, they are virtually the same method of control.

The plot of the game is simple, professor Oak a leading pokemon scientist invites your character in too observe pokemon in different environments and help him with his research by taking photographs.

The idea is to take as many photographs of pokemon as possible while considering the pokemon's pose which can generally be influenced by the said items you obtain along the way, for instance the pokemon flute make some pokemon dance and the food encourages pokemon to come out of grassy area or water.

The areas which are available for exploration include a beach, volcano, cave, valley and a few others which open up when you break high scores or find secret routes.

So game play, very easy to use and very addictive. Once you take a picture you can choose to save it at the end of each level in your favourites category you also have very basic costomising options which is a nice touch 8/10

longevity. In all honesty I completed this game in a day because I had already played it on the N64 but I would still say this is a great game for younger pokemon fans who may take a week or so to complete it. Though the lack of mobility per level spoils things a bit because you cant ever leave the pokemon carriage. 6/10

Sounds and music. Really nice actually each stage has its own relaxing soundtrack like in a real animal documentary, the pokemon also sound like they did out of the tv series as opposed to the electronic sound of the original game, you also have the professor saying "well done" and "wait" every so often which I think kids will really love and encourage them to play on. 9/10

Graphics. Really great for its time but may look a bit dated by todays standards, it was probably the closest thing to real 3D pokemon catching at the time. If they brought out an updated version I would definitely get it. 8/10.

Extras and secrets. Not overly impressive, once you have caught all the pokemon on camera there isn't actually anything left to do. However you do get a chance to see the legendary mew and in that secret stage the music and visuals are really pretty and colourful. Pikachu also appears in almost every stage also and has at least one secret special pose though which may take a while to capture them all. 6/10.

It was a great game for its time but is well over due for an update.

Summary: I would love to see a modern day version of this