Pokemon Snap (Virtual Console) Review

Way back in 1999, the first 3D Pokemon game arrived in North America, entitled Pokemon Snap. Some eight years later, it arrives on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii, but how does it hold up? Here is my review.

First off, Pokemon Snap is not a regular Pokemon game. Actually, it is not a regular game at all. The game involves Todd (you) riding around in a strange machine, taking pictures of Pokemon. Doesn't sound fun? You'd be surprised. Pokemon Snap was sure to have raised some eyebrows when it was released. "How can taking pictures be fun?" people asked. I honestly don't know, it just is. You start the game off with being asked by Prof. Oak to fill his Pokemon Report with pictures of all 63 Pokemon that inhabit Pokemon Island. Not an easy task. You begin your adventure in the aptly named "Beach" and continue through many other creative places such as "Cave" and even "Valley". Each course is unlocked one by one by completing certain goals. Every picture of a Pokemon you take is rated by the good Professor for Size, technique etc and then filed in your Pokemon Report. If you take a picture of the same Pokemon later, he will rate that one as well and the higher scoring picture goes in your report. The problem with Pokemon Snap is, unfortunately, it’s very, very easy. The game can be beaten In a couple of hours and if you want pictures of every Pokemon, add one or two more hours and that’s it. You can only try to beat your scores on your pictures, which gets pretty boring. The game does have a new Wii exclusive feature that lets you send your pictures to your Wii message board and then ot friends. It’s nice Nintendo took the extra step, but it really isn’t very useful.

The graphics in Pokemon Snap are pretty good for being North Americas first 3D Pokemon game. Textures can be a bit blurry, but for N64 standards, they are some of the best on the system. Pokemon are always lively and instantly recognizable. The pictures hold up well even when enlarged greatly. No faults here.

The sound is something Pokemon should have done earlier, but strangely hasn’t done since, except in the horrible “Pokemon Channel” for GameCube. The Pokemon don’t make weird screeches here, they say their own names using clips from the show. It’s a welcome addition so you actually hear a Pokemon call it’s name before you see it, rather than hearing an ugly screech. The music is laid-back at best, but it always suits the stage well and isn’t bad but isn’t awesome.

Overall, Pokemon Snap is an enjoyable game, and easily worth 1000 Wii Points. The game is a solid, single player only romp that will leave you wanting more, but sadly, there’s none left. The replay value isn't much, besides trying to beat some scores, but it’s still a very solid game.