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Let's talk: Pokemon Snap is overrated.

Christopher

Christopher

BDE (Big Dad Energy)
I'm assuming most people played this ad a youngster because going around taking photos of Pokemon...isn't really fun nor complelling. For some reason I keep seeing references to Pokemon Snap being made.

I loved this as a kid but going back on the Wii VC I was left a bit hollow.

What's with the love? Is it a internet joke?
 
I remember enjoying it as a kid, because well, it was Pokémon after all..

But I have tried to play it nowadays, and the game just doesn't hold. I found it to be extremely boring.
 
The core mechanic is excellent, the levels are great, but it's a short and small self-contained game with not a lot of replay. It is absolutely begging to be iterated on.
 
Haven't played it since I was a kid, but I'm assuming it's all nostalgia. At the time it was really cool just to see Pokemon in 3D. It did come out before Stadium I think, so it was the first game to have 3D Pokemon I believe.
 
I'll say yes, only because Fatal Frame's combat system always made me think of a more fun version of Pokemon Snap... Except obviously not Pokemon, or on-rails, and its a horror game. But honestly they have more in common than you may think.
 
People remember the raw potential more than the game itself, I think. I enjoyed the game. It's not something I would have paid full price for. But the appeal survives because the notion of a Pokémon photography game featuring the hundreds of Pokémon that have been revealed since gen1 is glorious.
 
The game was great for the time and the audience. If you were interested in Pokemon and wanted to see them as 3D recreations, it was great.

IMO Good game mechanics as well.
 
i loved it as a young'n because it was an engrossing alternate look at the pokemon universe when the shit was hitting its stride and captivating all sorts of people.
 
The game itself on N64 may not be that good, the concept remains interesting and a new game by today's standards with new tech (3DS gyro and 3D, AR things, gamepad, etc) can give us a very fresh experience.
 
Yeah, it is kind of shit. Oooh but in '99 it was more delicious fuel to that insatiable Pokemon high. I was so jealous of my neighbor that had the Hey You Pikachu! special edition Nintendo 64.

EDIT: How the F**K has Nintendo missed the opportunity to release a Pokemon Snap U?? The concept screams for Wii U game pad implementation! Imaging searching around your room on the gamepad to take a picture? Walking closer and further, tilting to get the right shot? I'd buy that shit in a heart beat!

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I played it recently and have to disagree. I love it.

Interacting with the environment in order to figure out how to make particular pokemon appear, and then taking the perfect snap, was outrageously satisfying.

Give me a Wii U version with big worlds to explore and lots of ways to interact with your surroundings and I will eat that shit up all fucking day.
 
This might sound weird, but Xenoblade's environment made me want a new Pokemon Snap. The fun of the game was really just seeing these fictional creatures in their habitat, so a safari-like experience would really work for it.
 
It wasn't a bad game the problem is that the dollar to game time ratio is piss poor. You can finish that game and photograph all the pokemon within what..2-3 hours? For a full priced n64 game back in the day is was just disappointing to me to buy that game and be done with it in less then an afternoon.
 
I love the concept of seeing and interacting with wild Pokemon in their natural habitats, but yes. It's overrated. Good for its time, but Nintendo are correct to not make a follow-up, and it would not sell Wii U's as quickly as some would have you believe. It's just a game about taking pictures, really. Not saying it's bad, but I have legitimately seen claims that a sequel would be the killer app to save the Wii U. That's why I believe it to be overrated.
 
The concept was near perfection. Execution could use some work, especially in regards to game length.

If they make a new one for the Wii U I'd be excited because it could do all the things the N64 one couldn't
 
People also want to see the formula perfected.
The current level of technology could allow for a larger scale, more content, and the WiiU Gamepad seems like a natural fit.
 
I bought it cheap and actually really liked it...


I even liked Pokemon snap knockoff seaside safari on XBLA
 
It was the first 3D representation of Pokemon (before Stadium, not really counting Hey You Pikachu), in a 3D world, I believe.

At the time, that was enough I guess.
 
I enjoyed as a kid as well and I agree. Even the concept behind the game sounds dreadfully boring to me nowadays.

Though I do believe they could really build on the concept with the Wii U and 3DS for those interested. Pokemon Snap is perfect for those systems.
 
I liked the game a lot because discovering all of the secrets that maximize your score was really fun to me.

They could definitely do some cool stuff with a sequel, especially since Nintendo has systems with movable gyro screens now.
 
They need to make a new one on the Wii U. Use the tablet as the camera screen or something. I think it would be great with a VR headset someday.
 
It's a game with its flaws, it begs to be expanded upon, but a lot of people forget it's a very arcade game, it's not about getting to the end, it's about playing the levels over and over again to get the best shots of every Pokémon.

I hope we'll see a sequel someday.
 
It was amazing 1st time playing...then i realized i paid £50 for pretty much a 1 hour experience.

Seeing the eruption of hate over Ground Zeroes and the nostalgia goggles for Snap is funny, especially considering Snap's premium price point when it was released.
 
IdreamofHIME said:
It was amazing 1st time playing...then i realized i paid £50 for pretty much a 1 hour experience.

Seeing the eruption of hate over Ground Zeroes and the nostalgia goggles for Snap is funny, especially considering Snap's premium price point when it was released.
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Pokemon Snap is all about replay. There are lots of secrets and perfecting the pictures literally is the game.
 
It was a novelty more than anything. One of the first (or possibly the first) renditions of Pokemon in 3D, a very out-there premise and had a bunch of weird secrets and getting different pictures of different things. The concept of fully animated Pokemon in 3D and getting to "observe" them in their natural habitat wasn't something that had ever been explored before. Before that they were literally static 2D low-res Gameboy sprites with 8-bit screeches as their "voice".

The game had no legs, though. It can be beaten in less than 2 hours IIRC, and there were only a handful of secrets per level and once you know them, well, there's really no fun in doing them again. I honestly don't know if such a game would work at this day and age, since we're long past the point where seeing Pokemon in 3D is any kind of novelty. The last game I know that tried that whole "simulated wildlife" thing was Afrika on the PS3, and I remember it really failed to make any sort of splash.
 
Its a concept that has great potential and could easily be expanded and fleshed out. The game itself was short and skimpy but it held a lot of promise. I also imagine it'd sell pretty well.
 
EatinOlives said:
The game had no legs, though. It can be beaten in less than 2 hours IIRC. I honestly don't know if such a game would work at this day and age, since we're long past the point where seeing Pokemon in 3D is any kind of novelty. The last game I know that tried that whole "simulated wildlife" thing was Afrika on the PS3, and I remember it really failed to make any sort of splash.
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There was a lot more to Pokemon Snap than just "beating" it
 
Did you know, that it was a game, where you just photograph animals, at first? Because it was and they only added the Pokemon, because they thought, it would be a boring game with real animals.
 
Whatever. I played the hell out of it on the 64, and bought it again as soon as it was made available on the Wii VC. I enjoyed it as an adult, just as I did as a kid. It's an arcade game through and through, and a good one at that. Lol @ the notion of no replay value. Easily the best Pokemon spinoff, save for TCG on the Gameboy.

I have no plans to buy a WiiU, but I absolutely would if Pokemon Snap 2 was announced for it.

Did I refute everything I possibly could from this thread?
 
The fact that there's even a minute amount of joy to be had from playing the game positively sets it apart from most other Pokemon spinoffs. Even outside of that context, I disagree; it's a solid title with a fair amount of replayability with trying to get the perfect photos, though it definitely could've benefited from some added length.

Puzzle League > Snap > TCG > Conquest > Stadium mini-games > nope, there's only trash here
 
It was fun as a kid, but I'm more excited at the potential of a sequel.

There's so much they could to to expand on the concept.
 
Tom Nook Sawyer said:
There was a lot more to Pokemon Snap than just "beating" it
Click to expand...

I edited a clarification briefly, but I may as well just repeat it here. The secrets per level, while cool, were only a handful per each level and once you know the secrets there really was nothing else to them.

If you really wanted to get technical, you can get a few more hours trying to get your absolute high score, but like I said it was still short and light in content. The whole "Pokemon in 3D" is what carried the title through and through.
 
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