Revisiting Pokémon Snap

My final post of 2020 was a discussion of the video games I’d played during the pandemic. One of them was Pokémon Snap, which took a lax approach to the franchise by having you capture Pokémon metaphorically. Despite being archaic nowadays, especially in light of photography taking off with the digital age, the game was a big hit back in the day, earning a cult following and being one the N64’s most-rented titles. And with a sequel debuting soon, albeit 22 years later, I figured it was time to discuss it in more detail.

The premise is quite simple: you take the role of Todd Snap, an aspiring photographer recruited by Professor Oak to observe wild Pokémon. Armed initially with nothing but a camera and an on-rails cart, you traverse environments and photograph the critters in their natural states. It’s a simple premise, and on paper it sounds mundane, but there’s depth to the mechanics that make it all worth it. I say that despite some minute frustrations I still have.

One of the key elements that makes Pokémon Snap great is its accessibility. It embodies the “easy to pick up, yet difficult to master” philosophy, as getting the “perfect shot” requires patience and good timing. This dichotomy makes it worth returning to previous levels as you acquire more gadgets, especially as opportunities for photographs that wouldn’t have existed prior become more-apparent.

While being simple, you also can’t do whatever you want. Todd can’t leave his cart and explore, he must remain on the predetermined track. Additionally, any obstacles that impede movement, like an unhatched egg, have to be cleared to progress further. Finally, you only have 60 slots for photos. That number does reset when you re-enter a level, but the limitation forces efficiency.

Which leads to the most-important piece of the experience: Professor Oak. Upon completing a level, your arsenal of photographs is shown to you in full-force. You then pick one photo per Pokémon and take it to be graded. It’s fun hearing him speak and reading his predetermined lines, but Oak isn’t always the best judge of quality. Sometimes he’ll be too critical and nitpick details. Other times he’ll completely ignore your efforts. And then there are times where his grading makes no sense. It’s a missed opportunity in that regard, and you quickly learn that Professor Oak isn’t the best at judging, but it’s still funny and entertaining.

Aesthetically, the game’s pretty simple. The 7 courses are pretty bare-bones, and the N64’s limitations have made the visuals and layouts look that much more limited nowadays. But what it lacks in technical prowess it makes up for in appeal. Each of the courses is unique and brimming with Pokémon, and while they might behave a certain way, they give off the illusion of agency too. If you anger the Magmar near the Charmander in the Volcano level, it’ll breathe fire at it, knock it out-cold and cause it to evolve into a Charmeleon. In the Tunnel level, if you hit the Electrode guarding a blocked-off path at the end, it’ll explode and reveal a path to progress further. Some of these tidbits blew my mind when I first discovered them, and even now it’s worth noting how much care went in.

After unlocking the first 6 levels, you’re given a special quest. Professor Oak has been searching for the infamous Mew this whole time, and he needs you to photograph signs from each level to find it. You’re then forced to backtrack and look for clues to help in your new objective, and the game becomes an interactive version of I Spy with photography. This seems like a tedious time-waster initially, but finding these signs is one of the highlights. It’s also neat seeing how every tool you’ve collected gets used for the objective.

The game’s music’s also deceptively simple. Despite each track playing on loop, the tunes are quite catchy and pleasant. Standouts are the Beach and the Cave, although it’s hard to pick a favourite. To quote an age-old cliché: everyone’s a winner!

If I have any complaints, they’d be about how I’m left wanting more. For one, the game has only 63 of the original 151 Pokémon, and quite a few are repeats. This is especially apparent with the final level only containing Mew. It’s not like there couldn’t have been more variety if they cut down on the number of Pikachu, so why the game settled on 63 is beyond me. But I guess it’s too late now...

Another complaint I have is with the overall experience. To be fair, I have no problem with Pokémon Snap being 3-hours. I’d happily spend an afternoon beating it! But there’s little to entice you to return when you’ve photographed all 151 Pokémon. And this is with the additional challenges and secret third ending. I’d much sooner restart the game from scratch than do that, honestly!

Finally, the game lacks a multiplayer option. I know it’s unfair to gripe about that, but Pokémon Snap practically begs for it. It’s a missed opportunity to not be able to play this with friends, and I wish HAL Laboratory foresaw that. It’s not like the N64 wasn’t known for multiplayer games, after all! And given how HAL’s biggest entry for system, Super Smash Bros., had multiplayer functionality, I’m surprised it wasn’t included here too.

Still, these are minor quibbles. Is Pokémon Snap winning awards for “Best Game on the N64”? No. Is it the most-enjoyable video game I’ve ever played? Again, no. But it’s stood the test of time, something many N64 titles haven’t. And with the sequel arriving 22 years later, that it endures after all these years says something. At least, I think it does.