As I said back in my retrospective of my personal connection to the Pokemon franchise, this was the first game I actually played. I knew what Pokemon was and it didn't appeal to me initially; however, this game looked very unique and special. There aren't a lot of games that simulate wildlife photography, (no doubt because it could probably be boring if not right), and treating Pokemon in that way seemed like a very cool thing to do. I got it at Wal-Mart one evening and played it the minute I got home. (I love what it said on the back of the box: this is a game pak, not a camera.) I did like it from the moment I played it, although, as I'll elaborate on, it could have been better.
In the game, you play as Todd, a photographer who's been hired by Prof. Oak (from the Pokemon anime) to photographs of Pokemon in different parts of an island for a report he's creating about the ecosystem there. (Todd would actually show up in a few episodes of the anime, under the name Snap.) The gameplay is very simple: you ride a vehicle called the Zero-One through different environments on the island, taking pictures of any Pokemon you come across. To progress to different areas, sometimes all you need to do is take a certain number of pictures of different Pokemon; other times, you need to open up the path to the next area yourself. Also, as you progress, you get items like food, Pester Balls, and the Poke-Flute. With these items, you'll be able to go back to areas you've already been and either make the Pokemon you've already seen do different things or find new Pokemon altogether. You also have to search out various "signs" in the areas in order to unlock a special course where you can find a very rare Pokemon.
If I'm not mistaken, this game was the first to feature the Pokemon in 3-D. (I'm surprised they never created a version of the original game for the N64 or any of the later counsels.) I found this game to be pretty addicting. It's fun journeying through the various areas, searching the weeds and bushes for Pokemon to photograph, and watching all the poses and reactions you can make them do. Getting the different items gives you an incentive to go back and see what else you can unearth. It's also surprising how eagerly you want to better your old photographs and get better shots. (I personally became obsessed with doing better than I had before.) After each run through of an area, you choose which pictures you want to show the professor, who grades them based on how close you got to the Pokemon, what the pose of it is, and if the Pokemon is centered in the photo. He also gives extra points if you get more of the same Pokemon in the frame or if the Pokemon is doing something very unusual. This system encourages you to do better, to try to get closer to the Pokemon (although it is possible to get too close), to get them to do different things, and to better your skills.
Unfortunately, as fun and clever as this game is, it could be a whole lot better. For one, the animation when you first start up the game is a bit of false-advertising: it shows Todd wandering on foot in a field, spotting the rare Pokemon Mew, and trying to get a picture of it. I wish that was an actual option in the game: to choose whether you want to ride in the Zero-One or go out on foot. Understandably, you would have to be in it for courses like the River and the Cave but couldn't you have an option for some of the others. Also, I know this sounds like I want complete control over the game, but wouldn't it be possible to control the vehicle yourself, to stop when you want, go when you want, and even go back if you need to. While the Pokemon do come at you when you enter a course, it would be cool if you could sit and wait for them to come, seeing what they would do.
Another thing that could have been better is the length of the game. With only six courses and one special one, Pokemon Snap is quite a short game that can be thoroughly explored very easily. True, you can explore courses to find new Pokemon but I think there should have been more courses, like a rainforest, a desert, or even a cold region. Also, there's only one route through each course except for secret ones that simply lead to the next course. Why not have different routes you can take in each area and, as a result, have different Pokemon you can encounter on each one? As for the Pokemon, why only 63 out of the 150 at that time? Why not have at least half, with the evolved forms of Bulbasaur or Squirtle, or Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan? I just really feel that they could have made this game much bigger if they put in a little more time and therefore, give it more replay value than it already has.
One of the coolest things about Pokemon Snap is that it had a feature to actually print the photos you take in the game. You could take your game cartridge to Blockbuster Video and actually print out photos you had taken in the game as stickers you stick in a manual (the strategy guides for the game had albums in the back where you could stick your stickers). They later did the same for Pokemon Stadium. I really enjoyed that and thought it was a neat way to make the game seem real. I was disappointed when I inevitably went into Blockbuster one time (forgot what year it was) and they said, "We don't do that anymore." It was fun while it lasted.
What I'll do now is go through the courses, talk about the Pokemon you encounter there, and how easy or hard it was to get pictures of them.
The Beach
As the first area in the game, this a very easy place to get pictures. The Pokemon here are very curious and often come right up to you. The first Pokemon you run into are three Pidgeys who are easy to get good pictures of. They don't react at all to any of the items but that doesn't matter. You run into other Pidgeys being chased by Meowths and at the end of the course, you can see two Pidgeys unleash a tornado attack on a Meowth that got too close to their nest. This is the first special pose you can get in your first run-through of the game. There are several Doduos here that bound out across the track but getting a good picture of one requires hitting it with an item to make it stand still. Otherwise, they don't interact with you at all and your only other way of getting a picture is to zoom up to one when you get the Dash Engine. There are also some Pikachus here. You can get the first one you encounter to jump on an abandoned surfboard by luring him there with food. That leads to a special pose called Surfing Pikachu. Later, if you can coax out a Scyther in the grass near a couple of stumps, two Pikachus will run out and sit on the stumps, which is another special pose. Pikachus also react to the Poke-Flute by shooting their electric powers, which always makes for impressive photos.
There are plenty of Butterfrees at the beginning of the course as well as two other spots. They don't react to the items but they're easy to get photos of, whether it be closeups or group shots. Also there are some Lapras (those plesiosaur-like Pokemon) out in the ocean and every time you can see the ocean, take a picture of one. They'll get closer and closer until one will get very close to you in a small bay near the end of course. It'll make for your best picture of one. They don't react to the items, though. Sleeping in the grass at the first part of the area is a lazy Snorlax. If you take a picture of him snoozing, it won't register as a Pokemon. You can make him wake up briefly and scratch his belly if you hit him with a Pester Ball but he'll get up and dance for the Poke-Flute. Right past the Snorlax is the first of several Meowths. If you hit this one with a Pester Ball, he'll fall off his hill and you'll be able to get a better shot of him. He'll also eat food if you throw it to him or dance for the Poke-Flute. (I like his natural poses like when he goes, "Meowth!" or makes weird faces at you.) As I said, there are other Meowths but I think this first one is the best one to get a picture of. The hardest Pokemon to get a picture of by-far is a Scyther in the patches of high grass. It's hard to get him to come out and when he does, he usually has his back facing you. He's also quick. You can get some Magikarps to jump of small pools of water but you'll have plenty of opportunities in the game to photograph one of those fish. There's an Eevee and a Chansey by the small bay and you can get good pictures of both when you make the latter stop rolling by pelting it with an item. They also dance to the Poke-Flute. There's a Kangaskhan facing away from you on the cliff but if you hit her with an item, she'll come up and roar in your face. You can also make her dance. (I call it a she since she has a pouch and carries her baby in it.)
The Tunnel
There's a Pikachu at the beginning that scampers away when you take his picture but if you take two photos, he'll jump on a rolling Electrode, resulting in a special pose. There's another Pikachu in a later cavern that will unleash a Zapdos from its egg if you lure him near the egg and play the flute. There's a third Pikachu in the last section that interacts with a Diglett. There are plenty of Electrodes in the course and you can make one explode by bonking it with an item. There's an Electabuzz at the beginning of the level and two near the end. The one at the beginning is the closest one you can get to but you can feed the two at the end if you turn the generator on. Whenever an Electrode explodes in the first cavern, some Kakunas will drop from the ceiling. You can get many in one shot or get a good closeup of just one. There are two Zubats in the level but these things are really hard to get good photos of; you just have to snap like crazy when you see one, hoping a decent picture will come out. (The second one is the easier, though.) The aforementioned Zapdos is a very rare Pokemon, so he makes for a good picture when he bursts out of his egg. There are two Haunters, both of which look like floating purple orbs but are revealed when the photo is developed. The second one is easier to get good photos of than the first, who zips around in a crazy pattern. There's a Magikarp in a small pool. There is a Diglett near a Pikachu in the last part of the level. After you take several pictures of him, a Dugtrio will appear. Each time you take a picture of it, more will show up and you can get a good group photo. There are three Magnemites at the end of the level but they'll screw up your picture with their magnetism. You have to distract them with food to get a good picture but if they all three get together, they'll turn into a Magneton. (That can make it annoying if you want a good picture of just a Magnemite.)
The Volcano
The minute this course begins, three Rapidashes come sprinting around the corner. If you throw some food in front of one, you can get a good photo of it neighing. There are three Vulpixes but you have to use food to get them to face you. There's a Magmar and a Charmander after the Vulpixes. There are better opportunities to get photos of them in the next area, though. Up ahead, you'll be stopped because an egg is blocking the path and you can get two Charmanders to call their friends over by giving them food, resulting in six Charmanders you can photograph altogether. Beyond that are two Magmars you can get to fight if you throw food between them (sometimes, they'll fight for no reason). Speaking of the first Magmar and Charmander, if you throw food between them, the former will blast the Charmander with fire breath, causing him to change into a Charmeleon. You can get a photo of the newly evolved Pokemon but there's another Charmeleon near the end of the area that you can get real good pictures of. Also, if you knock him into the lava pit he's running around, he'll become a Charizard. Pelt him with an item to get him to blast his fire breath for a really good photo. Speaking of that egg, when you finally knock it out of your path and into the lava, a Moltres will come screaming out. A picture of it screaming at the sky is a good one. In three cauldrons in the last section, you can get either Growlithes or an Arcanine to jump out (which one appears is always random). The best pose is when they're wagging off embers. There's some Magicarp in the small pool at the exit.
The River
This is one of my favorite areas because it feels like a natural area where you'd go on a wildlife expedition. There are some Poliwags hiding in the bushes at the start and if you can coax them enough with Pester Balls, they'll jump into the water and jump out randomly when you throw items into the river. Naturall, there are Magikarps in the river but they won't appear if there are Poliwags or Psyducks underwater. There are some Bulbasaurs around some logs at the beginning of the area. The best bet is to get two together and watch their reactions when you throw them food. Shellders randomly come out of the water at the beginning and end of the course. These things are a pain to get good photos of because they come up so random and they're hard to get close to. There's a Vileplume very early on that will dance for the Poke-Flute. One of my favorite Pokemon here are the Slowpokes because of their dopey, vacant expressions and sluggish movements. Needless to say, it's easy to photograph them. If you can coax one near a Shellder sign, he'll fish with his tail and become a Slowbro when something bites his tail. Like the Kakunas in the tunnel, there are Metapods hanging from a small piece of canopy over a river and if you get one to come down in front of you, the vehicle will stop and you'll have plenty of time to take pictures. There's a Psyduck swimming around logs and tree stumps near the Metapods. Bonk him with an item and he'll start jumping randomly out of the water, making silly poses (the spinning jump gets the best points). There are some Porygons on the bank (the Pokemon that are banned in America because they caused seizures in Japan from the anime). You can make them come out of the walls and shed their camouflage with Pester Balls (although the latter doesn't matter). You may see some Cloysters instead of Shellders on the last stretch of the river (it's random). There's a Pikachu onshore that will run like crazy when you take his picture. The fast Pikachu is a special shot.
The Cave
There are plenty of Zubats at the beginning and if you take a some good photos here, a trio will appear at the end, making for a great picture. There's also a Zubat later on that grabs a Pikachu. Belt him with an item and he'll drop the Pikachu, who'll deploy some balloons and safely float down (that's a special pose). An even better pose is when rides on the Articuno you release. There are Grimers far in the alcoves at the beginning but if you take pictures of them, two more will appear much closer a few feet away. If you hit a Grimer with three Pester Balls, it'll change into a Muk. There are also some Bulbasaurs nearby that look a little odd. If you hit them with Pester Balls, they will reveal what they really are: Dittos in disguise. There are three Jigglypuffs in the large cavern, each being bullied by a Koffing. You can save the Jigglypuffs by hitting the Koffings with items. The Jigglypuffs you rescue will show up at the end, singing in a concert that's worth a lot of points. (For a laugh, watch the sour expressions the singing one gives you if you bean her with an item or play the Poke-Flute.) You can also get a Koffing to dance if you play the flute near him. There's a Weepinbell floating around a pool. It's easy to get a picture of him. Hit him with an item and he'll fall into the pall, transforming into a Victreebell. Of course, there's a Magikarp in the other pool. There are two Jynxes washing their hair in the water around a crystal egg. Play the flute and they'll dance, causing an Articuno to erupt from the egg.
The Valley
This is definitely the hardest course because you travel so fast at points and it's hard to get good shots. You can get some Squirtles to come on shore if you hit their floating shells with Pester Balls. (Someone got four onshore at once but that is REALLY hard to pull off.) The most interesting thing with Magikarp happens here if you smack one out of the water near the shore. It'll flop over to a Mankey, who'll smack it over the horizon. You'll see that Magikarp later near a waterfall and if you it with another Pester Ball, it'll flop into the waterfall and transform into the gigantic eel, Gyrados. As for Mankeys, you'll see them all over the course but they'll be out of reach. The last Mankey, however, can be knocked off his hill if you aim a Squirtle towards him and hit him in at the right angle. The Mankey will be onshore after the ridge and hopping mad! There are Geodudes hanging on the cliffs near the start but you can knock one off with a Pester Ball. The first three will unearth some Sandshrews, who will jump for joy if you give them some food. There's also a Graveler above two Geodudes and if you knock him off, he unearth a Sandslash, the evolved form of Sandshrew. There are three Gravelers near the waterfall that you can make dance with the flute. Staryus and Starmies are hard to get good pictures of because they're small and float around really fast. Dratinis pop up everywhere here, especially near the whirlpool. Hitting said whirlpool with enough Pester Balls awakens the dopey Dragonite. Finally, there's Goldeen, the really pretty fish. I, however, first came to know Goldeen from Super Smash Bros. and if you've played that series of games, you'll know why I don't like this Pokemon. I don't like it here either because it rarely come up when you splash the water and when it does, it's so fast that it's hard to get a decent picture.
Rainbow Cloud
This special level's only Pokemon is the rare Mew. She's easy to get a picture of after you've gotten rid of her shields and if you bonk her with an item, she'll be stationary enough to get good shots. I actually hate hitting Mew with an item because she's so cute but it's the only way to get a good shot.
To conclude, Pokemon Snap is a fun, interesting spin on the Pokemon franchise. I wish they had made sequels to it because they could have expanded it in the ways I explained before. Unfortunately, it seems like this game is going to remain an interesting but pretty much forgotten curiosity piece in this enormous franchise.
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