Pokémon Snap

Pokémon Snap was and still is a unique, well-made and well-presented rail 'shooter'. This was a gem on release at the height of the craze, allowing us to take a break from battling and catching Pokémon and instead photograph them in the (scripted) wild. Today, it's an enjoyable and relaxing ride, but lacks depth and is incredibly brief.

Considering how obsessed kids were with Pokémon themselves, it's surprising Nintendo never gave us a more naturalistic look into their world than with this game, where you play as a nature photographer trying to get the best shots of these critters in their natural habitat. It plays a on-rails shooter where you're "shooting" pictures instead of bullets, which is a cleverly non-violent take on the rail shooter genre. Levels are short, but with secrets to uncover, and you'll be revisiting them to get the best possible shot of every Pokémon featured. Still, it does feel like Snap is lacking in content, especially considering it doesn't even feature all 151 original monsters, and can be cleared over the course of an afternoon. But as a chillout game to break out every once in a while, it's hard to beat.

Pokémon Snap is a fairly unique game in which you play the roll of a photographer, taking photos of creatures whilst your car moves automatically “on-rails” through the environment. The game wouldn't be as exciting/interesting if it wasn't for the fact that you are taking photos of Pokémon, but sadly the quest isn't as epic as other games in the series as there are only 63 Pokémon in the entire game.

As your vehicle progresses through the environment, you survey the scene and will see Pokémon moving around. Your photos are graded based on the size (closer is better), the pose (snapping them performing an attack gives more points), the technique (centred and forward facing shots are the best) and extra points are given if more Pokémon of the same type are in the same shot.

There are special shots you can take too, where performing certain actions puts the Pokémon in certain animations such as the Jigglypuff that sings on a pedestal once you save it from the Koffing. You can interact with the Pokémon by throwing an apple to get their attention and move them closer, or throw a ball that can bring out hidden Pokémon, and the Pokémon flute can have different effects like waking up sleeping Pokémon.

Once the level is over, you choose your best shots of each Pokémon to show Professor Oak and he grades them. The system works surprisingly well and usually what looks good to a human looks good to the Professor. You progress through the levels and acquire the items by reaching a certain amount of points, or interacting with the environment in some way. For example; making Electrode explode in the tunnel to uncover the path to the Volcano.

There are 6 levels (Beach, Tunnel, Volcano, River, Cave, Valley) plus the secret Rainbow Cloud where you can find Mew. The levels will need to be replayed a couple of times to make sure you haven't missed a Pokémon and to find the rarer ones.

Pokémon Snap is original and provides enough fun, but doesn't really provide longevity.

Pokemon Snap is a legitimately great turn on the franchise, taking the fauna-focused motif of the setting and taking it to its conclusion. Mixing photography with the wacky antics of Pokemon makes for a more inspired ride than you might first think, with power-ups and secret interactions to mix things up alongside a concept that slots in perfectly and is weighted up well enough for arcade fun. Not nearly enough level or Pokemon variety, however, and was clearly begging for a sequel it would never get.