Almost immediately after the release of the first parts Pokemon for the original Game boy in the mid-90s, a franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri, has grown to a truly phenomenal size. In addition to the main series of games, a super popular anime series was released, themed toys, trading cards, paraphernalia and, of course, various spin-offs appeared. One of the most iconic was Pokemon snap for Nintendo 64, published in 1999, is a three-dimensional project in the then still quite popular genre of “rail shooter”, but instead of shooting at enemies, the player had to photograph pocket monsters. Surprisingly, more than twenty years later Nintendo decides to release a sequel to this classic on Nintendo Switch…
New Pokemon Snap stays true to the gameplay scheme from the first part. Before us is a classic arcade game with a first-person view, where the player automatically moves forward along a predetermined route, but at the same time can freely control the camera – in this case, literally. The main and only “weapon” in the game is the camera, but don’t worry – no one will force you to adjust the “white balance”, exposure, and turn the focusing wheel. You just need to aim at the subject, zoom in and click the shutter in time – oddly enough, such a simple formula works well even now. You will not be burdened with complex mechanics, a branchy upgrade tree, RPG elements, an open world and other attributes of modern projects. New Pokemon Snap doesn’t try to be trendy – it’s still the same cute and simple game that allows, first of all, to take a break from the hustle and bustle of real life.
The plot is also not loaded with dramatic events – by creating your character and giving him a name, you become a member of a brave research team led by Professor Mirror, who is studying Pokemon in the Lental region, in particular, the unique phenomenon of Illumin – the glow that some rare types of monsters emit. Understandably, the professor at all costs needs photographs of wild Pokemon in their natural habitat. In addition to the camera, the main character has a flying bathyscaphe NEO-ONE, capable of teleporting to the desired points on the map.
Nintendo Switch cannot boast of advanced hardware, but the graphics component in New Pokemon Snap really pleased with the clarity of the picture, bright, rich colors and a stable frame rate with a large number of moving objects in the frame. Once at the location, you feel that life is literally in full swing around: Pokemon fly in the air, shag in the grass, bask in the sun, hurry up and down, hide, look out of the thickets, eat, build dwellings, play, communicate with each other – sometimes you don’t have time to turn your head to see everything, but you still have to have time to take pictures! In terms of the variety of natural areas, everything is also in order – there are cozy gardens, dense jungle, tropical beaches, deserts, and much more.
The authors paid special attention to audio design, so playing with good headphones, you will greatly simplify your life and will be able to navigate much better in space, listening to all kinds of sounds: footsteps, creaks, rustling of leaves and voices. Often, a rare Pokemon can be detected only by a subtle squeak or rustling. The musical accompaniment, however, seems so unobtrusive that you can hardly remember at least one track, except for the one that plays in the main menu. There is also a full-fledged voice acting of dialogues in the game, but we did not see the Russian translation even in the form of text – it’s a shame.
