This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.

There are moments during Pokémon Snap where — upon finding a hidden path — the game ditches the first-person perspective to show your character looking on in amazement at the new discovery. Despite being a (relatively) low-poly Nintendo 64 release, the game still manages to convey a sense of wonder, something it does throughout your time with it. That sense dulls which subsequent replays, but there's a lot happening in the stages which makes the experience a lot more engrossing than you might imagine if you've never snapped a 'mon before.

Professor Oak needs photos of Pokémon and you are the youngster who has been tasked with getting them. Essentially an on-rails shooter, Pokémon Snap has you sitting in your "Zero-One" vehicle which leisurely moves along a set path as you look around and photograph the various Pokémon enjoying themselves in their natural habitat. The game is very relaxing, often feeling like a more interactive version of one of those Panoroma View titles that appeared in the early days of the Wii U. You just sit back, take in the sights and snap away when you see the potential for a good photo. Initially you just point and shoot, but as you progress the Professor provides you with items to lure out the creatures for a better photo opportunity.

The behaviour of the Pokémon is fun to observe whether they are relaxing, running about or interacting with each other. As you replay a stage you'll know where to look out for certain creatures and it's very satisfying when you capture a spectacular-looking shot or spot something lurking in a corner that you hadn't noticed before.

Playing through, it's baffling that fans had to wait over 20 years until 2021's New Pokémon Snap for a follow-up. The gyroscopic capabilities of the Wii U GamePad or the 3DS would have been perfect for a game like this. The analogue stick is used to look around here, the 'Z' button switches to camera mode and you click your shutter with 'A'. The C-buttons enable quick, sharp turns for when a creature is quickly disappearing from view, and you're able to invert the vertical axis from the options menu should you wish.

The presentation of Pokémon Snap is a big part of its appeal, with fun, breezy music accompanying the colourful visuals. Those visuals hold up quite well, too. Yes, you get an abundance of 64-bit straight edges and angular scenery, but strong character designs and the cartoony style work well for the game. A good range of locations helps to keep things interesting, with you starting on a beach, but your playthrough also takes in the likes of caves and rivers. Sound effects such as splashes, bumps, more 'mysterious' noises, and just the various Pokémon calls are also very effective.

The game is divided into courses (seven in all), but you do not simply reach the end of one course and proceed to the next. Professor Oak will require a certain number of Pokémon to be photographed, or for you to have achieved a minimum score, before you can get past certain points. Scoring of your photography is done by Professor Oak himself following completion of a course when you hand over any snaps you want him to take a look at.

You'll be marked on the size, pose, and technique, and he really likes you to get them in the centre of the frame. Further points can be earned from having additional Pokémon of the same species included in the picture or if something special is happening. This grading can be a little hit-and-miss — Oak certainly ain't no art critic — although ridiculing the prof's taste is arguably part of the fun. You just can't please some people.

Having to replay courses can get tiresome, but for the most part it's not really a problem as you'll be heading back in with a new item or an idea that'll help you get an additional picture. Even replaying just to get an improved photograph is entertaining due to the way a new angle or slightly different use of an item can lead to a new reaction from different creatures. Your best pictures can be saved to the Gallery.

As fun as the game is to replay, the short length does limit its long-term appeal and the low number of Pokémon included will be off-putting to some. Released relatively early in the history of the franchise, Pokémon Snap only features species from the first generation and not even all of those have made it across. In total just 63 of the Gen I Pocket Monsters are included, and whilst each area introduces plenty of new creatures to keep things feeling fresh, it won't take long to snap 'em all.

Sitting in a vehicle moving along a set path as you take photographs might not seem like much fun, but Pokémon Snap quickly proves to be a highly enjoyable, if short-lived, experience. The quest to find a few more Pokémon or score better to open up new stages or get a useful item keeps you engaged for the game's brief duration and the variety of creatures and their actions keeps things interesting when replaying stages. There are only 63 Pokémon to find, and it can be cleared very quickly, but there's plenty of opportunity for new and improved (or funnier) photos with each playthrough. There may not be much reason for an immediate return once you have snapped 'em all, but whenever you do, this spin-off's inhabitants will surely bring a smile to your face.

Please note voting will score the game in your games collection

Just waiting for when NA decides to bring it over here. NA is an epic VC failure!

Short but fun game that shows that Rail shooters can be more than just violence.

Where's the sequel? The Wii U was perfect for this! You're willing to greenlight four Rumble games, but not another one of these?

Looks horrible today BUT this is crying out for a modern version

Pokémon Snap VR on NX! Gotta Instagram 'em all!

this could've been a perfect game for wii u but oh well

@Spoony_Tech "NA is an epic VC failure!"

What aren't they a failure at Splatoon and CT:TT for $60 instead of $40, making us wait on Yoshi. No New 3DS. blah I hope soda comes out Reggie's nose while's he's reading this and laughing at us.

Extremely disappointed this is 50 hz as id been anticipating this release...its now been relegated to the maybe pile

@rjejr They were smart to make Splatoon 60$ here as it made them plenty of extra cash off us. I guess they figured Europe is so far behind on Nintendo these days if they don't lower the price then nobody will buy their games.

As for Yoshi's that made total sense as I'm sure those amiibos took forever to make and NA would need 5 times more then Europe. I think Europe only needed like 10 to 20 and they were good. 😉

Nintendo's biggest mistake in the Wii U's history is to not make a sequel. It would have been the system seller that justifies the GamePad! And it would have been in HD! With so many more locations and Pokemon!!!! A no-brainer!

@Spoony_Tech Saying we had to wait on Yoshi b/c Nintendo couldn't figure out how long it takes to make toys hardly strikes me as a strength of theirs. I'm sick of taking bs rationale as a legitimate excuse. FFXV is delayed to put the Day 1 patch on the disc b/c some people won't have Internet to download the patch? Well how are they going to get the season pass doc then, will that be on the disc as well.

So many excuses that are just that, excuses.

Quick question - is Nintendo even aware of the sheer number of people pointing out how the WiiU was made for this game?

@rjejr I guess they could've just delayed the release in Europe then to make the dates closer but those yarn Yoshi's I'm sure took a lot longer to make and they were coming with the game here stateside. In Europe I think you could buy it with or without but I'm not sure. Either way to get 500k yarn Yoshi's ready had to take a long time not to mention the mega versions. I don't normally make excuses for them as of late but this had to take a while.

Getting tired of Americans moaning about how long it takes until they get re-releases of old games. To put it in perspective: When this originally was released in USA in June 1999, we Europeans had to wait until September 2000...

Another perfect example of how the Wii U could have and should have been utilized. Instead of making a follow up to Snap, they wasted resources on amiibo festival or something else equally lame.

"A final note: this eShop release (in Europe and Oceania) is the 50Hz version of the game."

That's not quite true, at least not in Germany. We got the 60 Hz Version which is english only.

I really miss Professor Oaks German Voice Samples. The english Voice is fine, but not what i grew up with.

Besides that the Game is still fun to play and perfect for Miiverse.

If they ever release a sequel I really hope that isn't anything about AR. Pokemon go is good because most of mobile games are crap, but I want a full fledge sequel with more than 500 species and tons of scenarios!

@Flash-Jordan Stupid Sexy Nintendo. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

See, not having a Pokemon Snap game on Wii U goes to exactly why the console flopped imo: Nintendo can't see all the amazing stuff it really should be doing with the Wii U, and stuff that will show it off brilliantly and really sell the concept to a whole load of people. Maybe Nintendo will have figured things out a bit better with the NX. . . .

Gamepad just pegs to be used for Snap 2. I guess it´s too late at this point...

I asked this before: Why has Pokemon Snap not the usual discount if you already bought it in the Wii-Shop?

@AlexSora89 Probably know, and they are laughing at us about that as well. If if gets a sequel in the first 6 on the NX - I'm not sure Nintendo knows they have a console launching in 8 months - then we'll know. They also know we wanted Metroid Prime 4, Mario Galaxy 3 and a proper Animal Crossing game on Wii U as well. Nintendo laughs at us all day long.

@Nagi_Nagisa Yes, I noticed this, too. Nintendo is learning with the 60Hz-issue

@Chandlero At first i thought Nintendo wanted to use the Pokémon Go Craze to sell Pokémon Snap for 10€ again, but the eShop mentions the discount for the Game, so it must be an error.

I hope the fix this by tomorrow when the new eShop stuff gets released.

@rjejr Interviewer: "Is progress being made on a Mother 3 rerelease?" Reggie Fils-Aime: [laughs]

@Nagi_Nagisa That's strange. I guess they've stuck the wrong version up by mistake as there should be German, French, Spanish and Italian versions available. Poor Professor Eich.

Not in the American eShop still...

This was actually my first Pokemon game and because of that I have quite a few memories of playing this one with my brother. May have to pick it up just for the nostalgia factor alone!

Anyone else remember going to Blockbuster to print out the tiny stickers?

I still really really really really want a sequel to this. Come on, this would have been perfect on 3DS and/or Wii U! It's unlikely for Wii U at this point though, so maybe on the NX. Not keeping my hopes up, but, y'know.

One does not simply walk into the next course. -paraphrased from the review

Hoping this hits NA soon! I've been dying to play it.

And some Pokémon are even real! So go get your cameras! Nintendo sure as heck ain't gonna give us any kind of VC version of this game, let alone a sequel...

Rented this game a lot back in the day. Played it in Wii VC and still enjoy. I just might get it for Wii U if comes to NA.

@Other_Dave But as I remembered there was a special German version for the N64. So you couldn't switch between Languages and this is the version Nintendo released in the Wii-Shop (in Germany).

In the eShop I just find an English version which is probably the 60Hz version.

@AlexSora89 "Reggie Fils-Aime: [laughs]"

What a waste the Wii U has been.

The controller has been barely utilised, and games that would've been perfect like this one ignored.

I enjoyed this game very much, but to me its biggest problem is its very basic photo scoring method. Sure, you are free to take photos in any way you like, but in terms of highscores Pokemon Snap doesn't honor creativity or even the simplest rules of aesthetics. Get the Pokemon in the middle of the photo, and as large as possible. That's pretty much all. Sure, I understand that any more sophisticated system would have been a huge challenge to the programmers, so I cannot really see how this could have been improved. But still, it makes the photo shooting a bit too mechanic at times.

Man, this is too little, too late, as great as this is, because the WiiU really screamed out for a modern Pokemon Snap game using the Gamepad's aiming for the camera with maybe even a different view on the screen, just like Star Fox!

@Chandlero Actually all PAL versions of this game were single language, so it's likely to be the English 50Hz version. Though why Nintendo have stuck that up instead of the German one I don't know.

@rjejr "Under our lawyers' suggestion, we deny any notion of people being burnt to a crisp via Fire Flower upon mention of Mother 3." signed--Nintendo

You're kidding me...NOW they release Pokemon Snap? I sold my Wii U at least a year ago, but I was dying to get this game for it. Too late, Nintendo, sheesh. At least it finally works on Dolphin 64 though!

....Some of these comments confused me for a moment before realizing that they're all from 2016. lol

Thought this review was new due to the Switch version. xD

It's not like there is a better game on the Switch already...

Definitely a fun game...once...20 years ago.

Really no reason to play it again once you've done it all, no more surprise appearances, no more mystery. A 7 seems exactly right.

Also, don't forget, you're just renting this for $50 a month. Absurd.

I haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but when it comes to older, more retro games, I don't mind it being short if it can leave a lasting impression on me. I beat Kirby 64 100% in just under 7 hours and it's probably my favourite Kirby 64 despite that, the level design and vibe was so comforting to go to.

I'm really excited to give this a go to see what all the hub-ub is about and, if I enjoy it, maybe even give the sequel a go as well. Bring on the compulsive picture taking!

I’m confused, why are people demanding a sequel?

There is a switch game?

Oh.. just noticed posts were from 2016.. lol

This game is a perfect example of a game that should have a more modern version developed asap. This would sell like hotcakes. Imagine if you will a more detailed world that is very well polished more so than any mainstream Pokemon game. Though, if they ever do a newer version they should definitely eliminate being able to trigger evolutions. No one liked that feature. The developer I feel like could handle this perfectly is Bandai Namco. Get on it Nintendo!!

I agree with the 7/10. It's just way too short and the content rich new game doesn't make the old one look better.

@SeaSalty Heck yes I do, still have one sheet of those stickers to, I think its buried somewhere in my old video game boxes.

7/10 & we already have our Switch Sequel. I felt the N64 game could've done with more content but was kinda cool for its time

I preferred this short and sweet game to the new one which I felt was bloated and the fun was diluted in comparison.

I remember commenting on this Article before on my old account so I'll repeat what I said then now. As a person who played Pokémon Snap when it came out I thought the game was a perfect length, it was also very relaxing to play too but I never understood the fuss surrounding it. Pokémon Stadium 3 I would have preferred.

I've just finished playing through the whole game on NSO EP in one sitting and had a blast replaying it after so long and it was awesome. I love this game.

I'm definitely putting New Pokemon Snap back in my Switch and restarting that now. I never did get too far into the sequel, no idea why.

Tap here to load 57 comments

Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...

Switch Online's N64 Update Is Live (Version 2.4.0), Here's What's Included

Find out what's changed behind-the-scenes

A New Limited-Time Pokémon Sword & Shield Shiny Clefairy Distribution Has Started

Get it while you can!

Pokémon Snap Is Now Available On Switch Online's Expansion Pack

Random: Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Characters Reimagined As Previous Gen Sprites

Pixels are back in fashion!

A New Limited-Time Pokémon Legends: Arceus Distribution Event Has Begun

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack (Subscription)

Review Pokémon Snap - Photo Fun That's Over Too Soon

Review Sonic Origins - A Fine Collection For New Fans, Less So For The Hardcore Sonic Crowd

Review Steve Jackson's Sorcery! - One Of Switch's Very Best Narrative Games

Review AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative - Another Very Fine Murder Mystery

Mini Review Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition - Tough To Recommend At Launch

Pokémon GO Spotlight Hour Times: This Week's Featured Po...

Best Nintendo Switch Micro SD Cards - Cheapest Memory Car...

SEGA Announces The Mega Drive Mini 2, Boasting 50 Genesis...

Review: Pokémon Snap - Photo Fun That's Over Too Soon

Where To Buy Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes On Switch

Switch Online's N64 Update Is Live (Version 2.4.0), Here'...

Where To Pre-Order Xenoblade Chronicles 3 On Switch

Rumour: Down Time For 'My Nintendo Store' Could Point To ...

The Panda Cup, An Officially-Licensed Smash Bros. Circuit...

Best Star Wars Games - Every Star Wars Game On Nintendo S...

Sonic Origins Contributor Shares Frustrations Over The St...

Pokémon Snap Is Now Available On Switch Online's Expansi...

Join 1,319,143 people following Nintendo Life:

© 2022 Hookshot Media, partner of ReedPop. Hosted by 44 Bytes.