While my brother and I both owned our own Nintendo 64s when we were younger, the only time we experienced the original Pokémon Snap was by having our parents take us down to the local Blockbuster. Needless to say, I didn't hold the same level of nostalgia for this game leading up to its release as some of my other friends did, but...I can say that I was just plain out excited to have the chance to play the game on the Switch.
During my time as a devout Pokémon fan, I've found that there are two types of people: those who buy every mainline Pokémon game that has ever been released and those who are only familiar with and recognize the original 151 in Gen 1. Don't get me wrong, I love to catch 'em all...but now, I also love to snap 'em all too when I can take Cosmopolitan-like photography shots of my favorites. There is something immensely satisfying about watching a Pichu and a Grookey play with each other in the grass, or seeing a Scorbunny chilling on top of a Torterra. I never thought of this game as some drawn out photography simulator; it's never a bore to watch.
Exploring the brand spanking new Lental region in this game turned out to be a pretty satisfying and amazing experience for me, and I'm sure many others of all ages can agree. It is pretty heartwarming to see not only other adults like my friends get to dust off and revisit their Pokémon photography skills, but also to see a new generation of young fans experience a game like this for the first time, on a mission to find TONS of Pokémon! Who knew watching a Pokémon frolic through grass or sleep soundly at the threshold of a cave be so intense when you know you HAVE to get the "perfect" shot?
In all seriousness though, the replayability in this game is insane. I play a level over and over again thinking I had seen everything there was to see...only to spot a new Pokémon on the next trip around. Each time around was a new experience, and a new chance to get an even better picture - which ended up being immensely relaxing to dive deep into.
Picking up Pokémon Snap was a nice change of pace from the constant HP and SP loss that I am used to in my bread-and-butter genre of RPGs/JRPGs. 22ish years is a long time to wait for a sequel, but being able to experience this type of needed escapism during a stressful, rough time in the world was worth that wait. As Pokémon celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, I can't help but recognize how far the brand has come when I reminisce about how we have met hundreds and hundreds of Pokémon from the original games on the Gameboy, to the Trading Card Game, and even mobile apps like Pokémon Go...there's no way I can't be excited to see all that's left in store!
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