Pokémon Snap: Difference between revisions

'''Pokémon Snap''' (Japanese: '''ポケモンスナップ''' ''Pokémon Snap'') is a [[Spin-off Pokémon games|spin-off]] [[Pokémon games|Pokémon game]] for the [[Nintendo 64]]. It was released in Japan on March 21, 1999, in North America on June 30, 1999, in Australia on March 23, 2000, and in Europe on September 15, 2000.

In Pokémon Snap, the famous Pokémon Researcher [[Professor Oak]] is studying Pokémon on [[Pokémon Island]], and invites [[Todd Snap]], a talented young [[photography|photographer]], to assist in his research. The only current inhabitants of Pokémon Island are wild Pokémon, making it the perfect place to study Pokémon in their natural habitat. Whereas a Trainer may not be able to resist catching the wild Pokémon of the island, Todd's photography skills may equally aid in the Professor's research to complete his [[Pokémon Report]].

This game was also {{book|Pokémon Snap|adapted into a novel}} for the [[Pathways to Adventure]] series in 1999. A sequel, [[New Pokémon Snap]], was released for the [[Nintendo Switch]] on April 30, 2021.

For a period of time after Snap's launch, ''Pokémon Snap Sticker Stations'' were available at {{wp|Blockbuster LLC|Blockbuster}} in the United States, and {{wp|Lawson (store)|Lawson}} in Japan<ref>[https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/25/pokemon-snap-and-print Pokemon Snap -- and Print - IGN]</ref>. These stations which would print out stickers of pictures which were taken in the game for 3 Dollars/300 Yen<ref>[https://pokumon.com/1999-pokemon-snap-photo-contests/ ''1999 Pokemon Snap Photo Contests'' - pokumon.com]</ref>, by loading credits on one of five cards that featured {{p|Bulbasaur}}, {{p|Charmander}}, {{p|Squirtle}}, {{p|Pikachu}}, or {{p|Jigglypuff}}.

There was also a mode in ''[[Pokémon Stadium]]'' which would take and save pictures of Pokémon and print them out at the Stations. Special overlays were made to promote ''Pokémon Stadium'', so there exists two variations of the station.  

Internally, these sticker stations are just a Nintendo 64 with a printer that connects to P4 port, a special version of the cartridge for the printing tasks, and a special cartridge adaptor to switch between ''Pokémon Snap Station'' and ''Pokémon Snap'' or ''Pokémon Stadium''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180911142149/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMbjvGvPkV4 ''The Pokemon<!--sic--> Snap Station - Sixty Formula'' - YouTube] (Dead link - private video)</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_UGpRN6AnM&t=3m35s ''VIDEO GAME KIOSKS - Extreme Game Collecting! - MetalJesusRocks'' - YouTube]</ref>

Pokémon Snap was re-released for the [[Wii]]'s Virtual Console with a few small changes. This version can upload pictures from the game to the {{wp|Wii Menu#Message Board|Wii's Message Board}}, where they can be transferred to people on the Wii's Address Book.  

In this release, {{p|Jynx}} were recolored purple from the black color they were in the original game, to reflect the changes in its design and to avoid controversy that Jynx's original design caused.

To celebrate this re-release, the Japanese Yahoo! Kids Pokémon page streamed all of the episodes in which Todd Snap appeared from December 14, 2007 to January 14, 2008.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161024102039/http://park3.wakwak.com/~pokepale/list/movie_sonota.htm] (archived)</ref>

In 1994, Nintendo put an ad in Famitsu Magazine, seeking to hire new talent for a team that would be given creative freedom when making games. The team, later known as Jack and Beans, would start working in 1995 on three separate projects, one of which was a camera-based game called "Jack and the Beanstalk". The team's inspiration for a camera game came from the [[Nintendo 64DD]]'s ability to read and write data from disks, which had the potential to then move the photos to another medium to print them. <ref>[https://youtu.be/aOIP_sTHDOs?t=396 ''"New N64 Game Facts Discovered" - Did You Know Gaming'' - YouTube]. Translation of an interview from The 64 Dream's May 1999 issue, and Shigesato Itoi's website 1101.com. (6:36 - 16:05 in the video).</ref>

Pokémon Snap would be announced for the Nintendo 64DD at [[Nintendo Space World#1997|Space World '97]] in November 1997, with a release planned to coincide with the movie ''[[M01|Mewtwo Strikes Back]]'' the next year - but this announcement was made without informing the development team beforehand. However, the game would not meet this deadline, and in 1998 would change format to a Nintendo 64 cartridge for three reasons: Nintendo could not find a suitable time to release Snap for the 64DD; Snap would not be compatible with [[Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions]], so it had to be released before them; and Snap being on the 64DD would make it the odd one out among existing Pokémon releases on the Nintendo 64.

The development team aimed to have several Pokémon appear on screen at once - but to achieve this, they would have to use low-poly models - this meant that they could not use the same Pokémon models and animations as ''[[Pokémon Stadium (Japanese)|Pokémon Stadium]]'', which was being developed at around the same time. The team's animations would not use the [[Pokémon anime]] as reference material - instead, team member [[Benimaru Itoh]] would act as a reference model, posing and acting as various different Pokémon, and other team members would serve as models when Itoh was unavailable.

Voice acting for [[Professor Oak]] and [[Todd Snap]] was added to the game last-minute, with the lines obtained during a recording session for the Pokémon anime.

The game received good reviews in the media, scoring a 7.8 on IGN, an 8.0 on GameSpot, and a 77 on Metacritic. The game has a strong fan following, even a number of years later, giving it a status similar to that of a {{wp|cult classic}}.

* Although the game features [[Voice acting in the Pokémon games|voice acting]] from the {{pkmn|anime}} series, certain Pokémon that were given new voices for the dub still have their original Japanese voice acting in the game. These include {{p|Metapod}}, {{p|Diglett}}, {{p|Dugtrio}}, {{p|Magnemite}}, {{p|Magneton}}, {{p|Geodude}}, {{p|Graveler}}, {{p|Psyduck}}, and {{p|Porygon}}.

* {{p|Ekans}} was intended to be included in the game, but was ultimately cut.<ref name=TCRF>[https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Pokémon_Snap Prerelease:Pokémon Snap - The Cutting Room Floor]</ref>

* A song called [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CUGNpvdtpE| Fantasic Horror] was cut from the game. The song was meant for a {{type|Ghost}} level, but as there were only three Ghost-type Pokémon in [[Generation I]], this song ended up unused. Additionally, there was a boss song exclusive to the level that also did not end up in the final game.<ref name=TCRF/>