The New Pokemon Snap
If you haven’t heard already, Nintendo announced the release of the New Pokemon Snap for the Nintendo Switch on January 14, 2021. While you are able to pre-order the game, it won’t be released officially until April 30, 2021.
Below is the New Pokemon Snap trailer if you haven’t seen it yet.
As someone who played the original Pokemon Snap when it came out on the Nintendo 64, I am extremely excited about the sequel coming out and have been waiting for it ever since the Wii U was out.
What are my thoughts on New Pokemon Snap?
Obviously, as mentioned before, I’m very excited about the New Pokemon Snap. The trailer looks beautiful and it’ll be great to experience the magic of exploring through foreign lands while photographing wild pokemon. However, I still think Nintendo (and GameFreak) missed a huge opportunity by not releasing a sequel when the Wii U was in the market. This game was made for the asymmetrical way the Wii U was designed. The television screen would have been perfect for viewing pleasure while the gamepad would have been an awesome camera to move around and snap pictures with.
What I’m hoping for is the ability to play New Pokemon Snap in handheld mode.
I think I’ll still be able to experience my dream of using the Nintendo gyroscope to take pictures of Pokemon, almost like a real camera, by playing in handheld mode. For those ‘hardcore’ gamers that prefer using the joystick, I hope there’s a way to trigger the gyroscopic mode on/off so that both crowds (the ones who want the innovation versus tradition) will be appeased.
As I mentioned before, the Wii U would have been perfect for this game, but if the handheld mode could replicate what my vision was. I’d be happy.
Otherwise I’d be fine with normal controls like how it was on the Nintendo 64. Especially in console mode where I don’t think the two JoyCons will be able to provide a satisfying photo-taking experience.
Until we get some gameplay videos though, I’m really unsure of how the game is going to be played. I really only have my imagination and my experience with the first game to go off of.
The name New Pokemon Snap isn’t great
While I love Nintendo for being a company that innovates like it’s no one’s business, they certainly are lacking in the ‘naming department’. I’m unsure if it’s because they need to translate this game into so many languages, or because they really think that by naming it ‘new’ it’ll distinguish itself from the original Pokemon Snap, but I don’t really care what the reason is. New Pokemon Snap just isn’t a good name. Nintendo should have learned their lesson from naming their Mario titles such as New Super Mario Bros.
Like at one point, the game is no longer going to be new, and if they are hoping to milk this series, then going for a different naming convention will guarantee the success of future titles… And I’m hoping that we won’t have to wait for another decade for another Pokemon Snap title.
The New Pokemon Snap graphics are ah-ma-zing!
If you’ve seen the trailer, you can easily agree with me that the graphics for the New Pokemon Snap are beautiful. I think that for a game that revolves around taking pictures of Pokemon, this was one component that the team had to get right for the success of the game.
I’m also happy to see that the Pokemon models in the game are expressive. Something that has been lacking in Pokemon games has been character animations for Pokemon. If you reference ‘old school’ Pokemon games, such as Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Snap, and Pokemon Colosseum, you’ll find that Pokemon were really expressive and their animations were charming. It made playing those games a lot more fun because the Pokemon in them felt real and were full of personality.
As of late, even though the technology has been getting progressively better and better, Pokemon have been less expressive and lively with each passing generation. I know I’m not alone in this statement, dozens upon dozens of fans have already expressed their frustration with the character animations of Pokemon. So I’m hoping that the game reflects the trailer (or even surpasses it) in terms of how animated and lively the Pokemon will be in this game.
What’s My Wishlist for New Pokemon Snap?
I’m obviously going to buy New Pokemon Snap, it’s a game I’ve been waiting for and I am “voting with my dollar” to support this game. From what I’ve seen, I think the game will be great, and even if it’s not, at least I can say that I tried it and then will go back to my old Pokemon Snap for the memories.
With that being said, I still have a “wishlist” of sorts for things I’d like to see in the New Pokemon Snap.
I’d love it if New Pokemon Snap was longer than the original Pokemon Snap, especially at the $59.99 US price tag.
Being able to EASILY share my pictures to my Instagram. While sharing screenshots from the Nintendo Switch isn’t horribly difficult, it is time-consuming and I wish I could have easier ways of exporting my screenshots/photos from my game to the internet (or just to myself).
I’m hoping that Professor Mirror has catchy phrases and a good voice actor. The way that Professor Oak said “you were close” are still ingrained in my mind and while I don’t like Professor Mirror’s name (it doesn’t follow the plant-naming scheme), I’m really hoping whoever voice-acts him does a phenomenal job.
I really would love the “hidden” Pokemon landmarks to make a return, but if they don’t it’s not the end of the world. What I really found ‘magical’ about these landmarks was that it was a challenge trying to find them in each level and unfortunately due to this being the age of the internet, even if they brought it back, the experience won’t be the same.
How Do You Feel About New Pokemon Snap?
I want to say that most people within the Pokemon community are excited about the upcoming Pokemon sequel, but perhaps you were hoping for a return of Pokemon Conquest or Pokemon Rumble instead of Pokemon Snap. Let me know what your thoughts are below or what other game do you think would have made a better comeback into the Pokemon franchise.
