Episode 12 - Pokémon Snap

Pokémon Snap was released at the height of pokémania in 1999. It offered to people’s imaginations a way to see Pokemon in full 3d in their natural environments, instead of poorly rendered sprites on the screen. It also offered a gentler, more exploratory experience - here, ‘capturing’ a pokémon means getting a great photograph, not enslaving it to use in pit fights. Does Pokémon Snap’s on-rails and slow paced gameplay get to the core of the Pokémon experience, or is it a boring snoozefest?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Should there always be logical underpinnings to your interactions with the world of Pokémon Snap, or is it better to have a sense of wonder and surprise?
• How enjoyable is the fundamental gameplay? Are the mechanics of photography well implemented in how well shots are graded?
• Is it animal cruelty to push pokémon into lakes of lava in the hope that something cool will happen?

Find out if Pokémon Snap is still fun to play all these years later on the 12th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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