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Julius

New Pokémon Snap

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Got this in yesterday, still haven't touched it. I remember getting the N64 pokemon snap for my either 11th or 10th birthday. Played the crap out of it.

I'm not sure if i can relate to this game with all the new pokemon. The last pokemon game I seriously played to the end was gold. I've only dabbled in Platinum and Ruby.

I'll fire it up after dinner and see how it is.

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I just started it today and have been playing it for about a couple of hours or so now (just unlocked the second stage)...

So far, it's not bad, but I feel that it is lacking in interactivity so far compared to the N64 original. Each Pokemon seems to just be walking around doing its own thing, and they don't seem to interact with each other really... And most don't seem to do much of anything when you throw apples at them either (at least in the first stage anyway).  There's nothing like the Surfing Pikachu, or the Meowth Knockout, or the hidden Scyther or Lapras from the first Beach stage in the N64 original here.  So far, the game seems to be lacking those puzzle and interactive stage elements that made the original game so much fun.

Now, from what I've been hearing around the internets, it sounds like the game starts introducing more of those puzzle elements as it goes on.  I hope that's the case, because it feels a bit bland so far. 

That being said? I do like the new star system for the poses; it neatly solves an issue with the original game, where certain poses were just worth way more points than others (thus making it not worth showing the lower scoring poses to the Professor), since each different pose now has its own seperate score to obtain.  The Requests system also seems quite promising, offering some incentives to snap different types of Pokemon poses, so perhaps we'll see more of those puzzle & interactive elements come into play there?

Also... Mad props for this!

Spoiler

Even madder props for actually aging him up! He actually does look 22 years older than he was back in 1999 :D 

Music is alright so far, nothing all that memorable though.  The stick controls are also pretty sluggish, even on the highest sensitivity setting (also it defaults to non-inverted for the opening tutorial, which pissed me off); the decision to get rid of the quick 90 degree turning is also not a good one, as it makes it really slow to move the camera around you fully... Thankfully the motion controls manage to save the day; with the maximum sensitivity offering the speed & precision this game sorely needs!

So... mixed feelings so far then.  Not bad, but so far it's not quite living up to the original.  The potential is there though, and from what I've been hearing? I'm hopeful that the later stages will bring back more of the puzzle solving and interactive elements that made the N64 original such a joy.

Edited by Dcubed
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You can use the D-stick to do 90⁰ turns by the way. 

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So those who played through this - is it worth the purchase? 
I got some vouchers for my birthday and thought about picking this up. 

Never did play the original, so have nothing to compare it to, but wondered if it is worth £40! 

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2 hours ago, Aneres11 said:

So those who played through this - is it worth the purchase? 
I got some vouchers for my birthday and thought about picking this up. 

Never did play the original, so have nothing to compare it to, but wondered if it is worth £40!

Here's the official N-Europe review by @Ashley which is well worth reading, and may help with your potential purchase decision... :peace:

 

  New Pokémon Snap  

content-2-36498-newpokemonsnapsidebox.jpg

 N-Europe Review 

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14 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

Here's the official N-Europe review by @Ashley which is well worth reading, and may help with your potential purchase decision... :peace:

 

  New Pokémon Snap  

content-2-36498-newpokemonsnapsidebox.jpg

 N-Europe Review 

Oooo thanks! 
Although a yes or no would have been more ideal than a WHOOOLE review to read. Haha. 
I shall read it on my lunch! 

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6 minutes ago, Aneres11 said:

Although a yes or no would have been more ideal than a WHOOOLE review to read.

Hey now, you need as much information as you can get so you don't make a...snap decision.

tenor.gif

Ok, I'll leave

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13 minutes ago, Aneres11 said:

Oooo thanks! 
Although a yes or no would have been more ideal than a WHOOOLE review to read. Haha. 
I shall read it on my lunch! 

No worries. :)

I can't give you a 'yes' or 'no answer personally, as I haven't played the game, but the general answer from the review would be a 'yes' I'd have said. :peace:

Anyway, it's well worth reading, as it's a thorough review, which I enjoyed reading, and even though I'm not buying the game, I can see the appeal of it. :smile:

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44 minutes ago, Aneres11 said:

Oooo thanks! 
Although a yes or no would have been more ideal than a WHOOOLE review to read. Haha. 
I shall read it on my lunch! 

Read my words damn it. 

But I think you'll like it. There's more content than I expected and I'd say around 10-15 hours to complete it in terms of the "story" and then more if you want to just try and get better shots, get all the star ratings for each Pokémon etc. 

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31 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Read my words damn it. 

But I think you'll like it. There's more content than I expected and I'd say around 10-15 hours to complete it in terms of the "story" and then more if you want to just try and get better shots, get all the star ratings for each Pokémon etc. 

OK, OK, I read it! 
Nice review! 
 

I think I’ll give it a go! It seems nice and laid back and alongside RE Village and the achievement hunting this could be perfect! 

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Free update dropping August 4th! 

New areas and more Pokémon, from the little I heard about the game following it's launch, I got the sense that's what people were looking for, so this could be cool! 

Haven't picked it up myself yet, but it does seem to have a summer game vibe to it...

Edited by Julius
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Wow. I don’t know if they ever said there would be DOC but I don’t remember them saying it so this was a nice surprise to see. 

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Well, that's a pleasant shock! Did not expect this game to get post-launch support!

Defo up for more of this game. It's solid!

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Yeah I didn't expect it either but pleasantly surprised!

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Out of all the games which would seemingly be relatively easy to update for, this one stood out.

At the time when it was released, it looked like a solid sequel, but it felt like it could do with more areas, or past areas and creatures from the previous game.

This looks to be something like that? Some parts of the new areas remind me of the first game a bit, and who knows, maybe there will be more updates in the future?

Definitely great to see Nintendo releasing some more free updates for certain games, in any case, rather than another title with a season pass.

The area which features a smaller scale vehicle, with Pokémon which appear larger, is also an interesting spin on the formula.

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content-4-36534-newpokemonsnapfreecontentupdatebanner.jpg

New Pokémon Snap gets a free update

Now up on the main page.

- - - - -

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11 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Out of all the games which would seemingly be relatively easy to update for, this one stood out.

At the time when it was released, it looked like a solid sequel, but it felt like it could do with more areas, or past areas and creatures from the previous game.

This looks to be something like that? Some parts of the new areas remind me of the first game a bit, and who knows, maybe there will be more updates in the future?

Definitely great to see Nintendo releasing some more free updates for certain games, in any case, rather than another title with a season pass.

The area which features a smaller scale vehicle, with Pokémon which appear larger, is also an interesting spin on the formula.

Joe from serebii seems to suggest that (some of the) DLC was supposed to be in the base game, as fragments of it were already present in the first trailer but not in the game when it came out:

If so it might mean they kind of had to get it out of the door, but it's great they are offering the extra content for free so nothing to complain about there.

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Quote

#New Pokemon Snap New area introduction ③
"#Kakure loophole 👀"

There is an area to investigate on the smaller Neo One! ️
You can even hear the breathing and footsteps of Pokemon, and the power is amazing 😳

You may be able to discover a different side 🔍

 

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Like Metroid Dread, this was another game that I purchased last year at launch, played a little bit of it and then dropped it. This week, Metroid Dread won me over and I finally completed the game. I figured I would try my luck with this game again and see if my thoughts are more positive. The credits rolled this afternoon.

Spoiler

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So, did the game win me over in the end? Nope. I've been trying to think why the game didn't resonate with me as much as the original and I think it comes down to the game being a far more lengthier affair than the N64 game. The original game was a snappy ( no pun intended ) experience and because the courses weren't huge and the amount of Pokemon featured weren't many, the whole thing felt a little more personal. With this sequel I found a lot of the levels dragged on and having to repeat them over and over and over again to get a higher score and unlock the next section just felt like boring. What was also annoying was the turbo feature of the Neo-One doesn't get unlocked until right at the end of the game.

I started playing some of the post game content but stopped not long into it when I read how to unlock some of the secret routes and legendary Pokemon. Again, a lot of these involve getting higher scores on different levels to unlock their 3rd research levels or doing a series of actions to unlock new routes. The routes thing isn't something new to the series. The N64 game featured these but it generally involved throwing an apple at a button or a Pokemon and then a new way would present itself. Things here just seem a little more convoluted this time around.

I appreciate the fact that the developers tried to add some replay value to the game with the scoring system but I think it was too much. You have each of the Pokemon to find and then there's 1 to 4 star ranks for these. Following that, each of these ranks can be bronze, silver, gold or platinum. It's a ranking system on top of a ranking system. Some of these ranks require you to do a certain set of actions at a specific time, in a specific level but also get the shot spot on.  If you didn't happen to get the correct shot then you will have to restart the level, which can be a pain if the shot you need is at the end of a long stage. It's a lot to ask of players.

The point I made last May about feeling like not having a connection to a lot of the newer Pokemon still remained here. There was a lack of excitement when seeing a new Pokemon in this game, whereas when I played the original I got really happy when I discovered one of the 151 hiding in a stage. This has probably more to do with my age and how I generally feel about the Pokemon franchise these days rather than the quality of New Pokemon Snap. Saying that, I loved Pokemon Legends so maybe the game does have a little something to do with how I feel. ::shrug:

I'm happy the game is done and off my backlog, I just wish I had enjoyed it more. The credits rolled and a little bit of post game was played. That was enough for me. I didn't even bother with the DLC stages. I have fond memories of the original game and i'm looking forward to playing that version again when it hits the N64 expansion service on the Switch. I enjoyed it when I played it in 2000 on my N64 and I enjoyed it when I played it on the Virtual Console. I can't imagine my feelings being any different when I do play it again.

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2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Like Metroid Dread, this was another game that I purchased last year at launch, played a little bit of it and then dropped it. This week, Metroid Dread won me over and I finally completed the game. I figured I would try my luck with this game again and see if my thoughts are more positive. The credits rolled this afternoon.

  Ending Pics. (Hide contents)

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FSp3l09UYAAlsTP?format=jpg&name=large

FSp3l1XUsAAtBRW?format=jpg&name=large

So, did the game win me over in the end? Nope. I've been trying to think why the game didn't resonate with me as much as the original and I think it comes down to the game being a far more lengthier affair than the N64 game. The original game was a snappy ( no pun intended ) experience and because the courses weren't huge and the amount of Pokemon featured weren't many, the whole thing felt a little more personal. With this sequel I found a lot of the levels dragged on and having to repeat them over and over and over again to get a higher score and unlock the next section just felt like boring. What was also annoying was the turbo feature of the Neo-One doesn't get unlocked until right at the end of the game.

While I do kinda agree with this sentiment, I'm afraid it might be a catch-22 situation. A shorter affair would just invite complaints. Longer play times, while not necessarily being for the best, is what people want.

Can't agree with your last point though. That's defo you being an old fuddy duddy. It's nice seeing a wide variety of Pokémon interact and act like animals. Especially Kecleon. Outside of the anime, I've seen Kecleon's camouflage accurately depicted twice, and one of those times were in this game. Even funnier when you clock it over the head with an apple and watch it panic.

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I totally agree with @Hero-of-Time on this one.  The original game was basically Star Fox Photography and it was a snappy, short n’ sweet arcade style high score experience.

By contrast, New Pokémon Snap is a slow-paced, sleepy and grindy affair.  It also lacks the interesting and intricate level & encounter design of the original N64 game; and the Pokémon don’t really react much to your presence.  There just isn’t anything like having the Electrode exploding to reveal the path to the Volcano level here, or leading the Pidgeys to attack Meowth on the Beach stage here.  It’s basically a sleepy Pokémon safari, rather than a clever puzzle game/score attack game like the original.

Edited by Dcubed
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58 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

There just isn’t anything like having the Electrode exploding to reveal the path to the Volcano level here, or leading the Pidgeys to attack Meowth on the Beach stage here.  It’s basically a sleepy Pokémon safari, rather than a clever puzzle game/score attack game like the original.

This isn't true, plenty of Pokémon interactions happen if you experiment or actually finish the damn game. Wailmers are proper jerks.

There's also a score attack mode after you see the credits, just like the original. There's a whole online leaderboard for that.

Edited by Glen-i

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