“You were close. I expect a better shot next time.”

June 17, 2020 1:06 PM

During a special YouTube presentation this morning, The Pokémon Company announced a new version of classic Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap in development for Nintendo Switch, aptly named New Pokémon Snap. They also revealed free-to-start puzzle game Pokémon Café Mix and Pokémon Smile, a mobile app meant to help children brush their teeth. This is in a similar vein to their previously released, Pokémon Sleep.
posted by Fizz (11 comments total)

Also the first part of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass came out today.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:10 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I keep on hesitating on Pokémon Sword/Shield. It felt very much like their more recent Pokémon Let's Go games and those game also felt very much inspired by Pokémon Go and I'm not a fan of either of those. Does Pokémon Sword/Shield feel like their more traditional catch, train, battle games? Because that's what I want and it feels like they've moved away from that. I also totally get that I might not be the target market for these anymore and I'm wanting some form of nostalgia that just isn't possible for me.

The New Pokémon Snap game looks like a ton of fun and it reminds me of the kind of light-heartedness that has been instilled in the recent Animal Crossing: New Horizons game. There's a sense of whimsy and wonder to the game, it's just about exploring and taking photos and I'm all about that. We need more games where the "shooting" is done through a camera lens.
posted by Fizz at 1:25 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh man. I LOVED Pokémon Snap and this sounds fantastic. I think I still have a sheet of stickers of my snaps that I printed out at the special kiosk in Blockbuster (as a grown adult).
posted by cocotine at 1:43 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Pokémon Snap is boss. I’m not sure I had a better time with the Nintendo 64, except for maybe GOLDENEYE and the great BEETLE ADVENTURE RACING.
posted by Mothlight at 1:55 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

This would be unnecessary if they'd just let you take pictures while riding your horse in Breath of the Wild.
posted by straight at 2:35 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Fizz: Sword and Shield is, IMO, the strongest execution of a traditional pokemon game yet. (This is through the lens of "if you set them out on a table in front of me, which would I pick up to play now?", not necessarily "how much fun did I have when playing it for the first time" - that's way harder to judge.) It's got the best batch of new Pokemon designs overall since Gen 3, has a massive amount of QoL improvements, and shows a lot of love for the franchise. Yes, it has its own particular flaws, but every generation does.
posted by NMcCoy at 3:06 PM on June 17, 2020 [5 favorites]

As excited as I am for this, I'm still hoping for some out-of-the-cart style Pokémon photojournalism a la Beyond Good and Evil.
posted by bookwo3107 at 4:13 PM on June 17, 2020

I originally thought that the on rails thing was mostly because of the system limitations the N64 had and not a feature people loved and wanted to come back but I've been repeatedly told I'm wrong.
posted by simmering octagon at 5:34 PM on June 17, 2020

We played a lot of the original Pokemon Snap back in the day. It's worth noting that the encounter with Mew at the end was extra special because it couldn't actually be caught in the Pokemon games out at that time; it was essentially an obscurity, something no one could get without Gamesharks or the like.

One of the coolest aspects of N64 Pokemon Snap was you could take your cart down to your local Blockbuster Video (remember those?) and plug it into a special kiosk they had set up that would let you print out your photos on tiny little adhesive stickers! I had a few of those stuck around my car because I was, and continue to be, a huge dork. It'd be nice if they could set something like that up again, although of course they'd have to partner with someone else to do it now, as I hear Blockbuster Video isn't doing too well or something.
posted by JHarris at 9:46 PM on June 17, 2020

Fizz: Sword and Shield is excellent. Not perfect, of course, but really, really, really well-executed and gorgeous. Maybe my favorite touch about it is how much Pokémon battles are a spectator sport in Galar, which means that the gym arenas are packed with riotous fans and those battles really feel like a huge deal.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:11 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

although of course they'd have to partner with someone else to do it now, as I hear Blockbuster Video isn't doing too well or something.

Player enters a GameStop. "Hey, yeah, I'd like to print some stickers of my Pokemon?"
GS Employee: "Well, did you pre-order them?"
posted by xedrik at 9:59 PM on June 18, 2020 [2 favorites]