Pokémon Snap

If you were looking for the book based on this game, see Pokémon Snap (book).

Pokémon Snap ポケモンスナップ
Boxart of Pokémon Snap
Basic info
Platform:	Nintendo 64, Wii (Virtual Console), Wii U (Virtual Console), Nintendo Switch (Nintendo Switch Online)
Category:	First person rail shooter
Players:	1
Connectivity:	None
Developer:	HAL Laboratory
Publisher:	Nintendo
Part of:	Generation I spin off
Ratings
CERO:	A
ESRB:	E
ACB:	G
OFLC:	N/A
PEGI:	3
GRAC:	N/A
GSRR:	N/A
Release dates
Japan:	March 21, 1999 (N64)[1] December 4, 2007 (Wii VC)[2] April 6, 2016 (Wii U VC) June 24, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)[3]
North America:	June 30, 1999 (N64)[4] December 10, 2007 (Wii VC)[5] January 5, 2017 (Wii U VC)[6] June 24, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)[7]
Australia:	March 23, 2000 (N64)[8] December 11, 2007 (Wii VC)[9] August 19, 2016 (Wii U VC)[10] June 24, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)[11]
Europe:	September 15, 2000 (N64)[12] December 11, 2007 (Wii VC)[13] August 18, 2016 (Wii U VC)[14] June 24, 2022 (Nintendo Switch Online)[15]
South Korea:	N/A
Hong Kong:	N/A
Taiwan:	N/A
Websites
Japanese:	Official site
English:	Official site
Japanese boxart Boxart of Pocket Monsters Snap. Reverse of Pocket Monsters Snap.

Bulbanews has multiple articles related to this subject:

Articles relating to Pokémon Snap

StrategyWiki has more about this subject:

Pokémon Snap

Pokémon Snap (Japanese: ポケモンスナップ Pokémon Snap) is a spin-off 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.

It was released on Virtual Console for Wii in Japan on December 4, 2007, in North America on December 10, 2007, in Australia on December 11, 2007, and in Europe on December 11, 2007; it was released on Virtual Console for Wii U in Japan on April 6, 2016, in Europe on August 18, 2016, in Australia on August 19, 2016, and in North America on January 5, 2017; it was released on Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online application for Nintendo Switch worldwide on June 24, 2022. The Wii Virtual Console was discontinued on January 30, 2019, and the Wii U Virtual Console was discontinued on March 27, 2023.

In Pokémon Snap, the famous Pokémon Researcher Professor Oak is studying Pokémon on Pokémon Island, and invites Todd Snap, a talented young 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.

Rather than catching and training Pokémon, the goal is to explore Pokémon Island and photograph its inhabitant Pokémon. Travel is restricted to tracks designed for the ZERO-ONE, and Todd's equipment includes his camera, apple-shaped Pokémon food, Pester Balls to knock out or stun Pokémon, and a Poké Flute to wake sleeping Pokémon. Some of these items Todd gains further into his journey, as well as earning the Dash Engine to increase the speed of the ZERO-ONE.

This game was also 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.

Blurb

Professor Oak needs your help!

Professor Oak has asked you to capture the Wild Pokémon of Pokémon Island on film! Tour the Island in your ZERO-ONE vehicle and snap pictures of Pokémon in their natural habitat. Wild Pokémon are often camera-shy, so you'll have to use special items to bring them out in the open. Only the best shots will do for Professor's Pokémon Report so sharpen your photography skills and get ready to SNAP!

• The first-ever N64 game to feature the world-famous Pokémon - fully rendered in 3-D!
• Explore the many environments of Pokémon Island, like the sunny beach, the mysterious caves, and even a red-hot volcano!
• Many different types of Pokémon inhabit the island. See how many you can catch on film!
• Print your photos as stickers at Pokémon Snap Stations! Visit www.Pokémon.com or call 1-800-859-4521 for all the details and to find the nearest Snap Station nearest you!

Characters

• Professor Oak
• Todd Snap

Locations

• Pokémon Island
  • Beach
  • Tunnel
  • Volcano
  • River
  • Cave
  • Valley
  • Rainbow Cloud
• Professor Oak's Laboratory

Pokémon

63 species of Pokémon appear in this game:

Pokémon Signs

Six Pokémon appear in the form of a Pokémon sign.

• Kingler
• Pinsir
• Koffing
• Cubone
• Mewtwo
• Dugtrio

Sticker Stations

The Pokémon Snap Station

For a period of time after Snap's launch, Pokémon Snap Sticker Stations were available at Blockbuster, which would print out stickers of pictures which were taken in the game for three dollars, by loading credits on one of five cards that features Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, or 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, it is 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.^[16][17]

Wii Virtual Console release

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 Wii's Message Board, where they can be transferred to people on the Wii's Address Book.

In this release, 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.^[18]

Staff

Main article: Staff of Pokémon Snap

Gallery

Virtual Console Icons

• 

  Wii U Virtual Console icon (English)

• 

  Wii U Virtual Console icon (Japanese)

Reception

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 cult classic.

Trivia

• This is the only game to show Slowpoke's evolution happening true to the Pokédex. Using Pokémon food, Slowpoke can be lured to the River where it will dip its tail in the water. When Shellder chomps down on Slowpoke's tail, Slowpoke will evolve into Slowbro.
• Although the game features voice acting from the TV series, certain Pokémon that were given new voices for the dub still have their original Japanese voice acting in the game. These include Metapod, Diglett, Dugtrio, Magnemite, Magneton, Geodude, Graveler, Psyduck, and Porygon.
• According to former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, Pokémon Snap was originally "a normal game in which you took photos, but the motivation for playing the game wasn't clear." It wasn't until they introduced Pokémon into the game that HAL's Masanobu Yamamoto thought they had a clarified direction. "That time, adopting the Pokémon world clarified what we should do and the direction we should head, and I came to like Pokémon, so I felt like that had saved us."^[19]
• This was the first Pokémon game released for the Virtual Console service, the only Pokémon game from the Nintendo 64 to be released for the Wii U's Virtual Console service and the first Pokémon game released for the Nintendo Switch Online service.
• Ekans is present during the footage of the game, despite the fact it is not available in the final version of the game.^[20]
• A song called Fantasic Horror was cut from the game. The song was meant for a Ghost-type 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.^[20]

In other languages

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

References

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.