childhood memories + pokémon snap
Strange Fixations, Vol. 15 — hit a pokémon in the head with an apple, for science
Hello friends!
2021 continues to serve up surprises as Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for the second time. The first president to ever do so! USA! USA! The decision to try him and possibly remove him from office before Biden’s inauguration goes to the Senate, amidst a lot of other things they need to do as the new administration prepares to take office. The attack on the Capitol continues to be a major talking point, with more information and reactions from Congress members coming out every day. We probably won’t completely get to the bottom of this thing for weeks, and it’s sure to dominate the discussions of Biden’s first 100 days as president.
And then on Thursday, Nintendo announced a new Pokémon Snap game for the Switch, and suddenly I was a kid again.
The first Pokémon Snap game came out for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It was one of the few games we had for the N64, which was one of the few game systems we got when it was still relatively new. The system was released in North America in September 1996, and we must have gotten it that Christmas or maybe the next year. There’s that classic meme video of a young boy and his sister opening Christmas presents and upon discovering they received an N64, the boy yells, “Oh my God! Nintendo SIXTY-FOUUUUUR!” This was pretty much my experience as well. Electronics and video games were pretty high-ticket items in the 90s, and when it came to these systems, our family often waited until the next generation had come out, when the older version would be cheaper. Being able to join in on the fun of the N64 and its new, groundbreaking games with friends and classmates was one of the great joys of my young life.
Of course, I wasn’t an incredibly skilled gamer, and I didn’t have much interest in shooters or fighting games like the boys, opting instead for RPGs and 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. So when Pokémon Snap came out, my sister and I snatched it up and played it until the wheels fell off.
An odd but unique game, Pokémon Snap placed you in the shoes of a young researcher, Todd Snap, helping Professor Oak with his study of Pokémon by taking pictures and bringing them back to him in his lab. You would travel in an auto-piloted buggy armed with your trusty camera and some bait and “pester balls,” modified Pokéballs that would help get the attention of Pokémon for better shots. At the end of each course, your pictures would be judged; well-framed photos with Pokémon facing the camera were the ideal, with bonus points awarded if the Pokémon was captured in action or with other Pokémon in the shot. The goal was to photograph all the available Pokémon, with some only being revealed in special circumstances, or once secret areas were unlocked. And that was pretty much it! Not much to it, and yet, we played it over and over, soaking up the atmosphere and trying to get the best pictures possible. We never even took advantage of the ability to get your pictures physically printed at special kiosks in participating Blockbuster stores (likely an unnecessary expense in our parents’ eyes).
There was something about the game and how it seemed to transport you into the world of Pokémon in a way the original Pokémon games themselves never quite did for me. Pokémon felt real in Pokémon Snap, you could see them moving around in the world, acting like animals did, and they often appeared within arm’s reach of your little buggy. Throw an apple, and Pikachu would come out to celebrate and nibble at it. Throw a pester ball, and Bulbasaur would register their annoyance at the mist that sprayed out. Later, you could also unlock a Pokéflute that when played, would cause Pokémon to come out of hiding to dance or join in, like musical Jigglypuff. It was all so different from the gameplay style of the usual Pokémon games, focusing on the natural science side of Pokémon as well as their aesthetic appeal.
A new Pokémon Snap game coming out more than 20 years after the original may simply be an attempt to cash in on nostalgia, but the increased technological capabilities of the Nintendo Switch combined with its handheld format tells me it will at least be worth a look. I mean, check out some of these promo images, the game looks gorgeous. New Pokémon Snap comes out in April but is available for pre-order now. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but it may just be a matter of time.
For now, I’m satisfying my craving for the updated version of this game by jamming out to the original soundtrack, and going back to play the original on my husband’s still-functioning Nintendo 64.
Honorable Mentions for Fixation of the Week
- We’ve been going back and watching the VODs of some of the GDQ runs we missed last week, and this Celeste run played on an arcade cabinet dance pad is absolutely nuts.
- Catching up on What We Do In The Shadows on Hulu after taking way too long to start it, and it’s as good as everyone says!
- I’ve been working on writing more lately, and the Drafts app has been instrumental in allowing me to just get some writing down on the page without worrying what it’s for or how it might come together as a finished project. It’s kind of like Notes on steroids. I hesitated to try it because I’m highly susceptible to getting a new app or program that guarantees greater productivity and then never actually using it, but this one has proved its worth.
Hope you have a great weekend, friends. Take care!
❤ Elyse
Originally published January 15th, 2021 at https://elyse.substack.com.
