I was pretty late to the Pokémon party, to be honest. I think my first foray into the world of Pocket Monsters might have been Pokémon Y, but I really didn’t get hooked until Pokémon Omega Ruby. For weeks Omega Ruby was all I could think about, and my addiction got so bad that I had to put down my 3DS because my eyes were starting to feel like they were drying out. No, I’m not exaggerating; things got pretty bad for a day or two.
So I obviously missed Pokémon Snap when it was new. I was aware of it, but I was pretty much playing the PSOne exclusively in 1999, so I didn’t bother looking much into it.
Almost 22 years later, I took a gamble and decided to pick up New Pokémon Snap. I did watch one video review before I made the purchase, and my fellow Half-Glassers added it to our list of most anticipated games of 2021, but other than that, I didn’t spend much time learning about it beforehand.
I splooped the New Pokémon Snap cartridge into my Nintendo Switch just a few moments ago, and I’ve gotten through the tutorial section. In the very beginning of the game, you’re asked to take photos of Vivillon and Pikachu. When you’re done, the professor will give each photo a rating, and they’ll be added to your scrapbook version of the Pokédex. This whole thing is designed to show you the ropes, and it takes less than ten minutes.
But the second I saw my star ratings, and the empty slots where more photos are supposed to go, I knew I was going to be in this for the long haul.
I don’t know why, but I love collecting things in games. I love collecting things in real life too (I have a stupid large collection of amiibo figures), but video game collecting is much less expensive and doesn’t have the side effect of cluttering up my apartment. If I can scratch that collecting itch within the digital realm, I can enjoy the thrill of the hunt without the consequences of having a large collection of real-world stuff.
And boy howdy, does New Pokémon Snap scratch that collecting itch. With more than 200 Pokemon to snap — and four star ratings for each — this is something I’ll be spending a lot of time with. Mind you, I only have two photographs at this point.
Ten minutes into New Pokémon Snap, I’m already feeling the anticipation of finding new Pokémon, growing my collection, and going back to get the perfect photo of each one. My heart is starting to flutter and my hands are starting to tremble. Here it is, my next gaming addiction.
