Tag Archives: Nintendo Switch Online

Pokemon Snap Review

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Pokemon Snap is one of those games I was heavily aware of but never really got to try playing back in the day. It looked like fun but at the same time I wasn’t about to shell out the big bucks back in the day just to take pictures of Pokemon. Well now with the Switch Online I can finally give it a shot and it is a lot of fun. It’s a little on the short side but it did take me two batches to complete it so maybe 4-5 hours total. There are 7 worlds where you get to go around and catch a bunch of Pokemon although the final world only has one as a final boss fight so maybe I should really say that there are 6 worlds.

Basically Todd is hired by Professor Oak to take a lot of pictures of each Pokemon to fill up the dex and this is really a top priority mission. When taking a picture you want to get the maximum amount of points and so there are a few criteria for this. First is the size of the Pokemon, the larger it is in your picture, the more points you get. Then you get points if you got the Pokemon in a cool pose. If the Pokemon is in the center of your photo then you get a X2 bonus. Finally if you got more than one of the same Pokemon in your shot then you get even more points.

Points are extremely important here because that’s how you unlock new powers and new worlds. The other factor is how many species you have taken a picture of so even if you don’t have a great shot, make sure you snap a picture of every Pokemon. You will keep on replaying the levels in order to get better shots until you’ve unlocked the next area and even then you can go back. In fact it’s not even that you can go back but that you must. See, there will always be some Pokemon you can’t get initially until you have their power up. For example you will unlock the apples to lure Pokemon to you, the Pester Ball to wake them up, and the whistle to make them dance and use their special abilities.

You will even be able to accelerate your car later on to bump into Pokemon and cause them to turn around. Note that you can’t control the car to move in any direction or anything like that but just speeding up is handy. Of course the car is already fast at some points which makes snapping the photos tricky so you want to keep that in mind. You need to have quick reaction times at all times in order to stay ahead or you will be putting yourself in a rather tricky predicament. Just try, try again until you’ve perfected your craft.

At the end of each level you choose one of each photo of a unique Pokemon that you’ve taken to give to Oak. If it’s your first time then there’s nothing to compare it to and it will be accepted right away but if you’ve already taken a photo before it will be compared and you can keep the better photo. Sometimes a photo that you think is better will end up having a lower score due to some of the criteria I mentioned earlier. It’s all very seamless though and I have to give the game massive credit for how clear the menus are. It never feels like a hassle to hand in the photos. All of the menus are very intuitive.

There are a ton of quality of life features within the game that make this feel like a AAA title. The levels are bite sized so they go over fast and the music is very calming. The soundtrack is really quiet solid all the way through and the graphics are nice too. This is definitely one of the higher end Nintendo 64 titles in those regards. Then the replay value is also considerable because there are so many ways you can try and tackle each level. Do you focus on apples or pester balls? Learning the reactions to each Pokemon will take time and then there’s RNG involved so sometimes a Pokemon will appear and other times it won’t. You have to memorize different chains of events for some while just waiting for others.

There’s just a whole lot of content here even if the main story isn’t very long. Also the decision to make the final photo with Mew an actual boss battle was brilliant. That was a lot of fun and just really stuck out next to the catches. It was a pretty fun way to end the game. Having a proper final boss is always a great idea after all and even once I beat the game there were plenty of secrets that I did not explore.

Overall, Pokemon Snap is a game that was developed very well. I had a lot of fun with this one. I still would have hesitated to buy this game at full price without a doubt but playing it now I can really appreciate the effort into it. I’ll definitely buy the new Pokemon Snap at some point although I would definitely like to wait for a true sale because again, as long as it’s around $50 or so it’s just not tempting enough to purchase. Granted, I’m sure the new one is longer with more Pokemon so maybe I should research just how long it is. In the meantime I recommend checking this one out.

Overall 7/10

Pokemon Stadium Review

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Pokemon Stadium was a huge game in my childhood. I played that game for so many hours back in the day! Well it’s good to have a proper revisit to the title and I have to say that it lives up to the hype. It’s also way more difficult than I remember though so I don’t know how I actually beat it so easily as a kid. Seriously these gym leaders and trainers are no joke and I died a considerable amount of times during this latest playthrough. Well what’s a game without a little challenge right?

There are a lot of different modes in this game as the content is truly impressive. You’ve got your classic battles of course but also quite a few minigames. The minigames are also quite a bit of fun, I definitely enjoyed playing through all of them real quick. The meat of the game is in the campaign mode though as you try to face off and defeat all of the gym leaders, their 3 trainers protecting them at every gym, and the elite four. You’re looking at close to 50 battles here and you have to win 4 battles in a row every time. If you lose at the third then you go all the way back. Without access points you would really be in a pickle I must say.

Part of what makes this tricky of course is that you have to select a team of 6 Pokemon and can’t switch after that until you beat the 4 opponents. So that’s 24 Pokemon to deal with and the trainers usually have different types than the Gym Leaders so you have to really try to bring a wide mix yourself. Type advantages are massive here as you will often oneshot your opponent if you’re super effective vs his Pokemon and the same is true of the reverse. Do you know what this means? It means you have to always strike first or it’s over. I beat all 3 Pokemon in one shot at times and my opponent did the same to me.

I would personally recommend picking 3 Pokemon who are super effective vs the gym leader and then 3 generally strong ones. Often that would mean Alakazam and two of the legendary birds on my team like Moltres and Articuno. At times I would have all 3 but it didn’t always work out. Another thing to really look at are movesets here. For example it can actually be better to pick Ivysaur than Venosaur based on the moves. It’s a little weird I know, took me some getting used to there. The downside of course is that they have lower stats so that can really be a problem as well. You definitely need to balance it a lot. Hey I still say whatever you do, make sure Alakazam is on your team, he hits like a tank!

The graphics are really good here. The character models are really high quality and it’s clear that a lot of time was put into them. The sound effects and ost are also extremely nostalgic. I remember them all so clearly after hearing them again and it’s awesome. If nothing else, play this game for the nostalgia because it’s amazing. Even if you’ve never played the game before you will be able to appreciate the heart in it.

Don’t be afraid of losing a lot as that will be natural. This game is super hard but also very satisfying to complete. There’s so much bonus content here as well and the replay value is extensive. If not for Pokemon Stadium 2 existing this is the kind of game you would basically keep on playing over and over again. It’s always impressive that Pokemon has so many great games although not surprising as it is one of the most successful franchises of all time. I should be back before too long with some Stadium 2 adventures so stay tuned!

Overall, Pokemon Stadium is definitely a game you should check out. It’s really a lot of fun and captures the Pokemon experience way better than most games. To date I wish they would make more titles in this series because it was so much fun. Yeah Battle Revolution doesn’t count because the gameplay mechanics were so bad there. I like the idea of every Pokemon level here being equalized and it’s all about the strategy of figuring out which Pokemon team to choose. Admittedly this means that RNG will always have a pretty strong hold over the matches to an extent but at least you are actually picking your own team. Bonus points for actually having minigames too as bonus content. You get a ton of bang for your buck on this one.

Overall 8/10

F-Zero X Review

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It’s time to jump back into the world of F-Zero thanks to the Switch Online expanded pack! I’ll be having quite a few reviews coming up soon so get ready for that folks. This one’s fairly basic but you can see how it would eventually lead to the ultimate F-Zero title for the Gamecube. I also have to give it some serious props for the soundtrack which was already really solid by this point. Definitely well ahead of its time.

There isn’t really a story mode here so you just jump straight into the races. There are 3 cups with 6 races left. Each race is a little under 2 minutes so long story short, you won’t be here very long. The stages are over as soon as you blink but the designs and level maps are good. You are having fun while you play these stages because of how fast you are moving. It can feel a little tough to control as you get used to the speed but once you do then you are set. The gameplay is very smooth after all and it’s high quality so you won’t be feeling any issues here. That is why F-Zero cannot be stopped.

There is a decent character roster here as well and the boosting after level 1 is a fun mechanic. It’s something that the series has always stuck with and that was a smart move. Basically when you boost, it eats up your health so you have to choose between going too fast and conserving health for the turns. If you die during the race after all then you will finish in last so you don’t want to do that. You have to focus up and just get ready but of course the more you master the stages, the more you can afford to be reckless.

The graphics are definitely pretty good, they are well ahead of their time. The colors are striking and the backgrounds are really good. You always know what is happening. I already spoke about the soundtrack of course which is really high tier. The fast paced music matches with how fast the cars are going. I can see it having a ton of replay value in the multiplayer setup even if that isn’t true for the single player experience. 18 levels can only go so far after all no matter how fun the game is.

Of course you’re playing it for free if you have the membership so I’d still recommend giving it a play. Paying full price back in the day would have been a little trickier. I think that is in part why it would ultimately die out as a series next to the other racers. It has enough unique features to make it stand out from the pack but aside from that you also need a good amount of content which is an area where it will end up lacking in the end. It’s the classic tale of a really fun game that is just over as soon as it has begun.

Another fun feature here is how you can choose between having super good acceleration or high max speed. I usually kept my meter in the middle but going all the way in one direction or the other is an interesting way to go. I can’t see any argument for using the lowest speed but having the highest speed could make sense if you’re an expert player who masters all the turns. After all, otherwise if you bump then with low acceleration you will be completely stuck so that would not be a good deal for you to make. You would really be sabotaging yourself.

So when starting out I would recommend doing what I did and just keeping the meter in the middle. Also take a look at which racer you want to use since they all have different stats. Captain Falcon is one of the weakest in overall stats so ironically you want to stick away from him to have a better chance of winning. You’d think he would be a good character with high stats for beginners…but that is not the case this time.

Overall, F-Zero X is a pretty fun game. I have to dock some points for how quickly it ends but you’ll have a good time which is ultimately the most important part. I really wish Nintendo would give this series another chance in the current day. If they handled it right with a good amount of content I bet it would sell incredibly well. Every series makes a comeback eventually so I suppose we just have to wait…but hopefully we don’t have to wait much longer. I need my futuristic racing content and I need it stat!

Overall 6/10