"I used to love that game!" #1

As you may be able to tell from the blog name, I am a huge fan of Pokemon. When I was 5, my parents bought me a Nintendo Game Boy, for which I am eternally grateful to them. I spent hours on that thing, on Pokemon Blue, and later Pokemon Yellow, and I am glad my parents introduced me to gaming and let me play often. Although video games get a very bad press in the news, I actually learnt to read playing video games. I needed to know what Professor Oak was telling me. I needed to know why my Thundershock wasn't doing anything to that damn Diglett. But I digress - I decided that because I loved Pokemon and all things connected, that I wanted a certain N64 game.

Pokemon Snap.

Those two words are enough to send a rush of nostalgia and happiness to my brain. And any Pokemon fan who played it probably gets the same feeling - it may not have been the best game, or even the best Pokemon spin-off, but it was unique and different.. You play as Todd Snap, a young boy who is assisting good old Professor Oak in his research. What made this game different however was the twist on the original premise. Todd Snap was so called because what he lacked in catching ability, he more than made up for in his photography. That's right - you didn't catch Pokemon you ... took pictures of them?

Yep.

 I realize that I haven't made this sound like a great game. It wasn't. But it was fun. 

You used your bait, PokeFlute and 'pester balls' to goad the Pokemon out and get some quality snaps of the 61 Pokemon on the game. The main gripe for many people, me included, with the game was that there were too few levels and Pokemon. Only 61 out of 151 (at the time) was a pretty poor showing from Nintendo, but the game more than made up for it in my opinion. Once you'd gathered your PokePics, Oak would rate your pics and award you score for the quality.

Highly unorthodox yet bizarrely fun, Pokemon Snap holds huge nostalgic value for me and many others. If you'd forgotten about this game then I'm glad that I've reminded you of it - conversely, if you're a Pokemon fan who's never played it, why not? You can always go back and play it now; it's never too late.

Thanks for reading :)