Pokemon Snap Review

I was a stubborn young lad back in the day. When I hated something, I hated it even if I never actually watched or played it. When I saw Pokemon Snap, I didn’t want to play it because it looked boring. In fact, if you told anyone there was a game about taking pictures about Pokemon, they would probably think it’s boring and find it a bit odd you are intensely into a game like that. Once I started playing the game, however, I fell in love with the game. To this day, this game is the best N64 and Pokemon game of all time. 10/10

….Who am I kidding? Let’s start at the very beginning of the creation of this game.

Funnily enough, this game did not begin as a Pokemon game. It was first called “Jack and the

Image Courtesy of Nintendo

Beanstalk.” The development team, Jack and Beans, were planning for the game to have you take normal photos. The problem however was they couldn’t find how to keep players motivated to play the game. Because of this, the game was switched to focus on taking pictures of Pokemon. The game was also meant to be for the 64DD, a Japanese exclusive accessory for the N64 that uses disks. Due to the many delays of this accessory, however, Pokemon Snap was published as an N64 cartridge on June 30, 1999. So, is the game picture-perfect? Or was it underdeveloped?

You play as Todd Snap, a Pokemon photographer, who has been called by Professor Oak to take pictures of Pokemon in Pokemon Island. To navigate through the island, you ride on a buggy that Oak

invented called the Zero-One. Explore forests, caves, and volcanos and take pictures of Pokemon. As you take more photos, the professor will give you some items that will help you progress through the game and get better pictures.

After you finish a level, Professor Oak will rank your photos depending on the size, pose, and other things. Points are doubled if the Pokemon is in the center of the image.

The story is absent in this game. However, the attention to detail with the Pokemon for their personalities and how they react to items you throw at them or other Pokemon are very well done.

Image Courtesy of Nintendo

For example, you can find a Magmar and a Charmander together. If you throw an apple at them, the Magmar will be a jerk and shoot flames at the Charmander. Thanks to this, Charmander evolves to a Charmeleon and causes Magmar to faint. It’s these little touches that are very nice. I give the story a C+.

The gameplay is what makes this game stand out from the rest. It’s so fun taking pictures of the Pokemon you meet and interacting with them. My one problem is that moving the camera can be a bit so which makes it a bit difficult to get the photo just right. I give the gameplay an A.

The soundtrack is fine. I don’t really have much to say about it. It serves its purpose. I give it a B.



To conclude, this is a fine game. It is quite lacking overall. I think this game has a soft spot for me mainly because of how unique the gameplay is. I give the game a 7/10.

At a Glance: Pokemon Snap

Summary: Take pictures of Pokemon for Professor Oak on Pokemon Island.

Rated: E for Everyone

Price: N64: $19.99 (Gamestop) Wii U: $9.99

Distributor: Nintendo

System: N64 and Wii U

Release Date: N64: June 30, 1999, Wii U: January 5, 2017. 

Rating: 7/10.

Undertale Review

Y’know what RPG a ton of people loved from the SNES era? Earthbound. The game had great characters, story, and a soundtrack to boot. Toby Fox, the creator of the famous Earthbound Halloween hack, decided to create an RPG where you didn’t need to kill everyone that crosses your path. When the game’s campaign was launched on Kickstarter with a $5000 goal, the game received about $51,000. In about 32 months, Toby Fox, along with Temmie Chang as his art assistant, created Undertale. Undertale was nominated for Best Story in the BAFTA Awards. In the NAVGTR Awards, it won Original Role Playing and was nominated for Original Light Mix Score and Game Design. Since it’s release, it has been loved by many thanks to its beloved characters and story while also hated due to the memes or the “toxic” fanbase. So, is the game sweet as butterscotch cinnamon pie? Or is the game as bad as Papyrus’ spaghetti? Find out in this review.

Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the

Image Courtesy of Undertale

two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. Many years later, in the year 201X to be precise, a young girl (Boy? The gender is up for debate but I’m gonna stick with a girl) named Chara falls into Mt. Ebott and enters the Underground, a world civilized with the monsters that were banished. In order to escape the Underground, Chara must reach the barrier on the other side of the region. As Chara, you will encounter many unique and charming characters like a motherly goat, a humerus skeleton, a fish warrior, etc. Unlike most RPG’s, while it is turn-based, there is skill in these battles. When a monster attacks, you will move your soul, which takes the form of a heart, and dodge obstacles. If you get hit by the obstacles, you will lose damage. Another thing the battle system has that most RPG’s don’t is an ACT and MERCY option. With ACT you can interact with the enemy you are facing. Like complimenting, hugging, or insulting them. The MERCY option allows you to either spare or flee. If you manage to make your opponent not want to fight you anymore, you will be able to spare it. There are three routes you may take on your adventure. The pacifist route, where you don’t kill anyone. The neutral route, where you kill some but not everyone. Finally, the genocide route, where you grind till you can’t fight any more monsters.

As stories go, this game has one of my favorites. With a great cast of characters, story, and humor, it will get you to laugh or cry (the latter especially on the genocide route). The game also has a bit of mystery around it. Especially with a certain character named ♋︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎. I give the story an A+.

The gameplay, while short, is very fun. The genocide route is pretty tedious to a point where you have to grind in every area. I give the gameplay an A-.

The soundtrack is beautiful. It has songs like “Hopes and Dreams,” “Undertale,” and “Heartache.”

Image Courtesy of Undertale

My favorite song in the game is “It’s Raining Somewhere Else.” As previously mentioned, it reuses a lot of its music, however. I am honestly not sure if that makes Toby Fox a composing genius or lazy. I’m going with the latter. I give the soundtrack an A.

To conclude, this game is pretty good. It has great characters, jokes, and music. There are a few issues with it, but it is still one of my favorite games. I give the game an 8.8/10.




Piece of advice though, if you do want to check out the fanbase, I recommend taking a look at Handplates, Camila Cuevas’ Glitchtale, and Nick Nitro.

At a Glance: Undertale
Summary: Escape the Underground while making friends or killing monsters along the way.
Rated: E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up. Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, and Use of Tobacco
Price: Console: $14.99 Steam: $9.99
Systems: PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, PC.
Distributor: 8-4, Ltd.
Release Date: Steam: September 15, 2015 PS4/Vita: August 15, 2017 Switch: September 18, 2018.
Rating: 8.8/10

Samba De Amigo Review

How in the Green Hills do you start a review on Samba De Amigo? Well, it began as an arcade machine on December 21, 1999. A year later, Samba De Amigo, a rhythm game, was released on the Dreamcast. The game received very positive reviews. It won “Best Social/Casual/Puzzle/Family Game” in the 2000 Game Critics Award as well as “Best Console Puzzle Game” in Gamespot’s Best and Worst of the Year. In 2008, a port of the game was released on the Wii. The port of the game wasn’t as well-received as the original due to the Wii’s controls. So, is the game an amigo o enemigo? (That is probably the only Spanish joke I can come up with.)


Note: I will be reviewing the Wii version.


You play as Amigo, a maraca-playing monkey. The main point of the game is to shake the Wii remote

Image Courtesy of Amazon

and nunchuck (you can play with two Wii remotes if you want) in the direction of the six colored circles with the rhythm of the music to gain points. The better you do, the higher your rank gets. Characters (including your Mii) will also dance along with you as you play.


There isn’t a story in this story. There are characters like Amiga, Linda, and Rio but they don’t do much besides dance along with you. I honestly feel these characters were a missed opportunity. I would love to see more of these characters and their background (except Linda, she makes me uncomfortable). I give the story a C+.


There are several modes you can play. There is the Career mode where you can play several songs. As you play, you will unlock more songs and progress through the mode. There is also the single-player mode where you can play the songs you’ve already played in different difficulty settings as well as some minigames. In the minigames, you can play Guacamole (Get it? It’s whack-a-mole.), Strike a Pose, Volleyball, etc. The main problem with the Career mode and the minigames in general is the Wii Remote’s motion controls. The moves you make with the remote will occasionally not register. The Strike a Pose is basically unbeatable since the Wii Remote won’t let you do certain poses. The Volleyball game doesn’t require any motion controls thankfully; however, a single game of that takes forever to do (either that or I am just bad at volleyball). I can’t say much about the Multiplayer as I haven’t played much of it. So overall, while the game can be fun, the motion controls ruin it. I give the gameplay a B-.


Now for the soundtrack. Honestly, I am not familiar with Latin music (or whatever it’s called), but I

Image Courtesy of Amazon

really do like the music Samba De Amigo uses. It has songs like the “Macarena,” “Bamboleo”(my favorite), “Cha Cha,” etc. My problem with the game’s soundtrack is its lack of originality. Even the main title theme is borrowing “Samba de Janeiro” by Bellini (Here is the original and here is the title screen to compare). I give the soundtrack an A-.


The game also has this style to it that is both absurd and yet charming. Some people may like the style the game goes for but I am a bit conflicted on whether or not I like it myself.


To conclude, this game is….fine. The story seems like a missed opportunity and the gameplay is ruined thanks to the motion controls. The game is saved by its sweet soundtrack despite it being unoriginal for the most part. I give the game a 6.5/10.





At a Glance: Samba De Amigo


Summary: Play as Amigo as you shake your maracas to the beat of the music.


Rated: E for Everyone: Mild Lyrics


Price: Dreamcast: $3.49 (Gamestop) Wii: $18.99 (Amazon)


Distributor: Sega


System: Dreamcast and Wii.


Release Date: Dreamcast: Oct. 16, 2000 Wii: Sept. 23, 2008

Rating: 6.5/10.

Echo Arena Review

We love outer space (well, this guy at least does)! It’s a vast and endless world with many planets and stars. Another fun aspect about it is the lack of gravity in space. That lack of gravity became the focus of developers at Ready At Dawn for their VR game, “Lone Echo.”

Work on the game began in 2015, when the Oculus Touch prototypes were released to developers. A year afterward, Ready At Dawn did a five-day game jam (a contest where participants make games from scratch). This led to a game called “Echo Arena,” a sports game that uses zero gravity similar to

“Lone Echo.”

The team then split to work on both “Lone Echo” and “Echo Arena.” On July 20, 2017, “Lone Echo” and “Echo Arena” were released. Jump to E3 2019 on June 10, 2019, when the team announced they were working on bringing “Echo Arena” to the Oculus Quest. On May 5, the game opened the beta version of the Oculus Quest to the public.

The gameplay of “Echo Arena” is quite simple. You and several other robotic players in your team have to get your disc into the opponent’s goal in an anti-gravity arena. In order to navigate through this anti-gravity arena, you use jets that are on your wrists. You can stun your enemies by punching them in the head, which will also drop the disc if they have their hands on it. You can also block yourself, which will stun the enemy if he attempts to punch you as you block.

Image Courtesy of  Oculus

As you gain experience every match and level up, you get colors and decorations to customize your robot in the hub.

In the “hub,” you can practice your skills at throwing the disc, stunning enemies, and customize your robot. This is also where you can join games. The hub is a great place to get used to zero-g.

This game is also an option for working out. In a review for this game from VR Fitness Insider, Sonya Haskins, a journalist in VR esports for VR Fitness Insider, wrote that she burned about 169 calories in a 30-minute session using a Samsung Gear Fit 2. She said, “I’ve not only had terrific fun playing this game, but I’ve also lost about 45 pounds playing regularly so it is definitely a great workout option.”

Overall, I had a ton of fun with this gameplay. So did Kellen Beck, an entertainment reporter at Mashable. He wrote that after he became comfortable with the controls he “almost completely forgot that I was in VR.” It was also thanks to the realism of his fellow players. The game reacts to your head and hand movements. If you’re waving your hand, your character is also waving his hand. There is an “element of humanity” that Beck really appreciated while playing this game.

I have two complaints concerning this game, however. The first is that despite you having to throw a disc in this game, you have to throw it like a ball instead of a frisbee. It really throws me off.

Another complaint is that it is a bit lacking. You can’t do much other than playing the arena and customizing your character in the hub. It also lacks in variety. There is only one arena where you can play the game.

Overall, the gameplay is very immersive and fun. While it can be lacking and throwing the disc can feel a bit off, I enjoyed it. I give the gameplay an A-.

Image Courtesy of Oculus

There is no story whatsoever in this game so it gets an immediate C in that regard.

The soundtrack is fine. Music plays as you play the game and in the main menu. Every time someone scores a guitar riff plays. There is no music in the hub, however. It isn’t much, but it’s nice there is music in this game. I give the soundtrack a B-.

To conclude, I had fun with this game. It is lacking in every other aspect besides gameplay. David Jagneaux, senior editor of Upload VR, who called this game “one of the best multiplayer VR games to date,” thanks to it’s fast-paced and intense gameplay. I agree with this, however, it is mostly due to the fact there aren’t many multiplayer VR games out there (or I am not aware of them). The game is free right now so I recommend giving it a shot. I give the game a 6.3/10.





At a Glance: Echo Arena

Summary: Throw discs at the enemy’s goal in an anti-gravity arena.

Rated: T for Teen: Violence, users interact, digital purchases

Price: Free

Release Date: July 20, 2017 (Beta for the Oculus Quest version opened on May 5, 2020)

Distributor: Ready At Dawn

VR Headsets: Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, and Oculus Touch.

Rating: 6.3/10