Monthly Archives: April 2021

New Pokémon Snap Brings Back Pokémon Snap’s Original Hero With a Major Glow-Up

New Pokémon Snap is out today, and while we've gotten some good looks at most of the game's main characters and a number of its Pokémon, The Pokémon Company has remained rather precious about a major cameo that happens early in the game: the appearance of Todd Snap.

If you're not familiar with Mr. Snap, he's the main protagonist from the original Pokémon Snap, who also makes a few appearances in the Pokémon anime and manga. Back in the original Pokémon Snap days, Todd was a goofy kid with a big camera who Professor Oak hired to take photos of wild Pokémon. Over the course of the game, he discovered mysterious "Pokémon Signs" that Professor Oak somehow connected to constellations in the night sky, leading him to send Todd to space (???) to take photos of Mew.

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In New Pokémon Snap, those Mew photos have launched a promising career for Todd, and now he's a world-famous photographer. He's also an adult now, with marginally better hair and far better fashion sense than he had as a kid in those giant cargo shorts.

Yes, I know it sounds like Todd's appearance should be a major spoiler, but I promise it's not. Todd Snap shows up within the first hour or so of New Pokémon Snap and hangs out with you and your photography friends the rest of the game. He mostly shows up in cutscenes alongside Professor Mirror and research assistants Rita and Phil to give you direction and photography tips.

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Unfortunately, he doesn't get much of a plot role despite his apparent success as a photographer. Phil initially seems to treat you as a photography rival vying for Todd's attention, but this never really plays out in a way that matters. The only other role Todd has during New Pokémon Snap is to offer "Todd's Tips" on the loading screens to help you take better photos. Oh, and a bit of lore suggests he had a critical role in helping Professor Mirror develop and name the Neo-One vehicle you take photos out of, which makes sense given that it's just a nicer version of the Zero-One from Pokémon Snap.

Still, it's genuinely cool that good old Todd Snap is lurking around the Pokémon photography scene and helping uplift the next generation of young photographers. Glad to have you back, Todd. You're looking good.

New Pokémon Snap is out now on Nintendo Switch, with our review finding it to be a delightful photography adventure that adores the creatures on the other side of the lens, even if some of its progression systems could be a bit clunky at times.

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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Pokémon Snap’s Wailord Reveal is Appropriately Enormous

New Pokémon Snap is out now, and chock full of impressive, exciting, cute, and funny Pokémon reveals. However, one of its more impressive moments is so appropriately enormous that it slows the Pokémon down noticeably for a few moments while it tries to settle into place. I am talking here of Wailord: the biggest of all Pokémon, given appropriately huge treatment in New Pokémon Snap's Reef level. Warning: If you don't want to be spoiled on any of the cool Pokémon reveals in New Pokémon Snap, you probably shouldn't watch the video below or read on. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/30/new-pokemon-snaps-wailord-appearance-is-hugeand-slow"] Wailord's appearance midway through the Reef is an incredible surprise when it first happens, with the absolutely gigantic Pokémon slowly breaching the surface of the ocean and splashing water up into the player's camera. On later versions of the level, once the player has more experience visiting the Reef, more Wailord will appear in the distance shortly after with similar splashes and reactions, enabling you to get even cooler photos. It's a truly wow-worthy moment, dampened somewhat by the fact that Wailord's enormous size combined with the water effects going on as it breaches slows the Pokémon's framerate for a few moments until he's settled in on the surface. It's less pronounced in the clip above, which is taken on Research Level 2 of the Reef -- other appearances can appear a bit slower depending on how close you are to the Wailord when it breaches. To be clear, New Pokemon Snap largely runs just fine for the most part, and even in this particular moment everything around the Wailord still seems to be doing okay. But you can see the Wailord struggle to emerge in the moment and snap into place in a spot too, just due to the sheer size of its animation. Honestly? The fact that Wailord is so big it momentarily struggles to get out of the water is kinda cool. Yeah, in an ideal world every game would run perfectly, but there's something weirdly harmonious about a Pokémon so large it momentarily breaks itself just a little bit. New Pokémon Snap is full of amazing moments like these, which helped net it a positive review from us. Its treatment of legendary Pokémon is similarly impressive and surprising, but if you're struggling to find any of them, we've got a pile of guides on the game ready to help you out. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Pokémon Snap’s Wailord Reveal is Appropriately Enormous

New Pokémon Snap is out now, and chock full of impressive, exciting, cute, and funny Pokémon reveals. However, one of its more impressive moments is so appropriately enormous that it slows the Pokémon down noticeably for a few moments while it tries to settle into place. I am talking here of Wailord: the biggest of all Pokémon, given appropriately huge treatment in New Pokémon Snap's Reef level. Warning: If you don't want to be spoiled on any of the cool Pokémon reveals in New Pokémon Snap, you probably shouldn't watch the video below or read on. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/30/new-pokemon-snaps-wailord-appearance-is-hugeand-slow"] Wailord's appearance midway through the Reef is an incredible surprise when it first happens, with the absolutely gigantic Pokémon slowly breaching the surface of the ocean and splashing water up into the player's camera. On later versions of the level, once the player has more experience visiting the Reef, more Wailord will appear in the distance shortly after with similar splashes and reactions, enabling you to get even cooler photos. It's a truly wow-worthy moment, dampened somewhat by the fact that Wailord's enormous size combined with the water effects going on as it breaches slows the Pokémon's framerate for a few moments until he's settled in on the surface. It's less pronounced in the clip above, which is taken on Research Level 2 of the Reef -- other appearances can appear a bit slower depending on how close you are to the Wailord when it breaches. To be clear, New Pokemon Snap largely runs just fine for the most part, and even in this particular moment everything around the Wailord still seems to be doing okay. But you can see the Wailord struggle to emerge in the moment and snap into place in a spot too, just due to the sheer size of its animation. Honestly? The fact that Wailord is so big it momentarily struggles to get out of the water is kinda cool. Yeah, in an ideal world every game would run perfectly, but there's something weirdly harmonious about a Pokémon so large it momentarily breaks itself just a little bit. New Pokémon Snap is full of amazing moments like these, which helped net it a positive review from us. Its treatment of legendary Pokémon is similarly impressive and surprising, but if you're struggling to find any of them, we've got a pile of guides on the game ready to help you out. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Pokémon Snap’s Main Legendary Pokémon Is a Surprising Choice

New Pokémon Snap actually has a number of twists on how it handles "Legendary" Pokémon. For one, it features a number of "boss battles" with Illumina Pokémon — giant Pokémon that glow when exposed to a special kind of flower unique to the Lental Region. You've likely already seen one of these Pokémon, Meganium, in the trailers. But there's far more to New Pokémon Snap's treatment of legendaries than initially meets the eye, and while the choice of what Pokémon to feature is rather surprising if you're familiar with how Pokémon normally handles legendaries, it's also very, very cool. Warning: What follows below this video is major spoilers for the end of New Pokémon Snap. Scroll past at your own risk. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/28/new-pokemon-snap-review"] Aside from Meganium, there are a number of other Pokémon that also get the Illumina treatment. These include Milotic, Steelix, Volcarona, and Wishiwashi. All of these Illumina encounters take place on special Illumina courses, where the Illumina Pokémon is thrown into the spotlight similar to how Mew was the sole focus of Pokémon Snap's Rainbow Cloud course. Though other Pokémon can and do appear in these stages, their appearances are incidental to the Illumina Pokémon's. Your goal is to get the coolest shots possible of the big, glowing creature, and it will often require careful timing and clever puzzle-solving to get them. Your encounters with these Illumina Pokémon all eventually lead to a special encounter with a legendary Illumina Pokémon, and this is where New Pokémon Snap really surprised me. While Pokémon Snap eventually led up to an encounter with the then-rarest Pokémon in existence, Mew, New Pokémon Snap spotlights an unlikely hero in Pokémon X's legendary creature, Xerneas. 2021042912253900-194D89293F260C6893CF3FBF65B93019 Xerneas as a final boss is a bit of a strange pick given that Pokémon X is nearly a decade old now, and we don't seem to be set up for remakes anytime soon the way we are with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. There's a Pokémon GO event featuring Xerneas going on right now, marking its first appearance in the game alongside its Y counterpart Yveltal, but that's likely been timed explicitly because of New Pokémon Snap. Still, the Illumina Xerneas encounter makes sense in the context of New Pokémon Snap, as you meet it in a ruined temple surrounded by a lush forest, and it emerges from a tree similar to its appearance in Pokémon X. It's the most challenging Illumina Pokémon to catch on film, requiring a multi-stage puzzle just to get it to emerge to be photographed, but the gorgeous glowing shots at the end are well worth it. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=our-favorite-photos-from-new-pokemon-snap&captions=true"] That said, Xerneas isn't the only legendary Pokémon in New Pokémon Snap. We won't spoil who else shows up, but once you get a photo of Xerneas and roll the credits, more legendary monsters from multiple Pokémon games will appear in stages you've already visited. Some will show up unprompted, while others will be a bit more challenging to coax out. These aren't major, stage-wide encounters like Xerneas, but they can be quite cool and provide a good chunk of post-game content to work through. We reviewed New Pokémon Snap and found it delightful, with far more content than the original and a surprising variety of different takes on some of our favorite Pokémon. The game is out now on Nintendo Switch, and if you're struggling to get the perfect shot of any of the Illumina Pokémon including Xerneas, we have guides for that. We also have a guide for all the post-game legendaries to help you in your hunt for each elusive monster. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Pokémon Snap’s Main Legendary Pokémon Is a Surprising Choice

New Pokémon Snap actually has a number of twists on how it handles "Legendary" Pokémon. For one, it features a number of "boss battles" with Illumina Pokémon — giant Pokémon that glow when exposed to a special kind of flower unique to the Lental Region. You've likely already seen one of these Pokémon, Meganium, in the trailers. But there's far more to New Pokémon Snap's treatment of legendaries than initially meets the eye, and while the choice of what Pokémon to feature is rather surprising if you're familiar with how Pokémon normally handles legendaries, it's also very, very cool. Warning: What follows below this video is major spoilers for the end of New Pokémon Snap. Scroll past at your own risk. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/28/new-pokemon-snap-review"] Aside from Meganium, there are a number of other Pokémon that also get the Illumina treatment. These include Milotic, Steelix, Volcarona, and Wishiwashi. All of these Illumina encounters take place on special Illumina courses, where the Illumina Pokémon is thrown into the spotlight similar to how Mew was the sole focus of Pokémon Snap's Rainbow Cloud course. Though other Pokémon can and do appear in these stages, their appearances are incidental to the Illumina Pokémon's. Your goal is to get the coolest shots possible of the big, glowing creature, and it will often require careful timing and clever puzzle-solving to get them. Your encounters with these Illumina Pokémon all eventually lead to a special encounter with a legendary Illumina Pokémon, and this is where New Pokémon Snap really surprised me. While Pokémon Snap eventually led up to an encounter with the then-rarest Pokémon in existence, Mew, New Pokémon Snap spotlights an unlikely hero in Pokémon X's legendary creature, Xerneas. 2021042912253900-194D89293F260C6893CF3FBF65B93019 Xerneas as a final boss is a bit of a strange pick given that Pokémon X is nearly a decade old now, and we don't seem to be set up for remakes anytime soon the way we are with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. There's a Pokémon GO event featuring Xerneas going on right now, marking its first appearance in the game alongside its Y counterpart Yveltal, but that's likely been timed explicitly because of New Pokémon Snap. Still, the Illumina Xerneas encounter makes sense in the context of New Pokémon Snap, as you meet it in a ruined temple surrounded by a lush forest, and it emerges from a tree similar to its appearance in Pokémon X. It's the most challenging Illumina Pokémon to catch on film, requiring a multi-stage puzzle just to get it to emerge to be photographed, but the gorgeous glowing shots at the end are well worth it. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=our-favorite-photos-from-new-pokemon-snap&captions=true"] That said, Xerneas isn't the only legendary Pokémon in New Pokémon Snap. We won't spoil who else shows up, but once you get a photo of Xerneas and roll the credits, more legendary monsters from multiple Pokémon games will appear in stages you've already visited. Some will show up unprompted, while others will be a bit more challenging to coax out. These aren't major, stage-wide encounters like Xerneas, but they can be quite cool and provide a good chunk of post-game content to work through. We reviewed New Pokémon Snap and found it delightful, with far more content than the original and a surprising variety of different takes on some of our favorite Pokémon. The game is out now on Nintendo Switch, and if you're struggling to get the perfect shot of any of the Illumina Pokémon including Xerneas, we have guides for that. We also have a guide for all the post-game legendaries to help you in your hunt for each elusive monster. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Black Panther 2 Reshaped and Respectful of the Loss of Chadwick Boseman

Black Panther and Us star Lupita Nyong’o has commended Black Panther 2 director Ryan Coogler’s new plans for the much-anticipated sequel, praising Coogler’s adjusted approach as highly reverent to the late Chadwick Boseman. “People will ask me, ‘Are you excited to go back?’ Excitement isn’t the word. I feel like I’m in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to Black Panther 2,” Nyong’o told Yahoo Entertainment. “His passing is still extremely raw for me.” “But at the same time we have a leader in Ryan, who feels very much like we do, who feels the loss in a very, very real way as well. And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this. And hopefully, what I do look forward to, is getting back together and honoring what he started with us and holding his light through it. Because he left us a lot of light that we’re still going to be bathing in. I know that for sure.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020 after a secret, four-year battle with colon cancer. Marvel has previously confirmed it will not recast Chadwick Boseman’s role as T'Challa, and has also dismissed the prospect of using a digital double. Black Panther 2 is scheduled to commence shooting in July, 2021. Marvel is also working with Coogler on a new Disney+ series based on the Kingdom of Wakanda. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/01/disney-confirms-black-panther-series-coming-to-disney-ign-news"]

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

Black Panther 2 Reshaped and Respectful of the Loss of Chadwick Boseman

Black Panther and Us star Lupita Nyong’o has commended Black Panther 2 director Ryan Coogler’s new plans for the much-anticipated sequel, praising Coogler’s adjusted approach as highly reverent to the late Chadwick Boseman. “People will ask me, ‘Are you excited to go back?’ Excitement isn’t the word. I feel like I’m in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to Black Panther 2,” Nyong’o told Yahoo Entertainment. “His passing is still extremely raw for me.” “But at the same time we have a leader in Ryan, who feels very much like we do, who feels the loss in a very, very real way as well. And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this. And hopefully, what I do look forward to, is getting back together and honoring what he started with us and holding his light through it. Because he left us a lot of light that we’re still going to be bathing in. I know that for sure.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020 after a secret, four-year battle with colon cancer. Marvel has previously confirmed it will not recast Chadwick Boseman’s role as T'Challa, and has also dismissed the prospect of using a digital double. Black Panther 2 is scheduled to commence shooting in July, 2021. Marvel is also working with Coogler on a new Disney+ series based on the Kingdom of Wakanda. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/01/disney-confirms-black-panther-series-coming-to-disney-ign-news"]

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

Noah Centineo Won’t Be Playing He-Man After All in Masters of the Universe

The long-gestating Masters of the Universe movie has hit another road block. After reports circulated in 2019 that Noah Centineo would be taking on the role of He-Man for the film, Collider has reported that the actor has exited the project. A representative for the To All the Boys I've Loved Before star confirmed the news to Collider, though no reason was given. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/03/16/watch-skeletor-hijack-a-he-man-commercial"] Centineo's exit is only the latest setback for the Masters of the Universe film, which has been in development at Sony since as early as 2009. Various directors have been attached to the project over the years, including Joseph Nichol "McG" Nichol and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu. Writers like The Dark Knight's David S. Goyer, Thor: Ragnarok scribe Christopher Yost and Iron Man co-writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have also done passes on the script over the years. In October 2019, it was reported that Sony would explore the option of selling the Masters of the Universe project to Netflix. A CG animated series based on the property is currently in development at the streamer. Mattel's Masters of the Universe was previously adapted into a live-action feature film in 1987, in which Dolph Lundgren starred as He-Man and Frank Langella played the villainous Skeletor. Though the film was a commercial flop, it has garnered a passionate fanbase over the years and now stands alongside various other Masters of the Universe comic and television series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-adam-whos-who-in-the-cast%20&captions=true"] Centineo will still be suiting up to play a hero in Warner Bros. and New Line's DC film Black Adam. The actor will play Atom Smasher alongside Dwayne Johnson's titular anti-hero. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Noah Centineo Won’t Be Playing He-Man After All in Masters of the Universe

The long-gestating Masters of the Universe movie has hit another road block. After reports circulated in 2019 that Noah Centineo would be taking on the role of He-Man for the film, Collider has reported that the actor has exited the project. A representative for the To All the Boys I've Loved Before star confirmed the news to Collider, though no reason was given. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/03/16/watch-skeletor-hijack-a-he-man-commercial"] Centineo's exit is only the latest setback for the Masters of the Universe film, which has been in development at Sony since as early as 2009. Various directors have been attached to the project over the years, including Joseph Nichol "McG" Nichol and In the Heights director Jon M. Chu. Writers like The Dark Knight's David S. Goyer, Thor: Ragnarok scribe Christopher Yost and Iron Man co-writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have also done passes on the script over the years. In October 2019, it was reported that Sony would explore the option of selling the Masters of the Universe project to Netflix. A CG animated series based on the property is currently in development at the streamer. Mattel's Masters of the Universe was previously adapted into a live-action feature film in 1987, in which Dolph Lundgren starred as He-Man and Frank Langella played the villainous Skeletor. Though the film was a commercial flop, it has garnered a passionate fanbase over the years and now stands alongside various other Masters of the Universe comic and television series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-adam-whos-who-in-the-cast%20&captions=true"] Centineo will still be suiting up to play a hero in Warner Bros. and New Line's DC film Black Adam. The actor will play Atom Smasher alongside Dwayne Johnson's titular anti-hero. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Tony Soprano Once Tried to Recruit LeBron James to the Knicks in Lost Video

Though The Sopranos reached its ambiguous end in 2007, it seems that Tony Soprano had one last job to pull after the series finale. It was recently revealed that the late James Gandolfini played the character one more time in 2010 in an effort to convince LeBron James to join the New York Knicks. As reported by Deadline, he production behind the lost video was recounted on a recent episode of the docuseries podcast Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks. The Knicks recruited celebrities to take part in a presentation for James once he became a free agent, a period that ultimately ended with the player signing with the Miami Heat. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/18/the-sopranos-virtual-cast-reunion-fundraiser"] "They thought, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we could somehow start the piece with The Sopranos?' because it had just more or less ended," producer Rocco Caruso recalled. "And I said, 'I know Edie [Falco], … I could send her an email,' and she said 'Great. I'll do it.'" The scene was shot in Gandolfini's New York apartment. It followed Tony and his wife Carmela as they looked for a place for James to live, ultimately culminating in the decision for the player to go to Madison Square Garden. Tony was implied to have been in the witness protection program, a creative decision that explained the full beard that Gandolfini had at the time. "I do remember doing it, and what is absolutely amazing to me is I didn't know who LeBron James was," Falco admitted. "We got those requests all the time back then and Jim Gandolfini, he did nothing. And somehow he agreed to this thing, which I was shocked by... He must have been a bigger basketball fan than I realized." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everything-coming-to-hbo-max&captions=true"] Though The Sopranos concluded over a decade ago, HBO will return to the show's cast of characters this year with The Many Saints of Newark, an upcoming prequel movie to the series. Michael Gandolfini, James' son, will take on his late father's role as Tony. The film is set to premiere in theaters and on HBO Max (for 31 days) on September 24. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.