Is there a Pokemon Snap emulator for PC?

Yes, there most certainly is a Pokemon Snap emulation for PC.

It is technically illegal to emulate games without the express permission of the creators. Still, a player is more likely to get in trouble for jaywalking on an empty street with no police for miles around than for emulating a game.

But it's a different story for sites that host or provide emulated games. These are liable to be shut down should too much attention be drawn to them or should they make a single legal miscalculation.

As such, it might be tricky to track down some of these PC ported games. So here's some advice from a writer who's played through a solid few Pokemon games on PC.

And just in case, this article will refrain from using the names of various emulation sites to hopefully reduce the possibility of Nintendo or other companies taking these beloved sites down.

---

Is there a Pokemon Snap emulator for PC?

Pokemon Snap (Image via Game Freak)

A simple Google search will net an answer to this question. With the standalone side games' incredible popularity, it's no real surprise that some talented individuals made an effort to emulate Pokemon Snap onto the PC.

First and foremost, to run a Pokemon Snap emulation on their PCs, individuals will need a Nintendo 64 emulator. The most popular one for the PC at the moment is ProjectN64, so this will be the emulator that this article will describe how to use.

Most reputable sites that host emulated game downloads will also have various emulators, so finding ProjectN64 or another option should be no more difficult than finding a Pokemon Snap emulation.

Once the emulator has been installed and the player has downloaded the rom (the emulation) for Pokemon Snap, all that needs to be done is for the player to launch ProjectN64, select File in the upper left, select Open Rom, and select the Pokemon Snap rom.

Choosing the Pokemon Snap rom (Image via FileHorse and ProjectN64)

Should players have a controller they wish to use instead of a keyboard, this will likely also be possible so long as no problems occur. Emulators are tricky business as, quite often, a single tech difference between the player's PC and the emulator may cause strange issues. But often enough, these are simple problems that can be resolved with guidance from a forum post or two.

Crazily enough, a handful of sites have begun emulating various games directly. This requires no software to be downloaded at all, needing only internet access. A few better sites even offer easy gamepad use, letting players use their favorite controllers for play just as if they were directly emulating it themselves.