Snapshot
Snapshots (写真, Photos) are image files used to save certain moments of gameplay. They were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee and the feature was expanded upon in future installments of the series.
In Melee, taking a snapshot required one to enter Camera Mode and use the controller in port 4 to control the camera. The snapshot would save to the GameCube memory card, leaving the feature rather limited; snapshots could be viewed in-game, but nothing else.
Brawl improves on the idea, and implements it in a much more useful fashion. Snapshots can be taken in any mode (except Stadium and Wi-Fi Connection modes), using the pause screen's camera. Snapshots can be saved either directly on the Wii or to an SD card. The amount of pictures is only limited based on the size of the memory storage location. Prior to the shutdown of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, it was also possible to send images to registered friends. Snapshot files created by Brawl are encrypted as .bin files, and as a result, they cannot be immediately be viewed on a computer or even on the Wii's included Photo Channel; unofficial third-party software, however, can convert these files to the .jpg format, though images can appear to be "squashed" when taken in widescreen mode.
Snapshots return in both versions of Super Smash Bros. 4, though the Wii U version requires an SD card for them to be saved. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, images are saved as .JPG files, with an additional encrypted file that tell the system that it is a Smash 4 screenshot; images taken with the 3DS's three-dimensional features enabled also feature an .MPO file that allows the image to be viewed in 3D on both the 3DS and external software.
Gallery
- SnapshotExample.png
A snapshot that is pre-loaded on the Brawl disc.
External links
- SSBB Snapshot files. We need to crack em! - The topic where much of the snapshot decoding went on.
- bin2.jpg - A zipped file that contains the files needed to decrypt snapshot files on a computer.