Gamers of the 1990s will fondly remember Nintendo’sPokémon Snap, a casual game that traded the fighting/capturing mechanic of the franchise for a photo-tourist approach instead. It’s taken more than 20 years, but we finally have a follow-up to that very game inNewPokémon Snap, a not-so-inspired title that’s nonetheless taking plenty of inspiration from the original. So just how much of the new game is retreading old ground, and how much is truly new? That’s what we’re here to share with you today!
We’ve put together everything we know aboutNew Pokémon Snapahead of its release at the end of the month. That includes the game’s story, its gameplay, the characters and Pokémon involved in all of it, and all the marketing material that’s been shared out by the teams behind the scenes so far. Consider this a perfect primer for you if you’ve never played the originalPokémon Snapand want to check out the new title, or if you just want to get caught up on the most-anticipated newPokémonadventure of the year. Be sure to let us know if we missed anything along the way!
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The Basics
The Story: Is It a Remake or a Sequel?
First and foremost, you should understand thatNew Pokémon Snapis a sequel, not a remake, a remaster, or a reinterpretation. All-new story, region, and mechanics await you! With that out of the way, here’s the official synopsis to get you started:
Get ready forNew Pokémon Snap, an all-new adventure for Nintendo Switch that’s inspired by the classicNintendo 64gamePokémon Snap. InNew Pokémon Snap, you’ll explore deserts, jungles, and more as you photograph fan-favorite Pokémon and discover never-before-seen Pokémon expressions and behaviors.
Those biomes all belong in the new Lental Region. We’ll get to explore its beaches, jungles, deserts, and more to snap the perfect shot of all the Pokémon we can find across the archipelago. And we’ll do this while assisting Professor Mirror in an investigation of the mysterious Illumina phenomenon. What is this exactly?
Pokémon and vegetation in Lental have sometimes been seen to glow. This is known as the Illumina phenomenon, which is unique to the Lental region inNew Pokémon Snap. At the request of Lental’s own Professor Mirror, you’ll venture from island to island on an ecological survey, floating safely along in your trusty pod, the NEO-ONE, as you photograph Lental Pokémon and their habitats to uncover the truth behind the Illumina phenomenon.
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The Lental Region
Here’s a bit more on this new area of the world ofPokémon, one that seems to be defined by a luminous peculiarity:
In the Lental region, Pokémon and vegetation have sometimes been seen to glow. Meet Professor Mirror and work with him to uncover the mystery of the Illumina Phenomenon. Your photos and observations may be key to learning about this strange occurrence.
Travel to the islands that make up the Lental region … as you explore dense jungles, vast deserts, and more! Your observations of Pokémon thriving in the wild may help unravel the truth behind the Illumina phenomenon.
Players will travel “on rails” via their NEO-ONE travel pod through the plains, jungles, deserts, forests, oceans, and beaches to snap the perfect Pokémon pics along the way, by day and by night. Plus, we’ll also be meeting new characters along the way who will both guide our journeys and whom we’ll help with their own research in the process.
Characters
New Pokémon Snapwill honor the mechanics of the original game while also bringing the title’s photo-capturing and photo-editing tech into the 21st century:
This new game brings the gameplay of the 1999Pokémon Snapgame for the Nintendo 64 system to life on the Nintendo Switch system with unknown islands to discover and different Pokémon to see!
Using your very own Pokémon Photodex, you’ll catalog the available Pokémon and bring them to Prof. Mirror for scoring:
Your photos are scored based on the Pokémon’s poses, how large they appear, how directly they’re facing you, and other factors. You may even snap a four star-worthy photo if you catch rare Pokémon behaviors. These scores can be shared via in-game rankings so you may compare your shots with other Pokémon photographers around the world.
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Higher-quality photos also mean more Expedition Points. Those points go towards achieving a higher Research Level in each area, in turn opening up new areas to explore in the Lental region.
If you don’t get top-scores from the get-go, don’t worry.New Pokémon Snapfeatures a new metric called a Survey Level. As you progress, this value goes up in each area, changing how the local Pokémon interact with you. This means that revisiting a given area after your Survey Level goes up leads to different encounters and experiences each time. That, in turn, means better scores for your photos!
But say you get a rare performance out of a Pokémon and even land a high score, but you don’t really like the picture itself, or you just want to share it with friends. Well, you may do all of that thanks to the new game’s “Re-Snap” editing tools:
Save photos to your personal in-game album to edit and adjust them. When you complete a course, you can adjust the brightness, blur, zoom and other aspects of your photo in Re-Snap mode. Then, add stickers, frames, and filters to add a personal touch. Share your favorite photos with family and friends in-game. You can also see what kinds of photos everyone else is taking. See something you like? Award a Sweet! medal.
All Available Pokémon
As mentioned above, you can expect 200+ Pokémon in this game. That’s a far cry from the ~900 Pokémon in the franchise, but there are still plenty of critters to photograph in the new region. The original game, which debuted before the franchise follow-up in Silver and Gold, featured only 63 of the available 151 Pokémon from the Red and Blue versions. It seemsNew Pokémon Snapwill continue the trend of limiting the number of ‘mons you’ll be able to spot … for now.
So far, 115 of the 200+New Pokémon SnapPokémon have beencatalogued by Serebii.netfrom available trailers and videos for the new and upcoming title. Those Pokémon are expected to have gender variants and even different forms, perhaps even … shinies.
What About Shinies?
“Shiny” Pokémon didn’t appear in the originalPokémon Snapsince they weren’t introduced as a variant until Generation II, ie Silver and Gold. The first photo-tourism game did, however, encourage players to capture natural objects, like rock formations, that resembled different Pokémon. Perhaps we’ll see a similar version of this mechanic inNew Pokémon Snap?
And perhaps we’ll find a way to lure out potential Shinies through a combination of playing music, or tossing tasty Fluffruit treats and Illumina Orbs during the game. Unfortunately, no official mention of Shiny Pokémon, whether they exist or not, has been made as of this writing, so stay tuned to find out whether Legendary, Mythical, and possibly even Shiny Pokémon exist to be found and photographed in the upcoming game.
Stay tuned for more about the game as we learn it! Until then, please enjoy plenty of sights and sounds ofNew Pokémon Snapbelow:
Every Trailer Released So Far
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