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| Snap till you drop. |
New Pokemon Snap is the sequel to the much-loved Nintendo 64 classic, Pokemon Snap, which released way back in 1999. Developed by Bandai Namco instead of series developer Game Freak, New Pokemon Snap aims to capture the spirit of the original while introducing new gameplay and graphical improvements over it. Featuring a new region to explore, characters to meet, and Pokemon to snap, the game certainly lives up to the "New" in its name. I've been excited to play New Pokémon Snap for a while since I missed out on the original game, so does it do a good job of entertaining new and old fans alike? Let's find out.
You take the role of a young Pokemon photographer as you join Professor Mirror's research expedition of the Lental region. Your goal is study the glowing Pokemon phenomenon known as the "Illumina Pokemon" by visiting the islands of the region while also taking pictures of Pokemon and their habitats. Joining you are the professor's assistants Rita and Phil, as well as pro-photographer Todd from the original game. The story was a simple but serviceable one since the Pokemon are the main attraction of the game, but I still found it to be a good time thanks to its fun setting and characters.
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| It's a whole new adventure this time. |
New Pokémon Snap is a photography game where you ride the "NEO-ONE", an exploration pod that safely lets you snap pictures of Pokemon. It's an on-rails game, meaning that the NEO-ONE will will move automatically, leaving you to focus on pointing and shooting pics of Pokemon. Adding to that is your camera can only hold 72 shots, meaning that careful snapping is needed or the course is over early. Your pictures get graded at the end of the course, and the higher the points, the more experience you'll gain in a level, unlocking more courses and Pokemon to snap. Taking pictures mid-frame and up-close will net you more points while blurry and faraway ones will net you less. Bonus points are also awarded when you snap a large Pokemon or groups of Pokemon together or when they're eating by throwing them fruit too. Levelling up also rewards you with in-game achievements and filters, with the former allowing you to customize your snaps and share them online.
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| The gameplay is simple yet fun to play. |
New additions are "Requests", which are side-quests that task you with taking pic of a rare Pokemon that appears only at night, or one doing a certain pose, or spotting one hidden in a level. These encourage you to replay previous level at night or choosing an alternate path, which house more Pokemon and areas to explore. I just wished that you can view requests of a certain level during gameplay rather than quitting and heading back to the hub, as they get hard to track later on. More features also include scanning the area for hidden Pokemon and points of interests, playing a music box to calm wild Pokemon, and glowing orbs that you can throw to illuminate Pokemon for extra snap points.
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| There are over 220 Pokemon to snap throughout the game. |
The game took over 11 hours to beat and that included completing a small portion of the requests and achieving a 1,300,000 Photoscore. There's some replay-value in completing all requests and playing the free DLC courses though personally, the game would've been a better value at $40 instead of the asking $60, given that there's not much in way of new levels to explore post-game.
Visually, New Pokémon Snap looks impressive and I enjoyed the variety in scenery and levels like the jungles, deserts, and beaches. The models, cut-scenes, water and lighting effects were all high-quality and looked great on the Switch. While playing on handheld will lose some of the visual clarity, but the game still ran smoothly on both TV and handheld modes. The voice-work was good with solid performances, though I wished that the game was fully voice-acted in certain parts. As for the soundtrack, it was pleasant to hear and complimented the game's relaxing and charming atmosphere.
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| The game's varied scenery were a sight to enjoy. |
Overall, New Pokémon Snap was a fun, relaxing game that I enjoyed more than expected. The nice story, engaging gameplay, and impressive production-values are the game's highlights, despite it being low on post-game content and on the pricey side. Still, both fans of the series and newcomers will enjoy what New Pokémon Snap has to offer if you're looking for a calming experience that breaks away from the series' RPG gameplay.
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