New Pokémon Snap Review (Switch)
The original Pokémon Snap on the Nintendo 64 is truly one of those games that fits in the list of “sequels that people have wanted for years” and after I played it earlier this year I can definitely see why. As someone that loves to take photos myself, it’s a joy to be able to take pictures of your favourite pocket monsters in environments that fit them like a thumb, and see how they interact in them. Of course, nowadays there are some limitations such as the small number of stages, very short playtime for how much the game was going for at full retail price, and the fact that only 63 of the original 151 Pokémon are even in the game, so there’s a decent chance your favourite from the first generation may not even be in the game.
Fast forward to 2021 and Pokémon Snap finally gets a well-deserved sequel on… the Nintendo Switch! What? You thought I was going to say a more fitting console like the Wii U? Jokes on you because that system died faster than a Sunkern in a nuzlocke. Small jabs aside, it’s great that this series is being given a big chance to evolve and, I have to say, it’s great to have a game like this amongst the more hardcore titles to be able to unwind to.
The game takes place within the brand new Lental Region, an archipelago consisting of five different islands each home to different types of environments and Pokémon alike. As a brand-new photographer aiming to assist the region’s professor, Professor Mirror, you aim to take high quality photos of the Pokémon that inhabit these areas in order to support the professor’s research, and to uncover the secrets of the Illumina Pokémon that are native to this region. As you can guess, the story itself is quite simple but I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. It aims to get you familiar with the mechanics and main features such as the illumina Pokémon, and helps get you into the meat and potatoes of the game — that being the gameplay.
Just like the original game, New Pokémon Snap focuses on being a type of on-rails shooter, except you take photos of the Pokémon, not shoot them. As you take photos you must aim to get the Pokémon as much into the center of the frame as you can, and it’s even better if you take it interacting with the environment or other Pokémon. At the end of each course, your photos for each Pokémon will be ranked and given points depending on its quality. However, new to this game is the star rankings, which allow four different photos to be registered for each Pokémon, rather than just one photo. From star rank 1 to 4, each ranking is divided by if it is a basic picture of the Pokémon, the pose, the other Pokémon they are interacting with and so on. Saying that, just like its predecessor, the game can be really odd in terms of what it can deem a high-quality photo or not. Because of that, it can be kind of confusing to gauge what exactly are the requirements to get a specific star rating without a guide.
Snap is definitely a longer game in comparison to the original title, clocking in at 6–8 hours on average. Whilst this may be a big turnoff for those that wanted a longer experience for the £50 price tag, the game prides itself in its arcade like structure by having a ton of replay value, which can be separated in three different categories; the research levels, the number of Pokémon to see, and the online features.
As you progress through the game, you’ll notice that each level has its own separate levelling system, known as the research level. As you level up the research level for an area, you will be able to have a wider variety of Pokémon appear, as well as new routes to explore. This helps each level you explore feel more expansive to search through, even though it’s on rails for the entire journey, however I am mixed on the research level system. On one hand, it encourages you to really consider the quality and timing of each photo you take, as you need points in order to level it up, causing you to take each snap seriously and apply the skills you learn along the way, but on the other it can come off as grindy. Whilst this is not an issue getting to level 2, since some levels require that to progress through the story, but if you are a completionist and aim to see all the Pokémon and max out the research level for every area, then you’re going to be playing every level repeatedly for a while, which may come off as too much work for a good few people.
New Pokémon Snap absolutely obliterates the original game’s number of available Pokémon as there are now 214 of the pocket monsters to take pics of throughout Lental, and what else to register them in then with the pokedex, right? Wrong! In this game you will register your Pokémon in the photodex. As mentioned before, every photo you take will be categorised into a 1-to-4-star ranking, meaning you have over 856 unique photos to take to fill out your photodex, so if you love to fill out the pokedex in the mainline games and would love to do the same here, then you will definitely be at it for a long time.
Finally, if you have any photos you’re particularly proud of and wish to show off, then you can with the games online features, allowing you to share them on the game’s official servers and also gain likes, very similarly to a social media site. You can also apply stickers, filters and frames to your photos. This truly allows players to be creative with what they can express with their photos… or you can make meme images with what you are given, whatever floats your boat I guess.
One feature about the online component which I’m not a personal fan of is the “Professor’s Favourites”. Depending on the quality of the photo, the Professor will automatically upload a photo online for you and, considering what the game considers a good photo is odd as mentioned previously, you may not even like what they upload. You can remove them from your online pages at any time, but I wished they gave you the option to approve of having it uploaded rather than forcing it on you.
Graphically this game looks wonderful with its bright colours and lush environments, and it clearly looks better than Pokémon Sword and Shield (granted that’s not exactly hard). Each area is built for the Pokémon to interact with in a natural way, and every environment houses Pokémon that would fit them perfectly, regardless of typing. In fact, the animation for the Pokémon is the best part about the game’s graphical style, as each Pokémon interact with others and its surroundings in the way that you would expect each one to. Bug Pokémon hang from the trees of lush forests, water Pokémon roam the rivers and oceans of beaches and frozen tundras, and nocturnal Pokémon explore the dark corners of the night, leading to some fun scenarios to occur should you find them.
New Pokémon Snap is definitely a sequel that allows fans of a new generation to appreciate what people saw when they grew up with the original game, whilst giving already existing fans of the original a nostalgic experience that fits more with what people imagined a fully realised world would be like with Pokémon, which is what the series in modern days strives in. During my time with the game, I felt a sense of wonder and joy discovering all the Pokémon I grew to love that I haven’t personally felt with the series since the fourth generation of games. Whilst the grinding for research levels may be a slight annoyance for some, as well as the slightly picky ranking system for your photos, this is a game that I can easily see myself coming back to, sharing all the photos I have taken with friends and having a laugh with the challenges we can set ourselves to get our creative juices flowing. This is a game I would recommend to those that are looking for something that they can sit down and unwind to.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to buy a replacement camera and get back into photography… if only I had the money to buy a new one… ugh.
