More than two decades on from the release of the first Pokemon Snap game for the N64, a true sequel has finally arrived. New Pokemon Snap was released for the Nintendo Switch at the end of April 2021 and is considerably larger than its predecessor in almost every way imaginable. There are more Pokemon, more courses, and a host of new features and mechanics that completely change the experience for players.
While all of this may sound like a dream come true for fans of the original game, the huge amount of content can make completing New Pokemon Snap a time-consuming and challenging endeavor even for the most skilled players. Those hoping to see and do all that's on offer are going to have to invest a fair amount of time playing the game as well as familiarize themselves with its various features and mechanics. This guide will help them to do so.
Updated on August 7, 2021 by Tom Bowen: Though many people expected New Pokemon Snap to receive DLC at some point, few could have predicted that it would arrive so soon, nor would many have likely guessed that it would be given to players free of charge. The 2.0 update adds 20 new Pokemon, three new courses, and 21 new photo requests for players to enjoy. As with the base version of the game, Game Rant has guides for all of the game's DLC content and has updated all of its existing guides to reflect the changes made by the DLC where relevant to do so.
Getting Started in New Pokemon Snap
New Pokemon Snap does a fairly decent job of easing players into the action with a series of simple and easy-to-follow tutorial sections. In the game's opening stages, all players really need to worry about is pointing their camera at Pokemon and pressing the A button, although new and more complicated mechanics are gradually introduced as the game goes on.
In addition to controlling the camera, players will also need to get to grips with each of the game's items as well as master both the framing and the timing of their photos. While none of these things are particularly complicated, the game perhaps understates the importance of doing so meaning that players will often need to figure these things out for themselves as they make their way through the game.
How To Guides
- How to Take the Perfect Photograph
- How to Find The Best Photo Opportunities
- How to Increase Your Research Level Quickly
- How to Shrink
- How to Use Fluffruit
- How to Use Illumina Orbs
- How to Use The Melody Player
General Tips & Tricks
- Awesome Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do in New Pokemon Snap
- Mistakes To Avoid While Playing New Pokemon Snap
- Pro Tips For Playing New Pokemon Snap
Frequently Asked Questions
- How Long is New Pokemon Snap?
- How Do You Save The Game?
- Is New Pokemon Snap Multiplayer?
- How Many Pokemon Are There in New Pokemon Snap?
Pokemon in New Pokemon Snap
New Pokemon Snap features considerably more Pokemon than the original game, with more than 200 varieties living throughout the Lental Region. There are 234 of them, to be precise, meaning that those hoping to snap them all and fill out their Photodex have some serious work ahead of them. It's not going to be easy, but the below guides should be a big help when it comes to tracking down all of the different Pokemon scattered throughout the game. This also includes those found in the DLC courses, which were added as part of the game's free 2.0 update.
Every Pokemon in New Pokemon Snap by Course
- Florio Nature Park: Park (Day) │ Park (Night) │ Illumina Spot
- Secret Side Path: Side Path (Day) │ Side Path (Night)
- Research Camp: Research Camp
- Founja Jungle: Jungle (Day) │ Jungle (Night)
- Elsewhere Forest: Forest │ Illumina Spot
- Mightywide River: River (Day) │ River (Night)
- Blushing Beach: Beach (Day) │ Beach (Night)
- Maricopia Reef: Reef (Day) │ Reef (Evening)
- Lental Seafloor: Undersea │ Illumina Spot
- Sweltering Sands: Sands (Day) │ Sands (Night)
- Fireflow Volcano: Volcano │ Illumina Spot
- Barren Badlands: Badlands (Day) │ Badlands (Night)
- Shiver Snowfields: Snowfields (Day) │ Snowfields (Night)
- Outaway Cave: Cave │ Illumina Spot
- Ruins of Remembrance: Ruins │ Illumina Spot
Specific Pokemon Locations
- Every Pokemon & Where to Find Them
- Every DLC Pokemon & Where to Find Them
- Every Legendary Pokemon & Where to Find Them
- Every Illumina Pokemon & Where To Find Them
- Where to Find Gyarados in Mighywide River (Day)
- Where to Find Lugia in Lental Undersea
- The Hardest Pokemon To Find in New Pokemon Snap
Courses in New Pokemon Snap
New Pokemon Snap takes place in the Lental region which is broken up into six islands. Players start their journey on the island of Florio, but will unlock more areas and courses as they make their way through the game's story. There are 14 areas in total if the Research Camp is included and these are broken up into 21 unique courses. Nine of them can be visited at different times of the day though, which usually results in Pokemon behaving differently and new ones turning up.
- How To Unlock Every Course
- How To Unlock Every Alternate Route
- Hidden Locations That Only Experts Found
- Hidden Secrets Many Players Still Haven't Found
- Easter Eggs That Only True Fans Caught
- What's in the Whirlpool in Maricopia Reef?
Requests in New Pokemon Snap
After visiting the game's first Illumina Spot, players will gain access to a special messaging service called LenTalk which will allow other members of the research team to send photo requests once players have encountered a specific photo opportunity for the very first time. Generally, these requests are designed to help players track down hidden Pokemon or to figure out how to take four star photographs of those that they have already found. There are 234 of them in total and their progress can be checked at any time by hitting the Y button and selecting "All Requests" from the main menu.
Every Request in New Pokemon Snap by Course
- Florio Nature Park: Park (Day) │ Park (Night) │ Illumina Spot
- Secret Side Path: Side Path (Day) │ Side Path (Night)
- Research Camp: Research Camp
- Founja Jungle: Jungle (Day) │ Jungle (Night)
- Elsewhere Forest: Forest │ Illumina Spot
- Mightywide River: River (Day) │ River (Night)
- Blushing Beach: Beach (Day) │ Beach (Night)
- Maricopia Reef: Reef (Day) │ Reef (Evening)
- Lental Seafloor: Undersea │ Illumina Spot
- Sweltering Sands: Sands (Day) │ Sands (Night)
- Fireflow Volcano: Volcano │ Illumina Spot
- Barren Badlands: Badlands (Day) │ Badlands (Night)
- Shiver Snowfields: Snowfields (Day) │ Snowfields (Night)
- Outaway Cave: Cave │ Illumina Spot
- Ruins of Remembrance: Ruins │ Illumina Spot
Individual Request Guides
- Shockingly Well-Done Request Guide
- What's Up With Wurmple Request Guide
- Off to a Flying Startle Request Guide
- A Terrific Yawn Request Guide
- Where It Snacks and Snoozes Request Guide
- For Whose Sake Request Guide
- Best Frenemies Request Guide
- Hard Won Happiness Request Guide
- Meganium's Pal Request Guide
- The Parachute Request Guide
- At Home In The Dark Request Guide
- A Figure of Beauty Request Guide
- Tonight's Dinner Request Guide
- Staredown for Venusaur Request Guide
- Bounsweet's Amazing Journey Request Guide
- In the Tall Grass Request Guide
- Tree Dwelling Pokemon Request Guide
- An Unusual Spot Request Guide
- Why So Still Request Guide
- Triple Threat Request Guide
- Message from a Friend Request Guide
- Three in a Row Request Guide
- A Ring of Bubbles Request Guide
- Golisopod Training Request Guide
- The Singing Dragon Request Guide
- A Quaking Volcano Request Guide
- Winter Wonders Request Guide
New Pokemon Snap News, Rumors & Opinions
A few months on from the game's initial release, and New Pokemon Snap has been able to attract a fairly sizable playerbase. This is in large thanks to the positive reception that the game has received; not just from series fans, but also from critics. It achieved impressive sales figures around the time of its launch and has continued to sell well in the months that have followed. This looks set to continue, as the game's recently released free DLC update has once again brought it into the limelight.
News
- Every Pokemon Shown In The DLC Trailer
- New Pokemon Snap Getting Free DLC
- New Pokemon Snap Removed a Pokemon from the Game
- New Pokemon Snap Players Discover Why Proud Warrior Request Doesn't Work
- New Pokemon Snap Players are Having Big Problems with Joy-Con Drift
- New Pokemon Snap Has Pokemon The Movie: Coco Easter Egg
- New Pokemon Snap Hits Impressive Sales Milestones in April
- New Pokemon Snap Outpaces N64 Original 4 Times Over in UK
- New Pokemon Snap, Returnal Lead UK Physical Sales on Launch Week
- New Pokemon Snap Gets Day One Patch
Rumors
Opinions
- Game Rant's New Pokemon Snap Review
- Things We Love About New Pokemon Snap (& Things We Don’t)
- New Pokemon Snap Review Roundup
- The Biggest Fixes New Pokemon Snap Needs
- New Pokemon Snap's DLC is a Good Sign for This Recent Trend
- Pokemon That Should Appear in Future DLC
- Areas That Should Appear in Future DLC
- New Pokemon Snap Has One Big Missed Opportunity with Pikachu
- Mainline Pokemon Games Need to Use New Pokemon Snap's Best Feature
- Nintendo Consoles That Would Have Been Perfect for Pokemon Snap Sequel
- New Pokemon Snap's Legendary Dog Snub Explained
- New Pokemon Snap's Tutorial Drops The Ball
- New Pokemon Snap's Primary Legendary Makes Sense, But It Still Feels Odd
- Original Pokemon Snap's Evolving Feature Explained