The original Pokemon Snap had a surprising amount of depth. Since the game was entirely on rails, one wouldn't expect many secret areas. But finding hidden areas was crucial to unlocking each stage, and in the long-awaited sequel, New Pokemon Snap, it's no different.

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Each course in New Pokemon Snap has at least one branching path that's unlocked by interacting with wild Pokemon. Some are easy to find, like the Bidoof dam in the very first level. As the game progresses, however, finding alternate routes gets very tricky. Eagle-eyed players will be able to spot these secret photo ops and find some rare Pokemon along the way.

8 Crystal Cave

New Pokemon Snap Diancie

This location is very much hidden in plain sight - no Pokemon have to be bothered to unlock it, but it's still easily missed. In the big, open cavern in Outaway Cave, some Noibat will fly into a passage below the player. Scan that area to unlock the alternate path.

After a squeeze through a narrow tunnel, you'll come out into a cave filled with beautiful orange and white crystals. There are Mawile and Drifloon here, but the real star is the Mythical Pokemon Diancie. Diancie is hard to miss as it'll basically come out and stand right in the player's line of sight. Throw some Illumina Orbs at it and it might do some cool poses.

7 Behind The Waterfall

New Pokemon Snap Sobble And Leafeon

One of the oldest rules in gaming - if there's a waterfall, there's almost always a secret hidden behind it. The huge waterfall in Founja Jungle is one of the course's main attractions, and naturally, there's a special area within.

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This secret requires the player to reach Rank 2 in both versions of Founja Jungle. Right as you're coming up to the waterfall, there's a Liepard resting on a big rock pillar. Play the Melody to scare the Pikipek nearby. Then, pull out the Camera and it'll jump off of the rock. Now the alternate path is open - scan the empty rock to send the NEO-ONE behind the waterfall. Several Pokemon live here - you might see sleeping Swampert or even Leafeon.

6 Winter Forest

New Pokemon Snap Ninetales

The Elsewhere Forest is one of the most complex maps in the game. Many branching paths in this area lead to different seasons. The hardest one to find is Winter, and it's home to two otherwise elusive Pokemon, Ninetales and Gardevoir.

In the Elsewhere Forest at Rank 3, there's a Trevenant near the beginning. Play the Melody to make it happy, then scan to find the alternate route. Don't stop here - there's another thing to do to reach Winter. There's an Espeon lounging by the path. Throw an Illumina Orb at it and follow it to the Winter forest. There are multiple Gardevoir here that come pretty close to the player. A Ninetales is farther off in the distance. Take a picture of it here, and it'll reappear towards the end for some much better photos.

5 Secret Undersea Tunnel

New Pokemon Snap Clawitzer

After finishing Rank 3 of the Lental Undersea course, go back to Rank 2. A Clawitzer will appear near the start of the level. Throw an Illumina Orb at it when it's near a boulder, and it'll shoot a hole in the rock wall. This unlocks an alternate route.

The new passage leads into a dark tunnel filled with glowing algae and ruined pillars. There are many Pokemon here that can't be found in the rest of the course. Lanturn and Chinchou are easy to spot thanks to their glowing lures. If you see some blue shells, throw a fluffruit at them and Clampearl might appear from beneath the sands.

4 Lugia's Den

New Pokemon Snap Lugia

The secret tunnel isn't the only hidden area in Lental Undersea. After unlocking the alternate route and reaching Rank 3, one of the largest Legendary Pokemon in the game is available to snap. Getting to it is a bit obtuse, though, and you'll have to perform some random acts of kindness.

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In the section of the tunnel that goes down to the seafloor, there is a Lanturn swimming around. Throw Illumina Orbs at it and it'll dart into the depths. A moment later, after Wailord swims by, you'll see the same Lanturn being attacked by two Frillish. This is the hard part - hitting them with Illumina Orbs requires good aim since they're far away. The grateful Lanturn leads the NEO-ONE towards an alternate route. Scan it to enter the den where Lugia sleeps.

3 Manaphy's Reef

New Pokemon Snap Manaphy

New Pokemon Snap still has a few tricks up its sleeve, even after the credits roll. The Night version of Maricopia Reef unlocks immediately after the ending. There's an alternate route that's pretty hard to find - try scanning the flat rock island near Drifblim.

This path leads right to an area where several Lapras are hanging out. Throw Illumina Orbs at the baby Lapras and its parent in the middle of the pool. Then play the Melody to make Lapras sing. The Mythical Pokemon Manaphy loves Lapras' song, and it'll jump right up out of the water between the two. This can lead to some great photos, since Manaphy is quite close to the NEO-ONE and you can get Lapras in the shot as well.

2 Shaymin In The Flowers

New Pokemon Snap Shaymin

Finding Shaymin in Florio's Illumina Spot is required to complete the "Meganium's Pal" request. However, the Mythical Pokemon is also found in Florio Nature Park during the day, once the game has been completed.

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Go to Florio Nature Park at night and proceed through the course until the flower field at the end. There's a Crystabloom on the right that can be lit with an Illumina Orb. Keep your eyes peeled - there's a second Crystabloom hidden nearby. Lighting both of the Blooms will cause Shaymin to appear. Because it's so small and blends in with the flowers, it might be hard to spot, so use the Scan. After taking a picture of Shaymin, it'll appear at the beginning of Florio Nature Park Day with Grookey and the rest of the gang.

1 Shiver Snowfields Ice Floes

New Pokemon Snap Suicune

Almost certainly the most difficult area to find without a guide. Getting here requires unlocking two separate alternate routes in both the Night and Day versions of Shiver Snowfields. Going in-depth on this would probably take an article of its own, but here's a very abridged version.

Taking photos of Alolan Sandslash during the day will make it move throughout the map. Snap it every time it appears and it'll plow through a mound close to the Swinub. Scan that to unlock the first alternate route. Now go to the night, take the new route, and throw an Illumina Orb at Crabominable. After a bit of ruckus, take a photo of Froslass when it appears. Froslass will reveal the pathway to the ice floes. Whew! The prize for getting through all that is a photo of the Legendary Pokemon Suicune. Throw an Illumina Orb at Jynx to see it.

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