After years of demand for a remake or sequel, New Pokemon Snap is now a reality and rapidly approaching its release. While the game appears to build upon the existing formula from the N64 title, Nintendo has now detailed how grading photos of Pokemon will work in the new game.
Previously, Pokemon Snap for the N64 tasked players with taking photos of Pokemon and then turning them in to Professor Oak for grading purposes. Turning in photos and successfully capturing images of all of the available Pokemon on a level would ultimately unlock new areas to explore, as well as tools to achieve better shots.
According to a new tweet from Nintendo, it sounds as though New Pokemon Snap will follow the same general concepts as Pokemon Snap. Unlike in the original, Professor Mirror will take on the role of evaluating photos, rather than Professor Oak. However, like the original, the tweet indicates that photos will be graded based upon the Pokemon's pose, direction, how much of the frame they fill, and how large they appear in the image.
At this point, it remains unclear if the photos need to have Pokemon completely centered in the frame or not to achieve a maximum score. However, the note that Pokemon poses are taken into account likely means that added methods of achieving these poses will be included in the game, as before. Previously, using items like apples or pester balls could trigger select poses from Pokemon that they wouldn't take on autonomously. This added replay value to the game, as players could repeat levels after unlocking new tools to get a higher score in their pictures.
While it remains to be seen exactly how New Pokemon Snap will innovate past its predecessor, there are some notable changes and improvements between the two. New Pokemon Snap will feature at least 71 Pokemon, surpassing the original. It's also been announced that New Pokemon Snap will feature some kind of online component, requiring a Nintendo Switch Online account to use it. For now, it's unclear if that online service will mimic the Wii port of Pokemon Snap, which simply allowed players to share photos online, or if something more substantial is planned, like the ability to compete with friends' scores.
Fans of the original Pokemon Snap have been clamoring for something in the same vein for years, but it remains to be seen how the sequel will build upon the original's formula to keep things fresh. With any luck, there's a lot more that's new about New Pokemon Snap beyond the locales and available Pokemon to take pictures of.
New Pokemon Snap is set to release on April 30, 2021 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Twitter