They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a picture of a Pichu enjoying a fluffruit is priceless. If you didn’t catch that reference then perhaps it’s time for you to grab a camera and get to grips with New Pokémon Snap, the first-person shooter that’s all about taking shots of (not at) those delightful pocket monsters. Our beginner’s guide to New Pokémon Snap below will get your photography journey started with tips and tricks for point-scoring pictures.
New Pokémon Snap Beginner’s Guide
The basics
As a researcher, you’ll travel across the Lental region to take photographs of Pokémon. The game is quite literally ‘on rails’ as you ride the NEO-ONE along predetermined routes, take snaps, and have them evaluated by Professor Mirror. The main storyline of Snap is relatively short at roughly 10 to 13 hours, though there is post-game content as well.
Recommended: Recon Spark
Be the spark! The Turtle Beach® Recon Spark gaming headset debuts a white and lavender colorway and delivers comfort-driven performance with powerful sound and crystal-clear chat.
You’re a star
The main way to progress in the game is to take high-scoring pictures. Snaps are rated in two ways: a star rating based on how rare the Pokémon behavior you capture is, and a numerical rating based on other factors like pose, size, direction, and placement. As you gain more experience points, your Research Level for each individual course will increase and you’ll unlock new areas, Pokémon, and branch routes.
One of the quickest ways to earn more experience points is to take a picture of a Pokémon you haven’t encountered before. You can only submit one picture of each Pokémon per course run to the professor, so pick wisely. It can be a laborious process to cycle through all your snaps, so if you want to automate the process, press the ‘Auto’ option to have the game choose the highest-scoring photos for you.
Picture perfect
One of Snap’s biggest charms is that Pokémon will go about their business without your input (until you interrupt them by lobbing some fruit at their head, of course), but that can mean attempting to perfectly capture a candid shot is intimidating. Probably the most important tip for this game is to take multiple shots of a single Pokémon in quick succession, as at least one is likely to turn out well. You are capped at 72 shots per run of a course, at which point you will automatically teleport back to the lab. Don’t worry about maxing out your camera memory, though, as you can endlessly replay each course.
Bigger is better? As a general rule of thumb, getting a close-up shot of a Pokémon with its entire body centered in the frame will score you more points. If you’re stumped on how to get the most out of your research outings, it’s a good idea to try out different items and mechanics to see if they’ll entertain the local wildlife. Pay attention to what’s happening around you in all directions and make prodigious use of the scanning mechanic to alert you to any hidden critters. It’s also a good idea to make your camera and pointer speed faster under Camera Settings, allowing you to pivot more quickly (though be careful if you suffer from motion sickness).
Sharing is caring
When you’ve finished a course, you’ll have the option to tweak photos with the Re-Snap function and save them to your album. Photos in your album can then be customized with the Photo Editing feature available in the Lab, allowing you to add filters and stickers to your heart’s content.
It turns out the Pokémon universe has its own version of Instagram where you upload your photos if you’re connected to the internet. Here you can browse other players’ photos and mark them as ‘Sweet!’ if they meet your approval, just like the real-world counterpart.
Gotta snap ‘em all
As you progress in the game you’ll unlock different Research Titles when you hit milestones. These, in turn, will unlock more features like stickers and icons for you to bedazzle your photos with. Be sure to pay attention to the LenTalk requests that appear in the top right corner of the Research Camp screen as they can provide hints for interesting behavior to watch out for. Spare a shot for other features in the landscape like Crystabloom flowers as well if you want to complete your Photodex.
Otherwise, the best advice is just to be snap happy. It’s just as true in life as it is in New Pokémon Snap: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Read More: Cozy Grove Beginner’s Guide
If you’re tired of paying off your debts to Tom Nook but still want to enjoy the island lifestyle, you should take a trip to Cozy Grove…
Article author: Florence Smith Nicholls can be found on Twitter via @florencesn