It's been 22 years since the original Pokémon Snap and with each passing console generation fans had never given up hope for a possible sequel. Why is that? It wasn't a long game, it didn't have that many levels, only had a small pool of Pokémon and the base gameplay was simply about taking pictures. On paper, Pokémon Snap sounds basic and it seems there's an entire generation who don't get the appeal. To put it simply, Snap presents Pokémon in their purest form; it lets Pokémon be Pokémon without any strings of battling attached — something no other entry even attempts.

That's what made the original game so special, we had never seen Pokémon divorced from humans in such a natural way, there were so many iconic moments that were exhilarating to catch with the perfect frame on camera. We learned each level inside and out, mastering where every creature would spawn and when they would strike a special pose. There was simply no other game quite like it and it's gone down in history as possibly the greatest Pokémon spinoff, if we discount Pokémon Puzzle League.
And now we've played through New Pokémon Snap and it still feels like we're living a dream. But no, 22 years have passed and we finally have its sequel. With such a weight on its shoulders can it possibly live up to such a legacy? Remarkably, yeah, it can.
There are occasional winks to the original, like the beach level which opens with a Pikachu scuttling along the coast, but New Pokémon Snap doesn't waste its time chasing nostalgia — it knows it's a sequel coming many years later and has grown with the gap in time. Very few games get to showcase a jump going as far back as the Nintendo 64 and so even the smallest things had us smiling. You can now see through the ocean and watch Lapras swim with every detail exposed. Unlike the original, where they would bob along a solid blue ocean, environments are stunning with individual leaves and blades of grass rendered on screen and even the lighting can be incredible — especially during a gorgeous underwater section.

We’ve never seen the Pokémon series with this much detail, and this goes beyond just how it presents the Pocket Monsters. Even human characters feel more alive than ever and in brief cutscenes they’re given full voice acting making them feel like more than cut-outs that push the story forward. Every complaint about how the Pokémon series presents itself feels met in New Pokémon Snap; you’ll be getting far closer to Pokémon models than they were probably ever intended to be seen but they still manage to look incredible. This is a world you’ll want to capture from every single angle.
The original game, while still remarkable, was incredibly short and that’s another key area modernised in New Pokémon Snap. Stages are no longer linear one and done affairs and neither are the Pokémon themselves. They squeeze so much out of what they have, almost every single stage has a variant, such as a Day version or a Night version and these are complete with Pokémon in different states or entirely new creatures exclusive to that variant. Then there’s the levelling system: every single stage and variant has its own level and the higher it goes, the more the Pokémon trust you — this essentially means you’ll encounter new Pokémon in new situations the more you revisit levels.

Back on Nintendo 64, I was always really proud when I finally lured Pikachu on top of Articuno and nabbed a nice shot of the two, it’s probably the hardest picture to get in the game... but a simple shot of Pikachu from the second level inexplicably scored higher. This is something the sequel goes a long way to address as each Pokémon is essentially ranked in four completely separate ways. You’ll notice when a Pokémon is evaluated it falls into one of four stars, these aren’t ratings but rather different scenarios a picture can fall into. It’s different for every Pokémon but one star is usually just the creature in a mellow state, two stars is often them munching on a Flufffruit, and so on and so forth.
This not only largely addresses our issue of one action being stronger than another even if it’s more mundane, but essentially multiplies the total number of Pokémon to photograph by four. If you’re going for 100%, you can’t just submit one photo of Wailord — you have to find out how to get him in each Star State. So not only are there level variants, but there are Pokémon variants too. It's vast. This is where the game’s at its strongest, when you have everything unlocked and you freely choose to return to previous levels to learn them inside and out. There’s so much to do and it can be incredibly rewarding.
However, there are times where replayability feels forced rather than earned and these moments can bring the pacing down severely. Every time you visit a new region you’ll find yourself without an Illumina Orb — these essentially replace Pester Balls from the original and open up new ways to interact with Pokémon and the environment. In order to obtain them you need to take a picture of an Illuminated plant hidden in each course — not the worst hurdle but it does feel a little draining to constantly lose a key action whenever you progress further.
What’s more frustrating is when progression halts without a clear way to keep pushing forward. Characters will occasionally appear in the hub offering a slight hint, but there were certain times where we simply didn’t have an indication of where we were meant to be going and the answer was usually just to aimlessly play stages again. It feels like the game wants to stretch itself further when it has no need to; these levels are fun to revisit organically but it's just frustrating if it's forced.
While a low point when you're in the moment, these are mere road bumps in the grand picture and New Pokémon Snap truly shines when you’re left to your own devices trying to fill out the PhotoDex. These Pokémon interactions are some of the very best in the entire franchise and it doesn’t play favourites when it comes to generations. You’ll find iconic creatures like Caterpie and Squirtle but you’ll also see Bidoof, Scorbunny, Pikipek — even Meganium made it onto the box art, a Gen 2 starter! This feels like a true celebration of the franchise at large and there’s bound to be an interaction that sticks with every fan regardless of when they grew up or got into the series.

Even though there’s more Pokémon and they’re more fleshed out than ever, we still ended up missing a pretty crucial interaction from the original: evolutions. Do you remember knocking Charmeleon into a fiery pit and watching a Charizard come roaring out? Or watching a Slowpoke get a Shellder stuck on its tail evolve into Slowbro just like in the anime? These are either absent from the new game or so minor that even with a near complete Dex we’ve not seen a single instance of it. They certainly do a lot with the Pokémon they have, but we still ended up missing this greatly.
It’s a shame there’s a few blemishes on the package because at its core this is exactly the game we expected after a two decade wait. It’s taken the original concept and run wild with technical jumps and replayability. It’s going to take you a long time to do everything and we mean a long time. There’s even a request system where the professor and his assistants will ask for special photos in return for editing filters — these occasionally provide hints on how to nab new Pokémon or enable new interactions but sometimes it’s just a specific picture they want. Although this comes with a minor problem too.

One request asked us to take a picture of a Pokémon eating fruit in a special way, the only problem being that we had already taken this picture before the request came in and this wasn’t acknowledged by the game. We could go back and take it again, but during that round we managed to encounter the Pokémon in a star tier we hadn't encountered before... so do we submit a picture we already have to fulfil a request or submit a new Pokémon Star we need? It’s frustrating that this had to come up at all.
The original game allowed you visit a Blockbuster and print out your pictures to show your mum, but we’re in a very different world now — the social world. New Pokémon Snap is absolutely going to have a prominent place on social media and there’s plenty of tools to make your snaps even better. After submitting your pictures for scoring, you can go back through every shot you’ve taken and “re-snap” them, essentially meaning you get to go back to a frozen point in time and move the camera around at a limited pace to get an even better shot. It may sound like cheating but you won’t get any extra points, it’s purely for looks. You can even adjust the depth of field and then separately spruce your pictures up with filters, stickers and borders. It’s pretty extensive stuff, and if you have the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link you can still print pictures out to show your mum.

There are areas we wish were tighter but when we're revisiting our favourite levels and seeing Pokémon in more depth than we ever have before, a lot of those shortcomings end up being forgotten. We waited 22 years for New Pokémon Snap and at its core it manages to deliver. There are two decades' worth of new elements — with some of the best visuals on Switch, some of the cutest interactions in the franchise — and we’re living in the perfect age to show it all off. This is more than just a photography game; it’s a reminder of why we fell in love with Pokémon in the first place, and that they’re more than just creatures for battle.
Conclusion
If, like us, you've been waiting a significant chunk of your life for a sequel to Pokémon Snap, then you're in luck; New Pokémon Snap brings back almost everything that made the original special and fleshes it out into a much more elaborate game. This is something you can sink some serious time into and while there are some minor frustrations and pacing issues in the story, playing freely at your own pace is a pure joy. The original has gone down in history possibly as Pokémon's greatest spinoff, and it may have just been dethroned.
Comments 96
Meanwhile, the Game Freak graphics department:
"Write that down, write that down!"
I haven't played the original and I'm very excited for this!
I'll def be adding this to my endlessly growing backlog of games.
@Tulio517 same here
How old would a kid need to be to understand and play this game? Looks interesting...
Looking forward to Friday!
It's good to hear that it's not as short as the original which was it's biggest flaw.
I got the game for my daughter and can't wait to see her reaction cause she was talking about this for weeks.
Question, can i take a snapshot of their butt from behind ? 😆
I’m now more excited for my copy to arrive!
@Anti-Matter Please tell me it's for artistic references.
Still on the fence about this despite loving the original. Maybe I'll wait for the inevitable Bandai sale.
Ah good. Glad it turned out well. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the review.
getting this for my nephew, but I'll be giving it a thorough pawing through first
I think I'll wait for a sale, I love the franchise but this doesn't title feel like an essential title. How many levels does it have?
@Kalmaro

I've been pretty disappointed with most directions that the Pokemon series has taken in recent years but Pokemon Snap remains my favourite spinoff and Bandai Namco seem to have put a fair amount of effort and polish into this so I'll be getting it at launch.
@Crockin I really hope you mean the game.
@nessisonett,
Close to the bone, but harmless.
Read a few reviews of this and it sounds great, but does anyone know how long the game is?
Awesome. Can't wait to pop this baby into my Switch.
@FredsBodyDouble I can’t speak for this one but I played the original when I was 4 or 5 and it was one of the most fun games I could possibly play with my family. I’ve never had an attachment to Pokemon before or since Snap 64 but damn does it hold a special place in my heart
I hope that they add in evolutions at a later date; will be nice to flesh out the replayability. Regardless, this is a day 1 buy for me. the original is one of my favourite games on the N64.
@Kasma It will probably depend on if you want to 100% everything or just unlock the final stage. There's currently no indication on average playthroughs, so your guess is as good as mine.
@Tulio517 def play the original, it's pretty great. Might as well be pokemon safari the game lol.
Nope. Not forking over for this. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Buy....
No labo camera support?that's a huge wasted opportunity.
@FredsBodyDouble
Yeah my son was 5-6 or so when I bought the original back when it released. It should be fun for any child old enough to play on a Switch. On the original game, there were several Pokemon that required faster reflexes and special requirements to capture a pic of. But there were plenty of easier ones that are right along the "path"
@FredsBodyDouble I played the original when I was 8 or 9 I think, and I loved it immensely.
I wonder how long it takes to beat it. The review says ambiguously "a long time" but does that mean 60 hours? Maybe 30? I would like to know how long incase I decide to buy used.
Will likely get this for my godson for his 7th birthday in September, he's a Pokemon fan, and I've run out of Labo sets to buy him.
For me, well it still seems like a "photo mode" that should be part of a mainline Pokemon game. I like taking pics, but I'm not paying $60 to ONLY take pics. Well unless they add support for Labo VR, then I'd pick it up, that would be pretty cool, and I'd get use my Labo VR again. It really needs to support the Labo camera, that shouldn't be too hard.
Is it wrong if I find this much more appealing than any mainline pokemon games?
Personally, I think the Stadium series were the best spin offs, including colosseum, XD, BR
@PBNightmare With it being Nintendo, and Pokemon. Even with a Bandaid sale, it won't be less than $60.
The fact that this has lots of content has me seriously considering getting it, that was my main concern with the game, have many great memories of the original on N64 and still have the cart and box too. Definitely getting this at some point.
@Kalmaro Don't ask about his fetishes as he already clutters up the forum with it.
Mildly disappointed about the lack of evolutions, but it otherwise looks too good to ignore. I'm excited to get started!
Can't wait for this
@jump I feel like there should be rules about keeping things SFW.
I feel like a legitimate piece of the switch magic of 2017 was that Nintendo was firing on all cylinders and doing the things we'd wanted to see from them. Things that remembered their history but also innovated and surprised us (with the exception of Breath of the wild 0/10 obviously)
And Pokemon Snap is some of that magic returning. I'm so excited, I've been excited about it for 22 years
Do the pokemon have variation in their AI? Like will they move different with each playthrough, otherwise it would be boring
Geez I forgot Jon is now in Nintendo Life!
I’m getting it for my offsprings birthday, and based on this review I’m looking forward to it as well
Good to hear that there's seemingly more reasons to revisit stages this time, unlike in the original where you can practically finish everything in one stage on one lazy trip.
That said, as good as this looks, I'll be thinking about this one. I'm being frugal with my gaming purchases.
Can’t get it this month but looking forward to picking it up in a month or two. Need another chill game.
Seems like a rental kind of game for me but that’s just me looks great.
Been asking for a sequel for this for years and it finally happened. Can’t wait to get it.
@Alienfreaks04 no and yes. They follow the same scripted paths on each run, BUT:
It's kind of like light puzzling mixed in with a photo safari. If the Pokémon did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted every time you revisited the same setting, then if you'd just missed a fantastic interaction the run before, you'd be out of luck until the RNG Gods smiled on you. Random encounters certainly have their place, but in a game like this they'd somewhat reduce effort and patience to luck.
This will be the first Pokémon game I’ve bought since silver!
Oh yea I bought X but didn’t get into it:/
What's the Frame rate????
I'm really looking forward to this and it helps that my son who is 4 is just starting to get into playing ganes with me, so I think we're in for a great time
@pepepopo surely you mean shutter speed?
This'll be a purchase down the line. I enjoyed playing the original game on the Wii U VC a few years ago and am glad to read New Pokemon Snap has a decent amount of content; the length was my main complaint about the first game.
Massively looking forward to this. Sorry Monster Hunter, but I predict this will be all my free time for a while!
Looks and sounds like a terrible game. I don't know why anyone would want to buy this it play it? Tedium: The Game!
As someone who never played the original, I was on the fence about getting this, and the voice acting is kind of awful.
I remember being so bummed out as a kid that the N64 emulator on my PC always crashed on Pokemon Snap 😄. Uh i mean, luckily i had a legal copy, lots of legal copies and tons of N64s to play it with though, yup, so i wasn't missing out, not at all, no, not me, nuh uh.
Anyway, considering Pokemon Sword and Shield weren't much fun for me anymore, i suppose i outgrew the series or something 😕. Would still like to give this a spin though, maybe it rekindles the magic somewhat.
@FredsBodyDouble Judging by my experience with the original, old enough to read. Unless you could be there and read some of the dialogue to them. I'm sure after one run through even if they can't read, they could probably recall enough to go through again. It's also worth noting that this is something they could go back to years later. (Source: I was 4 when I played the original.)
@Randomname19 yes but who actually still plays labo
I don’t mind trying to find out how to move onto to the next level, that’s how the original game was and it encourages exploration and tinkering with the world. Other than the lack of evolutions, this is pretty much everything I’ve wanted a sequel for Snap to be.
Super excited for Friday!
@sikthvash Oh for the love of
Just take this like and go 😩
@LXP8 mystery dungeon hands down for me
@Absol @LXP8 Seconding what Absol said. Mystery dungeon is my JAM.
Don’t like Pokemon, totes buying it. Same as the original.
Good stuff, definitely picking this up in the future.
@NintendoCopium I do.but i'm aware i'm in the minority.
I preordered, I missed the first game because I didn't have a N64 at the time so I'm glad this one is even better. I hope it gets some post launch content updates if its popular that will add replay value
If I played this I probably wouldn't recognize more than half the Pokemon. Back in my day there was still only 150 of the critters.
I think Bandai Namco just proved that they should be running the show and not GameFreak.
Bandai Namco made a better looking game than the developers that have been making pokemon since the 90s. If that doesn't sting I don't know what does.
This is nice and all but a Pokémon Pinball would be fantastic.
Any word on the fps?
Looking forward to playing this. Pre-ordered just yesterday as I wanted to see the reviews first.. It seems like a very solid game. Just a couple more days.
@Ironcore That was only ever just a rumor. There's never going to be a Pokemon first person shooter game...
It’s the best looking Pokémon game because it’s not made by Gamefreak.
@sikthvash You sir, made a brilliant comment.
Sounds like yet another Switch game that's fine for around £20-£30, but not the ridiculous £50 Nintendo are charging for it.
No, the greatest Pokémon spinoff is "XD: Gale of Darkness" (with "Colosseum" naturally in 2nd place).
I wonder if there will be DLC.
Thank you Stephen Fry for the review.
I wouldn't play this game even if you payed me to do so.
@DaDebbil I'll give 20 bucks if you play New Pokemon Snap.
@jump No sale....
Really on the fence about this. Looking for a chilled out game lately, and I love Pokemon, but I wonder if this game will feel too limited for me. I like the idea but I do think it's a shame you can't freely roam around the areas. I think that would have sold it for me. Perhaps I'd be better off getting Animal Crossing to scratch that itch instead!
Nice review and nice score! The video review doesn't mention the most important thing though: There seem to be more then 200 Pokemon in the game!
So its a meaty game, that's what I needed to hear! Game looks very nice and the original was pretty fun the times that I rented it. So yeah, ordered!
@fireflydrake that is a very good response, thank you!
@ThanosReXXX Imagine someone modded this to be a doom style shooter lol
I'll stick with Judgment and Returnal. But some kids will have their joy with this overpriced on rails photo game.
@Ironcore I'd reckon they would not last very long before both Nintendo's AND Game Freak's lawyer ninjas would have a go at them...
Looks pretty and I hope future mainline games can go this route but I'm a hard pass on Pokemon Snap. I really didn't like the first one and this just seems like more of that.
@Randomname19 Nintendo LABO is dead. No point wasting precious development time and resources on it.
@DaDebbil me neither looks weird
Never played the original back in the day, and this isn't my thing, but my wife is nuts over Pokemon Snap and has been anxiously waiting for this game. At least it looks better than Sword and Shield.
How long does it take to beat this game? Not necessarily 100% completion.
That's probably my biggest factor on whether I want to pay full price for it or not. Especially because this year I got the original Pokémon Snap again.
Kinda hope its longer than the last game... probably still will pick up the game later since I am saving up for a pc
Seems cool, just wish I had Switch!
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