New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks

Six simple tips and tricks for New Pokemon Snap beginners to boost their scores and stars as they start out in the Lental region.

While real-world lentils are packed with nutrients, New Pokemon Snap’s Lental region is brimming with brilliant creatures instead. It’s a charming, chilled out title, but can prove overwhelming at first. To help you get started, we’ve rounded up six key New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks for each time you venture out in the Neo-One.

New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks

New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks
 
© Nintendo

You’ll discover your own style for Pokemon photography as you spend more time in the game, but the New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks below will get you well on the path to packing your Photodex with top-notch snaps.

Tip #1: Take your time

It might sound silly for a game that’s on rails, but it’s actually very easy to get overwhelmed in New Pokemon Snap. There are so many Pokemon shooting around in each and every level that your first few runs can turn into a frenzy of photos, none of which turn out very well. You’ll do far better if you focus on a few targets in each run, replaying the level to check out different areas and interactions. There’s no limit to how many times you can play a level, so don’t stress about capturing everything in one go. You’ll need several runs anyway to capture multiple star ratings.

Tip #2: Take lots of photos 

You’re limited to 72 shots per level and if you use them all then the run will end immediately. However, it’s extremely rare that you’ll expend your full set of film, so don’t be afraid to get snap happy. When looking at a new Pokemon or trying to capture a rarer ability, take as many photos as you can to try and capture that perfect shot. You’re here to take photos, so go wild! Even if you do run out, you can hit retry at the end menu to hop straight back into the course. 

New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks
 
© Nintendo

Tip #3: Use all your abilities all the time

The main tools you’ll unlock to interact with in New Pokemon Snap are Fluffruit, Illumina Orbs, and the Neo-One’s Melody function. You should use them almost constantly. Pestering Pokemon constantly with tossed orbs and fruit might sound mean, but you’re actively encouraged to do so by the game. As the key story feature of the game, Illumina Orbs are particularly important when it comes to discovering many of the 4-Star actions for many Pokemon. There are a few times in which fruit or orbs will scare Pokemon off, but for the most past you should be tossing out balls faster than a professional pitcher.

Tip #4: Focus on Size, Direction, and Placement for scoring

When you’re aiming to get high scores for your Photodex, it’s tempting to try and maximize every little feature you can for the perfect Pokemon photo. We’ve got a full breakdown of the scoring system here, but a few categories are more important than others early on. The easiest way to reach Diamond ratings on your photodex photos is to focus on Size, Direction, and Placement. The former score goes up to 2,000, meaning a well-timed photo will get you halfway there on size alone. For Direction and Placement, ensure your target is looking at you and in the dead center of the shot.

Beginners tips new pokemon snap
 
© Nintendo

Tip #5: Take photos of Crystablooms in each area

You’ll unlock new courses by exploring each available level, but this New Pokemon Snap tip will help you make the most of each zone. In the opening areas you’ll be guided explicitly through unlocking the Illumina Orb in the Founja Jungle area. After that, however, the game won’t remind you very often. To unlock the Illumina Spot for each zone, make sure you take photos of the Crystabloom flowers to add them to your photodex. That will trigger Professor Mirror to craft the new Illumina Orb for you. It sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget!

Tip #6: Check your requests

As you unlock new research levels and areas, you'll receive request from Mirror, Rita, Phil, and Todd. You can check these from the main Research Park menu by tapping Y and selecting All Requests. These are a great way to direct which course should return to next, and several also include new stickers, banners, or other rewards for putting in the time. Once you've captured the main photos of each Pokemon on a course, requests will help you uncover some rarer interactions as well, so don't forget to fill them out or complete them afterwards.

Those are all the New Pokemon Snap tips and tricks for beginners that we've got. For more guides and content covering the game, you'll definitely want to point your camera towards our hub page. Good luck filling that Photodex!

Associate Editor

Henry Stenhouse serves an eternal punishment as the Associate Editor of AllGamers. He spent his younger life studying the laws of physics, even going so far as to complete a PhD in the subject before video games stole his soul. Confess your love of Super Smash Bros. via email at henry@moonrock.biz, or catch him on Twitter.

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