How New Pokemon Snap Differs From The Original

It has been more than 20 years since the original "Pokemon Snap" was released for the N64, but fans of the series never forgot the simple enjoyment of watching their favorite Pocket Monsters relaxing in their natural habitats. Many thought they'd never see a sequel, but now it's finally happening. "New Pokemon Snap" is scheduled for release on April 30.

But how different can "New Pokemon Snap" really be from the original? It's still just driving around taking pictures of cuddly monsters lounging under palm trees at the end of the day, right? Well, a lot has changed in the last two decades. There have been huge leaps in graphical fidelity and gameplay. Even the idea of a photography-based video game holds an entirely new meaning in the age of the smartphone. 

Not all of the differences are technical, either. Several of the newer generations of Pokemon have been introduced as well, including rare Illumina Pokemon. Additionally, Gaming Bolt has reported that it's also the first "Pokemon" game to include full voice acting in its cutscenes.

Here's how "New Pokemon Snap" differs from the original.

"New Pokemon Snap" is going to be set in the Lental Region, a new archipelago for you and your camera to explore. The gameplay overview trailer released by Nintendo shows multiple vibrant and detailed locations. 

These biomes not only go far beyond those available on Pokemon Island in 1999's "Pokemon Snap," but these islands also have much more complex terrain than what was available in the more recent "Pokemon Sword/Shield," as well. The video shows foggy woods, open plains, barren deserts, dense forests, sunny beaches, and an underwater coral reef. And of course, all of these areas are full to the brim with Pokemon for you to immortalize with your camera.

Raising your research level by capturing more pictures can unlock new paths too, making it so each of these areas will show different kinds of Pokemon exhibiting different behaviors depending on what time of day you go and what path you take.

You will be able to traverse the various islands in the game thanks to the NEO-ONE, a shielded hovercraft/submarine hybrid that will make you look back at the quaint ZERO-ONE all terrain trike from the first game the way Tony Stark looks at that first Iron Man suit he made out of scrap metal.

In order to make the game, the developers were forced to winnow down the pool of nearly 900 available Pokemon to a more manageable 200. That's still a fair amount more than the 63 varieties available in the original "Pokemon Snap," and the new game has more ways to interact with all of them.

The 1999 game had Apples, Pester Balls and a Pokéflute for you to use in order to provoke different reactions from your photography subjects. "New Pokemon Snap" will feature Fluff Fruit (which are apparently different from apples, even though they look exactly like apples), which will allow you to lure out hiding Pokemon and get them to hold still long enough for you to get a decent shot. The new game has also introduced a new invention, Illumina Orbs. These fancy looking blue orbs make the Pokemon you hit with them glow and "radiate with life energy," making for even better shots. 

IGN reported another feature in the publication's first peak at the new title's gameplay, explaining, "The presenter used the new scan feature to attract the attention of a Corsola and a Pyukumuku, causing them both to cheer and wave excitedly as we passed by."

Courtesy of the game's Professor Mirror, photos will also now be ranked on a scale of 1-4 stars, based on the rarity of your subject's poses.

You could take a lot of fun and interesting photos of Pokemon in the original "Snap," but there wasn't a whole lot you could do with them once you had them. A modern audience expects a certain degree of photo customization, and "New Pokemon Snap" delivers.

You can now edit settings like brightness, blur and focus, as well as use several prefabricated filters. There are also several stickers and frames available for further customization of your favorite shots.

Players with a Nintendo Switch Online membership can share their photos with other players on the internet. These players will also be able to see their total Photodex score and Research Expedition scores in the global rankings, along with everyone else playing "New Pokemon Snap" online.

Unlike the original game, players can now take their favorite photos with them, outside of the game world. Nintendo has also partnered with Fujifilm to create an app for the Switch, which allows players to send in-game photos to their smartphone and then print them on their new "instax mini Link" smartphone printer.