While New Pokémon Snap‘s runtime has been brought into question, there’s no denying that plenty of thought has gone into designing the game’s twelve different environments. There’s a ton of variety in New Pokémon Snap, from mystic forests to lively volcanoes. Some areas are simply visually stunning while others stand out for reasons related to their gameplay.
New Pokémon Snap‘s locations have a wide variety of alternate paths, diverging routes and secrets to uncover. Players are going to spend a lot of time in each area if they want to locate some of the game’s better-hidden secrets and while all twelve locations are a ton of fun to spend time in, some are far more enjoyable than others. From worst to best, how all twelve areas in New Pokémon Snap compare.
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12. Blushing Beach
Blushing Beach is available to traverse both during the day and the night, though its night variation is unlocked a little later into the game. This is a densely populated beach that has a huge amount of Pokémon to discover, with many of this map’s creatures being from the first two Pokémon generations. There aren’t too many well-hidden secrets on this map, and while the night variation does offer some new Pokémon to snap photos of, the path stays mostly the same with only a single alternate route.
Blushing Beach is wonderful for fans of tropical environments and is an excellent way to transition between the jungle and ocean segments of the Maricopia Islands. However, it can often feel somewhat samey, lacking some of the features that help those locations stand out. Blushing Beach has a great environmental feel that could have been more enjoyable to spend more time in.
11. Maricopia Reef
Unlocked after Blushing Beach, Maricopia Reef feels like an extension of the previous level. Some similar Pokémon also appear, including Pikachu, Wingfull, Machamp, and Lapras. That being said, Maricopia Reef is an incredibly colorful location that’s tons of fun to travel through. The area even has some of New Pokémon Snap‘s more memorable encounters, including seeing the massive Wailord up close and encountering one of the game’s many Mythical Pokémon.
The big difference between the day and evening variations of Maricopia Reef is the kind of Pokémon that players can run into. The evening variation stands out due to a fun Primarina encounter and the ability to find Manaphy, once the game’s main story has been completed. Manaphy does require a little puzzle-solving to make appear, though it’s relatively easy compared to other Mythical and Legendary Pokémon. A nice, easy feeling is a good way to describe Maricopia Reef as a whole.
10. Sweltering Sands
Sweltering Sands is part of Voluca Island and consists of a massive desert with a small oasis marking the map’s mid-point. Sweltering Sands feels incredibly unique for a desert level, despite the map’s environment mainly featuring sand, dunes and the occasional cactus. A lot of this uniqueness is thanks to the area’s requests and special encounters that players can find. One request of note is having to snap a single picture of all seven Minior color variations, giving players a really unique night-sky photo-op.
The night variant of Sweltering Sands really helps this course stand out. The Pokémon and behaviors in this area take advantage of Sweltering Sands’ simple design, featuring plenty of colorful displays that are beautifully accented by the map’s clear blue night sky. The previously mentioned Minior are of particular note, as is a Flygon that players can catch using the move Dragon Dance.
9. Research Camp
Research Camp is a unique stage, as it is technically a variation of Florio Nature Park. However, it’s unique enough to be discussed on its own, which is in part due to the concept behind this area. Players take a trip through Professor Mirror’s lab and the surrounding area to get some close-ups of some otherwise hard-to-spot Pokémon. The map’s biggest downside is that it’s incredibly short, with no new Pokémon or paths to unlock.
There is a new starting location that players can use once they progress through New Pokémon Snap enough, but this isn’t doesn’t give access to any new locations or Pokémon. The Research Camp is an incredibly short area, though this is in part due to it being treated as a bonus area rather than part of the main game. Nevertheless, it’s a fun concept for a level that stands out from other environments in the game.
8. Florio Nature Park
The first location in New Pokémon Snap does a wonderful job showcasing the right strengths of the game while making some notable references to the original Nintendo 64 title. Florio Nature Park has players traverse through a savanna-like environment, taking pictures of such recognizable Pokémon as Dodrio, Pidgeot, Taillow and Wurmple. There’s also a solid variation in environments, with players traversing through open fields, small patches of trees and even a small pond.
Florio Nature Park showcases two of the biggest features in New Pokémon Snap incredibly well. Players will quickly learn how interacting with Pokémon can help them capture new photos or even unlock new routes. The area’s night variation also does a great job showcasing how events from an earlier variation can impact Pokémon’s behaviors in later ones too. Florio Nature Park’s Illumina Spot is also worth mentioning, due to the impact of seeing an Illumina Pokémon for the first time.
7. Founja Jungle
While Florio Nature Park hearkens back to the original Pokémon Snap, Founja Jungle has one of the most direct call-backs with the Mythical Pokémon that appears here. Players who want to track down Mew will find its behavior to be almost identical to how it appeared in the original game’s Rainbow Cloud map. Outside of that cool call-back, Founja Jungle is dense with colorful Pokémon to photograph.
Founja Jungle also introduces players to the concept of maps having several different paths, with two branching routes that each have their own draws for traversing. The second alternate route is especially worth mentioning. After players unlock it at Research Level three, they can take this path to traverse through a visually stunning waterfall. The night variation even has its own unique alternate paths, including one that takes players through a swamp.
6. Ruins of Remembrance
Serving as the final area in New Pokémon Snap, the Ruins of Remembrance seem relatively simple when compared to the game’s other areas. The only alternate path on this level takes players to the Illumina Spot variation, which also serves as the only variation for the Ruins of Remembrance. However, what makes this area noteworthy is the sheer number of unique Pokémon that populate this mythic location.
Umbreon, Absol, Golurk and Houndoom are some of the Pokémon that players can expect to find here, and that’s not including the two more notable encounters. On the map’s main path, players can run into the Mythical Pokémon Jirachi several times. The Illumina Spot is also home to the Legendary Pokémon Xerneas, which helps gives the Ruins of Remembrance a reputation worthy of a final level, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the original game’s Rainbow Cloud.
5. Outaway Cave
Outway Cave is a beautiful environment to traverse, serving as a welcomed break from the more wide-open maps that populate the game. Instead of being themed around a particular type of Pokémon, Outaway Cave features a notable blend of different types. The three different alternate routes to traverse also help the map feel just as open and expansive as the outdoor environments in the game.
The Pokémon selection at Outaway Cave leads to some great encounters and feels just as robust as other maps. The map can be a little too heavy on shades of purple, though the occasional brightly-colored crystal helps to remedy this. The only real complaint with Outaway Cave is that its Mythical Pokémon encounter can feel somewhat lackluster compared to others, as Diancie is pretty simple to find.
4. Fireflow Volcano
Fans of Fire type Pokémon will no doubt love Fireflow Volcano. Fan-favorites like Monferno, Aerodactyl, Charmander and Charizard can appear in this tropical volcano-themed level that hearkens back to one of the levels from the original Pokémon Snap. Fireflow Volcano has one variation and only one alternate route that takes players inside the volcano itself to photograph some powerful Pokémon, though this level’s true draw is the Legendary bird that appears during the post-game.
Ho-Oh can be found on Fireflow Volcano and perhaps has one of the most enjoyable encounters. Once players beat the game, Ho-Oh can be spotted in the skies at a pretty far distance. Getting a close-up of this Johto Legendary requires taking the alternate path and tracking down three Rainbow Feathers. This scavenger hunt leads to a great payoff with Ho-Oh finally getting close enough for a much better picture.
3. Lental Seafloor
One of the better sea-related maps in New Pokémon Snap is Lental Seafloor. Lental Seafloor has a ton of Pokémon to track down. While many of them appear in the other two water environments, there is still plenty of unique Pokémon that can only be found deep under the sea, with Pokémon like Lanturn and Tentacruel helping to give Lental Seafloor an almost other-worldly feel.
Lental Seafloor also has plenty of alternate paths and secret areas to uncover. The Lental Seafloor’s secret area is also one of the more stylistically presented ones that fit its dormant Legendary Pokémon, Lugia. Lental Seafloor stands out due to its design, giving the photos taken here a majestic feel.
2. Shiver Snowfields
Shiver Snowfields tend to be most New Pokémon Snap fans’ favorite area, and it’s easy to see why. The snow-covered design of this area looks beautiful and matches the many ice-type Pokémon that populate the map. Shiver Snowfields also showcases how New Pokémon Snap showcases a living and breathing ecosystem, where Pokémon interact with each other in ways unique to the game.
Shiver Snowfield ends on an amazing high-note as well with two unlockable secret paths that require players to swap between both the day and night versions of the map in order to unlock them. The reward for this complicated unlock pattern is a well-designed encounter with the Legendary Pokémon Suicune, with players able to encounter it on either version of the map.
1. Elsewhere Forest
With a little bit of everything that makes the other maps memorable, Elsewhere Forest is one of the most notable areas in New Pokémon Snap. The forest environment gives off an enchanted feeling that fits with the selection of Pokémon that can appear there. Pokémon has had a long history of mysterious forests that hold some kind of otherworldly secret, but Elsewhere Forest takes this design to a totally new level.
Players can find themselves in a huge variety of environments as they progress through Elsewhere Forest’s alternate paths. Each unique area is themed around a different season, giving Elsewhere Forest the impression of the seasons changing as they progress. It also helps that many fan-favorite Pokémon like Gardevoir have some incredibly memorable encounters.
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