In New Pokemon Snap, Professor Mirror is in charge of grading your photographs while you carry out research on the strange Illumina phenomenon. He awards you with Expedition Points. What are they, and what does your Research Level mean?
After over 20 years, the beloved 1999 photography game has finally returned with New Pokemon Snap. With plenty of fresh locations and over 200 monsters to capture, the Nintendo Switch title greatly improves upon the original.
One of the new features is your Research Level, which you must increase with Expedition Points while studying the Lental region and its Illumina anomaly for Professor Mirror, the area’s dedicated scientist.
Expedition Points in New Pokemon Snap
In order to research the oddity, the Professor tasks you with riding around the Lental region in your NEO-ONE travel pod to take photographs of monsters in their natural habitat, during both day and nighttime.
When you return from a course, the scientist grades your snapshots depending on a variety of factors. How well is the subject centered in the shot? Is it performing a rare pose? Are there any other ‘mon in the frame? There’s a lot that goes into it!
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Photos range from being a one-star to four-star, and the higher the overall grade, the more Expedition Points you’ll be rewarded. The points, which are are unique to each course and don’t carry over, tally up to increase your Research Level.
How does Research Level work in New Pokemon Snap?
As mentioned above, Expedition Points and Research Level are unique to each course. The more points you get for your snapshots in a location, the more that stage’s level increases.
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Different ‘mon show up at both daytime and nighttime, so it’s worth running through a course multiple times to see what new discoveries you can make – you never know what you’ll find.
Once you hit a certain threshold, new paths and areas open up, giving you access to Pokemon you might not have seen before, or monsters performing new actions which net you an even better score when photographed.
The feature builds upon the 1999 N64 game, which had a similar system of unlocking new routes and levels by performing certain actions like throwing a Squirtle at a Mankey to open up a new river path. So although new, the game promises to be nostalgic for veteran fans.
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New Pokemon Snap releases on April 30 on Nintendo Switch. For news, guides, and more, keep it locked to Dexerto and follow our dedicated Twitter account: @PokemonSwordNS.
