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The opening hours of Pokémon Legends Z-A are dull. Its painfully slow pace buries the lede on an otherwise interesting world. However, as you explore, you’ll start to find a refreshing array of bold, genuinely innovative ideas. The quality of the execution varies, but, despite these drawbacks, I enjoyed my time with the latest installment in Nintendo’s legendary monster catching RPG series. While Pokémon Legends Z-A often misses the mark (and screams out for voice acting), the game is bolder, brighter and more captivating for its ambition.
The city of Lumiose presents one of the most immersive and engaging cities seen in a Pokémon game. Pokémon Legends Z-A’s central locale is packed full of vibrant people and Pokémon. This is the closest Game Freak has come to fully realizing the world of Pokémon as it exists in the collective unconscious of inner children worldwide. The combat and catching mechanics are more fun than ever, with a focus on creating a seamless transition between wandering and battling.
Checking in while checking out
Throughout Pokémon Legends Z-A there’s a drip feed of interesting ideas, despite a clunky and dull tutorial. The wild zones are the standout here, acting as distinct areas to catch and battle Pokémon within the city. These replace ‘routes’ in other games but still feel mechanically grounded, playing a significant role in the story and worldbuilding on offer.
The people of Lumiose have very differing opinions on wild zones. Some are happy to share their town with Pokémon while others see them as dangerous blights on the city. For the first time since Black and White, human and Pokémon relations are back front and center.
The main story is a contradictory beast. One moment, it will slow to a crawl amid cookie-cutter anime cutscenes which pad playtime. The next moment, a character from X and Y will return, or a delightful twist will emerge, renewing your interest. The main questline is a seesaw of interesting ideas and contrived reasons to battle which just about errs on the side of charming.
Population study
The city of Lumiose is the most realized city to date in a Pokémon game. However, given that it is the only area to explore in the game, anything less than the best would prove dire for Pokémon Legends Z-A’s enduring appeal .
The streets are full of monsters to catch, and NPCs have some occasional nuggets of interesting dialogue. While much of this feels more functional than natural, there is a clear effort from Game Freak to make Lumiose feel like more than just a backdrop.
The city presents no shortage of things to do aside from the wild zones and battle zones. The streets are lined with breakable objects such as mega crystals or roadblocks, and most rooftops are freely accessible. It’s impossible to explore the city without being distracted by a road you haven’t been down before or a parkour section to try.
The parkour, however, is easily the weakest mechanic on offer. Ludicrously, there is no jump button in Pokémon Legends Z-A. This is a devastating omission.
The parkour challenges end up feeling less like satisfying platforming minigames and more like exploits you’ve been forced to wrestle with to gain access to forbidden sections of the level geometry. This is mitigated slightly later in the game with a glide button, but this addition does little to change how rough these sections feel.
Game Freak’s virtual city is stuffed with side quests. These are a very mixed bag, but there are quite a few bright spots here.
One such nugget of luminosity could be found in the form of a fetch quest requiring you to retrieve a ring for an old lady. However, you soon discover that the ring belonged to her late husband and that a Pokémon stole it while she was visiting his grave in a graveyard that now acts as a wild zone. This is fascinating and provided a distinctive and memorable perspective on the less-than-ideal realities of sharing a human population centre with what are, essentially, barely-domesticated super powered animals.
Unfortunately, these sorts of thought-provoking chin scratchers are the exception, not the rule. Most side quests are thinly veiled excuses to go catch a Pokémon or battle. These are often fun in and of themselves, but do not offer a meaningful level of variance or innovation.
Pokémon battle royale
The Pokémon battles themselves are a standout. Battles in Pokémon Legends Z-A occur in real-time, with each move operating on its own independent cooldown. This is near-revolutionary for Pokémon. While players may initially be disappointed at the lack of turn-based combat, the real-time combat quickly proves more than a substitute.
The moves look flashy and feel satisfying to land. The separate cooldowns allow you to chain together combos and buffs, allowing for a greater sense of immediacy than you’d find in Pokémon Legends Z-A’s turn-based cousins. Your trainer can also take damage and is given the ability to dodge roll, adding an additional element of danger and movement to proceedings. Fluidity is the objective here.
This extends to your team, too. The ability to mix and match Pokémon on the fly through an always-accessible box heightens the appeal and enjoyment of catching new critters. The act of catching Pokémon feels incredibly satisfying, providing a clear appeal to completing your Pokédex. As with more formal battles, these encounters take place in real time, giving each attempt to catch a new Pokémon a sense of frantic desperation.
Real-time suits Pokémon Legends Z-A surprisingly well. It’s a breezy, visually appealing realisation of the battles that occurred in our collective imaginations back in Pokémon’s heady early handheld days.
Once night comes, battle zones open across Lumiose. This day-night cycle really helps segment gameplay well. I found myself immersed, attempting to do as much as I could until night fell and battling until day broke.
The gauntlets within the battle zones are simple yet effective offerings. On top of conventional Pokémon trainers to defeat, the format provides small challenges which allow you to earn bonus points, adding a gentle sprinkling of additional complexity.
The game also does well to make the rank-up battles feel far more unique as the game continues. The battles often tie to a character in the main cast and include an enjoyable narrative buildup.
However, this piecemeal approach lacks the dramatic centerpiece served by the elite four boss gaultlets offered by previous Pokémon games. In Pokémon Legends Z-A, the drama is rationed more evenly, but does not crescendo as effectively.
Bigger is better
You can temporarily Mega Evolve a Pokémon of choice if you have the correct Mega Stone equipped and if you’ve gained enough energy in battle (represented by an important looking meter in the bottom right corner of the screen). This adds a simple yet satisfying layer of additional decision making to battles, which are already far more frantic than before thanks to the real-time dynamics at play.
However, Mega Evolution raids are a weak spot for Pokémon Legends Z-A,. The fights are similar to raid battles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, though the rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon tend to target the trainer, keeping the player on their feet.
Unfortunately, these battles demand little strategy. Victory in these engagements is a matter of avoiding attacks and dealing minimal damage until the Mega Evolution meter is filled and you can actually start the fight in earnest. Mega Evolution raids are also mandated by the story and, as such, can feel more like progression blocks than content players may be willing to engage with sincerely.
While undoubtedly the most experimental Pokémon game in recent memory, Pokémon Legends Z-A occasionally suffers as a result of its wilder swings. That said, there is plenty here for longstanding Pokémon fans to enjoy as well as several major innovations.
Pokémon Legends Z-A comes closest to capturing the business and vibrancy of the Pokémon fantasy. Its battles are fast, fluid and reminiscent of the world-famous anime. The streets of Lumiose city, while occasionally flat, feel busy enough to actively promote immersion. Pokémon Legends Z-A is a promise of great things to come for the series, able to stand proudly on its own two feet.
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.
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