—Pokémon Legends: Z-A is one of those games from The Pokémon Company that is bolder and brasher, using the existing formula and doing something new with it. It’s no surprise, given my recent posts on Bluesky and the Creature Cast, that I’ve moved on from the traditional format Pokémon typically bring, especially considering how Scarlet and Violet performed on the Switch until recently.
With that in mind, Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a reimagining that reignited my love for the series. It might’ve done some weird time travel snafu with its story, but the real-time-ish battle and capture mechanics convinced me the developers were interested in trying new things for a series that hit a plateau (but not the Indigo Plateau).
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Brings Us Back To Kalos
I enjoyed Arceus, but it wasn’t the game I’d hoped for. It focused on exploring the ancient Sinnoh and capturing over battles. That was a breath of fresh air at the time, and despite my excitement, I needed a bit more from the series. Pokémon Legends: Z-A effectively threads the needle and stitches together an excellent campaign that brings the core experience to the forefront, which pays off spectacularly.
Set around Lumiose City, a sixth-generation return for those who played Pokémon X & Y on the Nintendo 3DS. This time, you can explore the city with new visuals and presentation, like in the most recent Switch entries. Currently, the city is undergoing an urban redevelopment plan that will enable humans and Pokémon to coexist more than ever before. As a new trainer, you’ll meet your starter Pokémon with a mix-up lineup from the Sinnoh and Johto regions, including Tepig, Totodile, and Chikorita. Together, you’ll go on an adventure.
The central narrative alternates between unravelling the secret behind Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and climbing the competitive Battle Royale ladder known as the Z-A Royale. Each story beat introduces the player to new Lumiose City factions such as the aristocratic Society of Bleue Café, the criminal Rust Syndicate, and the martial arts-inclined Fist of Justice.
The protagonist arrives in Lumiose as a newcomer swept into a vortex of problems, including faction rivalries and the mysterious phenomenon of Rogue Mega Evolutions. In a shocking move, the story you’ll experience isn’t the same every game in the series tells, and there’s a mature narrative to enjoy without as much handholding. It’s also refreshing to have a more intimate setting after previously having open worlds where there’s too much noise. The focus on Lumiose is probably the smartest thing Game Freak has done in this entry, but it still lacks in detail when exploring the city. You won’t notice this samey feeling until later on, when buildings start to blur together and look the same. Sure, there are rooftops, parks, and other places, but they’re not all that unique or distinct.
The Z-A Tournament is a city-spanning event you’ll enjoy participating in. To rank up, you need to earn a Challenger’s Ticket by earning Ticket Points. Beginning at Rank Z, trainers battle their way to Rank A, where only the strongest trainers thrive. Rumour has it that an in-game wish is granted if you reach the top rank. You begin by raising your rank, which means the local factions within Lumiose City. Progress is intimately tied to the Z-A Royale, serving as the traditional gym battle badge structure from previous games.
Real-time Battles
The battle system is probably the most significant departure, even from Arceus. Now, battles play out in real-time with no need to wait like in previous games. Instead of selecting a move and watching a static animation of your partner, battles happen on the spot. I’m in the “let’s make the series battles real-time” camp, so I wish we’d see a similar shift in mainline games. That said, yes, I do enjoy the round-based battles we’ve seen for years, but it’s not hard to see why real-time seems like the natural evolution the series sorely needs.
Battles feel entirely recontextualized in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. You can bait Pokémon with items and dodge attacks while dealing with skittish or aggressive wild monsters. Positioning yourself is crucial to success because your partner’s moves determine how close or far they must be to their opponent to connect. Moves no longer require PP and now use a cooldown timer to track, so you know when you can act once more.
To catch new Pokémon, players can go to Wild Zones, constructed, sealed-off areas where wild Pokémon live on their own. Like in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you can catch Pokémon with just your Poké Ball, without the need for your partner Pokémon to weaken them and see. That doesn’t always work, as when you enter battle, you call your Pokémon and battle them in the game’s new real-time battle gameplay. Although there is no turn-based system this time around, moves take time to recharge. As you earn experience, your Pokémon will evolve too. Additionally, like in Pokémon X & Y, Mega Evolution makes a return, helping you climb the ranks of the game’s Z-A Battle Royale mode.
The return of Mega Evolution is a highlight. You now deal with Rogue Mega Evolved monsters, and they’re often chaotic encounters. Throughout battle, a meter fills as attacks land; once charged and with the requisite Mega Stone, trainers can trigger transformation for substantial boosts in stats and access to ultra-powered attacks. Mega Evolution in Z-A not only modernizes an older mechanic but also integrates it naturally into the real-time flow of play, unlike previous games, where Mega Evolution functioned as a simple turn-based power-up. Mega battles in particular (against Rogue Megas) serve as high-stakes boss fights, featuring massive area-of-effect attacks, resource collection during battle, and shifting your response to attacks on the fly. 
The performance on the Switch 2 is good. On the latest Nintendo handheld, the game is an improvement, but it still experiences noticeable pop-in issues, albeit far less frequently. It’s above and beyond, better than Scarlet and Violet, two games guilty of being technical nuisances that made playing them just downright unbearable. The best thing about the Switch 2 version is its 60 fps, and you’ll see uneven textures when you’re exploring.
Verdict
Pokémon Legends: Z-A won me over and reignited my love for the Pokémon series. GameFreak’s been at this for decades now, but it’s rarely stepped out of its lane. On the rare chance the studio decides to do something out of the box, we get products like Pokémon Legends, a series that brings Pokémon to life in a way the mainline games no longer can. I’ve been a foreloren fan for several years, but I’m seeing changes that are making me a believer all over again. I hope this momentum-building game is enough to catapult Pokémon into a new era of games that bring people together.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: Switch 2
