Longtime Pokémon fans more or less know what to expect with the series’ mainline RPGs, which is why the proposition of the Legends spin-off franchise is so enticing. With 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players were treated to a sprawling adventure in the wide-open Hisui region, tasked with filling in the area’s first Pokédex. Outside of doubling down on exploration, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has little to do with its predecessor, instead establishing the Legends spin-offs as places for Game Freak to experiment with the core Pokémon formula while still delivering an experience that is, at times, a little too familiar.
Rather than having you venture out into the wilderness like in Legends: Arceus, Legends Z-A confines you to Lumiose City, the biggest metropolis in Pokémon X and Y’s Kalos Region. Though I prefer the more open exploration of Legends: Arceus, Lumiose played a strong host throughout my more than 30 hours of gameplay. The denser city offers more opportunities to find hidden items, side missions, and Pokémon Centers, and with ample fast-travel locations, I was happy to bounce around quickly when I became mission-oriented.
The story involves entering the Z-A Royale to battle an escalating collection of trainers in Battle Zones that pop up each night. Thanks to the new real-time battle system, which has you commanding your Pokémon to attack via the face buttons, this feels closer to being a trainer in the Pokémon world than ever before. Firing off commands and watching them play out with consideration to timing and positioning, in addition to type matchups, made me feel like I was in an episode of the anime.
The moves are the same ones we’ve been using for years, but thanks to new considerations like cooldowns and upfront charge times, I had to rethink which attacks I wanted to give my favorite Pokémon; I found myself using moves I’ve rarely used in other games and changing loadouts frequently, which is a testament to this new system. I’ve always been a fan of turn-based battles, but the immersion afforded by this real-time system is unrivaled within the series.
Speaking of the Pokémon fantasy, the game’s Wild Zones offer concentrated areas where you can find Pokémon to add to your team. I like that if you K.O. a wild Pokémon, which is easier to accidentally do with the faster-paced fighting, you still have a chance to catch them, rather than them vanishing as in past games. And stumbling upon powerful Alpha variants of wild Pokémon always led to intimidating yet rewarding miniboss-style encounters. Taking some time to fill your team via the Wild Zones is critical for when nighttime falls and the Z-A Royale commences.
Once you’re in the Battle Zones, you can creep up on trainers and their Pokémon to deliver stealth attacks. This satisfyingly sneaky strategy kicks off the battle with you at the advantage, or in some cases, knocks out the Pokémon in a single blow. I loved getting the drop on other trainers for an easy battle, but the stealth system is antiquated and unreliable; on several occasions, I landed a hit, only for the trainer to spot me just as it landed, and it didn’t count, so they snagged the advantage. Thankfully, these battles are rarely difficult, so the poor stealth mechanics only delayed my victory.
The challenging battles were typically reserved for Promotion Matches, which occur after you defeat enough trainers. By winning these, you climb the ranks of the Z-A Royale and progress the story. I love the tournament-style premise and more frequent Mega Evolutions, which helps X and Y’s gimmick grow beyond a “push to win” button. However, once the tournament becomes intertwined with the story, the execution falters. You skip most of the ranks for storytelling convenience and the Promotion Matches all shift toward well-timed character appearances, causing the compelling initial idea to reveal itself as a paper-thin narrative façade.
The more interesting narrative moments come from a phenomenon where Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon are appearing around the city. I enjoyed pulling the thread on the interplay between the events of Pokémon X and Y and these overpowered bosses that pop up throughout the game. And taking them down in battle is even more fun. On top of aiming at your Pokémon, these Rogue Mega Evolved creatures also focus on your character, meaning you’ll need to dodge-roll constantly during these fights. The battles are intense and well-paced, but it was frustrating when I was missing the specific type of Pokémon to counter, as your monster must not only be the right type and level, but also be able to Mega Evolve to truly be impactful.
When you’re not climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale, filling in your Pokédex, or quelling Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon, Lumiose offers plenty of side content and exploration with which to occupy yourself. By completing research tasks like catching different types or completing Wild Zones, you earn TMs and other rare items. Meanwhile, other city dwellers ask you for assistance with a variety of tasks that often involve trading or battling them. Though these are usually uneventful and sometimes veer into tutorial territory, I completed all I could since the rewards are worthwhile.
These side missions also sometimes open routes to the rooftops, which is where rewards and wild Pokémon rest. Once I unlocked the ability to glide with the Rotom Phone, exploration opened further as my character could jump from roof to roof. I also sought out different construction scaffolding setups, which serve as minor platforming puzzles. Finding the way up isn’t challenging, and the designs are often half-baked, but it’s a unique way to take advantage of the city’s verticality.
Though Legends: Z-A runs well, which is more than you could say about other recent Pokémon games at launch, the tech still feels woefully behind other long-running and successful franchises. The lack of voice acting is perhaps the most noticeable element, but the animations, visuals, and sound effects feel generations behind other RPGs. Pokémon was once limited by handheld gaming technology, and for the first few entries on Switch, it felt like Game Freak was still finding its footing on consoles. Now, seven years after the series’ debut on Switch, it feels like the presentation should have evolved past this point.
Even though the last time I visited Lumiose City was over a decade ago in Pokémon X and Y, I couldn’t help but shake the constant feeling of déjà vu, not for the city, but for the Pokémon routine. Still, where Legends: Z-A does experiment with the Pokémon formula, it succeeds in delivering a novel experience that will hopefully encourage Game Freak to continue challenging what Pokémon games can be in the future.