Distributor provided a review copy.
I have a love and hate relationship with Pokémon. That's kind of normal for a franchise that's been around my entire life and that has grown from a quirky animated series (itself a shameless advertisement for toys) into a colossal empire spanning games, manga, and even live-action films. Not all of it can possibly be great or even good.
Just in the past three years, I've gone from loving Pokémon Legends: Arceus to intensely disliking the broken experience of Scarlet and Violet, while mostly tuning out of the animated experience altogether. So when Pokémon Legends: Z-A dropped on my desk in late October, I was curious but hesitant to open myself up to yet another open world-ish adventure.
Fast forward a month and a half, and I'm completely spellbound by the traditional but immensely entertaining collect-a-thon. It isn't perfect, but it feels like a stellar evolution of the elements that made Arceus such a brilliant next step in the Pokémon saga.
Unlike Arceus, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is confined to a single location, though even that's broken down to multiple sub-sections and areas that keep the gameplay engaging. There's no open world, and the action takes entirely place in Lumiose City, a sprawling landscape for Pokémon trainers where every night is an open battleground for those seeking to become the very best.
You arrive into town as a tourist and it's not long before things take a turn for the worse. You're robbed of your belongings and end up bullied by try-hard trainers looking for an easy mark. With the help of Taunie, a kind Pokémon enthusiast who helps run a local hotel, you quickly pick yourself up again and set off to make your mark in Lumiose City.
The story isn't exactly inventive or deep, but it's engaging enough to keep the main gameplay loop going. Just don't expect a big adventure like with Arceus, which is probably one of the major reasons why so many have felt like Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a step back for the franchise.
Luckily, the gameplay itself is so much fun that even minor steps back don't feel that major. The emphasis is on the newly refined real-time battles that feel like they're tracking the mechanics that Square Enix introduced into the Final Fantasy series a few years back. Traditionalists will balk at the change, I'm sure, but there's no denying how dynamic and cinematic they make the game feel.
The basics remain much the same. Pokémon all have their strengths, elements, and weaknesses, and it's up to you to figure out which work best for each battle. Movement and positioning make for an even greater part of the fights now, as the AI for the Pokémon isn't exactly the best; most of the time they'll just follow you like a clingy golden retriever. It took the better part of ten hours for me to figure out the best pratices in keeping my pocket monsters from running into danger when I wanted to angle myself for a better vantage point.
As for the city itself, Lumiose is a mostly delightfuly new destination, though it often feels like a vertical slice of a greater game. Considering how massive other titles even on the Switch 2 have gotten, there's something almost retro about the confined and limited scope of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Especially as other pedestrians and Pokémon are limited, leading to empty streets and vacant buildings even during the day.
Personally, I'd love to see Nintendo really crank up the effort to craft a more vibrant and evocative world into a Pokémon title once again. I'm sure part of this is nostalgia speaking, but it always felt like the older titles were more alive even on limited resources. In the scenarios where you get to have big fights with random passerbys watching and cheering you on, Pokémon Legends: Z-A comes alive in a wholly unique kind of way that feels exactly like where the franchise should push further.
But we're here for the Pokémon, and they prove just as delightful as ever. The Pokédex is varied and packed with new creatures to find and evolve. Depending on how dedicated you are in the search, this can take anywhere from a dozens to hundreds of hours, and competing against opponents prove a comfortable – if not a particularly difficult – challenge even on higher levels.
On a technical level, I tested Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 and in the docked mode, which proved the best possible experience for this title. I didn't notice any stuttering or frame drops, and the game is visually pleasing for the most part. The previously stated gripes about the empty city remain valid, and you can tell where the developers continue to cut corners (resolution and detail both drop drastically the further you look into the distance).
But for the most part, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a pretty game, especially when the battles spin out of control with multiple Pokémon and their skills all in play.
As for the original Switch version, Pokémon Legends: Z-A runs fine, if not perfectly on the older hardware. You'll lose out on some resolution and detail, and bigger fights clearly showcase where the original machine struggles in processing power. But it's still a perfectly playable showcase, and probably why the Switch 2 version is built the way it is.
Happily, both games come entirely on the cartridge, as it should be, and Nintendo deserves praise for having a proper physical release for one of their flagship titles.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A isn't an evolution of the franchise in the way Arceus was, but it is a major step in the right direction after the disastrous Scarlet and Violet titles. It is one of my favorite games in the series this decade, and hopefully whatever comes next finds a perfect marriage between the open world wonder of Arceus and the excitement and immediacy of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
For now, we're lucky to have both, even if they're in separate titles.
