Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Review (Nintendo Switch 2)

For established, long-standing franchises, it can be daunting to enter an identity crisis. After all, years, and in some cases, decades of effort have moulded them into experiences that fans would love and expect, and introducing tweaks means sacrificing tradition and some of this hard-earned loyalty. 

But fortune favours the bold, and even Pokémon, the world’s highest-grossing media franchise to date (and the competition doesn’t come close), is no exception to the rule. Representing a shiny (hah), ambitious departure from the formula, 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus pointed the way to a tantalising future with semi-open-world exploration, the ability to throw and aim Pokéballs to capture wild critters without engaging in combat, the incorporation of dodge mechanics, and richer lore, only to be held back by hints of budget constraints and rushed development. 

Three years later, Pokémon Legends: Z-A remains committed to the evolution. No longer are battles turn-based, but instead they are now rooted in real-time action that emphasises on-field positioning and timing of used attacks. The starter Pokémon are familiar faces instead of fresh additions, featuring a hybrid of previous generations: Totodile and Chikorita from the second generation of games (Gold, Silver, and Crystal), and Tepig (Generation V). There’s also a new day-and-night cycle, alongside the introduction of pre-emptive strikes that can be launched on opposing trainers and Pokémon, and the lack of Gyms. 

It’s scratching the surface of a repackaged adventure that ties back into Pokémon X and Y  – including the Lumoise City setting from the Kalos region and the return of Mega Evolution capabilities – and retains enough of the series’ charm, despite its rougher edges. Like its progenitor, the player character is an outsider who arrives in the France-inspired metropolis (which makes it even funnier that they get “robbed” right after stepping off the train, intentional or not), where they are quickly adopted by Team MZ, comprising their rival, Taunie or Urbane, as well as gung-ho strategist Lida and the more grouchy, but no less affable Naveen. 

By day, the ragtag team works to protect the city from rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon with AZ’s help (yes, the same AZ from X and Y), and it’s only through climbing the ranks of the Z-A Royale, a local nighttime tournament and the game’s namesake, when that the player character can grow strong enough to keep them all in check. 

The first sign of a step-up is character customisation. While the options in Pokémon Legends: Z-A aren’t as elaborate as some of its role-playing contemporaries, more detailed features such as beauty spots, a makeup section, and hair balayage with colour blocking easily put it ahead of its predecessors, especially since none are locked to gender. Switching between outfits, available in sets or as standalone pieces, also facilitates some fun mix-and-matching, so it’s entirely possible to pair formal attire with cosy wear just for the giggles. 

When it’s time to go, Lumoise City presents a decent-sized playbox for navigation – not too big that the map feels bloated, but not overcrowded, either. Unlike the more open-world structure in Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, free-roaming is confined within the walls of the town, with cabs serving as a means of transportation from one location to another, much like in Sega’s Yakuza / Like a Dragon series. The standard way, of course, is via fast travel points that prove handy for traversing to the vicinity of a Holovator, which takes players to rooftops and the various Pokémon lying in wait. Obtaining the Holo-Glide lends an element of verticality to movement, granting access to out-of-reach areas or shortcut routes. 

Unfortunately, most parts of town won’t be available from the get-go. The map opens up only past the tutorial segment, with automatic redirection taking place every time you veer off the intended path, and it runs on for longer than expected. As someone who loves exploring at their own pace, the introductory section felt like a chore to get through, especially after grasping the straightforward basics of gameplay (yes, the point is to ease newcomers into the swing of things, but it should still allow some degree of freedom).

Then, there’s the issue of flat textures. Since Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set in one location and nowhere beyond, it’s all too easy to grow weary of the sights, and the absence of detail or depth doesn’t help matters. Architectural variety is scarce, too, lacking any trace of personality, and locations such as cafés, parks, and sewers appear identical across the board. The haphazard placement of Mega Crystals, used to exchange for Mega Stones, around town removes intent from exploration, and even if players may occasionally stumble upon areas that feel lived-in, Lumoise City is insipid at best; at worst, it comes across as devoid of life. 

Step indoors, and the difference can be jarring. Contrary to the droll, repetitive outward design, building interiors are intricately decorated and boast distinctive traits that set them apart from one another – upscale Japanese restaurant Sushi High Roller, for instance, oozes elegance with black and gold theming, while Lumoise Museum features a wide range of artefacts on display. The disparity creates an inconsistent visual experience, mollified by the endearing sight of interactions between Pokémon and their trainers along the streets, on rooftops, and everywhere in between. 

Be it a deadly-looking Arbok or an adorable, pint-sized Snorunt, it’s always a joy to be reminded of the natural integration of Pokémon into the human world here. Not all of them are friendly, though, which serves as the basis behind Wild Zones, fenced-off areas constructed as natural habitats for wild Pokémon to live and roam. Each has its own unique set of spawns, comprising day- and night-only species, or both, as well as Alpha Pokémon, supersized, more powerful versions of regular monsters that debuted in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. In some cases, a Wild Zone offers environmental variety, including snow, sand, and a graveyard, that dictates the typing of Pokémon on the field. 

To capture them, players need to toss a Poké Ball at them without being detected, with successful attempts counting toward completing the Pokédex and scientist Mabel’s research tasks. Failed ones will trigger a combat encounter, now with a more aggressive twist – while battling basics, such as the type weaknesses and resistances, still apply to Pokémon Legends: Z-A, moves include new considerations like cooldowns and charge time. Taking turns is a thing of the past, as the action unfolds right in front of the eye. 

The revamped system is a decent stab at evolving familiarity into novelty, even if some aspects of it feel like a step back from Arceus. In the case of catching critters, removing throwable items like berries, used as a distraction in the latter, Smoke Bombs, for concealing one’s presence, and the stun-inflicting Sticky Globs, takes the fun out of a creative approach, although Back Strikes make a return. Both Pokémon and the player character can be knocked out during combat, emphasising the need to move around the battlefield, which, in turn, automatically repositions your companion. It can feel a little clumsy in execution, but there’s no denying the higher level of engagement and sense of exhilaration that comes with landing a hit. 

Depending on the nature of attacks, there are strengths and drawbacks to note. Where far-ranged attacks typically require a longer wind-up time, they keep Pokémon safe at a distance, while melee and short-ranged strikes sacrifice reach for speed. Status effects also work differently here, with Paralysis, for example, significantly slowing down movement speed, and Confusion making the target attack in random directions. Entry hazard moves, referring to Spikes, Stealth Rock, and similar actions that create a lasting effect on the field, or damage and hinder opponents each time they switch to another Pokémon, are now reconfigured as area-of-effect manoeuvres. 

This combination of factors reduces the over-reliance on button-mashing, with the added strategic component serving as a refreshing change in pace. What Pokémon Legends: Z-A still succumbs to, however, is the unequal advantage of over-levelling – as with all previous games, players can level Pokémon up with experience points earned through repeated battling, making it easy to surpass the recommended target and defeat foes effortlessly, especially in the Z-A Royale tournament. 

Landing an instant knockout would be the best way to get an early leg-up over opponents, triggered by successfully ambushing their Pokémon with backstab attacks. Upon defeat, some of them may sometimes heal your team or hand over their medals, increasing the gold earned from the night. Other times, bonus cards (also found scattered throughout the Battle Zone) are given out, rewarding more points when completed. Only three can be held onto at one time, and any additional cards would require a swap. After collecting enough points, a Promotion Match will be instigated, and it’s rinse and repeat until Rank A and beyond. 

Climbing the ranks may sound tedious and time-consuming on paper, but Game Freak’s latest ensures that the grind never goes overboard, helped partially by a vast jump in ranks as part of story progression. There’s just a slight gripe with the transition between day and night – the cutscene plays out every single time, which not only breaks immersion but can also affect the current activity that players are engaged in, such as catching Shiny Pokémon, causing them to disappear after the sequence. In light of that, a more natural implementation of the changeover would certainly be welcome. 

The few times where difficult ramps up are the encounters against Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon, especially in some of their second phases, ranging anywhere from bullet hell attacks to a quick teleport behind the player for a nasty strike. Between the roll-dodge and revamped Mega Evolution mechanics, these boss-fight-adjacent moments make for fast-paced, intense fun, with multiple different critters able to Mega Evolve in the same battle, so long as the metre is filled. 

The downside, then, is the skew towards team configurations mostly filled with Mega Evolution-compatible Pokémon. While it’s possible to pit normal monsters against their stone-wielding counterparts, the power gap between them, as well as the time taken to close out the battle, is notably vast. Keeping track of the action proves difficult at times, too, exacerbated by occasional tag-team battles with other Team MZ members or trainers, plus a slight delay in executing commands. 

As fans would know, Mega Evolution ties back into the sixth-generation duology of  Pokémon X and Y, and the overarching narrative of Pokémon Legends: Z-A offers respectable nods to it, despite pacing inconsistencies that are responsible for dragging out certain parts of the experience. The bigger woe is the lack of voice acting in major story cutscenes, resulting in an awkward, jarring sight when characters move their mouths without any sound coming out. “Wait, the games never had any voice acting!” some may claim, but the same can be said for real-time combat, and yet, here we are. 

It’s a wasted opportunity, because the population of Lumoise City can be colourful and quirky in their own way, keeping in line with some of the more entertaining or lighthearted side quest developments. Joining a Starmie cult? Check. Leading a pack of Trubbish away from a café to a rubbish dump? Double check. Locating scattered Spewpa in the Lumoise Museum? Been there, done that. 

Performance isn’t a major concern on the Nintendo Switch 2, either, barring one game-breaking moment where the button to trigger Mega Evolution was somehow disabled (and subsequently fixed by restarting the app). Loading screens are fast, character models look good, frame rates are largely consistent at 60 FPS, and movement is smooth across the board, although some existing caveats do persist, both in docked and handheld mode: character and object pop-ins at short distances and gameplay stutter during particle-heavy moments. These are more pronounced on the weaker Switch 1 console, accompanied by slower load times and choppier frames, but the overall performance still marks a step-up over the last two titles. 

In many ways, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the same beast at heart. It deftly juggles tradition with novelty, ushering in an overhauled gameplay system that makes battling more engaging and strategic without isolating newcomers or veterans, even if it falls short of fleshing out the best parts of Arceus as a follow-up to the game. The visuals need further polish, and other points of criticism, including the absence of voice acting, hold this latest instalment back from heralding a new era of Pokémon, but it’s slowly getting there. The fun certainly helps. 

Si Jia

Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.