Lumiose City. One of the most impressive settlements in Pokémon history, and now we’ve been given the opportunity to explore it all.
I love exploring the city and watching Pidgey and Fletchling dance on streetlamps only to flap away when you get too close. Finding a rare Dratini on a rooftop and sneaking up to catch it before it runs away. Watching a Clawitzer cut its way through the canals. Coaxing a Litleo to bound up to you before its family defend the pack.
So, does it match up to expectations? Or does it fall flatter than your Meganium diving off a roof?
Spoilers abound for gameplay. Some signposted plot spoilers.
Evolving Combat
As much as Pokémon has endeavoured to update its gameplay over the years, truly ground-breaking updates have been few and far between. Double battles, natures and abilities, the physical/special split, and Pokémon encounters in the overworld: all innovative quality-of-life changes that I couldn’t imagine being without today.
But, ultimately, combat updates never overthrew the status quo. Until now.
The new combat system is a fresh and fun take on Pokémon battles. Part turn-based, part real-time action, positioning and timing are now crucial to have things going your way. The new set up means that you and your Pokémon are free to run around the battlefield, getting up close and personal for a Tackle, staying a safe distance away for a Hyper Beam, and even dodging enemy moves.
This means I need to be on my toes: one moment of hesitation can be the difference between my Aegislash claiming victory or retreating back into its ball. As someone who’s been playing Pokémon for decades at this point, I really appreciate how much I now need to concentrate on battling. It’s a much more dynamic and immersive experience, and a cool twist on the old system. You’re more likely to be attacked and pass out in this game, but the challenge is very much welcome.
Plus, combat is no longer RNG dependent. Sure, some moves will miss, but this is less likely to be due to luck and more likely to be a result of a clever (or accidental!) dodge. PP (Power Points) are gone. Cooldowns involve firing off a Psybeam quicker than your opponent’s Gengar can one-shot you with a Shadow Ball.
I also like that I actually use stat changing moves now. It was rare in the past for me to use Swords Dance or even area of effect moves like Toxic Spikes, unless I imposed level caps on myself during Nuzlockes. Now, I make it a rule to have at least one non-damaging move to gain advantages during battle.
Hoping to take on Clemont, the Lumiose City gym leader, in this game? I’m sorry, but there are no Gyms in this game—but that’s not really a bad thing. Instead, we have Battle Zones.
Battle Zones are great fun. I love that they’re only available at night, so I have a structural, in-game reason to go do other things like visit Wild Zones and complete sidequests when it’s day time. You can pick up shining Bonus Cards in Battle Zones, like defeating an opponent using a Mega-Evolved Pokémon, or using specific types of moves. Completing them increases your final rewards after battle.
You want to get a certain number of Points to get a Challenger’s Ticket, which means you’re then ready for your next Promotion Match. Medals can also be collected to increase your prize money at the end of the night. I do wish that you could keep going back in and collecting points for more monetary rewards, but even so, this whole system keeps the Battle Zones fun and unique.
Essentially, this was a fantastic way for Game Freak to try out something fresh and new. The new battle system may have seemed out of place in the mainline games, but introducing it in a spin-off means that, if it didn’t work, they could revert to what players know and love in the next game. But I’m not sure they will, at this point. I think this is a real success.
A Story Worth Ninetails
You’re a tourist visiting Lumiose City for the first time. As soon as you step off the train, your trip is taken over by an overeager trainer filming an advert for Hotel Z. You soon learn that Rogue Mega Evolutions are popping up all throughout Lumiose, and it’s up to you and your new friends to quell these suffering Pokémon.
AZ, the 3,000-year-old legend who owns the hotel, has set up the Z-A Royale to find the strongest Mega Evolution trainer. You are tasked with rising through the ranks to save the city and its people before it’s too late.
As epic as this all sounds, I feel conflicted about Legend Z-A’s story.
Going back to an old region is always fun. You’re likely to already have some knowledge of the lore and setting, and even though X and Y were some of my least played Pokémon games, it was fun to see old favourites like AZ and Lysander back to continue the story from five years ago.
Sure, running around catching Pokémon and rising through the ranks of the Z-A Royale is very fun. The characters you meet through promotion matches are colourful and memorable. My personal favourite is Corbeau, the mob boss short king with a heart of gold. L is an enigma, Emma is cool if a bit cringe, and Ivor and his sister Gwynn are fun and interesting. I care about these characters, and the endgame sequence where you all come together to win the day is exciting and engaging.
Because the endgame (spoilers here) is the best thing about the story. In fact, I’d even go so far to say that it’s almost the only story in the game.
So many other threads are left unravelled for me: who was Urbain/Taunie looking for? What drives Naveen and Lida, beyond the surface level? Plus, I don’t like some of the characters. I didn’t like Canari, who seemed hardly more than a reskin of Iono from Scarlet and Violet at best and a selfish degenerate at worst. In my opinion, it would have been so much better (and funnier!) if her grandfather was actually Canari, pretending to be a young girl V-Tuber. Jacinthe was a spoiled socialite who cared more about her tournaments than the sake of the city’s people and Pokémon. I could absolutely have done without her—just keep her quirky maid, and we’re golden.
Warning: major story spoilers here—skip to the next section if you don’t want to ruin the ending!
AZ’s death came out of nowhere.
Don’t get me wrong, it hit hard, as he was one of the fascinating characters I wanted to know more about from the original games. I did feel sad when the characters are standing in front of his ridiculously huge gravestone, mourning their loss. But I just didn’t feel that it was foreshadowed enough. I didn’t take the comments about the hotel being “his final resting place” seriously. I assumed his coughing animation was just indicative of this immortal 3,000-year-old man. Despite the millennia, I wish we had more time, so that I could take his death away with me, like I have for characters in other, deeper games.
Ultimately, the story isn’t bad, but it falls short against the immensely fun battling and catching mechanics that the game has to offer. It doesn’t break the game, but it doesn’t make it, either.
Gotta Catch ‘Em All
I am so, so happy that they brought back the Legends: Arceus system of catching Pokémon.
Despite the ’mons now being found in the overworld, Scarlet & Violet reverted to the more traditional, turn-based means of catching Pokémon: initiating a battle with one, weakening it with moves, and finally using a Poké Ball. In Legends: Z-A, once again we can pick and choose which creatures to fight and which to avoid. This involves sneaking up on a Pokémon and throwing a Ball at them from the overworld. It’s still often necessary to engage in battle to weaken them if you don’t catch them first try, but I love that the option’s there. But be careful—if you weaken one enough to stun them, throw a ball, and it fails, then it’ll be gone forever. Did anyone else struggle to catch the Gible in Wild Zone 8? Just me?
Speaking of Wild Zones: they’re an interesting case. Undoubtedly, they were implemented so that you wouldn’t be attacked by wild Pokémon—especially Alphas—throughout the whole map. By confining them to zones, you prevent the game being an absolute dog pile everywhere you go, which is clearly a good choice. And I really do appreciate how much more of a challenge it is to catch Pokémon than it was in Legends: Arceus (I’ve passed out many times being caught by an Alpha Pyroar and its family!). But I think the earlier Legends game did this better by having one hub town and then allowing you to go on excursions into different, exciting biomes.
These Wild Zones, unfortunately, lack environmental diversity. The Pokémon found within them are limited and sparce, making the areas repetitive and underwhelming. It often only took me a few minutes to catch every species within a Zone—with a few frustrating exceptions. Will that Starmie ever spawn? Oh, it’s a sunny day: let’s try to catch that Florges in Zone 16! Alas, not today.
Tangent: you know who the real MVP of this game is? The Lost Poké Ball Collector. What a CHAMP.
Whenever I miss a throw, you can visit any Poké Centre and this guy will give you back all your wasted balls. The true unsung hero of the game.
I saw a video of someone online “playing fetch” with him by throwing away a ball and immediately talking to him to get it back. Rinse and repeat. I love it.
A Mega Review
Of course, one of the most talked about aspects of the game is the new Mega Evolutions.
Back in Pokémon X and Y, I didn’t really care about the Megas. Maybe because it’s one of my least favourite Pokémon games of all time, and Megas felt like a gimmick without much substance. It annoyed me that a lot of already beloved and strong Pokémon, like Charizard, Mewtwo, and Gengar, got Megas, while others, like Lumineon, Flygon, and Cacturne, were once again forgotten.
Now, I get it. I get it. Perhaps because part of the Legends Z-A story is about quelling rogue Mega Pokémon, or perhaps because even Pokémon not gifted Mega forms have been thrown a bone. Plus Moves means that even those unable to Mega-Evolve can use powerful moves by using a little bit of Mega Energy, so that no-one feels truly underpowered or unusable.
So, who are some of the best and worse Megas this time around?
BEST (in no particular order):
1. Clefable: I was surprised at how much I liked this one. Giving the OG fairy Pokémon proper wings to fly with was inspired, and their ombre colouring is very pretty.
2. Victreebel: A lot of fans were obsessed with this one when it was leaked, and I can see why. I love the Megas that look like a new evolution rather than a more buffed-up version of the Pokémon, and this is a great example of that. It’s also goofy, which reflects James’ Victreebel in the anime. What a fun guy.
3. Froslass: Imposing, ethereal, and regal. A tall queen. Love it.
4. Malamar: It looks like a mad scientist with that giant brain. Inspired. I would be terrified to come across this in the ocean.
5. Dragalge: I’d never really given Dragalge a second thought, and this Mega made me do so. It’s almost alien in its appearance, but in-keeping with the seaweed/dragon form. I love the purple wings.
6. Falinks: What an amazing design. I had two separate people come up to me IRL to tell me to “just wait for Falinks”. I love that it turns into a knight, but I feel so bad for that one cute link in the middle holding the whole structure together. You’re doing a great job, little guy!
7. Scolipede: It looks like a colourful, charging knight with antlers. It’s baddass and just so damn cool.
WORST:
1. Meganium: Look, I’m sorry. Being a Johto fangirl, I love Chikorita, and picked it as my starter in this game. But just adding a bunch of plump petals to Meganium’s collar doesn’t constitute an awesome Mega.
2. Starmie: For goodness’ sake. It’s a Starmie with very long legs. Wow. I quite like it ironically for its silliness—and it’s terrifying when it runs at you very quickly in its Rogue fight—but they could have done so much more with a Pokémon that has jewels to play with. (In hindsight, I now know that it’s a reference to Ultraman, but I said what I said.)
3. Scrafty: It looks like it’ll start rapping at any moment. I don’t really like Scraggy and Scrafty’s designs anyway, so maybe that’s affecting my judgment, but this one is just, meh.
4. Pyroar: It has a taller mane. Yawn.
5. Greninja: I can’t tell what’s different, other than it’s flying upside down on a giant ninja star, or something. It’s just fine.
6. Chandelure: You can’t just add a bunch more candelabra and call it a Mega Evolution. Well, clearly, you can. But you shouldn’t.
Lumiose: Not Very Illuminating
My main complaint about the game is that the world is boring and underwhelming.
This is not the vibrant and detailed city I expected from Lumiose, one of the grandest cities in the Pokémon world. In X and Y, I often got lost exploring the streets, ducking into clothing stores and visiting cafés, all while circling the larger-than-life Prism Tower. At the time, it was a true feat in gaming: Game Freak really took advantage of the new 3D style to create an unforgettable experience of being in a huge city. It really couldn’t have been done before.
But the thing about Lumiose in X and Y was that this was only one city. Once you were done with Lumiose, you were free to traipse up to the twinkling heights of Snowbelle City or to take a breather by the majestic falls of Couriway Town.
In Legends: Z-A, you’re stuck here. No biomes, no further exploration. And it’s a big mistake, in my opinion, particularly as most of the area is just row after row of buildings with the odd green space or canal thrown in.
Exploring the rooftops gives you more to work with, and you’ll often find rare Pokémon ruling the roost up there. But, for me, it was pretty annoying to figure out how to get up to specific quest markers or over to different roofs to catch that elusive Larvitar in the distance. The Rotom glide function makes exploring the rooftops much more fun and practical, but that doesn’t come until quite a way through the game. Before this, exploring felt more like a frustrating chore. I also didn’t care much for the scaffolding puzzles either.
The sewers, however, were a surprising boon to the game. I’m not sure why the developers decided to take so much more care designing the sewers than the rest of the city, but I loved exploring the dank underground levels. The light shining off the slick bricks was beautiful, the music was immersive, and the exclusive Pokémon, including Skrelp, Litwick, Goomy, Noibat, and Inkay, were a fantastic bonus. Unlike the open-world Wild Zones, the sewers feature a more classic, maze-like dungeon structure, making it feel like more of an exciting and different space to explore. Why couldn’t the rest of the game be like this?
It’s also the site for Game Freak’s best jump scare sidequest to date. No spoilers here, but be ready for a fun spook!
Ultimately, the graphics are fine in Legends: Z-A. The Switch 2 has definitely solved a lot of Pokémon’s problems with its infamous glitches, but the uninspired art design carries over from the most recent games, highlighting Game Freak’s laziness and unwillingness to innovate properly.
Another Day Without Being Reincarnated As A Pokémon…
It’s not all about saving Lumiose from Rogue Mega Pokémon. There are so many NPCs with fantastic personalities to indulge throughout the city.
A sidequest that stands out to me involves finding all 12 Spewpa in the Lumiose museum. Not only were they all super cute pretending to be a part of all the exhibits (“You found a lost Spewpa that’s doing a fine job modelling the haircut on display!”), but without the quest, I probably wouldn’t have explored the museum extensively myself. It was great being reminded of all the Legends: Arceus elements, including a diorama of the market in Ancient Hisui, the clothes they wore, and exhibits on important characters like Ingo and Volo. There’re even paintings that reference real-world art by European artists, like Diancie as The Girl with the Pearl Earring and a painting with Gothitelle and her family referencing Renoir. It’s a fascinating pocket of lore in a game that sometimes lacks detail.
Other memorable sidequests include helping a bunch of Binacle board a boat they love, finding all 5 Flabébé forms to get more hair colours, leading three Trubbish to some homely bins in an alley, and giving a police officer a Shuppet. This last one (spoilers) is very funny. He wants to use a Shuppet to sense negative emotions, helping catch criminals before they strike. However, this Shuppet leads the officer to his wife, who’s feeling resentful that her husband is away at work all the time. Fantastic twist; I love it.
What else? Well, the customisation in this game is second-to-none. There’s a wide array of hair styles and colours to choose from, as well as eye shape, freckles, lip colour, contact colours, clothes, and more. Whenever I found a new shopping parade, I made sure to cycle through all the options to coordinate my character to the max. There are so many options, and it really makes gameplay your own. I’ve even started buying clothes IRL, inspired by Legends: Z-A outfits I’ve put together!
It’s quite odd that your choice on picking a feminine or masculine-looking player character results in either Urbain or Taunie. You’d have thought the gender neutrality of it all would rend opposite sex rivals moot. Also, I’ve heard that many masculine players feel limited by the customisation options, which skew more towards feminine style.
Photo mode’s also very fun—and not just due to customisation. It’s a great way to express yourself in your photo for the Z-A Royale so that online players can share in your fun. You can include your Pokémon or even other characters or NPCs in plenty of zany poses and styles—yes, even in the photo for the Royale.
I’ve had a lot of fun getting my favourite Pokémon out of their balls to pose with me to take a picture. They can look sleepy, happy, or ready for battle, and you can change the angle of the camera to suit what you want. You can also take pictures on benches or at cafés with your Pokémon. It’s all very cute and a great way to take a break from battling and catching ’em all.
One HUGE gripe I have: the day-to-night cut scenes. I don’t have any problem with them as a concept, but if you happen to be catching a Pokémon when time shifts between night and day, it’s gone. GONE. If it’s a night or day-only Pokémon, that is. If you’re lucky, it’ll be there after the cut scene, but all progress that you’d made towards whittling down the creature’s health will reset. This is particularly frustrating with higher level Alphas that threaten your team at the best of times.
Come on Alpha Marowak: throw me a bone. (See what I did there?)
Final Thoughts
Legends: Z-A is a game of two halves. It has captured the hearts of many players who adore the new combat system, the Wild Zones, and the opportunities to shiny hunt. Even I, with no patience for that sort of thing, enjoyed finding shinies organically in this game.
However, the story, the setting, and the design all lack for me. A well-crafted city, with more varied Wild Zones and more vibrant corners, would make the place feel truly lived in. As it is, it’s like I can tell it’s a game, like I can see the blocks the developers have placed to craft this world. I want to be able to suspend my disbelief more, and without that, it’s all a bit too surface level.
Despite all this, I’d recommend this game. It’s a fun romp, and if you love finding new Pokémon and Megas and battling your way to the top, this is the journey for you.
That concludes our thoughts on Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and tag us on social media @zatugames.
