Welcome to Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the game that dares to ask: what if someone made a curry out of croissants! Yes, the latest Pokémon game has arrived on the Nintendo Switch family of consoles… and it’s delightfully bonkers. After almost 30 years of Pokémon games from developer Game Freak, some of which admittedly haven’t been stellar, it’s time to get those Poké balls at the ready and take to the streets.
This time around players find themselves in the wonderfully chic Lumiose City (or to give it its other name… Paris), a thriving metropolis where Pokémon and citizens aim to live in harmony. Skilled Pokémon trainers are able to Mega Evolve their Pokémon and help them reach new heights of power previously unseen. But there’s a problem, wild Pokémon are undergoing Rogue Mega Evolutions and turning into giant, monstrous versions of their former selves. Led by the mysterious giant(?) AZ, it’s up to you and your team of trusty Pokémon trainers to investigate and calm these beleaguered beasties!
As you explore Lumiose City you’ll quickly get they lay of the land; the city is your concrete playground. Climbing over scaffolding, running along the rooftops of the city skyline and using your Pokémon’s attacks to open new paths will open the doorway to gaining items and finding less common wild Pokémon to add to your Pokédex. Of course it’s a city, so you’ll naturally want to do some retail therapy at the many item and clothing shops with extra vendors dotted around the city selling their wares from shopping carts. And after a busy day battling Pokémon you’ll more than likely fancy a nice, hot coffee. The cafes provide not only a cheeky photo opportunity for you and your partner Pokémon but they also strengthen the bond between you (I’m sure if I had real life Pokémon then we would have a stronger relationship for chilling out with a nice cappuccino).
But it’s not all pavements and apartment blocks. Within the city are plenty of wild zones where Pokémon can be battled and captured, with certain Pokémon preferring specific zones. The returning feature from Legends Arceus is the ability to sneak up on a Pokémon and try to catch it unawares… but they always seems to see me and rush straight into a fight. Maybe it’s just my face?! From time to time you’ll find an Alpha Pokémon within the wild zones and they certainly put up a fight if you try to catch them. And should you happen to not have your Pokémon by your side when the Pokémon get hostile? Well then the nasty little blighters will start to attack you personally and without apology so players will need to keep their wits (and their Pokémon) about them!
I want to be the very best…
As a slightly different approach to previous games, Legends: Z-A takes a really harmonious approach to the Pokémon. It’s less about being the ‘very best’ and more about achieving unity in a fragile world. Climbing the ranks is a big motivation but the Pokémon’s welfare is highlighted like never before. You’ll also quickly see the benefit in helping out the residents of Lumiose City as you take part in investigations to assist the citizens (with some hefty rewards).
The title of this game is no accident. Battling is still an absolutely vital part of the Pokémon experience. As per usual, very early in the game, you will be gifted your starter Pokémon—Chikorita, Tepig or Totodile (I will always choose the water type… just saying). Once you arrive in Lumiose City you soon discover that ranked battles are a BIG deal and the concept is simple: You start off as Rank Z, you battle another Rank Z trainer and if you win you rise to Rank Y and so on and so forth. But the road to the ranked battles doesn’t come easy—to take part in ranked battles you’ll first need to visit the Battlezone! Every night, when darkness falls, the Battlezone appears in Lumiose City… and it’s an unforgiving area. Trainers prowl the streets on the lookout for opposing trainers to challenge—win the battle and gain more points to bring you closer to your next ranked battle.
One particular highlight with Legends: Z-A and its battling system is the way in which you will be controlling your Pokémon. Historically, almost religiously, the Pokémon game system has been about turn based combat, pure and simple. This time though, things have changed as combat happens in real time. You’ll be running around all over the place dodging blows and commanding
your Pokémon’s actions; it’s a very freeing experience for once to be able to actually move around during the combat and not just stand there watching someone beat up your poor defenceless Totodile. Personally, I love this new battle system for the sheer expediency of the combat and the dynamic atmosphere it creates.
Now, that’s not to say that Legends: Z-A isn’t without its problems—though they are delightfully few and far between. For one thing, the Pokémon on offer are nothing new; although there are redesigns and Mega Evolutions we have seen all these Pokémon before in previous entries. I remember when Pokémon Sword and Shield first came out, getting to know all the new Pokémon and watching as they became modern classics (Yamper anyone??). I can’t help but feel the absence of a new generation of Pokémon, but in fairness this is part of the Legends series and not a follow up to Scarlet and Violet so I’ll give them a pass this time. Although, when I discovered that there would be no Cubone in the base game my heart broke a little bit!
By the year 2025 I have, at last, come to a somber realisation… Game Freak can easily give us audio dialogue when characters talk in their games—but they don’t want to. If you were expecting to finally hear the characters speak then I’m afraid you will be disappointed but, then again, Pokémon games have always been text heavy since the GameBoy days so this feels like a definite choice.
The power that’s inside…
I’m playing Legends: Z-A on the Nintendo Switch 2 and it’s absolutely beautiful. The colours really pop and Pokémon have honestly never looked so good. I mean, a 4K Charizard X?! What more do you want? With a steady frame rate of 60FPS and super speedy load times, I have no complaints whatsoever concerning the games performance.
The takeaway here is that, after a rough couple of years, Pokémon games have really returned with a bang and, in my opinion, are better than ever. Legends: Z-A is fast, fun and refreshingly engaging. You feel the achievement of climbing the ranks, helping the residents of Lumiose and calming down the frantic Rogue Mega Evolution Pokémon. There’s plenty to do and plenty of Pokémon to see, catch, trade and Mega Evolve.
As a fan since the early days it’s a lovely experience to be invested in a new Pokémon adventure whilst my 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter also are making progress on their own profiles. We compare which Pokémon we have captured, who has evolved and what rare Pokémon we have spotted in the wild. It’s a family friendly game that doesn’t come with a steep learning curve and has a simple yet sophisticated in game interface. Thank you Game Freak, you nailed it with this one.
But now my Pokédex has still got some missing entries in it, so if you’ll excuse me I need to get back out into the wild…
