Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review – Good Systems, bad game?

Pokémon Legends Arceus in 2022 brought me back into my childhood and gave me the feeling of being a Pokémon Trainer. On paper Legends Z-A sounds like a step up from Arceus and yet the feeling wasn't there for me. Let us explore together why.

Legends Z-A the Anime of the Pokémon games

After a long train ride I finally reached my destination Lumiose City. A mix of excitement and nostalgia hit me. It's been two years since I played a Pokémon game and I felt ready to dive back in. Right away I experienced both, positive surprise and a feeling of disappointment. 

Visually the game looks better than I expected, granted that's not a high mark for Pokémon but especially the characters and Pokémon themselves have a great artstyle. Same goes for the story in the first few hours. I really liked the charming writing of the characters and the way cutscenes are filmed. But the lack of voice acting felt like a huge missed opportunity.

In many ways Legends Z-A made me feel like I'm playing the Pokémon Anime, granted with a bit of lack in production quality. The biggest factor in this feeling was the new combat system. For the first time ever Pokémon are fighting in a real time battle system. The system plays very similarly to a more easy version of the Xenoblade franchise, which I love.

Those fights are fast paced, well animated and not always easy. During the story you encounter three types of battles. Normal trainer battles, rank up battles and mega evolution battles. Especially the latter two can feel exciting from time to time.

Rank up battles aren't cannon fodder and mega evolution battles play a little bit like Pokémon with a Dark Souls twist. Those fights force you to dodge yourself as a player and mega evolution Pokémon can surprise you with attack patterns or special mechanics. I really feel the battle system is an exciting new step for the Legends Series but it does lack a bit of depth in the end. 

Most fights still boil down to spamming your cooldowns on time and of course using whatever element is effective against your opponent. If Gamefreak decides to keep this system for future Legends games they will have to find ways of improving this even more.

One step forward, one step back?

Playing Pokémon Arceus for the first time made me feel like a child again. When I stepped out into the wilderness for the first time, I felt a sensation of wonder. Even with the very limited graphics Legends Arceus felt like a real world. The way the Pokémon roamed the world made sense.

As a child I often imagined that I would sneak up onto a Pokémon to explore their behaviour and then battle and catch them. Arceus with all its flaws managed to capture this imagination of mine and gave me a very special feeling while playing it. A mix of pure joy, wonder and excitement.

I really hoped Legends Z-A would build on this foundation and improve it even more. Granted the fact that the game only takes place in Lumiose City was a warning sign but I still hoped they would find creative ways to make it work. Sadly this is where Z-A really falls flat for me.

It already starts with the wild zones. Those unlock all over the city and are kinda supposed to be mini versions of Legends Arceus. Small zones filled with wild Pokémon to catch. Sadly those don't feel natural at all. To me those cramped zones felt like you would visit a zoo where all kinds of animals get squeezed into the same cage. There is no way for my imagination to be kindled as it simply feels way too gamey.

The same goes for Lumiose City itself. The city is rather on the small side which wouldn't have to be a problem, but the real issue is that the whole city looks the same. No matter which district you visit or and which rooftop you climb, everything looks the same. Most Pokémon are just randomly placed all over the city. Very rarely you will find a hidden Pokémon in a spot where you feel like “Oh that makes sense that Pikachu is here!”.

To me all of this feels like a missed opportunity. In my eyes with more work and polish they could have created a city that feels real and placed Pokémon in spots that make sense. I can easily see how it could have been a lot of fun to explore such a place and be rewarded for it. Instead it all feels more like a concept demo than like the finished game.

Is Pokémon Legends Z-A still fun?

The positive reception Pokémon Legends Z-A currently gets shows that many people enjoy the game. I honestly can totally understand why. The separate elements the game has to offer all still work and all can be fun. Catching Pokémon with the Arceus system, the new real time battles, the better writing and the general gameplay loop all in itself can be enjoyable.

The issue I have is that all of those systems come with a “but” and the part I enjoyed the most about Legend Arceus just got a bit downgraded for me in Z-A. Sadly Lumiose City doesn't feel like a real world and hinders my imagination in too many ways. In the end Legends Z-A is a solid game that could have been so much more. I really hope Gamefreak learns the right lesson because the foundation for something truly great is there. If they build on it this time.

Rating: Worth a try