Pokemon Legends Z – A Review!

The funniest Pokémon game I have played in a long time!

I haven’t had this much fun in a Pokémon game in ages. I still had fun with Shield and Sword and Scarlet and Violet. But there have been diminishing returns with each main entry since Gen 6.

Legends: Arceus was a refreshing step in the right direction. Now, its successor, Legends Z-A, continues the much-needed evolution of Pokémon. This game was a blast! I can’t wait to share my thoughts on the game.

Presentation

This game looks way better than Scarlet and Violet. Although the buildings appear flat and lifeless, they exhibit a variety of architectural styles. The flora and texture are rendered better in this game. You can tell Game Freak took the criticisms of Scarlet and Violet to heart.

Gone are the abundance of textures and assets that made Scarlet and Violet look ugly in some areas. Legends Z-A uses fewer textures and assets than Scarlet and Violet. This game looks better. It also runs better because of the less textures and assets.

Performance

The biggest complaint about Scarlet and Violet was the performance. The game was plagued by numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes. Legends ZA runs much better. The game runs smoothly on the Switch 2.

I’m impressed with there being no crashes, stuttering and pop-ins during my playthrough. There were no weird bugs or glitches either. The improved performance allowed me to enjoy this game to the fullest.

Trainer Customization

Trainer Customisation is back in full bloom. Once again, you choose how you want to dress your character. Like Pokémon X and Y, there are plenty of choices, so it’s easy to create your own unique trainer.

While I was going to choose the male character as I did in Pokémon X and Y, I decided to go with the female one. I named Alma so she was inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster. Plus, I like to play as female protagonists.

But that’s the beauty of Trainer Customisation. You can create who you want, whether it is a representation of yourself as a trainer. Or a character you want to create through some inspiration, or just for fun.

Gameplay

Catching

Like its processor, you use stealth to capture Pokémon. You can sneak them on and throw a Poké Ball at them. While some Pokémon can be captured quietly. But some Pokémon won’t go as quickly.

In fact, some Pokémon are aggressive and will attack you when they see you. If you’re not careful and they can knock you out. Yes, you, the trainer! This is the time to bring out your own Pokémon to battle them.

One new feature that I love about Legends Z-A is that you can now capture a fainted Pokémon. Once you knock out a Pokémon, you have a brief window to capture it. This is the one feature that Pokémon needed for the longest time. And I hope it is here to stay in every mainline game going forward.

New Real-Time Combat

The one thing that I was excited about in this game was the real-time combat system. Now that I have used this system. I love it!

Don’t get me wrong, I like turn-based. I even loved Arceus’s combat system, which is similar to Final Fantasy X. In addition to the similar FFX combat, the game has the Strong and Agile styles too. Arceus’s combat was the refreshing shake-up that was needed for the series.

But this real-time battle system is the evolution I want the most. In this new system, Pokémon moves are now executed in real time. Moves now have cooldowns. With cooldowns, Power Points (PP) are a thing of the past in Legends Z-A. I don’t miss them either.

Now you have to be more tactical with your move selection thanks to cooldowns. You can’t spam the same moves over and over. But stat moves like Leer have more utility now since they have the same effect as they did in Arceus.

With this new system, you can have your Pokémon use a combination of moves. For instance, you can weaken an opposing Pokémon, boost your own Pokémon’s stats and hit them with an attack they are weak against. You can also throw in status moves too.

One vital thing to consider is the position of your trainer and Pokémon. This not only affects the range and distance of your moves but their range as well. More importantly, you have considered the distance you need to get you and Pokémon out of harm’s way. Of course, timing is key to launching your own moves and avoiding your opponent’s moves.

Rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon

Similar to Arceus, the main boss battles involve calming powerful Pokémon. This time, you are calming wild Mega Evolved Pokémon. Thanks to the overabundance of Mega Power in Lumoise, even wild Pokémon can Mega Evolve without a trainer.

How do you calm down rogue Mega Pokémon? By hitting with your own Pokémon’s moves. The rogue Pokémon will drop Mega Orbs for you to collect. These fill up your Mega Gauge.

Once your Mega Gauge is full, that’s when you can Mega Evolve Pokémon. This evens the playing field. Not only can your Mega Evolved Pokémon inflict some serious damage on the Rouge ones. But you can stagger them too.

Be aware that you not only have to battle and protect your Pokémon, but you have to protect yourself. Like with Noble Pokémon, rogue Pokémon will come after you! Yes, you!

Rouge Pokémon also have powerful super moves that can destroy you and your Pokémon. Recall your Pokémon and get ready to avoid these attacks. Some of these big moves have a charging period, so try to stagger the rogue Pokémon before they finish charging.

As for me, I found these battles to be even more thrilling than Noble Pokémon battles. While these were great, the Rouge Mega Pokémon ones took it to an even greater level. These battles were truly awesome!

Story

The rogue Mega Pokémon have a huge connection to the story. While I won’t get into spoilers, the player will participate in the ZA Royale tournament to become the strongest Mega Evolution Trainer. There is a crisis looming in Lumiose City connected with Prism Tower and the Mega Power brewing in the city.

The main story of Pokémon ZA legends also continues the story of Pokémon X and Y. One can even say this game is a sequel to X and Y. Also, Zygarde is a major player in the events of the game too.

The game also continues the themes of life and death from X and Y. The game also explores the themes of legacy and redemption. Finally, endings and new beginnings are also prominent themes in Legends Z-A.

Characters

I found the characters of the game to be interesting and cool. Besides your main team, Team MZ, which I found to be a cool crew with different personalities.

The side supporting characters like Canari, Jacnithe, Ivor, and many others were great characters. AZ, his beloved Floette, Emma, and Mable make their return in Z-A. There is also the return of another character from X and Y that I did not expect.

It's Time for Voice Acting

If there is one thing that I wish PLZA had, it is voice acting. This game has great cut scenes. It's too bad that these cut scenes have no voice acting.

Voice acting would have elevated these cut scenes even more. I’m now at the point where I think Pokémon needs to introduce voice acting into its games.

Does it have to be the whole game? No! But having voices in cut scenes would be a good start. If that's all we get in the next game. I would be fine with that. But it is time.

Feeling Optimistic

I don’t know where Pokémon goes from here. But Pokémon Legends Z-A feels like a positive step in the franchise’s future. The Legend series continues to elevate the Pokémon despite some bumps in the road.

At the very least, I’m happy that PLZA is a really good and solid Pokémon game. I don’t know if all of the PLZA’s new features and improvements are going to apply. But I can say with some confidence and satisfaction that Game Freak will apply what they learn from PLZA to their future Pokémon games.

Images and videos were provided from my playthrough.