Pokémon Legends Z-A Review: A Fun But Flawed Adventure

Pokémon Legends Z-A presents a fascinating but imperfect evolution of the classic monster-taming formula, set entirely within the Paris-inspired Lumiose City. This sequel to the X and Y games explores the aftermath of the Kalos region’s near-apocalyptic events, focusing on an ambitious urban redevelopment plan intended to create a shared home for humans and Pokémon. The central tension arises from the city’s stated goal of peaceful coexistence, which often clashes with the familiar gameplay loop of capturing wild creatures in Poké Balls and battling them for sport. This dissonance between the game’s aspirational narrative and its core mechanics creates a compelling, if sometimes frustrating, experience that questions the very foundations of the Pokémon world.

Returning to Lumiose City feels like visiting an old friend undergoing a major renovation. You’re immediately thrust into the action alongside Team MZ, a group of youngsters tackling a bizarre new phenomenon: Rogue Mega Evolutions. These are wild Pokémon undergoing painful, involuntary transformations that threaten the city’s stability. The premise is strong, but the city’s supposed progress feels shaky. As you navigate the construction sites and chat with residents, a clear picture emerges of widespread dissatisfaction. People voice concerns about safety, noise from late-night tournaments, and the fundamental ethics of segregating Pokémon into designated “Wild Zones.” The game excels at portraying a community grappling with complex questions it doesn’t have easy answers for.

Where the game truly finds its footing is in its memorable cast of characters, who represent one of the series’ strongest depictions of community. Unlike the transient nature of most Pokémon adventures, being confined to Lumiose allows you to form deeper connections with its residents. These are people bound by a shared sense of home and a determination to rebuild after catastrophe. The emotional payoff, especially in the endgame, is surprisingly powerful, capturing a genuine feeling of civic unity that resonates deeply. Seeing characters from all walks of life, from a pseudo mob boss to a local streamer, come together to protect their city is genuinely inspiring.

The real star of the show is the revolutionary real-time battle system, a dramatic departure from the traditional turn-based format. Battles become frantic, exhilarating affairs where you issue commands in real-time, manage cooldowns, and constantly reposition both yourself and your Pokémon on the battlefield. This creates an incredible sense of cooperation and immediacy. You’re no longer a detached strategist; you’re in the thick of the fight, dodging attacks while directing your partner. This system encourages creative team-building, pushing you to consider movesets that facilitate specific combat roles, like a “hit-and-run” attacker or a long-range specialist.

This new system shines brightest during the Rogue Mega Evolution encounters. These large-scale boss battles require multiple trainers to coordinate, dodging powerful area-of-effect attacks while whittling down a super-powered foe. The key mechanic here is the reworked Mega Evolution system. Instead of a one-time transformation, you now manage a gauge that can be filled and depleted multiple times per battle, allowing several of your Pokémon to Mega Evolve during a single fight.

However, this focus on Mega Evolution creates a significant party-building restriction. With around 70 Mega forms available, Pokémon incapable of this transformation often feel suboptimal, if not entirely useless, in major encounters. While non-Mega Pokémon can use the gauge to power up attacks, it’s a poor substitute for a full transformation. This can make team selection feel more limited than in previous titles.

The visual presentation is a notable improvement over recent entries. While Lumiose City isn’t a graphical powerhouse and lacks some environmental detail, it runs remarkably smoothly on newer hardware. The art direction has its moments, with certain visual set pieces really popping. Player experiences with performance seem to vary widely, but the version played for this review was technically solid, offering a welcome reprieve from the jank of earlier 3D Pokémon games.

The Z-A Royale serves as the game’s replacement for the traditional gym leader challenge. This tournament-style progression has you climbing from rank Z to A by battling in nighttime “Battle Zones” and facing off against ranked trainers. The time-sensitive nature of these zones adds a thrilling layer of urgency. Unfortunately, the system’s promising start is undermined when the plot forces you to skip several ranks, revealing that the progression is mostly a facade with about as many major opponents as a standard Pokémon game.

Ultimately, Pokémon Legends Z-A is an experiment. It doesn’t always succeed, and its ambition sometimes outstrips its execution. The restrictive party-building, inconsistent Mega Evolution designs, and occasionally superficial progression systems hold it back from true greatness. Yet, its willingness to ask difficult questions about the Pokémon world, coupled with its stellar real-time combat and heartfelt portrayal of community, makes it an essential play for anyone invested in the series’ future. It may not have all the answers, but its honest attempt to find them is compelling in its own right.

(Source: Kotaku)