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Welcome to another YvoCaro Plays. This time, I want to talk about Pokémon Legends Z-A. I bought the game on release as I loved Pokémon Legends Arceus, curious to see what GameFreak cooked up in the successor. I hadn’t expected the game to turn into such a polarising entry between game critics and gamers! Let me put in my two cents! If you like these bits of gaming thoughts, you can find the previous ones here.

A vista in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Looks gorgeous

A New Entry in the Legends Series

While we thought that perhaps Pokémon Legends: Arceus was the new direction Pokémon games were taking, it was fresh, it was new, and it had a semblance of an open-world game. Gamefreak proved us wrong when Pokémon Violet and Scarlet were released. Turns out the two different streams of Pokémon games can co-exist, and each has its own identity.

Building on the foundation laid by Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Legends: Z-A reimagines what a Pokémon game can be. Arceus dropped us into the wilds of ancient Hisui, with an open-world structure, immersive catching mechanics, and the thrill of researching Pokémon in their natural habitats. Arceus was about discovery*, *building the first Pokédex, understanding Pokémon behaviour, and exploring untouched wilderness.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A catapults us into the futuristic heart of Lumiose City. It’s a shift from nature to neon. *Pokémon Legends: Z-A *is about *resistance, *navigating a city under transformation, confronting power structures, and rediscovering Mega Evolution.

The vision of Lumiose City

Though you might be more drawn to nature and discovery in the wild, or to the sleek city environment of Lumiose, the contrast shows that the Legends series is about gameplay innovation and about creating unique worlds. Each entry explores a different facet of the Pokémon world, whether it’s the origins, its future, or its cultural tensions.

Is Pokémon Legends: Z-A Missing the Mark?

On paper, this all sounds great. Two directions for Pokémon games make double the fun in gaming for us. What is not so great, though, is that both Violet and Scarlet and Legends: Z-A have divided the fan base. Mainly due to performance issues, *Violet and Scarlet, *the first mainstream Pokémon game on the Switch, got a score of 7.2 from critics on Metacritic and a 3.5 from gamers. The rift for Legends: Z-A is slightly less: a score of 7.8 from critics on Metacritic, and a 4.7 from gamers.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Though this isn’t a full review, I will add my two cents here!

Real Time Battles

As excited as I was to continue my journey in the Legends series, not everything in Pokémon Legends: Z-A lived up to expectations. I had worried before release about the real-time fighting, as that is never my strong suit. It got me into some trouble in the boss fights in Arceus, so I wondered if I had it in me to do well in Z-A.

Actually, the change in fighting mechanics is okay. The Mega Evolutions are back, and I get that people are excited for that, but not being much into the fighting myself, it doesn’t add extra appeal to me. I’ve moved up in the ranks of Team MZ at a good pace, but only when they use moves where the competing Pokémon roll right over mine, like with Flaming Wheel, I’m in trouble. Could it be that the Pokémon battles aren’t very hard, and I shouldn’t pat myself on the back for being victorious?

Just beat another trainer in the battle zone

Not Much to Explore

It’s other issues that leave me wondering if I really like *Pokémon Legends: Z-A. *Lumiose City, the central setting of Z-A, also feels so small. Or maybe small isn’t the right word; the city is sprawling, but it’s just a lot of the same. I do like the futuristic aesthetic, neon-lit streets, and layered architecture. I like that you can scour the rooftops, and jumping down without fear from dazzling heights (and being saved at the last moment from being turned into a big splat by Rotom) is great. It’s all very stylish, but at the same time, it feels limited.

Jumping down makes one almost afraid of heights!

The idea of containing Pokémon in wild zones could work, but with the limited variety of critters in the zones, I’m not very motivated to keep returning to the zones, even though there are quite a few. When I’ve managed to catch a Pikachu, I don’t have to go back to face another 10.

The Graphics and Voices

I’ve seen critics online about the graphics, but playing on the Switch 2 in handheld mode, I can’t complain. To me, it looks good and crisp, but maybe that’s a very personal thing. I haven’t encountered any bugs or parts of the surroundings popping in, like others have reported.

What I do get is the complaints about the lack of voice acting. Pokémon Legends: Z-A continues the tradition of silent characters, even in dramatic story moments. Not only is that not exactly going with the progress made in modern video games, but because the movement of the character’s mouth is very clear and concise in this game, it feels so odd every time I watch a conversation.

Chilling at the café

Missing Side Activities

What I’m missing most in this game are the side activities. I always like how each Pokémon game evolved with special gimmicks on the side. Remember these?

• Picnics (Scarlet & Violet): Letting your Pokémon out to play, eat sandwiches, and even find eggs. A cozy way to bond with your team.

• Pokémon-Amie / Pokémon Refresh (X/Y, Sun/Moon): Petting, feeding Poké Puffs or Poké Beans, and curing status conditions to deepen friendship.

• Camping (Sword & Shield): Cooking curry, playing fetch, and watching your Pokémon interact in adorable ways. Camping in Sword and Shield

• Poffin & Pokéblock Making: Mini-games to cook treats that boost contest stats or friendship.

• Wonder Trade / Surprise Trade: Send a Pokémon into the void and receive a random one in return. Sometimes delightful, sometimes… not.

• Secret Bases (Ruby/Sapphire, ORAS): Decorate your own hideout with furniture, traps, and invite friends to visit. The secret base in ORAS

• GTS (Global Trade System): Search and trade Pokémon with players worldwide.

• Underground Mining (Diamond/Pearl): Dig for fossils, spheres, and treasures in a sprawling subterranean world. Underground mining in Pokémon Platinum

I have probably forgotten some, but remembering them makes Pokémon Legends: Z-A feel a bit bare!

Is it Worth it?

I think the main point that gamers are making is the price point, and I think they are very much right. At $70 for the base game, *Legends: **Z-A’s *pricing sparked backlash. People feel that the content doesn’t justify the cost, especially since the time spent before the credits roll is relatively short. To then charge an extra $30 for the DLC Mega Dimensions that’ll take months to arrive doesn’t feel right either.

Final Thoughts for Pokémon Legends: Z-A

With all of that said, I am having fun playing *Pokémon Legends: Z-A. *I like doing the side quests, and the nighttime, when it’s time to enter the battle zone, comes all too quickly for me. I don’t know, however, how long it will keep me interested.

All of this adds up to a game that feels like it’s caught between ambition and limitation. Z-A wants to be bold, but it doesn’t quite deliver. And while I’m still glad to see the Legends series continue, I hope Game Freak listens to gamers!

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