Pokemon Legends: Z-A just catapulted to the top of my most anticipated games thanks to its single-city setting

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are pretty much the only Pokemon games from the core series I didn't finish in their entirety. Don't get me wrong, I poured a lot of time into Violet, spending a good 30 hours with the RPG before I eventually stopped completely. This is mostly down to the fact that its open-world structure did nothing for me. Often hindered by performance issues that would at times make the landscapes feel quite jittery and lifeless, the lack of level scaling also contributed to my waning interest. Even so, I did appreciate its ambition and the multiplayer support it (finally) brought to the fold, but it just didn't click for me in quite the same way as some of the best Pokemon games we've seen in the past.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus, on the other hand, held me in a vice grip. The RPG felt like a step forward for the series by delving into the past and bringing us into a setting that succeeded at being more open without stretching it too far. So, when Pokemon Legends: Z-A was first announced, I hoped beyond anything else it would steer clear of the open-world ambition of Scarlet and Violet – and it looks like my prayers might have been answered. Now that we've had our first official look at the upcoming Switch game during the Pokemon Day February 2025 stream, it really does appear to be going in an open-zone direction. By taking us to a single city setting and hopefully tapping into the same magic as Legends: Arceus – albeit in a new, futuristic way – Z-A is fast becoming one of my most anticipated new games for 2025.

Life in Lumiose

For me, the Pokemon Legends: Z-A gameplay trailer sure did deliver. Not only did it offer some reassurance about the RPG's sense of scale, but it also confirmed we're getting Mega Evolutions back after 7 years. So much of it screams futuristic Pokemon X and Y, and I can't wait to return to the Parisian-like city streets of Lumiose and rediscover it in a fresh way. And that's the crucial point – it's not set in an entire region, but within the walls of one city, which will hopefully make it feel more refined and prevent it from suffering the same wobbly fate as Scarlet and Violet in the performance department. Pokemon Legends: Arceus played out in the Hisui region, but it was broken up into open-zones. Sure, they also had their issues at times, but it balanced that out with a more focused experience overall in comparison to the sprawling landscapes of Violet.

As Lumiose is undergoing an urban redevelopment plan, Z-A is said to feature areas known as Wild-Zones in a bid to help humans share the city with Pokemon. Here, we can – as the name suggests – encounter and catch wild Pokemon, and from what we've seen of these locations so far, it makes me think the new adventure is also going in the same direction as its predecessor. Pokemon Sword and Shield also featured a more open wild area that offered a nice balance between sprawling open exploration and more a linear experience, which Arceus also toyed with in its own distinct way. Should Z-A follow suit, I just know it's going to tick all my boxes.

Even if it isn't fully open-world, that also doesn't stop Z-A from treading new ground when it comes to exploration. Did I audibly gasp when I saw the trainer parkour Assassin's Creed-style in the trailer? You better believe I did. It looks like it's going to be a step-up in terms of movement and how we can traverse across the world, with the option to up to the rooftops of Lumiose. This sense of verticality could very well bring added depth to the city and let us see more of the setting than we ever did in Pokemon X and Y.

Plus, as a Chikorita stan (its evolutions Bayleef and Meganium are among my favorite Pokemon of all-time), the Pokemon Legends: Z-A Starters really are just the icing on the cake. Of course, we won't know just how big or sprawling the actual adventure feels until it arrives later this year, but I can't help but feel excited about my return to Lumiose city. I can't wait to see it in a new light, and discover how a series I've grown up with continues to evolve.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolution – All the Pokemon who can Mega-Evolve that we know about so far.