Pokemon Legends: Z-A's real-time combat changes make one of the series' best non-damaging moves basically redundant and one of the coolest Gen 6 Pokemon "utter garbage"

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is here, bringing with it the mainline RPG series' first foray into real-time combat, and while the new battle system generally works really well, players have found a couple of places where old mechanics haven't been adapted effectively.

In our Pokemon Legends: Z-A review, I discuss how certain mechanics have been cleverly reworked to suit the real-time format, with 'trap moves' like Spikes now setting up obstacles on the field. However, not everyone is impressed with these changes across the board, with one player on Reddit questioning "what is the purpose" of the move Substitute in the latest RPG.

Previously, Substitute allowed users to sacrifice a quarter of their health to create a plushie that takes hits for them until it breaks. In Legends: Z-A, it looks similar, but the execution isn't quite as good. For a start, you can target your own Substitute, and as the aforementioned player points out, "the enemy Pokemon seem to ignore it in both Wild and ZA battle promotions. You can summon another one but it just makes the previous Substitute falls to the side and the new one goes infront of your Pokemon."

As another explains, "it's pretty much just for providing cover" like Rock Tomb, but "it doesn't guarantee any protection" anymore. What's more, as another says, even if your Pokemon is positioned behind the Substitute, "beam moves still hit thru it, so if I use Ice Beam, or anything with that style of move animation, it hits the sub doll but also the Pokemon behind it because the beam goes thru Pokemon."

Pokemon ZA's Substitute: What is the purpose? from r/pokemon

This isn't the only questionable change, either. Aegislash has unfortunately been done dirty in Legends: Z-A, with the cool Steel/Ghost-type retaining the animations from its Stance Change ability – despite Pokemon abilities being removed from the RPG – meaning it's greatly slowed down in battle.

Aegislash starts battles in Shield Forme, changes to Blade Forme when using an attacking move, and then back into Shield Forme when it uses its signature King's Shield move. This has historically swapped its stats around to make it more suited to defense and offense, but in Legends: Z-A, the slow animations mean the poor 'mon is just left vulnerable for far too long as it's pelted with attacks.

"Aegislash is ZA's frontrunner for an F--- tier Pokemon," one Reddit user writes. "It plays the Stance Change animation every time, which completely ruins its tempo."

"Was super happy Stance Change was still in... and then I made the mistake of getting into a battle with more than one opponent. Aegislash really struggles in ZA's wild battles, which makes me regret evolving my guy," says another.

Another warns: "Because of the real time combat in this game, this makes Aegislash utter garbage and completely unviable since in the time it takes him to switch forms, your opponent can fire off like 2-3 attacks. Until this is fixed, do not evolve your Doublade."

It's not clear if these are things that Game Freak would consider patching in future updates, but for the time being, just be wary that some old reliable mechanics might not be quite as effective as they once were.

While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of Pokemon Legends: Z-A tips to help you on your adventure through Lumiose City.