For the last few years I've been gradually coming to terms with the fact I may not be a Pokemon fan but just a Classic Pokemon fan – and now Pokemon Legends: Z-A has arrived to throw my reflection into turmoil yet again. Ostensibly not part of the main series (but you'll get your wrist slapped if you call it a spin-off), what's won me over to Pokemon Legends: Z-A after bouncing off of Pokemon Sword and Shield and the rest of the 3D series is that it's so different. It's not a modernization of Pokemon mechanics as much as it is a reimagining.
The last Pokemon entry I saw credits for was Pokemon Black and White on the Nintendo DS, and – shaking as I look up what year that was – that was 15 years ago. Since then, I've yearned for a monster catching RPG that can give me the same thrill as those pixel art classics. I enjoyed what I played of Pokemon Sun and Moon but dropped off close to the end. Whereas with Pokemon Sword and Shield, I found the 3D graphics too off-putting blown up on the big TV, the RPG combat incredibly slow-moving, and the wild zones empty – though the slap bass in a lot of the music was incredibly iconic.
City life
The latest Pokemon games just weren't clicking. My search, fruitless. But Pokemon Legends: Z-A is willing to scoop me up like Sun and Moon's Machamp and take me away from this doomed expedition. Though there's plenty of nostalgia to be had in revisiting some of my favorite Pokemon, this latest entry also knows when to leave mechanics in the past and to deliver something entirely new – meaning I can have my retro cake and eat something else too.
Looking for a replacement was never the right approach, and modern Pokemon games always seemed to me like they were struggling to juggle maintaining expectations built up over decades of RPG releases with trying to innovate. Sometimes, that meant the pieces didn't quite fit. Pokemon Sword and Shield, for instance, tried to keep the same dungeon exploration loop of wild Pokemon and trainer battles, while also introducing larger, wider, semi-open worlds and it just didn't work well together despite both sides being interesting. The series also struggled with an even wider shift to a fully open world – in our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet review where we noted that "the actual open world mechanics don't always integrate well".
Pokemon Legends: Z-A also aims for a huge open world – but it's one with focus and intention, confined entirely to the massive Lumiose City. On the streets, rooftops, or ever-increasing park-like Wild Zones, battles take place in real-time. From lil critters to hulking dragons, battles occur just as you'd imagine, commanding your partners to use specific moves as they circle one another. In our Pokemon Legends: Z-A review we said it feels "like the anime come to life", and that's true right the way down to just seeing the city's residents hanging out with their Pokemon in their daily life.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A can feel like more than the sum of its parts because of this. Exploring an interestingly designed open space becomes just a great way to hang out with your Pokemon pals as you level them up. Yes, the building textures are astoundingly basic, many fights can devolve even further into using the big moves to win than the main games, the story is paper thin, and platforming mechanics are so basic they're almost non-existent. But it's still a joy to inhabit this world despite it all.
Even through aspects like Lumiose's poor textures – the Pokemon Legends: Z-A's world still feels alive. Outside areas like Wild Zones, Pokemon still inhabit the space – Trubbish congregate near back alley trash bins; Pidgey perch on lamposts and will flutter away when you get close; flower patches dance with Flabébé that match the petal color of their patch. There's plenty of negatives you can say about a lot of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's presentation choices, but it can still feel beautiful a lot of the time.
Help her level up her grooming business by showing off your mastery of various slash-based moves.
Characters you battle are well realized as well – with their designs and animations far out-pacing that of the city. The residents that give you the game's many sidequests are charming enough to often elicit a chuckle. I'm quite fond of how perplexed many are by the city constantly setting up new Wild Zones seemingly every day. There's an old widow who has to ask you to fetch her husband's ring from a cemetery because the government decided to turn it into a Wild Zone on a whim, meaning it's now crawling with poisonous giant spiders and snakes and, yes, literal ghosts. Another wants you to help her level up her grooming business by showing off your mastery of various slash-based moves.
Through Pokemon Legends: Z-A's overly lengthy tutorial (seriously, get past Mission 15 as fast as you can to unlock the little glide hop), I wasn't sure I was sold on this shift. The action was too different, the world too insubstantial. But when I was let off the leash to explore Lumiose City, the hours slipped away as I assembled my crew (Bois the Heracross is present, of course), pursued shiny items tantalizingly placed on rooftops, and upped my battle ranking.
Ditching the badge hunt, the glacial turn-based fights, and even a whole region of exploration all works to Pokemon Legends: Z-A's benefit. This isn't trying to be the style of Pokemon I miss, but something else entirely – and that's resulted in a much easier and more successful attempt to win me back.
Check out our best Pokemon games list for more monster catching!
